The end May Bank Holiday weekend = time for the annual LDWA 100 miler, one of my absolute highlights of the year! Actually, in Scotland, this isn't a bank holiday, a fact which I realised only a few weeks ago, resulting in a frantic booking of time off work and rearranging things. Andrew and I got a flight down to London on Friday afternoon, and made our way over on the trains to Ipswich, where we had a blue bunkhouse (aka Travelodge) picnic, and catch up with Alan.
Saturday morning, after breakfast, we caught the #300 park and ride bus from Ipswich over to Rushmere St Andrew, where the event HQ was based at Ipswich School Sports Centre. Got there just in time to see my Auntie, cousin Sammy, Elaine and Andy, and the 10am start set off, along with a fabulous samba band!
We then had a couple of hours before our start at 12pm. This left plenty of time for faffing, seeing Ed Sheeran (from Framlington, on the route) model some merch, packing and re-packing bags, checking the kit list, more faffing, a snack, 2 cups of tea, more faffing, several safety wees, and catch ups with friends. It’s incredible how quickly 2 hours can go by, when you think you're already all ready to go!
Soon enough, the 12pm start came around, and about 50 of us set off. The first section headed north out of Rushmere St Andrew for 7.2 miles, some along the Fynn Valley Walk, past the 16th century Witnesham Hall, and through countryside, to first CP at Barham Green. Here, Alan invented a new ultra running drink - coffee dregs (caffeine, left over in his cup from the start) mixed with squash (sugar).
Thus energised by this new discovery, we set off to tackle stage 2; 8.3 miles to Crowfield. This section started through some beautiful plantations, and I sustained my first injury after an unprovoked attack by a particularly big and mean bramble. The route then went through the parkland of Shrubland Hall; a grade 2 listed Georgian mansion built in 1770, and used a location in the James Bond film Thunderball.
Soon after, we went by the Retreat East Spa and its willow cow....where some of Married At First Sight was filmed.
With a lack of any proposals, we pushed on, to see my Auntie and Sammy, and had a lovely catch up.
On to the next CP at Coddenham (during Roman occupation, the largest settlement in Suffolk) – for cream cheese and cucumber sandwiches, and mini jammy dodgers!
Shortly after setting off on the 9.4 miles to Brandeston, we spotted a chicken.
On the subject of animals, I had earlier on swallowed a fly, which prompted us to try to remember the order of the Lady Who Swallowed A Fly rhyme, and we spent the rest of the run trying to collect all the animals in order. “Spider” was tricky (luckily) but after a few hours of trying, we decided that running through a spiders web would count, and then the rest of the animals were easier to come by.
We ran on past Helmington Hall and it’s obelisk….
….and on to CP3 at Brandeston Village Hall, to see Dave and Merriam and have a kit check. This entails pulling out a ping ping pong ball from a bag, and then finding whichever item is written on the ping pong ball from your bag. Mine was a “warm upper layer”, which inexplicably had worked it’s way right to the bottom of my (carefully, and several times repacked) bag, and was the last thing I pulled out! To celebrate passing the kit check, we had some leek and potato soup and a roll, which was delicious.
The next section was 8.1 miles to Kettleburgh, and went by the 12th century Framlington castle, which was looking magnificently atmospheric and imposing rising up the other side of the mere. The first self clip was in the castle grounds - success! There was even a funfair and music to add to the occasion, but we skipped any rides, which looked suitably vomit inducing, as both Alan and I had been struggling a bit with funny tummies and I was feeling a bit sick.
Still, onwards and upwards! And along to Kettleburgh, where the kettle was on...
...and I had a pizza crumpet – which I approached with some trepidation what with feeling a bit sick, but after the first mouthful felt instantly better. I will refuse now to eat a crumpet in any other way then having pizza sauce and melted cheese on top!
Feeling rejuvenated, we set off on the 5.3 miles to the next CP at Parham Moat Farm. We passed some crinkle crankle walls on this section, which are structural walls built in a serpentine shape, and originally are from Ancient Egypt, but also made their way to Suffolk.
The CP at Parham Moat Farm was in a barn and was spectacular – tables laden with a giant buffet and decorated with fairy lights and bunting – it could easily have been a wedding we’d walked in to (albeit with some slightly dishevelled looking guests).
The next part was about 5 miles through some farmland and woods, to Stratford St Andrew, and then 6.4 miles (past some dragons!) to Knodishall Village Hall. I was feeling sick again. I knew the breakfast checkpoint was coming up next, and all I could think about to eat that wasn’t making me feel sick at the thought of, was a bacon sandwich. Strictly speaking, as (sort of) a vegetarian (but not really), I don’t eat bacon. And having run past lots of free range and very cute pigs during the day, I really shouldn’t have been thinking about eating bacon at all. As it got dark, and I was feeling worse and worse, I decided at some point on the 3.3 miles to Leiston and the breakfast stop, that if a bacon sandwich helped me get through the night, I would have it, and worry about feeling guilty the next day. So I had it, and it was amazing (thank you East Lancs/ Irregulars groups!), and I felt much better. With a few guilty pangs, but also feeling refreshed by a baby wipe shower and a change of top, we set off into the night, with the lights of the Sizewell B nuclear power plant shining in the darkness.
It had been raining on and off for a few hours by then, but nothing like as bad as the forecast had looked like it was going to be. The night wasn’t too bad, and a combination of using the route description and the GPS meant we didn’t get lost at all, save for a couple of wrong turns which we realised quite quickly.
The next section was 5.7 miles to Aldeburgh, going past a windmill and the “house in the clouds” – this is actually a water tank, constructed by Braithwaite Engineering Company of London in 1923, to provide a water supply for nearby Thorpeness (the original Butlins from 1912!). Thorpeness Estates decided to disguise what was an unsightly structure on the skyline, and Glencairne Stuart Ogilvie, F. Forbes Glennie and H. G Keep came up with the design of disguising it as a house in the trees – so from miles around, it looks like a cottage lodged high up in the tree tops! Unfortunately, it was dark when we went past, so all we could see were lights in the windows. The next few miles were along the coast. The coast in this part of the country I think is wonderful, and I was really sad that we were there in the dark and didn’t get to see it. There was a section along a shingle beach, which probably wasn’t very far, but felt like forever, and then happily back on to a path. Soon after, was the Scallop Shell Sculpture – which is by Maggi Hambling, and is a tribute to Benjamin Britten, who was an Aldeburgh resident, and into Aldeburgh we went for the next CP. I was feeling sick again, but most of the checkpoints seemed to have melon slices/ tinned fruit/ peaches/ rice pudding - which was perfect! So I was managing to eat things like that quite well.
From here, we had 9.2 miles to go to Sudbourne, along the Sailor’s Path and past Snape Maltings and the Snape Maltings Concert Hall, which was established by Benjamin Britten, and opened by the Queen in 1967.
From Sudbourne, we set off on the 8.4 miles to Butley, going through Orford and it’s beautiful castle, and then on to the next section of 6.5 miles, which went through Rendlesham Forest and the UFO! In 1980, unexplained lights were spotted in the skies just outside of RAF Woodbridge (at the time being used by the United States Air Force), which were reported to be a UFO/ a hoax/ the nearby Orfordness Lighthouse/ a fireball which occurred at the time/ bright stars. The mystery has remained unsolved for 45 years, and no further sightings were seen….
.....until the nights of 24th and 25th May 2025 when 500 or so unexplained lights (inexplicable both for anyone watching, and also for the people/aliens wearing the headtorches, who at over 77 miles in were in a general state of confusion) were seen snaking through the forest…….and the evidence of a UFO is clear for all to see! .
We arrived at the Hollesley Village Hall CP pleased as (a Suffolk) punch (pony) with our UFO bagging! Time to refocus, and now the route turned inland, for the 3.1 miles to Shotisham, through farm land and along sandy tracks. I loved the route, but I was getting tired of running along sandy tracks a lot (but then I was in Suffolk, so knew that would be the case, so I can’t complain too much, but I will complain just a bit, of course).
From Shotisham we set off for the next part, to Sutton Hoo (a 6th and 7th century cemetery and Anglo Saxon ship burial site). I was hoping for giant ships and helmets, treasure and drama, but in reality, it looked like some mounds of earth in the early morning sunshine. Which was a bit deflating, but I soon perked up on seeing some deer, and even more so on arriving at the next CP which was manned by the ever lovely North Yorkshire LDWA group, who had smiles and treats (chocolate puddings!) galore, and even tropical deck chairs to have a rest in.
The next section was a little one, through a plantation and the down and along the River Deben, to the Sea Scout Hut at Woodbridge….
….another bit along the river, a bonus hill, then back to the river path, some wiggly bits....
....a bonus checkpoint to down the last of our coke and some jelly babies – some sugar for the last push! The last CP was at Little Bealings, where, with a big hug from David, we launched off on the final 2.4 miles to the end (up a flight of stairs!), back at Ipswich School Sports Centre.
An absolutely brilliant event put on by the LDWA, as always! This year, the Norfolk and Suffolk group organised it, and different groups from around the country were manning each checkpoint and managing everything behind the scenes. As usual, the care and love all the way round from all the volunteers was amazing - I'm always bowled over by it. Thank you so much indeed!
And thank you Alan for putting up with me for 101.8 miles and 19 pages of (excellent) route description - we did it!!! And 23 hours and 36 minutes is an LDWA PB for both of us!
