I really enjoyed this event, and one thing that struck me was the ambiance. Many participants were having a crack at a 50 for the first time, many were not regular long distance walkers. There was a real atmosphere of great encouragement and support.

LDWA events are also very supportive, and I would say the checkpoints are probably superior to the checkpoints on this walk (although the 25 mile stop at Youlgreave provided a delicious meal, and there were bacon sandwiches being cooked in a bus shelter around the 45 mile point) - but perhaps LDWA events do not always manage to create the same level of encouragment, and support. I can't quite put my finger on what the missing ingredient is - because it is subtle - but experiencing the C4C ambiance caused me to reflect.

I was a marshall on this walk and its no fun stuck in a car park at bakewell for 7hrs without a pudding,I've done this walk twice and i feel embarrassed that this has happened,I had 8 who missed my checkpoint,i don't know if this was delliberate or not, concerning the water, it does say in the information to bring your own drink,and there are places along the way such as longshaw lodge, baslow , chatsworth garden center, youlgreave,and bakewell to resupply yourself at the shops during the hottest part of the day, and even towards the end at calver petrol station and grindleford.

I've had this before on other events and brought it up on the forum when I kept overtaking the same people. One of the reasons given was that they were following the GPS rather than the RD and they felt the RD wasn't comprehensive enough to trust at night. At the end of the day the challenge is to complete the distance following the RD unless it is a kanter event, and those deliberately deviating from the route are cheating. Short of putting surprise self clips everywhere I'm not sure how you would stop this completely. At the end of the day its on their conscience, but for me, over taking the same people had a very negative effect on me, as I was finding that particular walk hard at the time and it was soul destroying to think that everyone wasn't in the same boat and there were those who would get a certificate without actually doing the mileage.

Not the first time I have heard of or seen members shortcutting on events. This can cause organisers problems particularly where access over private land has been agreed. If you need to shortcut a 50 to get a 100 qualifier, what are the prospects of you finishing a 100, whether you shortcut the latter or not? Where is the personal achievement?
Another issue I have concern about is the practice (albeit isolated) I have seen on 100's (and other long events) whereby gear is loaded into a supporters car between checkpoints to reduce weight. What happens if an incident occurs? Are those of us who have carried the appropriate gear all the way round expected to bail them out?
Event rules are there for the benefit of all and should be adhered to. I don't support disqualification but how are these people who bend the rules to be stopped?

I took part in this Charity event which I understand has been run for a number of years but was only advertised in Strider this year because an LDWA member took part last year and this year could be used as a 100 qualifier. However I understand due to the actions of a few people on the event, it will not be advertised in Strider again nor will it be able to be used as a 100 qualifier as the organiser will no longer provide evidence of completion. This is because a number of LDWA members took shortcuts, I personally saw evidence of this twice.

On a brighter note, I felt the event was generally well run with a reasonably easy route description although following the route on the map was required in a couple of places. The only weakness was a shortage of water in the later stages which I understand was an oversight.