Friday Lauren and the kids dropped me off at the train station in Kidderminster. I collected my tickets and I was soon on my way. The journey was normal. A few stops and changes on my way to Aldershot via Birmingham and then London. Probably took about five hours total but I don’t mind trains. You listen to music or a book and watch the world go by out the window. After arriving in Aldershot I needed to get to the hotel I was staying at. In an effort to save money I walked the mile or two. It was warm out and no rain so no reason not to.
I checked in, dropped my stuff off, then wondered what to do as I had no little people asking me relentless questions or little jobs to do! Such a strange sensation. After organizing my belongings I walked over to the huge Tesco grocery store next door. I looked for dinner and breakfast options I could cook or heat up in the room as well as any food I wanted to race with. I found some premade Chinese food and oatmeal among some other random things and headed back to my room, on the way stopping at the front desk to book an early taxi for the ride to the start.
It was really early evening and I was bored. I’d already gotten my race vest set up, double checked it and my drop bags. Everything was laying out but packed and ready to go. I looked over my list of race goals. Don’t waste time at aid stations. Pacing 830-930 minute miles. Gradual hills are easily runnable. Mantra: we are here to run. So I started watching a movie on my iPad and attempted to heat up my Chinese food in the sink surrounded by boiled water from the kettle. Moderately warm Chinese food is decent, no complaints!
I went to bed about 930pm with an alarm set for 445am. Race check in was between 530 and 645am I believe and it should be about a 15 minute cab ride.
I woke on time, had a shower, breakfast, and was soon on my way having the usual cab driver conversation. Where are you from. Why are you here? Are you here just for the race? 100 miles?! That’s amazing……. The list goes on. Always a fun conversation but it does get old, however I’d never be rude about it! £20 later and I’m getting out at the Farnham Leisure Centre, race start headquarters. It’s of course begun to rain lightly as expected.
It’s fairly quiet and I breeze through check in getting my race number and tracker. I’ve got 40 minutes to kill so I do the usual bathroom stops and sit and relax. I start recognizing certain people from the world of British ultrarunning but no one I know. These Centurion Running races have a pretty large following of repeat runners but I haven’t done one in quite some time. I spot one guy who is fast and a favorite to win. Soon enough the race director, who I briefly ran with during the Arc of Attrition, starts the pre race briefing.
The weather will be wet and the wind has blown trees over the trail was the main takeaway. There were a few reroutes I believe but having only ran the first half it’s all new anyway and these guys do a fantastic job of marking the course. And shortly after we were walking in the rain to the start of the North Downs Way.
The 153 mile North Downs Way is a long distance walking path in the south of England. It’s stretched from Farnham and goes all the way to Dover on the east coast of England, a major ferry port to and from France. We’ll be stopping 50 miles short of that in Ashford, Kent.
We all crammed onto the narrow path at the start and a mellow countdown began. I shimmied to the front as best as I could. We were off. A quiet and calm start in the rain. It was raining, but it wasn’t raining, typical British weather. Some people had rain jackets on others just short sleeve shirts. It was warm and humid enough that even when wet it wasn’t cold but with a rain jacket it could be a bit hot. Besides, waterproof breathable jackets don’t breath enough so you’re getting wet anyway! I soon packed my jacket away settling for cool and wet rather than hot and wet.
From the start I believe I was in the top 10. The pace was about right and soon conversations started as everyone settled in. One guy was filming for a Vlog for YouTube, I found it online after the race. Kind of weird, people with action cams and selfie sticks talking to themselves, but that’s what people do I guess. Kind of fun to watch the video and find myself!
The first few aid stations we didn’t even stop, well maybe at the third one for water, but the weather wasn’t too “hydration intensive.” The top seven bounced back and forth and we all chatted away getting to know each other. I love this part of racing. Everyone here has a story, race experiences, etc and not really having much of a social life this always fills that void. Everyone was British but two guys lived out of country. They were both back visiting family and decided to race while they were here. One lived in Hong Kong, a personal trainer, he was a “one to watch” in the race preview, the other had been living in New Zealand and I believe working as a teacher. He had got in right before Covid. The others were all from south of London I believe. Everyone was super friendly as always. It was more like going on a group run than a race, but that’s just how these things are!
The rain persisted, we were all soaked but not cold. I routinely wrung my hat out like a washcloth. I started to feel my quads get heavy around 22 miles or so. Here we go, let the fun begin! I began focusing more on food and water intake. At one point, probably an aid station, I split from our mini packs and was alone. I popped in my headphones and ran to music for a while. It was good. The last few races I’ve done I haven’t done this which I’ve regretted. Usually I’d been with someone or I’d just been lazy and not turned it on. I’ve always worried about battery life with my phone and headphones for music. Dragging spare headphones, chargers…. I didn’t need to worry. My phone battery held strong as did my headphones. This was reassuring for future events.
Two guys I ran quite a while with, Tom, at home dad doing pretty much exactly what I do, and another, Sam, an ex-pro rugby player! Best part of the conversation was Sam, who, about my height, had lost 55lbs after retiring, told us stay at home dads “I hope I’m as fit as you guys when I’m your age!” We were both in our mid 40’s, he was 31! Nice to hear that!
The rain kind of stopped, humidity rose, and the wind picked up. Now we were hot and wet. My shirt did start to dry out though which was nice. I could feel my feet were becoming macerated from the constant wet. No way to escape that. The sun tried to show but only for a moment. Then just as soon as I was comfortably dry-ish the rain started again.
Aid stations were brief as planned, pace was holding, and if it hurt a bit I’d keep pushing as long as the effort wasn’t too much. I was ticking the boxes I wanted to tick. At one point someone said we were in first and second!? I didn’t believe it as one dude who was likely to win I was pretty sure was off the front. I pulled my phone out to check the tracker. I’d never done this, just didn’t feel right, but sure enough, we were top two! The top 6 were all close together and it was still early but wow! That was unexpected! I had a quick look for my age category and it was only Tom and I.
In conversation we seemingly all agreed these races are competitive but not like you’d think. We all just wanted each other to finish and do our best. At one point bodies start to fail physically and mentally, we slow down, but you keep encouraging others to go whether they are in first or last. Whether they’ll beat you or not. That was the draw away from Ironman to ultras for Sam, for a few years post rugby retirement he did triathlon. The scene and atmosphere is far more laidback, inviting, and encouraging. He also said 100’s are significantly harder than an Ironman!
Up till now I’d recognized some of the course, I distinctly remembered the climb up to Caterham aid station, mile 38, it was short and sharp and it hurt just as much as when I was here last. They had melon again though! This was a lifesaver before so I grabbed some and on I went. I forgot about the crazy amount of uneven stairs on some of the climbs. Climbing up these I regretted not keeping up my leg strength routine, maybe this is why I had some leg soreness earlier on.
Soon we were at the first drop bag around mile 50 in Knockholt, I changed socks but skipped shoes. They’ll just get wet anyway so I figured it pointless. My feet looked like white raisins, but I didn’t see any cuts or blisters fortunately. I swapped my rain jacket for a dry one which was a fantastic idea! Sam did a full clothes change! We both ate some pasta and were ready to go making sure we had headlamps, soon it would be dark. I clocked this stop at about 16 minutes. Too long? I’m not sure. Considering what needed to be done I guess it wasn’t too bad.
Sock changing
Macerated feet
After a longer stretch between aid stations I needed water and split from Tom and Sam. I was alone and started to struggle so put my music on. It didn’t help so I ate more food to get my sugars back up. At the next aid station I bumped into Sam, he said Tom was feeling good and took off! This was great as he was having knee problems that were really worrying. Good to see that probably went away! Sam and I continued on.
In the heavy trees it was becoming difficult to see. We went into a wooded area my friend Greg told me about, a “spooky wood” where he saw some Japanese guy all discombobulated and lost, I get it. It was an odd section of trail to follow and definitely spooky! Headlamps on now, can’t take a chance getting lost.
We droned on through the dark. The trail had become off camber and slippery. My wrinkled feet became painful with the odd pressures. We kept a decent pace and were holding steady in 5th place. The weather was cold now if you stopped moving. I’d go into uncontrollable shivers at aid stations. The humidity was high though so I didn’t want to put on another layer and be too hot.
Sam and I, I believe at Detling
We ticked off aid stations and around mile 80 at Detling we got our drop backs and changed socks again, everything soaked. Ate some real food, I think baked beans, and were on our way. 18 minutes if I recall? Not too bad, but could be better. I’d still been in and out of the rest really fast, no stopping really, so no complaints. Just a long run left, under 20 miles, I do that weekly.
Mobilize and eat
The distances for the final few aid stations seemed off to what I had written but it wasn’t a problem, not even a frustration. Sometimes it can be really demoralizing when it’s a couple miles longer than you think! Our eyes were on a sub 20 hour time and going to bed at night, versus in the morning!
We soon hit pavement and I knew this was the final part. I’d watched a YouTube video of the finish through town. It was well marked but nice to have a little familiarity, especially when wrong turns could occur. It wasn’t long now but I was in bad shape mentally. Should’ve had more caffeine to sharpen my focus, we were running but my brain was shutting off and slowing the pace. Huge thanks to Sam for keeping us running the final few miles.
We could see the lights of the Julie Rose Stadium. Soon we stepped onto the track and one lap it was until the finish. It was still raining but we were done. We thanked and congratulated each other and off we went our separate ways. I got a belt buckle and officially finished 5th in 19:41.09! Extremely happy with how it went.
A race volunteer had already grabbed my finish line bag and was carrying it to the building for me. I attempted to settle a bit, then the slow process of getting changed and showered began. You finish exhausted but wound up and confused. Motivated but unmotivated. You kind of just want to “be.” Who knows how long that took but I finally rolled out my sleeping bag and tried to sleep. I got maybe 1.5 hours. I needed to wait for drop bags before leaving so I ambled around all morning moving between trying to work on mobility, trying to sleep, and then eating. It was actually oddly kind of an enjoyable morning! Sun was out so can’t complain.
Soon I got my drop bags and after contemplating on how to cover the few miles to the train station I opted to walk. Yep. I had just ran 103 miles and now I was walking to the station! It was a beautiful morning and I had plenty of time. It was good to keep moving anyway. Never stop moving.
Race photos thanks to @further.run
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