What a great night for walking on Saturday night of the 100 this year. Not only the lightshow of the storm surrounding us, but miles of laughing frogs too. Although I was suffering from sore feet, and had to retire at Hythe, I will remember that magical night.

Here is my poem ? and everyone can join in the ?Frog Chorus?:-

Marsh Frogs (LDWA Cinque Ports 100)

Frog Chorus

We don?t croak
No No No!
We are Marsh Frogs
And we go ?
QUACK QUACK QUACK!

Down by the ditch on a Saturday night
You will hear quacking, but not a duck in sight
All the Marsh Frogs who live in the reeds
Are having great fun, fulfilling their needs.

Chorus

This is the Marsh Frogs mating call
Down by the ditch they are having a ball
As the storm rumbles through the night
All the Marsh Frogs cry out with delight

Chorus

My feet are hurting as I walk by
But I am smiling as I hear their happy cry
I?m tired and weary after all day in the sun
So it?s good to know that someone?s having fun.

Chorus

We love the marsh and the ditch and the bog
We love the rain. We are Marsh Frogs

Chorus

Kathy Tytler May 2018

Many Thanks to the Kent LDWA for an exceptional event. This was my first 100 and I was amazed by the whole thing. Very well organised, an exceptional route and brilliant work by all marshalls at the checkpoints. The route was really fantastic, this is an area of the country I was not familiar with and to see some of the beautiful towns and countryside, just makes me want to go backhand explore more. The organisers can be very proud of their achievements.

The major highlight was that amazing electrical storm over Romney Marshes. It has to be one of the weirdest experiences of my life, a constant strobe-like flashing with a constant rumble of thunder, with the bizarre background sound of the laughing frogs! I have to admit I was quite scared walking into the marshes as I saw the storms rumbling around (I grew up in the Norfolk Broads and was always told never to go out in a Thunderstorm as I would be the tallest thing out there for the lightning to hit!!), but as soon as it was clear it wasn't reaching the ground, I could enjoy the surealness of it all. Other highlights were there amazing start, Rye, the giraffes near Lympne castle (I wondered if I was having early hallucinations at first!) , the breakfast at Hythe, the coastal stretch near Folkestone and the harbour, Deal and a couple of beautiful sunsets (at Chapel Hill and from Deal to Sandwich) all of it basically!

Of course there were low points with the physical and mental challenges that the 100 brought, the draining humid heat of the days, leaving my walking partner for 50 miles Lucasz to sleep at Hythe, the killer section between Folkestone and Dover, the decent (after a lot of assent) and then back up to the redoubt was very cruel indeed!! Getting lost in Dover Warren, having the weird experience of seeing no-one between Dover and St Margarets when I became marooned between two groups 15 mins either side of me (I kept asking my confused self where the other 500 people had gone!), leaving Deal and completely losing all pace, wandering slowly along the seafront (I have to thank the runner Steven who paced me back into Sandwich as I was having real problems at that point). The high of finishing erased any low moments completely!

Overall the big thing was the camaraderie amongst all competitors, everyone helping and wanting everyone to finish. When someone was in trouble ahead to take time to ask if they were ok It was clear after the super hot first day, that finishing would be a very tough task for everyone, but the encouragement given by the competitors and the marshalls at the checkpoints was amazing. As we all entered the checkpoints bewildered and confused the marshalls made sure we were ok and had everything we needed in terms of food and drink to proceed, all of them were brilliant.
I now look forward to the Hadrian Hundred!

I too would like to thank the Kent group for a memorable 100 experience in 2018. I can only imagine just how hard they all worked and as for the number of personal hours that went into making this event such a success.....thousands surely. I was part of a privileged team who worked on the Hythe breakfast stop and also the finish on the marshals event. We were tired at the end so the Kent stalwarts must have been exhausted but justifyably proud of their efforts. A 'soft' 100? Not on your life! There is surely no such thing as you still have to walk a hundred miles! I'm not sure that was Oil Seed Rape we were walking through.....I'm convinced it was armies of triffids sent to thwart our progress. As for the frogs....I caught myself singing that annoying Paul McCartney frog chorus song over and over....... . My thanks to everyone who helped us along the way. The checkpoint people were beyond wonderful and the food and drink superb throughout. To be applauded into each checkpoint and have my every need seen to was amazing. Thanks to the gentleman at Deal who sorted me out when I was overheated and to the kind walker who reunited me with my walking pole at the end when I had dropped it on the final leg in one of those endless rape fields. We waited at the end to see the rest of our Essex and Herts team come in to the finish and wasn't it lovely to see the Kent chairman personally welcoming and congratulating every walker? Well done Kent!

Thank you Kent Group for the thousands of hours you must have spent to eventually arrive at the final 100 route. The route was certainly what it says on the tin, challenging. You should be proud of yourselves,
I must also thank all the volunteers for giving up their weekend to be at the various checkpoints. By breaking up the 100 into stages helped us get round in what I found demanding weather conditions.
Well done to those who completed the walk and commiserations to those who retired. I know the feeling having retired on the Dorset 100. There's always next year to look forward to

Thank you Kent group and all the other groups and people for all your hard work in delivering such an incredible event. There were so many highlights, to many to list here, and the inevitable lowlights, dodgy tummy, sore feet, sore bits, and the Leans by the time I got to Deal (my apologies to the Deal checkpoint I forgot my Black Tie) which strangely had gone by the finish and came back about 30 mins later and stayed for a couple of days.

The greeting at the finish was so overwhelming I forgot the pain and was reduced to tears. An event I will never forget, Thank you

Well done to all participants who survived the hundred. Given the conditions, I feel grateful that I was able to complete my first hundred event and still have a smile on my face.
I wish to add my thanks to Kent, you did the LDWA proud. To the other groups on the CPs, many thanks for looking after me along the way, particularly the lady at Folkstone who gave me a compeed for yet another blister...
The food was great; Surrey did me proud with baked beans, then there was possibly the best porridge I have ever eaten at Hythe, and many slices of homemade cake and sweet goodies in between.
It was wonderful to be greeted at the end by Graham Smith, Mike Headley, Mary and many other members of the LDWA who have been so friendly and welcoming since I joined the organisation two years ago. Thank you all for your encouragement and support.

I, like everyone so far, would like to pass on my thanks to the Kent group for putting on a great event. I know personally how much time, effort and commitment the group put into making this possible and am pleased that it all went well. As a first timer to 100 events I don't think it could have gone better with a great route, stunning views and well supported checkpoints with volunteers that make the LDWA what it is.
Well done to all involved.

Many thanks Kent Your choice of route which inspired Me to do another 100 and it certainly didnt disappoint. The support was always there at each rest stop and food and facilities spot on. The Gypsey Tart was not what I expected!
Thank you for team with lively music and disco light out in the middle of the Marsh. Combined with the thunder and light show it made for a relaxing hour strolling to the beat

Many thanks Kent Your choice of route which inspired Me to do another 100 and it certainly didnt disappoint. The support was always there at each rest stop and food and facilities spot on. The Gypsey Tart was not what I expected!
Thank you for team with lively music and disco light out in the middle of the Marsh. Combined with the thunder and light show it made for a relaxing hour strolling to the beat

Thank you very much to the Kent LDWA and all the volunteers not just for your hard word, organising such a brilliant event, but for all your kindness and support. It?s what makes LDWA events so special and from a selfish perspective, it?s what gets me to the finish! For me it?s the difference between I can?t go on and actually maybe I can.

Thank you to everyone who gave up their time in organising and running this event. It was my first 100, having been a goal for over 2 years. It was as challenging and hard as I expected, and wouldn't have been as rewarding had it not been so! I did wonder on route if the spectacular light display closely followed by the human attacking plants was some sort of Triffid re-enactment.

Yes to also hearing the frogs, cuckoos, spotting a fox and a lesser spotter woodpecker. But my personal highlight was finding £1.05 on the descent down to Dover. Almost made the pain of bending down to reach the coins worth the reward! Thank you again everybody and see you again.

Thank you to all involved, both in the planning and on the weekend itself. Real camaraderie at the checkpoints, and a well-deserved welcome for the finishers.

Sadly, I'm now now branded as a potential politician, a widely broadcast manifesto pledge not to do any more 100s having turned out to be an alternative fact.

Thanks to all for the wonderful welcome, support and encouragement, especially from those with whom I've worked on previous 100s - quite humbling, really. If you haven't helped on one of these events yet, do it - you'll never regret being part of it and will make some great friends. Congratulations to the new baggage team; a massive job done really well, despite the odd dyslexic blip. The range of food options on offer at each CP was really good and whatever you felt you needed at the time was nearly always available :) Not so sure about the ginger beer - not now that I've been introduced to the real stuff, (thanks D & M!) - and it really hit the spot.

Memories? My hide must be thicker than average, as the detestable oilseed rape didn't scratch - but what a pain! Walking towards the storms concentrated the mind - an amazing pyrotechnic display - thankfully, only the edge of it clipped us. Frogs amazing. Good to hear the cuckoo and I heard green woodpeckers twice, though couldn't spot them.

Thank you to Kent Group for organising, and all the volunteers at the checkpoints without whom a Hundred would not happen. Especially for Staffs Group at Deal who let me lie down for an hour to recover and encourage me to continue. Further dehydration hit me in the last 2 miles to the finish, with a couple of stumbles, and the dreaded staggers ! Hung on to complete in 33 hours, age 72, my third and final 100 completion.

I can only echo my thanks to Kent and the other groups for their hard work in putting on this event. I am in awe of the organisational skills!
My special thanks, though, must go to the kind lady at CP12 St Margaret's who tended my sore feet. I was close to retiring, but after some TLC and encouragement to 'get to the next checkpoint' I continued and went on to finish my first 100.
Thank you!

A big thank you to the kind souls from North Yorkshire at Sandwich checkpoint who very kindly allowed me use of an inflatable bed for a much needed power nap during the second nights travails. Without this and a few more naps during the second night I could not have completed my first and, at 73 years of age, probably my last 100. However..........................!!!

More thanks to everyone involved from me. A delightful route through unfamiliar (to me) country. Highlights must be the thunderstorm, the cacophonous frogs and walking into the night on the shingle bank from Deal towards Sandwich- the full moon reflected on the sea and the gentle breaking of waves on the shore. A mystical moment.
Well those things and the food, obviously, of which I took full advantage. How come I'm still hungry?

Yes - a definite Thank You to all involved in organising the event and running the checkpoints (with particular mention to Checkpoint 7 for helping me out when I was not feeling very good). And also Thanks to the various people I ended up walking with. A great first 100.

I "discovered" ginger beer on last year's 100. I agree it should always be provided on every long distance walk!

Memories from CP100 that will linger are a frog chorus throughout in the reeds / ditches & a huge sun setting on the approach to Lydd . An amazing lightning display overnight that went on for hours : in the flatlands either side of Dymchurch you could see it for miles inland & out to sea , at times so bright it lit up the way ahead for several hundred yards even in the middle of fields . I encountered four urban foxes as I was leaving Folkestone & recall hearing a couple of cuckoos . And as for the ?man eating crops? criss crossing the route at head height or more in multiple places ... heading out of Dymchurch in a huge field of rapeseed on a very unobvious ?path?  I got tangled up in these knotted crops & couldn?t go forwards or backwards , I had to kick & bash ( & swear !) my way out ? those that came in when I'd finished all had scrape marks on legs & arms . And as for the heat & humidity ... I've never drunk so much on an event ... the ginger beer in particular was inspired & a ?must have? on future 100s . For me the best dishes were pasta at Appledore , rhubarb & custard at St Margaret's & Porridge with honey in Hythe .

Credit to all who finished in such humid & bone hard underfoot conditions . Thanks to those at Kent Group involved with the hugely successful staging of CP100 & those who helped out on the day / night of the event for making such a memorable weekend . The LDWA at its best !

...and all the other groups who worked so hard to make the Cinque Ports 100 happen.
For a purely personal thumbs-up, I thought the checkpoint food variety was the best I?ve ever had on a long walk. Decent sandwiches, sausage rolls etc on the early checkpoints means that I carried half a tonne of food which was not neede on voyage. Next time I?ll pack some spare feet instead!