SDW100

This was my second 100 miler, the first being the Thames Path in March in which I completed in 23 hours 19 minutes,but was quite badly beaten up with a severe case of achilles tendonitus.So the training for SDW was not as I had planned . I managed to do the North Dorset Village Marathon in May

after a 4 week lay off and 1 more 25 mile training run, so that was about it .

I had decided to go ahead and try and if the achilles got to bad I would simply drop out so that was it.

The morning of the race I have never felt so nervous,i just didnt know how I would manage another 100 miles not fully fit . I met up with Peter Lemon at the the Chilcomb Sports Ground who was doing his first 100 and lives near me .

6am and we started off around the field to stretch out the 190 starters before entering the SDW trail.

Pete and I stayed together for I think about 75 miles in total even though we hadnt planned to run together.

I usually like to run the really long training runs and races on my own ,and Pete being faster than me anyway had me a bit worried but on we went and it felt ok ,my original plan was to try and get to 50 miles in 10/11 hours and just see how it went from there.We got to the checkpoint at Queen Elizabeth Country Park 22 miles in ,and I had phoned my Brother in law Phil and friend Paul to let them know I had a hot spot on my foot so to ready the compeed .I am so glad I did that because from there on I had no trouble with the feet.On we went covering mile by mile at what felt like a good comfortable pace.

I hadnt really looked at the profile of this race , I knew it would be a bit hilly but I really underestimated the tough climbs ,to me it just seemed like one hill after another all the way through.Pete was laughing because I think I swore at every hill we came to.I also tripped and fell on a downhill and nearly took poor Pete out with me but luckily no damage done ,or so I thought!!!!!!

We continued our journey and my achilles was aching but ok at the pace we were going ,but my back was starting to ache a bit. Mile 50 soon came and I looked at the watch and thought holy s*** 9 hours 16 minutes way to fast for me I am going to pay for this later.At mile 54 I changed socks and shoes and put my leggings on. The weather was really good strong winds on the top of the hills buffeted me around a fair bit but mostly it was in our favour.

My back was starting to be quite painful now so I took some more ibuprofen but they didnt seem to do much .

Clayton Windmills was 70 miles in and I could really feel the early pace catching up with me now and I was having stomach issues as in I just couldnt face any food or drink but knew I would have to force something down me ,so I managed to get some water melon and grapes down

The aid station food and drinks were absolutely fantastic throughout they even had sushi at one and the volunteers and helpers are bloody awesome with their help and encouragement .

I think it must have been around 75-80 miles I told Pete to go on as I was struggling with the back and was therfore going to start walking a fair bit from now . Luckily Pete was met by a couple of friends to pace him for the last 20 miles or so,so I didnt feel to bad for not trying to keep up. On I plodded walking as fast I could to the next aid station Southease 83 miles ,had a coffee but that was all I could face , 17 hours 29 minutes was the time but I knew I was getting very tired and still feeling ill. On the next stint before Alfriston aid station I was really sick and everything I had eaten through the race came up in one go ,( I have never been that sick even after a belly full of beer ) luckily it wasnt that far to go to Alfriston where my crew were. My back was really bad now and the stomach wasnt much better and I wasnt running much so it was quite a low point for me here, but with the help of Phil and Paul urging me to get this done somehow I managed to eat some pasta and had a coffee and set off again to Jevington . I think after the aid station there was one last hill to climb and it for me was the biggest hardest climb of the day but knowing how close I was to the end was all I was thinking about now . The drop down to Eastbourne seemed to go on for ever and by now my legs and back were in agony .Then I could see the floodlights ,,round the track for a lap and that was it I had made it and in a time of 22:01:55 .

Upon reflection I am really pleased the achilles seems to be healing as for the back it was a pulled muscle but that will heal quickly.Feet were fine with no blisters and legs were ok after a day .

Am feeling a lot more confident in my running after this race so with good training and no injuries I think I can and need to improve on the second half of a 100 mile race.

Finally a very big thank-you to each and everyone of the volunteers for all their help and to Centurion Running for another truly epic event.Thank-you to Phil and paul for being a great crew.