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24 hour 100km walk.

So I'm doing the Thames Path Challenge this saturday/sunday, aiming to walk 100km in under 24 hours for charity.

I've found the training OK (the weather has helped!) and I'm not as daunted by it as I thought I'd be. However, for all the information they've had me print off (about 55 pages), the actual advice they give for the actual day(s) is all very vague.

Was wondering if anyone on here has done anything similar and has any tips (aside from "put one foot in front of the other repeatedly")? Specifically, foods I should be eating on the go (as during training I've just been eating at stops). Nut's are off the menu, for the record.

But in general, any advice/things I may not have thought of, but will feel stupid for when I realise I haven't.

Thanks in advance for any help.

Luke

Comments

  • You are f###### mad. Can't you just get a travelcard ?
  • Eat bananas and mars bars and drink plenty of fluid, lucozade sport or something similar
  • Mr Happy - break it down into ten lots of 10k. Obvious, I know, but it will really help you to carry on when your legs have had it. All pretty flat but if you ever fancy something different, this one starts at sea level and finishes over 4000 ft on top of Cairngorm mountain. Through the night.
    http://www.wildheartsinaction.org/wolftrek/
    Good luck and let us know how you got on..
  • @Tavern did something like this over five days, the lazy get
  • Bear in mind you'll probably use between 7,000 and 10,000 calories, depending on weight and speed. Drink plenty of fluids, salt to avoid cramps, and glucose gels with caffeine will provide energy bursts - also light to carry. Jelly babies are my secret weapon - apparently each one will give you energy for 100 metres !!

    Best of luck.
  • The best food bar none for long distance walking (or any long outdoor activity) is honey sandwiches. They can be messy, but they deliver exactly the right sugar/carbohydrate combo.
  • edited September 2013
    Good luck, from what I've heard from mates these are tougher to endure than marathons.
  • lo fi said:

    Bear in mind you'll probably use between 7,000 and 10,000 calories
    .

    It doesn't sound so bad now !
  • Go to Morrisons and get sultana loaf cake. Cut it into slices and wrap them in cling film. I do this on bike rides - its absolutely perfect. Failing that, malt loaf is good too
  • High5 4:1 drink (4 parts carbs: 1 part protein) is bloody brilliant for any long distance endurance event.
    The carbs keep you going and the protein stops the muscles breaking down.
    Not sure where you're based Mr Happy but Bexley Bikes (in Bexleyheath) stock it, as do Sidcup Cycles and Evans Cycles. Best to get it online though as its cheaper (but realise this isnt an option for you with the time frame!)
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  • I'll second high5. Got me through the L2P and it goes in one of my bottles every time I go out on the bike. Very reasonably priced as well - especially online.
  • Afka he did 135 miles I'll have you know and it wasn't the Thames path which is flat. One hill lasted 7 miles... I know this as I've heard it a few times.

    Kendal mint cake gives you a sugar Boost. thats from the walkers i know as thay have that. Anyway I'll ask him to log on.
  • Curb_It said:

    Afka he did 135 miles I'll have you know and it wasn't the Thames path which is flat. One hill lasted 7 miles... I know this as I've heard it a few times.

    The lengths some blokes will go to for a few days peace and quiet :-)

  • Curb_It said:

    Afka he did 135 miles I'll have you know and it wasn't the Thames path which is flat. One hill lasted 7 miles... I know this as I've heard it a few times.

    The lengths some blokes will go to for a few days peace and quiet :-)

    Sorry B but I spat my tea out at that ;0)
  • Yes very droll!
  • Go to Morrisons and get sultana loaf cake. Cut it into slices and wrap them in cling film. I do this on bike rides - its absolutely perfect. Failing that, malt loaf is good too

    Was wondering about that as did a massive bike ride last week (completely unfit). Kept stopping for water and gatorade drinks, but unsure about what food would be good so thanks for the tip!

  • My soon to be brother in law did the London to Brighton 100km walk earlier this year up and over both the north and south downs.
    Remember to take plenty of clean socks
  • Curb_It said:

    Afka he did 135 miles I'll have you know and it wasn't the Thames path which is flat. One hill lasted 7 miles... I know this as I've heard it a few times.

    Kendal mint cake gives you a sugar Boost. thats from the walkers i know as thay have that. Anyway I'll ask him to log on.

    I think the mint cake is OK if you need a sudden burst of energy, but you can't depend on that alone over a long distance because you'll have too many fluctuations in your sugar levels. You need to take on some slower-burn fuel as well.
  • Cheers for all the advice (especially the bit about honey sandwiches!). Wish I'd asked sooner really, rather than leaving it til the last minute.

    Of course, right on cue, a mild gout attack has surfaced. Tomorrow is shaping up to be a right laugh.

    Cheers again, and will be back to tell the tale of my great triumph some point on Sunday.

    Oh, an should anyone be interested in the charity I'm walking for and donating a couple of quid, the page is www.justgiving.com/casualstroll

    I'm going to bed.
  • Have a great day tomorrow. I hope you've got a good sou'wester.
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  • Good Luck with today.
  • Hello again.

    First off, thanks so much to you, Mendonca In Asdas, for the donation. Means a lot.

    I finished in 21 hours and 22 minutes, which I was delighted with, as the most energetic thing I've done in the past ten years is probably run for (and miss) a bus.

    As for how the tips really did help - My honey sandwiches got stuck together to make one giant honey sandwich, which I devoured at the 75km rest point. There was free pick n mix and some of the stops, at which point I filled up several small bags with jelly babies... oh, and I didn't manage to find any of that High5 drink a couple of you mentioned, but it turns out they had it on tap at every rest point, so filled up a small bottle of it for every 12.5k or so.

    Aside from that, I arrogantly breezed through the first 50km without a care in the world (even went on sort of a date with a girl I've been seeing from 3km to 10 km), chatting to people, keeping friends and family updated etc... then it got dark and the route got horrible and I lost my ****ing mind. Wlaking along slippery, muddy, narrow paths in pitch black darkness, with my legs swaying everywhere, I'm amazed I didn't fall in the river at least once. It reached a point where I got so distressed I really couldn't see myself carrying on for another 10 hours or so. Also, it got incredibly misty, so even with the head torch on, all you could really see was mist.

    Luckily I had the sense at the 61km rest stop to tell someone who looked like they knew what they were doing that I was struggling, and asked it I could tag along with them. Thankfully they obliged.

    So the first 'wall' I hit was the mental one at just over halfway, then the second was a physical one at roughly 70k. All I could feel of my legs at that point was the pain in my knees when they moved. At that point I honestly didn't believe I would finish, but still kept carrying on... people tried to suggest that it was through determination, but I think at that point it was just force of habit.

    So much harder than I expected, yet somehow I managed it, and quicker than my target time. Also, only got one tiny blister. My back is absolutely killing me though!



  • Excellent. Well done Mr Happy.
  • Well done Mr Happy. I sponsored you as that's very impressive and you with a dodgy ticker and all. You must be well pleased with yourself.
    I want to do the 50k next year and wouldnt attempt the 100.
    Well done again.
  • Cheers Stig and thanks very much Curb_it.

    Including gift aid that's now £1177.50 raised, with about another £30 from collection tins still to go in and a few more weeks to go. So much more than I'd expected to raise!
  • edited September 2013
    Well done on the walk and the fund raising both of which are pretty impressive :-)
  • Well done you nutter !
  • Bloody hell - sounds immense Mr. Happy. Must be a great sense of achievement from getting close to quitting at one point... well done!
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