Written by Andrew Kay - http://slightlyathletic.blog.co.uk
My abiding memory of the Winter100 will be the friendliness of everyone involved in the race, and the very professional way the race was organised, the checkpoints were brilliant even though they managed to move Goring further away every time I headed back after each turn. Once again I went into a race with low expectations after my knee problem stubbornly refused to heal itself after TDS, but I still hoped for sub 24. I decided that to do this I really needed to run the first two legs in ten hours, which I managed to do despite taking a wrong turn on the Ridgeway section, a section I'd previously ran 3 times, things look different in the dark don't they?
The first section along the Thames Path was muddy and slippery, but I wore my faithful Inov-8 Mudrocks and didn't find it a to much of a problem. One of the nice things about the course being out and backs is that normally you are lucky to see a clean pair of heels from the top guys and girls but as long as you don't blink you see them in action returning, my initial thought in seeing them pass was, oh there must be a 10k going on at the same time. It's almost unbelievable to think they are running 100 miles at that pace. One of my other reasons for starting off fast, ( that's a relative term) was to get Grims Ditch, or as I prefer to call it Breakneck Alley, done before it was to dark, which I almost managed, but I did get through without being tripped by those sneaky tree roots, they have this tendency to want to reach out and grab your ankles.
One of my fears with this race was having to return to Goring and leave again three times, I thought psychologically that it would be difficult to leave the warm friendly hall, but things were going well race wise and I felt good as I set off for the third leg I didn't find leaving a problem. I personally think the third leg is the hardest one of the four, the trail out of Goring and up the Ridgeway seems to be a long continuous climb. There is something magical about running the Ridgeway at night, you feel like you are on a dark desolate moor but with the comfort of the lights of the surrounding towns around about.
Of course when you return from the third leg you have put in 75 miles of effort and there is nothing short of serious injury going to stop you from finishing so leaving Goring again was once again not to difficult.
On the journey up to Goring, my train from Bristol arrived "on time" at Reading,5 minutes late, meaning I missed the connecting train, I wasn't unduly worried because I could get the next one which arrive at Goring at 9.15, but my plan (as such) was to get there for 8.35 giving me plenty of time to prepare, so whilst I waited for the next train I decided to get ready so I took my shoes and socks off and rubbed Vaseline over my feet which gained some odd looks so much so that I thought it wouldn't be a good idea to grease the other important areas in public and it wasn't until I came down from the second Ridgeway section that I realised I hadn't done it before the start. With only the one leg to go instead of limiting the damage I thought oh well the damage is done now, on reflection, bad decision.
Up to this point my knee had not been giving me to much gyp, just a polite, "Ahem I am here you know", but by the third leg it was more a poke in the shoulder, with an indignant "excuse me, do you mind?"
It was almost half three by the time I left for the final leg and I realised it would take a superhuman effort on my part to get a sub 24, I would get a 100 mile finishers buckle I had no doubt but the physical cost would be to much to push for the one day buckle, running was getting to painful so I adopted a power walking strategy which the old knee seemed to be fairly happy with, the first checkpoint comes up fairly quick being only about four miles from Goring which means a long leg to the turn around, you get your hopes dashed a bit just after going through the houses at Purley when you see the welcome to Reading sign, your dimly working mind thinks "ah Reading, turn round point, must have been moving faster than I thought", then you realise they've only gone and put the checkpoint five miles across town.
Mistake number two, I ran the first two sections in Inov-8 mudrocks which suited the ground well then switched to the new Inov-8 race ultra 290s, ideal for the Ridgeway and Thames Path with all the road sections and paved paths, the race ultras practically murdered my feet, I have large blisters to the front of the balls of my feet, three damaged toes and a pressure injury on my right foot. I've never had blisters on my feet before so I'm blaming the shoes, not scientific I know. There is a very little hilly section just outside Goring, and it is a small section, maybe less than a mile but after 98 miles and 24 hours on your feet, that part becomes a nasty vicious little swine but it's also lovely because you know when you've gotten past it the job is done.
Running a 100 mile race is not easy, to be fair i don't recall anyone ever saying it vwould be, whether you can do it in 15 hour or whether you take 30 hours, it is bloody hard, both mentally and physically. There are many low moments when you question what the hell you are doing out on some lonely rainswept trail in the middle of the night, using every swear word in the English language to emphasise how definate you are that you will never ever ever sign up for another 100 miler, then you hit that last 100 metres and the euphoria hits you, you see your loved ones waiting there for you and you cross that glorious finish line and all the low points are forgotten in an instant.
My overall thoughts on the race, it's a great format with the four out and back legs, gives you the opportunity of being a spectator in a race you're taking part in, and being told and telling other runners, "only ten minutes to the turn round buddy", those can be such comforting words to us less gifted runners.
The course was excellently marked, the race very professionally ran and the volunteers and everyone involved were wonderful.