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My first attempt at the LDWA Hundred

This is a bit of a long post - but then it's a long walk !! Over the May Bank Holiday weekend, the #LDWA hold their annual Hundred mile challenge walk. This year the Kent group hosted the event with the start at Hastings in Sussex, and the finish at Dover - the Cinque Ports 100 #CP100. Nearly 500 had entered, but with some no-shows, just under 450 started the event - yours truly being one of them. The challenge is to cover the 101 mile route on foot within a 48 hour time limit. Here's the route I picked up the train down to Hastings, and I soon bumped into another entrant heading to the event. We had a good chat on the way down, and he told me a few stories from past events, and passed on a few tips - he failed at his first attempt, but has now successfully completed 25. Actually quite a few people have told me that they failed at their first attempt - oh well ! Registration was at the Sussex Coast College in Hastings just opposite the train station. Near the start tim
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Cinque Ports 100 - The Final Countdown

Saturday was a nice sunny day for my usual dog walk. Above is my route up the Greensand Ridge near Tenchleys Manor. Just a few days now until the start of the #CP100 Cinque Ports 100. This is the annual #LDWA hundred challenge - to cover 100 miles on foot within a 48 hour time limit. I'm actually not feeling that confident that I'll complete it successfully. My knees are playing up, and the route is on a lot of hard surfaces, plus it's looking like it will be a hot weekend too, so could be quite a tough event. The furthest I've walked before in one go is 50 miles, so this will be new territory. I've also been struggling with shoes. The new trail shoes that I got ready for this event have given me bad blisters on my right heel. I've decided to abandon them and use the old trail shoes I did my 50 mile walk with last September, in the hope they will be kinder on my feet. The treads aren't great which is why I'd gone for the new ones, but they will hopef
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Recce of the last 30 miles of the Cinque Ports 100 with a Ham Sandwich

On Sunday I walked the last 29 miles or so of the #LDWA Hundred route - the Cinque Ports 100 #CP100. If I get that far on the main event, I'll be exhausted and it will be getting dark, so the hope is that having walked that section out in advance, I may have a better chance of not going astray in the dark when I'll be walking like a zombie ! I walked it with a neighbour who has done over ten hundreds, but not in recent years due to knee problems (now improving). It was good having some company, and also he gave me lots of advice from his experiences. Apart from blisters and falling asleep, apparently hallucinations are not uncommon, and some suffer from LOSS - leaning over sideways syndrome - people who suffer from this tend to be unaware that they are leaning over to one side. The weather was pretty good, no rain, not too hot, and mostly cloudy until the sun came out in late afternoon. The Hundred route starts at Hastings, makes its way to Dover, then does a loop around t
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The Cinque Ports 100 - Marshal's Walk

It's 4am and Checkpoint 10 is ready and waiting for the first arrivals on the Marshal's walk of the Cinque Ports 100. The Cinque Ports 100 is in 3 weeks time. It's the annual 100 mile walk organised by the LDWA (Long Distance Walkers Association). Each year it is held in a different part of the UK - this year it's in Kent (with a bit of Sussex thrown in). The Marshal's walk is the same event run on the first Bank Holiday weekend in May - for those who are helping with the main event - so they don't miss out on their chance to complete a 100. What is the LDWA 100 ? - well the basics are that you walk (or some even run !) 100 miles in a 48 hour time limit. Walkers start at 10am on Saturday and have until 10am on Monday to complete the distance. Runners have the option of starting at 2pm - to avoid getting to checkpoints before they open. There are no overnight stops - all entrants will walk through one night - some will walk through two nights. There are
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Out on my feet

In 4 weeks time, if all is going to plan, and if I'm still going, I should be about 80 miles into my first attempt at the LDWA 100, and going into the second night. Why ? Good question ! I'll probably be wondering that myself in 4 weeks time !! Anyroad, for this first post here is how I got into LDWA challenge walks. I was a few years into a contract, staying away from home in a B&B for 2 or more nights a week. A bit overweight, I needed to get fitter, and also with a family holiday in the Lakes coming up, there was an added incentive to do something other than sit in the B&B watching box sets ! I did try cycling on a fold-up bike, but it was a bit small for me, I also did some skiing in the MK snowdome in the run up to ski trips, but my preference was walking. I was staying at Woburn Sands, and there was some nice walking around there over Aspley Heath, and over towards Wavenden. After the Lake District holiday, I started looking in to walking groups to join. E
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