James Elson: Final NDW100 2012 recce and conf. of course/ date

It's official. In 2012 the NDW100 will run 100 miles point to point from Farnham in the West to the village of Wye in the East. The NDW50 course will remain the same as 2011 but there will be no marathon distance run in 2012. The date for the races is the 11th/ 12th August 2012. Once again the courses will be marked, aid stations fully stocked and medical support extremely prevalent.

In one other change the 50/ 100 mile will have one additional checkpoint in 2012, in Mersham between the 31.8 mile Reigate Hill aid and the 43 mile Botley Hill aid. This has been put in to break up the 11.2 mile stretch which is just a little too far in the August heat for a race designed with an emphasis on supporting runners.

The total number of aid stations will be 7 for the 50 including the finish and 14 for the 100 again including the finish, with both therefore averaging around 7 miles between each aid station. That is getting closer to my magic number of 16 aid stations for our 100s.

I ran the final stretch of the NDW100 course today, from Hollingbourne to Wye, before meeting with the parish clerk to go over our finish line details. At the moment we have two possible finish areas under discussion for the 100, both within 500 yards of one another in the centre of Wye and the exact location will be announced following the Ashford Borough Councils decision.

I was delighted to find the last 14 miles of the 100 mile, very much easier going than the preceeding 86. There are sections of single track trail, paths carving through open fields, through woods and even orchards/ strawberry fields plus a few short stretches of road. But the over-riding fact is that the majority of the climb and descent is over by the time you hit Hollingbourne at mile 86.

In my honest opinion? I think the 2012 course will be a little faster than the 2011 course. The difficult stretch from Otford to Hollingbourne, especially in the heat, will be a lot for some to take, but make it to the mid 80s and you are (relatively) home and dry.... Final stats on total climb will be published with registration.

There is one final permission we are awaiting from Knockholt Pound Parish Council tomorrow, to be able to use the Common once again for a 50 mile aid station and finish point, but otherwise registrations will go live by Friday 7th October.

My apologies to those marathon runners disappointed in that particular event being dropped, however logistically it tied my hands as a race director too tight this year. It also stretched our medical team and aid station crews who were static for a very long time during the race, indeed Henk and his crew at Puttenham were in situ for 31 hours in the end. It will mean we are able to focus our efforts entirely on the 50 and 100 mile runners and that has always been my main intention. That is not to say the marathon will not be back in the future, but for now it is taking a leave of absence. There are many other excellent marathon distance choices on the NDW at other times throughout the year for those hungry for more.

Questions about the course, timings etc can be sent to me but all should be answered on the new webpages that will go live with registrations this week. Hopefully see you on the NDW in 2012!

Some of todays shots: