It was leisurely morning for a local 100 pottering along to Meopham in Kent for @10:45am. I had brought along some salmon pasta as an early lunch to fully fill the tank before the start. With temperatures approaching 30 degrees we waited to depart at 12 noon. I had dug out my ‘foreign legion’ cap which had its last outing at South Downs Way 80 in 1995; thankfully the elastic hadn’t perished – they made stuff well back then.

I don’t usually mind running in the heat but with temperatures forecast to reach 30 degrees there is the added and important consideration of hydration which was at the forefront of my mind right from the start. Between each of the checkpoints I wanted to drink my two 500ml containers. Arriving at CP1 after 9.7 miles at 2pm it was nice to see that there was a ‘dunking’ bowl at each checkpoint for hats, towels and heads. However, because of the heat, soaking wet hats quickly became dry again within 15 minutes of running – incredible.

A further 5 miles took us to CP2 in Ightham where as well as the usual broad spread of food, refreshing ice lollies were being handed out.

Approaching CP3 at Sevenoaks Weald after 21 miles there was a sign for the Windmill pub. Despite drinking a litre of liquid between checkpoints and more at the checkpoints, I was feeling the effects of the conditions. In an unusual act of spontaneity (for me), I headed straight over for a pint of shandy which without doubt was the highlight of the whole event. I actually came across another pub 7 miles later at Markbeech and was tempted but had to remember that it was a running event and not a pub crawl.

Next stop was CP4 at Cowden at 7:30pm at 31 miles. This was the kit check where I had to prove that I was carrying all the required kit and duly produced the 2 requested items – a full route description and leggings. Passed. Relieved, I celebrated with dahl and naan followed by fruit salad and rice pudding.

The next section took us down into 100 Acre Wood, famous as inspiration for Winnie the Pooh stories. As expected, there was a long woodland descent down to Pooh Sicks Bridge, but rather less expected there was an elderly dishevelled woman over the other side of the bridge with a large bag, asking if I wanted a game of Pooh Sticks, at @ 9:30pm. Taken aback a bit, I politely declined saying that I was in an event; it turned out that she was from the LDWA, but I didn’t know. Instead, I took a photo of the bridge and dug out my torch as it was becoming dark in the woods.

The night section is always difficult. Pace slows and everything looks different even after recceing the route. To help cope with this the organisers mark tricky sections with small reflective squares and flags. It is also noticeably very quiet compared with the general background hum of the day and thankfully a bit cooler at 15 degrees. I pushed on through Nutley (CP6) and just after leaving CP7 at Horsted Keynes at 3am it seemed that the sky was very gradually getting brighter (or was I hallucinating). I heard the first (and only) cockerel at 3:59am, only memorable as when looking at my watch I thought his ‘alarm’ was a minute early. It was a misty start accompanied by a ‘dawn chorus’. Getting through the night section is always a great lift.

The next stop was the breakfast at Felbridge Village Hall at 61 miles and given my slower than expected progress, I had arrived at there at a ‘breakfast-like’ time of 5:45am. For the first time in a 100 I had planned to change my shoes at halfway which was lucky, as they had deteriorated significantly. However, I’m not sure I would do it again as my plastered feet had moulded into the vaselined socks and grime, and clean socks and shoes took some getting used to, causing other sores.

In an attempt to be more organised at breakfast I had made a list of things to do / get / eat from my drop bag, but probably due to mental fatigue I forgot to look at it. At least I remembered to charge my watch which was down to 11%. Still after a good breakfast, spirits were raised and I resumed a gentle plod / walk while it was still relatively cool. Only 40 miles to go, which doesn’t sound much in the context of a 100 but is still 13 hours @ 3mph. I put some music on to dispel any thoughts of negativity.

So the hours and the miles ticked by slowly while the temperature quickly rose. In Sundridge I was corrected when I incorrectly wished a churchgoer ‘good afternoon’ at 10:55am, thinking it was about 4pm (having been running since dawn). Shortly after I passed Chevening House the country residence of the Foreign Secretary, who at the time of writing is Yvette Cooper.

Unfortunately, the checkpoint stops were getting longer to ensure I consumed enough water and food for the next leg. It’s a tricky balance. With only 14 checkpoints the average distance / leg was 7.2 miles. And while I was still plodding occasionally, I suspect that the slight increase in speed may have been offset by longer rests. Another tricky balance.

I eventually made it to the finish for 8:38pm (32 hours and 41 minutes), burning some 10,000 calories. Out of the 471 starters, there were only 209 finishers with a record dropout rate of 56%. While it is non-competitive event I was very pleased to have recorded the 11^th= fastest time. As well as a badge and certificate for completion of the event I received another set as recognition of it being my 10^th hundred.

As always there is so much to process and so many great memories some of which I have recorded in this blog. As usual the event was exceptionally well organised by LDWA participants for participants. But the final word must go to the hardy souls who endured 2 days and 2 nights of walking / eating and completed it within just minutes of the 48-hour cut-off on Monday morning.