UKC

Hi All, this is my first post and more of just an ambitious seed of thought for now but with the right guidance and motivation I may contemplate attempting it.  No planning has gone into it but I just need experienced walkers to cast their eye over this feat and let me know how plausible it really is.  I am a 39 year old male with an above average level of fitness.  I like to keep fit with weight training and have completed a marathon in the past although I do not do cardio anymore.  In the last few months I have completed three long walks consisting of a 30km walk from Rickmansworth to edgware road; a 33km walk from St Albans to Baker st and most recently a 60km walk along the metropolitan line stopping for a photo at every station on the longest route.  All pavement/road type walks with very little undulation.  I find that I really enjoy walking and physically my body has been able to withstand the rigours I have set before it.

Now I am interested in a 100km walk but something inside me wants to attempt a 100 mile continuous walk from central London to Bath!.   I know it sounds crazy but with the right advice, nutrition and pre preparations I reckon I could do it!

All I would like to know is firstly what are your thoughts and is there a possibility anyone would want to join me on this crazy adventure?

The biggest hurdle will be your feet. You may or may not think that say wearing a pair of trainers will be fine, but without preparation etc. You could easily be struggling with blisters by half way.

One push? You mean no sleep? I'd reckon it could easily take you 36hrs. 

It’s all in your head and making sure you have the right nutrition. A decent route would probably be essential, although my friend has just run from John o’groats to Lands End in 30 days using google maps and picking a route each day. Some days it didn’t go well, especially when he found he couldn’t get across the Mersey on foot and added a lot of miles on.

Most of the people I know who have done 100miles in one go have run/walked that kind of distance in about 24 hours. 

You should contact the LDWA (long distance walkers assoc'n) they do a 100 miler in 48 hours once a year and probably you could get advice from them. Just google LDWA.

https://will-self.com/2011/10/18/walking-out-of-london

Why Bath? Why not the South Downs Way or the North Downs Way so you don't have to think about route planning and can avoid busy roads.

I think London-Bath might be done pretty much off road using the Thames path to Reading and then the Kennet and Avon canal?

Not sure how that affects mileage. 

Thanks Summo,

Definitely one thing i'm always trying to avoid.  I have been quite fortunate as I am not prone to getting blisters, probably the way I walk?

Yes continuous with no sleep.  Google says around 36 hours but I have an average 11mins walking pace so could potentially do it in under 30 hours

i would suggest taking your time to enjoy one of the finest long distance paths in Europe: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ridgeway

Thanks Malk!

not quite 100 miles but this is a great suggestion!  Love the fact that it's the oldest road in Britain and an ancient trackway too!  Brilliant suggestion!  This is defo on my list

Thank you!

What an amazing achievement for your friend.  It's incredible how what started off as a pipe dream is starting to feel achievable!  Insane that you know people who have completed 100 miles inside of 24 hours!

I will do Jim, thanks for the advice

Guess its not for everyone.  My motivation is different and always will be.  Depression is not being able to do the things you want to do, be it walking, running or sailing long distances.  If anything this post makes me want to do it more!

no rhyme or reason Irk, at the moment the mileage is what's important to me.  Scenery and terrain whilst extremely important is secondary.  I just want to test my physical limits within my chosen parameters

Good luck - sounds interesting. As others have said, the LDWA should be able to provide some useful advice - lots of good people, and strong walkers, in that.

My only real thought is that 11-minute miling - or almost 5.5mph - is pretty fast even from the start. How long do you think you could keep that - or even 5mph - going? 5.5mph the whole way would see you do it in under 20 hours, so it sounds like you've factored in a useful amount of slack given that you've mentioned 30 hours, but it's still pretty brisk especially once stops for various reasons have been factored in.

For comparison, I once spent a (very good and interesting) day covering one of Ian Botham's charity walks. As is well known, he didn't hang about on these - I can't remember exactly how far we went (it was Annan to somewhere south of Carlisle), but it was in the region of 27 miles and I think we did it at a somewhere between 4.5 and 4.75mph. I was reasonably Scottish hill-fit, but felt pretty puggled by the end of that and was ready to sit down! Wouldn't have fancied even another say 20 miles without a fairly decent break for food/fluids/footcare.

Regarding the Kennet & Avon Canal, I did it once (Though I took 3 days!) and I think it is about 86 miles and you would definitely be right walking east to west as the start in Reading is not pleasant, grafitti, syringes etc but once you get out into the country it is a wonderful walk. Beautiful views, plenty of wildlife (I saw a Mink) no hills aprt from the flights of locks. I regretted carrying a tent as I found several wartime structures that would have made decent bivi's. Also I found out after the walk that I could have obtained a key from the Inland Waterways Asscociation for the many taps along the route to replenish my water.

Chafing of thighs, blisters etc.. often only kicks in for many after 5 or 6 hrs, or if it rains etc. 

Optimistic without running short downhill sections. As soon as you stop for food, toilet, swap socks, wait for traffic to cross a busy junction and so on... your average pace is decreasing. 

Get some decent compression shorts and chafe won't be anywhere near as much of an issue even if you get soaking wet.

Seriously impressive. He didn’t even know where he was going to stay each night. Sometimes he slept under a tarp. 

The other friend, John, has done 100miles on a 400m track in 21h30m. I ran with him for 40laps between midnight and 2am. Recently he did the Thames Path 100 mile ultra.

https://johnnelms.wordpress.com/2019/05/24/may-2019-thames-path-100-in-sear...

The estimate of 30 hours suggests the '11 minute pace' is for a kilometre, not a mile. Which makes it more tenable.

Weekend before last, I did the Race to the Stones 100k along the Ridgeway. My thoughts are that 100 miles in one push would be possible, but you'd be in a horrible state at the end of it. Just wishing it to end, counting down every meter etc.

The time it takes is a big factor. I was running and walking. It took me ~15h. (I could have knocked off time by not stopping at aid stations, but you need to stop every now and again, but getting going is hard.) I finished after midnight, if you're not used to running in the dark, it takes some practice. Walking would take far longer.

Support along the route was great, with trail markers and with lots and varied types of food. You probably don't want to be carting all your food. Also, what might look tasty before the event, might be disgusting at 03:00.

As suggested above, if you can follow canals and rivers, that would save you from hill climbing, roads and map reading.

You could do it as 2x 50miles with a camp in the middle. Call it route finding. If that works out, and you can get a helper or two to support you, then do it in one push.

Hi,

Plenty of ultra-runners will tackle 100mile runs (a running friend of mine recently did the South Downs 100 miler). So it should be well within the realm of a motivated walker with sufficient preparation. By that I mean building up to it, finding out what equipment, footwear, food etc works for you. Also, think about efficiency, every short stop to take food, water or look at a map takes time/distance and it all adds up. You'll also learn how your body works - what it likes and what it doesn't like (e.g. I find that whilst I can go all night, a couple of cat naps 20mins or so,  really helps).

If you can, and if you're unsupported, it might be an idea to stash food/drink en route beforehand to avoid having to stop/shop.

Plan the route thoroughly too - maybe write down a time/distance schedule and key landmarks/changes of direction (Google Earth and streetview are really helpful with this). It is easy for a tired, sleep deprived brain to make simple mistakes!

It sounds like a great idea. I always like 'mad' ideas for no particular reason, other than that they are personal challenges.

Good luck and have fun!

N

Hi

I'm an LDWA member and have now completed 5 hundreds, the last being the Hadrian Hundred in Northumberland, I find from talking to others who do these kind of walks, we all have a common issue with things like chaffing, blisters, tiredness, sometimes sickness or even delusional moments, but we all have a different approach on dealing with them.

On the last 100 I had really bad chaffing due to the rain up on Crossfell, but had no blisters. I use Montrail Bajada trail shoes which are very comfortable with a single Bridgedale liner sock, changed every 20 miles, and also use a seamless boxer type pants and running tights, which are comfortable.

If you plan a breakfast stop where you can have a full change of clothes, shoes and a wash that would be good, usually breakfast is around 55-60 miles into the route.

I could have mitigated the chaffing by wearing waterproof bottoms during the night section where the weather was really bad, I didn't, as I can't stand waterproof bottoms but should have made the effort, so another mitigation is to use Sudocrem. Sudocrem doesn't wash off so quickly like Vaseline does. Some people use Lanolin, I find this hard to apply out of the tube as it is so thick, you have to heat it in a cup of boiling water and massage the tube to get at the paste, once on, its good, just very fickle in its application.

I always have a pre-walk patch-up the night before and put socks on so the patches don't rub of in bed. I'll put Compeed on in specific places, on my heels usually, and some climbing tape on my little toes, climbing tape is really adhesive. I find i you heat the Compeed with a lighter they will stick better. Also get well hydrated, I drink a liter of squash the night before and lots of tea in the morning along with a good breakfast, this will set you up for the first 20 miles, the rest is about drip feeding yourself energy and fluids along the way.

You might have a low period during the walk, usually in the early hours of the next day where you'll feel fed up and not very enthusiastic, usually this will pass, you just have to walk though it, also if you don't eat and drink enough or go to the loo, you'll feel sick, some people feel sick even if they are well hydrated and fed, I think this is just part of their physiology and you can some times walk though it, or go somewhere quiet and be sick is what some do, this at least clears your stomach of whatever is agitating you, but usually when your like this your body is struggling.

Tiredness towards the final 20 miles is a really issue for some, here it becomes a physiological battle to push on through, sometimes you'll get a second wind and feel revived. We generally try to not enter a second night, so if you start at 10am Saturday, and look to walk the route in 34 hours you'll finish at 8pm Sunday night, this is with your breaks included.

Most of us just walk from check point to check point, so usually between 5 and 10 miles for each leg and try not to linger to long on breaks as you'll cease up especially in the later stages of the walk, try to apply this to your route, take regular short breaks at your own check points you plan, with checkpoints you can tell yourself, right the next section is only 6 miles, it makes the whole walk much easier.

Surprisingly, 100 miles on a rather flat route is hard, hard on the thighs, so try and have a few climbs planned in the route to allow your legs to have an alternative workout. I do take painkillers but not until I need to. I use Boots Ibuprofen & Codine 12.5 mg, they work wonders.

One final thing, I try my best to keep my feet dry, at times this is not possible, so apply lots of Vaseline to your feet just before you set off, it acts as a water repellent. Try not to walk too fast this will cause you injuries or and blisters, keep the pace just above normal pace so you can get to the end before the second night.

If you have any questions or if I haven't covered everything just let me know

Jason

I use Bodyglide, it’s less greasy than Sudocreme as it’s silicone based. I use Sudocreme when I’ve finished as it really helps with healing and I think they advise against using Bodyglide on broken skin. 

Dave,

Sorry my fault I should have mentioned that walking pace was in kilometres.  My average mile walking pace is between 17-18 minutes.  Thanks for all the tips, I wish I was Scottish Hill-Fit but i'm a city dweller and so have to make do with mostly flat terrain.

Ah, good point. 100 miles at 11-minute km pace comes in at 29 and a half hours, so that could well be what the OP means. Plus it's only slightly quicker than a steady Naismith place, but without any significant ascent, so it ought to be feasible to maintain that over a fairly long period of time. Having said that, various celebrated early 20th-century strong walkers such as John Rooke Corbett, AW Wakefield and - particularly - Eustace Thomas - were capable of ploughing on at more than 5mph for lengthy periods, so it can be done.

Incidentally, on the recent LDWA Hadrian Hundred (100 miles), 293 of the 478 starters finished within the 48hr target time, and 21 of these got round in under 30 hours (including four women, one of whom came second, not that it was a race). The fastest time - an impressive 104 minutes ahead of second - was 22h 40m by Kevin Hoult. However the faster people would have been doing quite a lot of running - and, more to the point (as Jason/lone has noted above), the route went over the top of Cross Fell at night in foul weather!
https://www.ldwa.org.uk/lgt/downloads/2019Hundred/Hadrian_Hundred_Results_V...

On the preparatory Marshals' Hundred over the same route three weeks earlier, only three out of 28 finishers beat 30 hours, and no one got inside 29 hours:
https://www.ldwa.org.uk/lgt/downloads/2019Hundred/Hadrian_Hundred_Marshals_...

Thanks deepstar, I refuse to walk into central London on the tail end of a long walk!  That would be a nightmare to enter a smoggy bustling city when you're half dead!  Thank you for the tips and Inland Waterways key is a GEM!  I found with a huge breakfast I was able to walk for 5 hours without my first meal but regularly needed water.  Thanks again

Ta - posts crossed. That makes sense. Good luck as and when you try it - sounds like a great idea to me!
 

Correct, sorry for the confusion.  My average walking pace is between 17-18 minutes per mile

What a great story of tenacity, endurance and hope!  Hope; that most definitely transcends from the impossible over to regular beings like me.  In order for me to even consider a huge undertaking like that I would have to drop at least 10 kilos!

Thank you dread-I, I think it would be wise for me to bank a 100k first.  A few of you have mentioned race to the stones and I really like the sound of it.  After 60km I felt great, I think 100k is more than achievable

Yes 100 km is a good milestone to then go on to the 100 miles, but its still just over 60 km further to go which is a long way. Focus on the 100km for now, then best to see how you feel after the end of that distance. It'll be exciting planning the next big walk thereafter. 

You might want to pack a small mountain shelter and a fleece in case you need to crash somewhere for an hour or two, just being self sufficient will boost your chances of success.

Jason

I've done 100k nonstop a few times and 108 very hilly miles once in the Spine Flare race and I'm 62 yrs old. Regular food and drink are the key and variety of food is good. Get it done!

My hat off to you sir.  I find carb loading in the days approaching the event extremely beneficial and yes a variety always helps.  I find reducing my meat intake and avoiding starchy carbs stops me feeling bloated and sluggish, although that may just be my own physical issue.  Thanks Matt

Much appreciated Jason, some great advice here.  Over the weekend I was looking at the 'Arc’teryx Mens' shoe range for my next purchase after reading good things however the 'Montrails' seem a little more in my price range.

On a side note, do you have any advice on what I could do to either prevent or dramatically reduce the effects of cramping?  I regularly drink the Lucozade sport fitness water that has been purified and fortified with electrolytes along with bananas and seeds & nuts, I also drop a pinch of pink salt in my bottled water but I still on occasion seize up.  I eventually plough through and the pain dissipates until completely gone but it's so frustrating at times.

Thank you for your invaluable advice Jason.