Why the Winter Downs?
What made me enter the Centurion Winter Downs 100
If you don’t know anything about the Centurion Winter Downs it’s an event that started in 2023 as a 200 mile loop starting and finishing at Juniper Hall near Box Hill in Surrey. The course joins the North and South Downs linking them up using the Vanguard way and Wayfarers Walk with St. Swithuns Way.
In 2024 Centurion introduced the Winter Downs 100 which chops the 200 mile loop down the middle. The 100 miler start at Amberley Museum on the South Downs and finish at Juniper Hall in the North Downs.
If the event didn’t sound daunting enough by distance it also takes place in the middle of winter, this year starting on the 10th and 12th December respectively. This isn’t far from Winter Solstice and means around 16 hours of darkness in every 24h hours.
On top of the darkness comes unpredictable weather. Predictable in the sense it’s likely to be bad, but; it could be incredibly wet and muddy, it could be crisp and frozen, 10 degrees or in the minus figures, sideways rain, wind and hail or anything between.
Combine all this with my previous leanings; I love running but I don’t like being out “all day”, I like skyraces and mountains, I have a 5 hour limit, etc etc… The idea of me entering the Winter Downs 100 sounds like a terrible idea. It is. It’s an extremely questionable idea to say the least.
But from bad ideas come learnings and sometimes great stories?
I hate the winter months in the UK. I struggle with the darkness, I struggle with my mental health. It is ALWAYS a challenge.
It’s a lot easier to be carefree in summer, lack of money? Oh well the sun is out. Struggling to find the time? There’s plenty of daylight left after work. Everything is better everything is easier.
I could try to run a hundred miles in the summer and it could be much nicer… but quite frankly I’ve better things to do in the summer. The middle of winter with only 8 hours of daylight and grim weather - there’s fuck all to do then. Why not get out in it and try to run a hundred miles (actually 96 miles if the gpx I have is accurate and I hope it is).
The attraction for me is the adventure and the challenging conditions. Saying FUCK YOU to winter.
There was also the chance I would be rejected.
My longest run to date is, I think 34 miles, it was Ultra Trail Snowdonia in 2023 and accompanied with 3,000+ meters of elevation but still that’s the longest single run.
Centurion’s website say’s applicants should list their relevant experience on entry and they’ll vet applications about 6 weeks before the event. This meant I would definitely be training for the event well before knowing I was accepted but if not, silver lining; I’ve been out training which would be good for me and I would get my entry fee returned. It would still be a win, kinda.
I haven’t entered many events compared to a lot of people in this sport, one or two a year maybe. I think this probably supports my application though - I’m genuinely out self sufficient and not relying on aid stations or anyone else. This is what centurion wanted to see; that you’re able to sustain yourself for long periods of time, in challenging conditions.
I think the experience I submitted largely relied on our trip to Andorra earlier this year being relevant. Aside this I mentioned a few notable outings - Yorkshire 3 Peaks in biblical weather and some solo adventures in Italian mountains.
Anyway, the chance of being rejected somehow made the decision easier to enter. I’ve not been rejected and it’s less than two weeks out so I guess I am in.
Training
Another reason for entering, was I felt I was on my way with the training. I entered WD100 on 12th September at which point I was training well for the Mournes Skyline. I figured this was a great base and the Mournes was 9 weeks ahead of the Winter Downs.
The plan was simple. Have a restful week after the Mournes, then ensure I hit two long runs per week ideally on back-to-back days but failing that as close as I could get them together.
It’s been hard and it’s been grim at times, especially the first week when I did both long runs alone. I didn’t plan a route on day one so ran 10 miles in one direction down the canal then turned back and ran the same 10 in reverse. In the dark. In drizzle. Boring and soul destroying. I under fueled and slightly overheated, I chaffed my chest.
Next was a little better a lumpy route in Ash Ranges - I loved the route but I was soaked to the bone and got cold. I’ve since re-waterproofed my rain jacket.
Gradually weeks got better, I fixed mistakes. I met up with Matt, Paul and Roxy for many runs.
What’s been hard every time is getting out the door. It’s dark, it’s wet, it might be cold too. Once out I enjoyed most of it and on the rest days I’ve been happy to be home and warm for the evening and watch a film or read a book and enjoy the comfort - perspective shift!
Training ‘finished’ last weekend when Matt, Paul and I spent Friday evening running the backyard at Peaslake - 3 hours to do as many 5k loops as you can. We smashed it and it was great fun but I was tired as fuck on Saturday. Sunday I joined Matt and Running Adventures for a guided ultra and took my full Winter Downs kit on my back.
I maybe could or should have planned a few more sessions but decide it was just 19 days out and I needed a rest. This was confirmed last Wednesday evening when I struggled through 16 miles in the Surrey Hills with Paul, far from recovered from the weekend.
I built some confidence in training and now in tick over weeks come the waves of self doubt. There’s parts I’m genuinely really excited about like going all through the night, hopefully having a cloudless sky full of stars and silhouettes of trees against it. A lot of route I’ve never run before (zero recces). Seeing the sun come up.
Regardless of how the event goes it’s helped me be focused and stay on top of myself the past few months so that’s a win so far. This post was supposed to be me writing my ‘why’ but it turns out it’s more of a ‘why not?’.