Beverley Walkers Complete Gruelling 100 Mile Challenge

This year the Long Distance Walkers’ Association 100 mile challenge walk took place in Scotland – the objective being to complete the set route within a continuous 48-hour period. Two Beverley Athletic Club members, David Williams and Mike Atkins, took up the challenge and set off from Dunkeld with 450 others to the obligatory swirl of the pipes.

The first 35 miles and 5,000 feet of climbing passed easily on forest tracks and over heather moor land through a typical Scottish drizzle though with no sightings of the promised osprey. As darkness fell, feet were beginning to blister and route-finding was becoming difficult, but we were still on target for a 36-hour finish.

However, on leaving Calvin at 42 miles it started to rain as it can only rain in Scotland. Three hours later as we set off across the Grampian Mountains, the rain thankfully reduced to downpour status. Still on schedule we passed the Errochty dam on to a section of the route described as “difficult”. It was in fact a 3 mile slog and penetration of a peat bog, enhanced by the current downpour, and with no defined tracks. Promised was a fence that, once found, could be followed for the next 2 miles for ease of navigation.

We found the fence but the first section was almost vertical peat and heather terrain ascending 800 feet in just over half a mile. So difficult was it that the person in front of us collapsed into the mud at the top and, by the first-finder rule, became our responsibility. With the force-feeding of mint cake and jelly babies he regained consciousness after 15 minutes and 10 minutes later was able to stand. Incredibly slowly we progressed to the next checkpoint some 3 miles distant at Kinloch Rannoch and breakfasted in the comfort of the local school.

By now the Samaritans’ schedule was shot, feet were even more painful, and too long was spent in recovery mode at the checkpoint. The next section was across the base of Schiehallion, followed by a 3-mile stretch of heather, bog and general swamp to a Land Rover track and an easy descent to Fortingall. The easy descent was compromised by the local landowner refusing access for part of the route, necessitating a 4-mile detour. The 100-mile event had stretched to 104 miles.

At 75 miles both schedule and feet were in tatters and the objective now was just to finish, thus for the next 29 miles our pace degenerated to fit the allowed time.

Crossing the Tay Forest and dropping down to a riverside path we arrived at Aberfeldy and the final 18 miles followed a waymarked cycle track (no cyclists – probably because of the steepness) to the finish at Dunkeld.

One section at 90 miles ascended 1450 feet in just 4 miles. Then, almost finally, we descended to the 100 mile mark knowing that with the earlier detour we still had 4.5 miles to go. The extra mileage at this stage of an event is both character-building and brutal.

But finally we arrived back at Dunkeld and a euphoric finish after 45 hours and 59 minutes of effort, with vows never to attempt another LDWA 100 challenge. Well, not until next year maybe. Perhaps other club members would like to join us?

This was David’s second 100-mile challenge event and Mike’s eleventh.

453 people started the event and 346 finished.

First to finish was Gary Attewell in 24 hours 37 minutes and the first lady was Julie Ewers in 30 hours 13 minutes.

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