A100 – living the dream

Sheila Rose
Oct 16, 2018
8 min read

This weekend just gone seen the last in the series of 100 milers making up the Centurion Running Grand Slam – the A100 a different format from the A to B of the TP100, SDW100 & NDW100 – this one is a set of 4 out & backs to the Goring centre point 2 x 25 mile of the Thames Path & 2 x 25 miles of the Ridgeway – sounds simple enough.

I have gotten into a routine this year of race, recovery – resume training, taper, sort my head out & race, the 5 days before each race has been dedicated to head sorting, for me this race was the most difficult to get my head into, the A100 & the TP100 were the only ones really I felt pressure on.

All year I have been very focused, never taking a result for granted – you simply cannot at any level, it’s too long a day and everything can go right or wrong, you can only prepare your reactions. I guess with this one I felt the weight of expectation from my friends, clients & supporters – everyone telling me I had it in the bag, and don’t get me wrong I love them for that confidence – but you should never believe your own hype, you still got to get out there & do it.

Goring is a 90 minute drive from home & Russ kindly dropped myself & Debbie in bags of time on what at first appeared to be a cold damp day. Clockwork registration from the Centurion Team, number collected time to wait – one of the real joys of this year has been getting to know & sharing the journey with fellow runners & slammers – so killing the time to the race brief was no issue.

James mentioned the weather a lot in his briefing, a high of 23°, strong winds with the tail end of hurricane Callum and torrential rain forecast for the early hours - cracking! He rightly pointed out that staying hydrated during the day & waterproof during the night would be key to race success.

A short walk over the Thames bridge and we were off 10am - Leg 1 of the Autumn 100, I’d been here before so knew what to expect terrain wise, what was unexpected with the intense heat in mid-October – I was very glad of the choice of shorts & vest.

It was turning into a quite bizarre day, and I felt I was almost struggling to breath, the air was heavy and hot, within a few miles I was dripping with sweat and feeling knackered, it became slightly easier in more shady areas by the river – but the open fields were real hard work, the first CP came at about 6 miles in & second turnaround CP at 12.5 - with the format it was good to see runners on the turnaround and exchange good wishes.

But blimey the turnaround in the shade fine but in the open – straight into headwinds just like two large hands on your shoulders forcing you back – it was impossible to fight, cheers Callum. I took the decision to pull back in the wind, walk when I needed to rather than killing myself trying to fight through it – in each of the races extreme heat had played a role, the sensible runner worked with the conditions and held back something for when it got cooler – that again was my game plan.

I got to Goring Leg 1 25 miles in just under 5.30 hours, slightly longer than planned but feeling stronger, a quick turnaround and grabbed my poles for Leg 2 and out the door. Feeling a little better and looking forward to exploring a section not run before. Leg 2 was my favorite section of the race, there was still a bit of the river/fields to get through but the climb up the ridgeway & forest trails were amazing, very technical but I always find that makes the miles go quicker. I was still in shorts & vest, and even though it was getting late – it felt like being in a sauna, really struggling to control body heat – I did wonder if I had a fever, until another runner said they felt the same, I guess perhaps it was the humidity of the storm. Running through these trails with head torch, hearing the sounds of the night – that really was my most enjoyable time of this race. Back to Goring again behind schedule at about 12 hours into the race, 50 miles covered.

I spent a little longer this time, changing my now soaked vest a good wet wipe down, hot food & drink and a chit chat & hugs with some people I know who were volunteering. There seemed to be a high drop rate, which didn’t surprise me as I had met runners on Leg 2 heading back who were going a lot slower than I would have expected, I’d also passed loads being sick on the trail – I think a lot of runners simply went out too fast, a bit similar to the TP in May and were exhausted by the unseasonably hot weather.

I was out of Goring heading into Leg 3 at about 12 hours 25 minutes into the race - behind schedule but doing ok giving myself lots of time for the back end & the 28 hour cut off. I had done a reccy run on Leg 3 back in August, so knew what to expect for the first few miles – you start with a climb out of Goring, road for maybe 2 miles then on to tracks which are a bit spikey underfoot and chalky – so there was a strong possibility that given the recent wet conditions – it would be slippery. The beauty of this bit of Ridgeway is the views – but in darkness that’s lost and it was just one long never ending hike to the turnaround, the only highlight in between was the awesome checkpoint mid-way - who happened to have some non-dairy milk so I could have a proper coffee, courtesy of Bradley whom I’d met on the NDW – I think that coffee kept me going for miles! I was still feeling very hot despite the howling winds & driving rain on the highest points, but popped my waterproof jacket on and stopped to sort out some chaffing. The turnaround came eventually, a virtual disco inferno fairy light disco music, dancing – no I was not hallucinating, but it was lost on this grumpy runner, I think if they has resurrected Elvis for some “burning Love” I’d have told him to do one. I did apologise for my grumpiness on the way out.

As I scrambled out berating myself for being such an ungrateful cow – I heard a voice behind me, Ian whom I had met just over a year ago when he was doing the GUCR – he had been pacing a friend, who had unfortunately sustained an injury & dropped - so luckily for me Ian was heading back to Goring to collect his car – and offered to keep me company! That was perhaps one of the turning points in this race and just what I needed, I was struggling to get any running done as with the rain parts of the tracks were like ice, but as soon as we hit the road we made up time overtaking fellow runners. I felt if I could get to Goring with a good 8 hours for the last leg with Russ pacing I was in with a good chance, bearing in mind that the weather was about to turn for the worst. Ian pushed me along to make up time, which would give me 20 minutes to eat & sort myself out before heading out again – and that’s exactly how it played out – thanks so much to Ian.

Goring nearly there – Leg 4 – so glad to see Russ, we headed out 8 hours in hand, onto the final push the Thames Path to Reading & the heavens opened up, literally like standing under a never ending bucket of water being poured over your head. The first bit takes in some forest, which was muddy & technical with a drop – easy enough in daylight or by head torch, but with the wind and driving rain it was impossible to see clearly and progress was slow. For the first time since the slam had begun in May I was reaching a point of enough is enough – I had frankly had enough, I knew Meera & Dario were at the next CP they would have a car there and I had nothing to prove, and my mind was telling me that you know a DNF in the final race might make a better story! Russ wasn’t having any of it - I rolled into Whitchurch CP like a drowned cat with a bad attitude, a bowl of cheerios (quite apt really cup of coffee – change of top & rain proof and hat – and not an ounce of sympathy given by any of them, in fact a telling off from Paul (who has been my guardian angel throughout this process).

I stumbled out in daylight, a little drier, a little warmer and with a little more determination - let’s just get to Reading so we can turn around & get home! The Reading leg – lots of fields, a trek through a flooded path on the Thames – endless downpours of rain. I did a quick turnaround again at the Boat house in Reading – heading back, I knew baring disaster I had given myself enough time, but perhaps needed to get some running done on the easier sections to make sure. We got back to Whitchurch with about 2.5 hours to do 4/5 miles, I didn’t stop in the CP – I just needed it done, I think the rain had stopped but I was freezing. That final section required every self-motivational trick in the book - with the end in sight I seen Dario, Meera & Christian – to be honest I just didn’t have the energy to smile I just needed to get over the timing mat – and sit down!

OMG what a miserable cow – 5 minutes of just sitting and sharing hugs and tears with fellow slammers – the world seemed a brighter place again.

There are simply too many people to thank for this journey – you all know who you are, but I will point out a few;

Russ – always there for me, telling me what I need to hear, not what I want to hear

Paul Spooner – my absolute Guardian Angel on every race in this slam, just always there at the very right time with a bear hug & words of wisdom

My Pacers – Debbie, Christian & Dario – my dream team giving up their time to help me achieve my dream

Meera – my crew one of the most caring individuals I have ever come across

Ian – my unexpected pacer at the A100, we met at a time in his race when he was struggling, hopefully I helped – what goes around comes around, thank you so much

Siobhan & Matt – for looking after the fur boys & supporting me

I know I make these races sound like hard work & they are, but there is a sense of community and humanity – a rawness within ultra-running which brings out the very best we all have to offer.