Following the disappointment of my first ever DNF at Lakeland this year the Autumn 100 quickly became a target race in journey to find some of that fitness I had earlier in the year.  The A100 is organised by Centurion events who are some of the best at what they do.

 

My preparation leading into this race had been solid, a couple of key races targeted successfully, some heavier training weeks, more strength and conditioning than I had ever done although not hard considering I was doing zero this time last year and the nonphysical training was coming together nicely.

 

The A100 consists of 4, 25 mile spurs each returning to the village of Goring where the central checkpoint is held, runners have 28 hours to complete the distance and if you finish in under 24 hours your get the famous Centurion race buckle.

 

Until now the only 100 mile races I had completed where the Lakeland 100’s where the terrain requires more of a run hike approach, the A100 however is relatively flat so runnable the whole distance.  I was curious whether I could maintain the effort levels enough to run the whole thing, having recced legs 2 and 3, studied some previous race data I was sure I could.

 

The plan was to get into half way in 6:30 allowing 8:20 for second half, the slow down from 25 miles from the top of the pack in previous years looked pretty large and I was confident I wouldn’t need to slow this much.  I had pacers planned from 50 miles, crew to throw me drinks along the way and my nutrition plan nailed to ensure I didn’t waste time at aid stations, usually I like to browse and pick from the huge variety of goodies on offer, not this time, in and out.

 

The 24 hours before a race are always the worst for me I get nervous and come race day I just want to crack on and stop thinking about what could go wrong.  We were joined on the start line by Centurion Race Director James Elson increasing the strength of the line further.  My homework suggested I had 4-5 runners to be aware of so the addition of James added another exciting element to the mix. 

 

This leg is the flattest of the race and I was very conscious not to go out too hard and suffer later on, I settled into around 7:30 min mile pace and got to the 12.5 mile turn around in 1:26.  On the way back to Goring I past hundreds of runners coming in the opposite direction as they made their way out on the same leg, this gave me a boast seeing many smiling happy faces.  One quick crew stop and a non eventful few miles back into Goring in 3:02, 8 minutes ahead of schedule.

 

Leg 2

This leg is the toughest from a technical perspective, a long stretch through the woods and a few hills thrown in just as you start to fatigue.  I feared the this leg the most, my recce of this a couple of weeks earlier sucked and I was aware I’d probably start feeling crap at some stage along here.  Sure enough on the climb out of Goring I started to feel crap and was overtaken by a couple of runners, I told myself to hang in there, there was a long way to go and I’d allowed myself some flex to have a bad leg.  I reached the turnaround in 4:57 and headed straight back out 2 minutes behind schedule.  The demons remained for the rest of the leg but I was comforted by the fact that those ahead of me seemed to not be widening the gap and soon I would be picking my pacer.  I arrived back into Goring at the 50 mile point in 6:39, 9 minutes down on schedule.

 

I took a couple of extra minutes more than planned at Goring and walked out of the aid station with my pacer for 3 minutes before we got going again.  Something to learn from as my heart rate data shows that every time I did this my effort levels never returned to where they were pre aid station – No Walking!  The next 2.5 miles were a gentle climb onto the top of the Ridgeway, I struggled here and my pace felt slow but I continued to run and resisted the urge to walk.  By the time we were on the top of Ridgeway I felt great and we stepped on the pace, my pacing team did a great job on this section pulling me along and we put 15 minutes into third place during the next 20 miles.  Looking back this was real turning point in my race, my confidence started to grow and I gained the much needed buffer for the number of errors I was about to make on the Leg 4.  We came off the Ridgeway and back into Goring in good shape in 10:28, 4 minutes down on schedule.

 

During my research of previous times for this leg I was intrigued why everyone seemed to slow down so much, I was confident that I could go well over this section and not slow as much as others had done previously.  What I had forgotten was how during the final stages of a 100 miler your mind wanders and you make crazy decisions you normally wouldn’t.  This section of the course is the darkest and together with a tired mind it is easy to make a few navigation errors, looking at my data it appears I lost 6-8 minutes gaining bonus miles and another 5-6 taking too long and walking out of aid stations.  Despite the navigation errors and faffing around to change my head torch as it stopped working I made good progress to the turnaround point at 87.5 miles, hobbled up and down the stairs into the aid station in 12:52, 21 minutes down on schedule.  Later examination of the head torch suggests it wasn’t flat, merely I’d not turned it back on after coming out of an aid station!  

 

The section after the turnaround is flat and I found my legs putting in 3 miles at 8:30 pace, a good sign for the future.  I don’t remember much after this point other than repeatedly asking my crew for a split of where third place was as I was convinced he was closing me down, I wasn’t the best of company let’s put it that way!  The final few hundred yards into Goring approached quicker than I’d anticipated I could hear cheers of encouragement from supporters and I made a point of enjoying those last few yards back into the Goring Hall for the final time. I was greeted by my family, crew and pacers, an amazing feeling and so proud they had been part of my journey to get myself to both the start and finish line in such good shape.

 

15:06:53 for one hundred miles, 3^rd fastest on that course, 4^th fastest at any Centurion event  and one of the quickest 100 times on UK soil this year, an achievement I could only have dreamed of a few years ago.  Not bad for someone who has only been running more than three times a week for the last 2 years!  I can thoroughly recommend a Centurion event, they know what they are doing, the organisation is second to none, everyone is super friendly and supportive, sorry if I didn’t return the favor as a grumpy runner passed through the later aid stations!


Thank you to the fantastic 9 who gave up their weekend and deprived themselves of sleep to crew and pace a sweaty lad around the countryside.

A slightly cold crew Andy, Gerry & Dionne