Centurion Running South Downs Way 100. 12th June. Time allowed 30 hours.
When I finished the Thames Path 100 in September 2020 I said “never again”. So two weeks later I had duly signed up for the South Downs Way 100. As my wife Caroline said “Are you mad! Up and down as well as the distance! If you really want to, go for it!”
The preparation for the SDW100 was going to be different compared to the Thames Path. For one thing we now had a puppy who seemed to take up a lot of time (and needed someone to stay home a lot of the time). Added to this covid regulations were easing so I was back in the office more often meaning more time commuting rather than running. We were also waiting for a hip operation for Caroline so a backup crew plan was needed. The biggest worry was that my wingman, Budgie, was going through a tough time with injuries and health issues – so not only was I running solo, I might not have his ever dependable weird sense of humour to lift me.
I was using the race as a fundraiser for Cure Parkinsons, and the amount raised before the race had just gone over £800 which was great.
Fast forward to the evening of the race. We parked the campervan in the Matterley Bowl next to Cheesefoot Head, near Winchester. The start was to be from the impressive festival venue rather than Winchester itself due to covid restrictions. It was great to see everyone prepping for the race. We gave nervous grins and wished each other good luck. The weather forecast looked as though the next 48 hours would be scorching. The rolling start was from 4.30 (for the elites) through to 6am (for those built for comfort rather than speed). Due to the expected temperatures I had brought my start time forward from 6am to 5am – depending on toilet queues!
After a slightly restless night the alarm went off at 4am, which gave me plenty of time to get my race kit together, retrieve my drinks from the fridge (and boy, would that fridge come in handy), take my parkie meds and get to the loos early.
Just before 5am I joined the queue for my number bib and, new for this year, live tracker which was taped to my running pack. I had used my own tracker for the Thames Path which had made life a lot easier for Caroline as she knew when to be at the next checkpoint and when I was likely to appear.
We had to do two laps of the bowl, but they were on different levels so you could see the runners ahead of you winding their way up the hillside before heading out onto the South Downs Way. There was lots of banter being exchanged as everyone was relieved to get underway. I quickly adopted my race strategy of walking anything resembling a slope, and using my poles for the steeper stuff.
My plan (you know, the thing that goes to pot as soon as you meet the enemy) was to aim for 6km/hour which should get me to the finish in about 27 hours. However, I knew that the afternoon was going to be really hot so I aimed to get to Queen Elizabeth Country Park quicker than that, putting some time in the bank for when I had to travel slower in the heat later in the day.
After passing by the aid station at Beacon Hill and through Exton it was already getting hot early in the day, especially with the amount of climbing to do over Old Winchester Hill, where the race photographer had cunningly located himself at the top of the climb, and Butser Hill.
We negotiated our way past some cows before grabbing some water from the tap at Meon Springs. I was carrying 2 litres of fluid in the form of Tailwind in my pack. It made it heavier but that was a price I was willing to pay knowing the heat we would be facing later.
I arrived at QE Park (22.6 miles) an hour ahead of schedule, just in time to meet Budgie and the tri club doing their training session (“to maximise the cheering crowd” as Budgie put it). It was great to see them, but couldn’t stop for long as I had a date with a finish line at Eastbourne.
Caroline (who was being ably assisted by Hannah, my youngest) was waiting with fresh socks (I’d picked up a thorn somewhere) and a cotton triangle soaked in water to tie round my neck, fresh out of the fridge – bliss!
From the bottom field at QE Park the route swung uphill to the back of the park and then along the road towards Harting Down (27.2 miles) for a quick drink topup from Caroline. The sun was now high in the sky, which was filled with paragliders. The views to the north were stunning.
As I neared the aid station at Cocking (35.1 miles) I was greeted at the cafe by Nigel and Linda from the Tri club who treated me to a much needed ice lolly. It was great to get the surprise support.
Caroline was waiting for me at the aid station with fresh drinks, a cold damp cotton triangle and a jug of water which went straight over my head – more bliss!
After leaving Cocking it was another climb over Heyshott Down and Graffham Down with the masts at Glatting Beacon coming into view. The sky was clearing and the heat was rising – it was definitely warm work.
As I was heading down to cross the A285 at Littleton Farm there were two people waving at me. Becks and Steve (more Tri club support) were bearing gifts in the shape of 2 litres of water – most of which went over my head!
It was another steep climb up to Glatting Beacon and Bognor Hill. I was trying to maintain a sensible pace in the heat with the odd jog along the downhill sections. The track underfoot was rock hard so the feet were taking a pounding in my trail shoes. After crossing the A29 the trail dropped down to Houghton Farm aid station (45 miles) where I met Caroline again. There were several runners sitting at the aid station receiving treatment for the heat (and quite a few quit there as well).
After crossing the Arun (oh it was sooo tempting to have a swim) it was another climb past the Amberley Museum and then a trundle along the ridge to the crew point which was the half-way mark at Kithurst Hill (50.1 miles). Apart from meeting Caroline, I was also picking up my first pacer, Kate. In the run up to the race even though Budgie was on the mend he was in no shape to repeat his epic achievement of the Thames Path and run the full second 50 miles with me. Luckily some friends had come to the rescue. Kate (and her husband Jim) got me into mountain marathons and triathlons in the first place. It was great to have some company for a change, and she helped distract me from the heat and foot pain. We passed a large cattle trough where another runner was dipping a foot in to cool down.
“Are you doing lengths?” I asked
“If it wasn’t so dirty I’d climb in!” came the reply.
We dropped into Washington (54 miles) where I changed my shoes, socks and t-shirt. Leaving Washington Kate handed over to Martin who would stay with me until Devil’s Dyke.
By now it was harder going. The heat had really sapped my strength, even with drinking lots of tailwind. I think the pounding on my feet was getting me down too (oh for some mud!). It was like running on cobbled roads. The sun was starting to set but it was still really hot. Martin did his best to lift my spirits and our schoolboy sense of humour was piqued by the houses at Annington with signs outside saying “rear entrance”. Cue schoolboy sniggers.
The sunset was absolutely stunning. We slightly lowered the tone by singing gang show songs as we closed in on Devil’s Dyke. On the way we helped another runner pass by some frisky cows as she was really nervous about them. Just as the daylight ended we arrived at Devil’s Dyke (65.7 miles) where I was swapping Martin for Budgie. After a bit of footcare due to a hotspot under the ball of my foot, we trotted off into the darkness towards the aid station at Saddlescombe (66.6 miles).
It was still really hot and I was definitely feeling under par. It was a bit of a route march with not a lot of jogging, but we were still on track to beat the cut-off. After a while we stopped in the middle of nowhere and turned off our torches. The stars were absolutely dazzling. It was great to spend some time again with the loon that is my training buddy.
We met Caroline again at the Jack and Jill windmills. I was wobbling a bit by that point as I could not cool down, and I nearly threw up the ibuprofen she gave me for my foot pain. I think she was a bit concerned as she’d never seen me like that. It was offset by the news from my sister that the fundraising was now over £1000! We took it slowly from there past Ditchling Beacon onto the aid station at Housedean Farm (76.6 miles). It was around there that the night finally began to cool and I started to feel normal again. Or what I class as normal anyway! We started to pick up the pace again and the sky began to brighten, revealing a temperature inversion as we rose up the hillsides above the clouds.
After swinging through the aid station at Southease (84 miles) we headed to the next handover at Bo Peep (89 miles). My next pacer, Paul, was starting to regret his decision to volunteer as by that point I was feeling pretty good and ran down the hill towards him at top speed to wind him up. There are several steep climbs on the last section as we dip down into the lovely villages of Alfriston (91.6 miles) and Jevington (95.7 miles) with big hills between them.
Climbing the last hill out of Jevington takes us past the trig point which leads to the gully down into Eastbourne.
Having yomped down the gully it was then a couple of miles of pavement pounding into town to get to the Sports Park, where we were met by my family and the pacers who wanted to join me at the finish. However, there was still a lap of the track to do. And so I gave it all that I had left to try and sprint the final 400 meters to the finish. Didn’t do badly in the end but Paul was questioning whether a drugs test was needed. As I came into the park my sister gave me a flag she’d had made – and it was great to carry it over the line.
100 miles in 27 hours 5 minutes and 8 seconds.
Would I do another 100 mile race? No. Never say never, but I’m happy to stop now. I’ll be volunteering at future races and maybe one day the itch will come back and need to be scratched. The South Downs Way is beautiful and I would recommend anyone to try Centurion Running’s races. The camaraderie from fellow competitors and the volunteers is amazing. If I can do it, then so can anyone.
For mum. X