100 miles in 48 hours, organised by West Yorkshire LDWA Group
We were supposed to be on holiday, but a last minute change of plan meant that we had a free weekend, so we thought we ought to offer to help out – to experience life on the other side of the check-in desk, so to speak. So it was, that at 7a.m. on Saturday (another early start) we were helping to check people in. I had never even considered the possibility that I would do a ‘hundred’ but seeing all those familiar faces made me think again. (If they can do it then Im sure I could!). Ann wasnt so sure, but then she did suffer from most of her toenails falling off after she did the Cleveland Classic (60m) a few years ago.
There has been a lot of discussion (i.e. complaint) in Strider about the organisation of the annual Hundreds, and we started to get a little concerned as people repeatedly asked us difficult questions like "where is there a telephone" and "where are the toilets". I could almost hear those pens scratching as they wrote to Strider to complain that the "organisers" didnt know these things. Several people asked about kit checks and I was able to explain that (sensibly) there was no check at the start, but that there would be a ‘random’ check around the route. As to what kit was required, this was another question that I was, embarrassingly, unable to answer immediately, though I did manage to find a kit list, and it was all sensible stuff. Not for this event were there any peculiar requirements, as there are on one local 60m event, for the torch lens to be not less than a certain diameter; and for a certain weight of food to be carried. One person asked me if he had to wear a number – a question which amused me because I, myself, have resisted pressure from my fell-running friends by stating, categorically, that I would never do an event where you had to wear a number.
Our checking-in stint over, we drove to Horton-in Ribblesdale to do our own bit of exercise – a contra-flow run of a section of the route. We got some puzzled looks, but we explained to one enquirer that this was a radical new concept in "sweeping" the route.
Our second stint was checking-in finishers at 5a.m. on Monday. Im not sure that we werent superfluous, there were so many people fighting to be allowed to do the 5a.m. slot. There were, of course, the inevitable enquires along the lines of "has Bob finished yet", which were a little difficult to answer without a surname or walk number to go on. And a lost property / kit return point would have been useful to match up the walkers who had lent their waterproofs, torches etc. with those who had borrowed them. Of the finishers, I was horrified to see that one girl’s toenails had all gone completely black. Then Ann pointed out to me that it was just dark blue nail varnish.
It is, perhaps, presumptive of me to offer comment (being neither an entrant, nor an organiser, but just a mere ‘helper’) but the main aspect of the event which struck me – and impressed me – was that it was almost indistinguishable from a ‘normal’ event. I mean that as a great compliment to the organisers – no silly rules about kit, or checkpoint opening times; same start time for everyone; no grandiose start or finish ceremonies; no trophies; just what seemed, to me at any rate, to be a very smoothly run operation.
I almost feel inspired to do a ‘hundred’ now. The trouble is that it is a terribly long way. Still, it will probably be another ten years before there’s a Dales 100 again. Plenty of time to get in some training.
David Gibson & Ann Whilding