Written by Scott Harris - http://runninganimo.com
To finish off my season I was back to tackle the Winter 100 again after completing the race last year for my first 100 mile finish. This year the race had been brought forward from the end of November to the 18th of October. I liked the idea of this as there should be a bit more day light and it should be warmer. Last year it was cold and dry making for fast times whereas this year the weather had other ideas. The forecast was for lots of rain and for it to be warm and humid, quite the opposite from what I previously experienced. I was checking the forecast often leading up to the race and the forecast remained consistent throughout the week with heavy rain for the two days before ensuring it would be very muddy.
I’d had a good year so far getting PB’s at half marathon, marathon, 50k and 50 mile (well 48 mile) so my race plan was to beat the 17:44:10 from last year. I was wanting to finish the first 50 miles no faster than 7 hours and then do my best to get in around the 16 hour mark. With this being a 100 miler I was going to be flexible with the plan. I was unsure how muddy it was going to be and a lot can happen during those 100 miles, with my ultimate aim to beat my previous time if things didn’t quite go my way on the day.
The race consisted of four 25 miles spurs along sections of the Thames Path National Trails and Ridgeway from Goring. You’d run 12.5 miles in one direction before turning around to race back to HQ in Goring to complete 25 miles, before heading out on the next spur. It makes for an interesting race as you get to see those who are ahead of you in the race coming back in the other direction.
After the race briefing we were led down to the start line a short walk from race HQ over the bridge. I was pretty calm, my nerves relaxed knowing I would soon recognise the route once we got started. Like last year I had broken the route down in easily manageable numbers. From 100 miles down to 8; 8 being the numbers of out and backs altogether. It started to rain very softly as we waited to start. I really didn’t want it to start raining before we started. Fortunately it was nothing but a few rain drops and we got underway, with me hoping that would be all the rain I would see today. 100 miles to go!
It was pretty easy going to start with it though it was warmer than I was expecting so I took on quite a bit of water in the early stages. I wasn’t really thinking of it being a race and didn’t pay too much attention to those runners I could see out in front getting a head of me. I’ll stick to my plan, if it goes well then there’s nothing to worry about and I’ll likely catch those who misjudge the pace early on. It didn’t take too long to appreciate how muddy it was going to be. I made the decision to relax and not stick to my plan too rigidly, if it was a choice between going a little slower and not slipping up that was fine by me. There was also to consider how the mud would impact your legs in the latter stages of the race. Not slowing down in the mud would require extra effort and it was going to pull on your legs more than normal with each stride you took. I was enjoying myself chatting with fellow runners getting to mile 25 in 3:35:19 a few minutes behind schedule. So far no rain.
Quick stop at Goring then back out on the second spur. This section has more hills than the first, though whatever hill you ran up on the way out you’d get a chance to run back down due to the nature of the route. Things were going fine and I was moving okay, still drinking more water than I was expecting. At this rate I was going to have to stop at the aid stations before the turn around to stay on top of my hydration. I had to eat a little earlier than I was expecting as well which was a little surprising and should have warned me as to what going to happen. As I was getting closer to the turn around I wasn’t as at ease climbing, last year this section felt really comfortable but I was starting to struggle a little as I got to mile 37.5 in 5:34:51. I knew I’d make up some time on the way back, but something wasn’t right.
It didn’t take too much longer and my stomach started hurting. I wasn’t hungry but forced some food down me thinking this would sort it out. It didn’t really have much affect and I knew it would take a little time before my stomach was able to benefit from the food. For the first time I was over taken. My pace was starting to fade and I was forced to walk a few times as my stomach got worse. It wasn’t pleasant and soon my mind was getting very negative, questioning how I was going to run another 60 miles. I was telling myself I’d had a good year getting a few PB’s and there no shame in stopping. I wanted to compete with myself, I wanted to run, I wanted to smash my time from last year, if I couldn’t do this should I keep going? I kept moving as best I could having to stop with my hands on my knees, bent over feeling sick. I got moving again, a walk, to a jog to a run. This happened a couple times but somehow I passed the mental difficulty of this moment only for it to get worse again as my stomach began to cramp.
That weakness, the desire to stop will always manifest itself physically. That voice is always there searching for reasons for you to stop when things start to get tough. I walked into the North Stoke aid station at mile 46 not concerned about if I was going to drop out but focused on resolving my stomach issue. I sat down eating chocolate chatting with the helpful volunteers. Runners were passing me but I didn’t really care at this point. After about 10 minutes I thanked the volunteers and left slowly.
Upon returning to Goring again having completed another 25 miles I looked at my watch which read 7:54:48. Though I’d dropped a few places and lost time sat in the last aid station, I was ahead of my time from last year by a few minutes. That whole negative conversation I had with myself about not being able to compete with my previous time was redundant. I was ahead! I got myself sorted for the colder 3rd spur putting on my headlights as it was soon going to be dark, and left with a smile on my face. The food was kicking in and I could still beat my time from last year. I felt good, such a contrast. I got moving and before long I overtook someone. Not long after than I overtook someone else. This is more like it! My stomach had sorted itself out and I was flying, well it felt like it. I had arrived at mile 37.5 in 5th place losing places as I dropped to 11th by mile 50. At miles 62.5 I was up to 7th and feeling good. I felt so good I told the volunteers I was going for a negative split. I know, a ridiculous thing to say but they hadn’t seen me bent over feeling sick earlier as my stomach cramped. I just felt so much better that suggesting such a thing felt right in the moment. I left that aid station at mile 66.7 and managed to overtake a couple more people to get back into 5th by mile 75.
I ran into the Goring at mile 75 12:23:10, quick toilet break, got some food, couple cups of coke and left again for the last 25 miles. My pace had slowed a bit now but my stomach felt fine and I was moving okay with no other issues. I couldn’t hang around for long as Paul Radford wasn’t far behind and Debbie Martin-Consani who’d I’d overtaken on my way back to Goring left moments before I did being quicker than I at race HQ. I caught up with Debbie, finding my legs again and regained 5th place moving forward to the next aid station at mile 79.
It didn’t take too much longer until I saw Marco Consani coming the other way still looking relaxed and so far ahead of me. He was on his way to taking a big chunk out of the course record. I knew I was also a long way off from the others in front of me but you never know what might happen over the last 25 miles. My hip flexor was a little on the sore side so I made sure my left leg was always landing on the most solid part of the route available. A couple times I slowed to a walk, counted ten paces then ran again just to give it a rest and to give myself a tiny break from a hard days running. I find this part of the race really interesting as it’s where you discover if you have any chance in catching those ahead of you. You start to get excited when you haven’t seen anyone in a while thinking that you are gaining on those in front of you only to realise when people do come the other way you still have further to run than expected. Ed Catmur came the other way, David Ross and then Sarah Morwood. I didn’t really know how far ahead each of them were but I was going to have to push really hard to catch anyone.
It feels good when you get to the Reading aid station at mile 87.5 knowing you’ve almost finished. I got some food in me and left wondering if it was worth going for it, and seeing if I could catch anyone. I was pretty tired at this point, some way behind and probably didn’t have it in me but before I had a chance to explore this idea one of my headlights flashed warning me of low battery. Then my other did as well; great! (I wore one on my head and another around my waist). Initially it made me run faster worried both would run out of power before I got back to Goring. I made the sensible decision to turn my headlight off, running with the light around my waist. This restricted how far ahead I could see making me keep my pace easy. Though I could have stopped and sorted this out I was unsure exactly how far ahead I was of 6th place, and had no idea how long it would take me to rearrange my headlights. In my experience it always takes longer than you think, and I had my mind set on staying in 5th place.
When I reached the final aid station at 95.5 another runner came in soon after me with his pacer. I wondered how he got so close to me without my noticing. I thought I’d better leave and get going or he’d overtake me, this had me running scared over that final section as it finally started to rain. He was actually heading in the other direction but still, it got me moving and I managed to stay in 5th place finishing in 17:34:02 just over 10 minutes faster than last year.
Full results here
Centurion race report here
And my race on Strava here
Big thanks to Centurion, all the volunteers and my fellow runners.
It definitely didn’t go to plan but I enjoyed myself and look forward to my next 100 mile adventure. More rest and recovery for me before I start thinking about training for my next race.