South Downs Way 100

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  • Enjoyed my run.  Did a 19 miler along hadrians wall on the back of a 15 miler.  Directly into the wind the whole way, nearly gave up after 6 miles, but like you I enjoyed it in a machostic sort of a way
  • Well first recce run this morning, Winchester to where the trail is bisected by the A3 then up to Petersfield for the train home, just short of 30 miles all told.

      Not sure what I expected but not having run the South Downs before I thought they'd be a little steeper, certainly there wasn't anything up to that point I wouldn't consider runnable. Note though I'd consider it runnable knowing I was only about for about 30 miles rather than the whole 100.

     The trail was in pretty good condition except just outside Exon, certainly no problems in road shoes and if the forecast is good I'll certainly use them on the day, loads of road and tarmac sections make it a sensible choice for me.

  • Cheers for that, useful to know but I think that I'll be walking the hills whether they're runnable or not.
  • Oh I have no doubt I'll be walking them too Gee, I was just expecting a little more gradient I guess. Though looking at the Harvey's map the section between thd Queen Elizabeth country club and Amberley looks a bit hillier. I'll find out this weekend and let you know image
  • I went up Butser yesterday Craigchick and it wasn't bad at all, the A3 side was a bit steeper so maybe the race you mean comes from that direction? There was one section on the westerly side through what looked to be vineyards which was quite steep but that was only for a couple of hundred metres, views from the top were well worth it though
  • Really? It must have been up a different track than the one I went up. Or maybe I'm expecting too much but it was fine, just that bit I mentioned in my previous post.
    If I get a pass I'll do another 30 or so this weekend, Petersfield to Amberley or maybe a little further depending on how my hip holds up
  • Cragchick - it was Chanctonbury Ring I ran to on Saturday and then south to Cissbury Ring; it certainly was a bit bleak. On a clear day we'll be able to see it from a long way off and it will look glorious.

    Lirish -  Queen Elizabeth Country Park (not club!) to Amberley section is probably a bit hillier than the section you did on Monday (lots of hard chalk and flint farm tracks); although the SDW skirts round one of the tops. 

    Late on in the race there are some long climbs e.g. Truleigh Hill, after the A27 crossing and Itford Hill. The real sting in the tail will be theSeven Sisters; they aren't big but they are the steepest climbs on the route and they are crammed together in a three mile section which is followed by the last up hills to Beachy Head. The final Sister currently has a ladder stile half way up, which will test out our anti-cramping strategies (going over backwards is an effective last resort).

    Cheers and good luck - Raymond

  • morticiamorticia ✭✭✭
    I am really looking forward to the sussex coastal half marathon on saturday now. I hope the weather stays like this! I downgraded from the full marathon as I have decided to run to and from the start to save getting taxis and will still amass about 25 miles. Its the only bit of recce'ing I will get to do unfortunately. Thank you for taking time to post all your useful information- I am already far too excited about this race and hope to calm down a bit over the next 3 months! image
  • morticiamorticia ✭✭✭
    Your birthday?! Can I run behind you singing 'happy birthday to you, just 99 more to do' and so on every mile til the end? image
  • Hi all

    Did my first back to back this weekend went over seven sisters on saturday tough from eastbourne end and then again on th way home. Weather was glorious and I do love the view of eastbourrne from the downsimage backed that up with a pb in the hasting half today 1h30m40s. Like everyone else cant wait to run a 100miles strange how this ultra running gets a grip of you. Hope everyone had a good weekends running.
  • morticiamorticia ✭✭✭
    Wow lingster well done! image I did 20 including sussex coastal half saturday which covered most of the paths round beachy head area and most certainly didn't pb at hastings. Set off with the 8 min mile pacer and finished with the 10 min mile one image He was very interesting though and had lots of 100 mile race knowledge image Hope everyone enjoyed their running this weekend in the lovely weather!
  • morticiamorticia ✭✭✭
    It was mainly grass so I wore my road shoes. I always wear my road shoes anyway, even up kinder in the snow although that isn't advisable! I have asics torana trail shoes but find the grip with them worse than my road shoes so rarely wear them. Will definitely be in lunarglides for this race even if its wet and muddy underfoot.

    I did get a bit sunburnt this weekend and was glad I wore t shirts and not vests or it could have been a lot worse!
  • Went out to Firle Beacon and back on Saturday afternoon (about 26 miles); very hot and very hard underfoot. Wore my Brooks Green Silence which were fine; didn't drink enough, which if the weather is hot come race day, will be a major consideration.

    Lingster - congratulations on the Hastings half Marathon; that's really impressive after having done the sisters out and back the day before!

    Cheers - Raymond

  • In case not noticed, James has started putting comments from his SDW recce trips on his blog.

    I recced Winchester-Buriton myself on Sat. Path pretty good. Couple of roads where care needed. Due to sheer number of paths and trails some care needed to stay on SDW. All runable though, I lost time around Exton from missing a sign or two but picked it up again around Butser and Queen Elizabeth Country Park and I'm average so it can't be that steep.

    HF

  • Hi all hope everyones trainings goin well.

    I'm struggling a tad myself to get over the TP100.

    I'm tryin to get ready for london next month and my legs are dead. Only managed 11 mile yesterday and some hill walking today. Been tryin out new orthos so that probably not helpin.

    Hard to know if to back off or push on but being a typical pig ignorant ultra runner push on i will. Just hopin things improve soon. Training at 7.30 min mile pace is bloody killing me!

  • Training at 7.30 min mile pace sounds like my idea of hell.  Are you doing that for London?  Im a slow and lazy bugger, I think that's why I like ultras.

  • Connemara ultra this weekend for me meant no recce runs, will probably head down next weekend to do Petersfield to Amberley or so
  • Yes GB my hopeful pace for london is slightly slower than that but that is why am running that fast.

    I wanted to make london a challange so the only way to do that is run a mara pb.

    i'm slow too when it comes to ultras but fast maras just adds another dimension to training.

  • morticiamorticia ✭✭✭

    Morning! I did the 4 Inns Walk (as a run/walk effort) on Saturday and that was a fantastic event! 41 miles of Peak District hills and 7,000 ft of ascent. One of my team mates said to me near the end, 'So how would you feel about carrying on for another 60 miles now?' which was quite an eye-opener. I managed a 10 mile run the next day as well as trudging round Alton Towers all day so that was a good sign I suppose, but much work is still needed if I am to complete 100 image 

    Cragchick- Surprisingly, I got through the rigorous kit check (that's the hardest part of the event!) and was allowed to wear my precious road shoes although did turn my ankle numerous times on the rough moorland and got a lot of funny looks image

  • Morning all.  The missus and I recce'd the final 35 miles on Saturday (Pyecombe to Eastbourne)...thought we may as well make sure we recce the part that will be in the dark! Overall, nothing too sinister to report. 

    The main takeaways from this part of the course are the following: trail is in very good shape and so assuming there is not much rain then road shoes will be fine for those who like to run in them; the route is very exposed with very little cover (good at night with the moon out but not good if very sunny); the SDW is well marked thru this section and was not too tricky to follow; very runnable section overall with no severe hills...until you get to Seven Sisters; the final 10+ miles, i.e. Seven Sisters and Beachy Head will provide a real sting in the tale once you have got 90 miles in the legs...there are 10 or so short sharp ups and downs which will be a real physical and mental test at that point of the race...glad I now know that these will there otherwise would have been a very unpleasant shock image

  • Thanks for concern CC. No not all training at fast pace just tryin to be able to maintain a fast pace so not too much of a shock at london.

    I'm goin to take my camper to the downs this weekend and recce the last 50 hope the weather holds out!

    Can't seem to find the aid station listings on the centurion website. Am i missing something.?

  • Dill, the CP's have not been posted yet by James.  I presume he will do so after he has completed his latest course recce!
  • Thanks Giggs.

    Strange though, kinda expected the stations to be sorted by now.

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