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Well done everyone! I take my hat off to you all!
Congratulations to all on the Winter 100; think I saw just about the whole field coming the other way as I was on what was to be my last leg of the PoS! Suberb effort by all at Centurion to keep it going and as safe as possible.
Evening all, Well that was a blinking tough old race. Well done to all at Centurion Running & all the volunteers for keeping the race going in such difficult circumstances. This totally destroyed me physically & mentally, seriously never been so happy to see a finish line in my life. Many thanks to the marshalls at the 87mile cp who let me in the back of the van for a 10min warm up. I was on my knees at that point & it gave me a little boost. Missed you at registration Lirish, you normally surprise the hell out of me by just knowing my name
Lots of thanks to WiB who looked after me superbly well at the Streatley cp & huge congratulations to Dill on his Grand Slam.
Now, all I need is to get this chafing sorted out & I'll be a happy bunny.
Can,t say how impressed I am by all who stuck it out to the end . I got t 64 miles at the end of the third spur. I arrived just after the Aid station blew down. Mild hypothermia and the thought of staggering back across the two ploughed fields for the fourth time destroyed my will to go on. Every step on that sodden ground drained my energy. This was by first Centurion event and they exceeded all my expectations . The support and organisation was spot on .
Its interesting to look back at what made me quit, The forced course changes changed the event from a journey to a series of hurdles that once completed had to be done all over again. This took a toll on my motivation and that was enough to tip me over into a DNF.
Hi and thanks to all I met allong the way especially at the aid stations. (I was the old git in the white socks) Well they started off white.
One part of my gear failed miserably and that was my Sealskinz gloves. They are waterproof but the driving wind and rain caused their surface to cool giving me freezing hands. Anyone have better performance from their gloves?
This race as it happened, was essentially a one off.
The W 100 will take place next year, but it will be a completely different ball game. It will follow the planned route, and the weather conditions are almost certainly going to be better.
I think that's the right way to look at it Ben, it was a compromise course and heaps better than calling it a day at check in. I'm almost certain I'll be in for another try next year.
I used cheap Kalenji gloves for the race. Weren't waterproof & got soaked through but kept my hands warm. I don't know if they worked better becuase they "drained" any excess water but that could be explanation.
I won't be back. I've done what I set out to achieve. I will come along & crew it next year though, unless that POS run gets under my skin.
Congratulations to everyone, what awful weather we had, should have bought my wetsuit and flippers!!! Here is my race report for the POS
www.marvellousmimi.com
Enjoy your recovery
Ogee... POS, you know you want to at laest try to enter it
Thanks everyone for your congrats. I am over the moon with my Slam finish on a personal achievement level and i desperately wanted to do it in the first year. Surely the Slam will become a "must do" on peoples ultra running bucket lists. So to be one of first means a lot. So glad it's done as I wouldn't want to do it all again (too much else to do). Big well done to Ken, Allan and Andy as well. I managed to chat with Ken and Andy at the start which was a pleasure. Ken is a man of few words but he is fast. Infuriating that at 39 i'll never be as fast as him and he's 62. Tried to catch up with Allan but no joy either at the start or during the race!
WiB was that you in the hall at the end trying to convince me to eat. I did feel relieved! I don't sit down during hundred milers and that seat was heaven, worth waiting nearly 27 hrs for. I was in agony.
Ian i suffer with raynauds syndrome and have terrible circulation. My hands get unbearably cold. I have found that thin, slightly loose fitting cotton gloves work better than any others i've tried even when wet. I actually wore fingerless gloves for the first 65 miles and was fine. Thicker gloves seem to hold the cold in especially when wet through.
No I was stood over by the table where the buckles etc were. James needed driving out to one of the checkpoints as the van had to be left there to be the checkpoint! but he was pretty keen to see you finish first.
Was you doing kit checks at the start?
The kit mistakes I made at TP100 ironicaly worked to my advantage, because I learned from them, and came to the Winter 100 with the tools to get the job done. By the end of the night section, I was wearing three base-layer tops, a power-stretch top, a wind-shell, and a goretex jacket. I had waterproof trousers available but did not need to use them, being able to manage with just the skinz tights on my legs. I kept the kit in my pack dry by distributing it into sealable sandwich bags. As others have said, my mum provided too much food for my drop bag, but I'm sure James found a good home for the surplus.
I think i was one of the two kits you checked. I was there early before actual check in started. Then i remember your face at the junction and at the end.
Oh well i shall say hi next time. Well i'll say hi to the person i think you are
. All very confusing..
..
Bloody hell Ben thats a lot of tops! I got away with 1 short sleeve t, 1 long sleeve base layer and my jacket. I wore my shorts for all apart from between about 3 and 9 when i had to slip my waterproof bottoms on.
Ah that could be right then!
Just popping in to say a massive Well Done to everyone takng part at the weekend
. You are all stars for heading out in that horrendous weather whatever your outcome.
Also wanted to add my tuppence on the glove issue - I tried waterproof gloves last year to no avail - also a reynauds sufferer. Would agree that multiple layer thin gloves, silk, or other liners, seem to work best, even if they get soaked through. I have tried sealskinz and they seem to suck the heat from your hands
. Much the same as with gore tex shoes - I have largely come to the conclusion that 'drainage' is more important 
!
Heres praying we get better conditions for next years TP100
.
Fair play on what must have been a fair amount of work WiB, what time did you finally get away on Sunday?
Ogee was on a mission Lirish!
I was a bit of a lightweight and headed back after dropping James off at Bury Down checkpoint for when that closed... Was home about 16:00 Sunday.
Are you still planning a run out on th SDW in the new year mate? I am going to start recce runs for the SDW100 after Rocky Raccoon.
I was surprised to see only a few people wearing gaiters... foot care is crucial when conditions are grim and gaiters would provide at least another line of defence to help avoid excessive mud getting into and onto the shoe.
I saw some people take their socks off, and their feet looked awful...
Hi DV funny you should mention the gaiters. I ditched mine with about half hour to start. I was explaining to my wife how shit inov-8 gaiter rubbers were as i was putting them on. I broke 2 while putting them with only 4 more spare i decided not to bother. I like to change socks and clean my feet off every 25 mile ish so i decided against the gaiters as i would probably have broke all the spares very early. I totaly agree with you but i need to find an alternative to inov-8.
I do find tho even with gaiters silt in muddy puddles goes into the shoe anyway and with me builds up under your toes.
The inov-8's are very light-weight and probably not up to the task expected at the weekend, but I think the concept is good.. there are more robust versions available and I've been googling this evening trying to find something suitable. As you say, though, when you're in a silty/muddy puddle you are in trouble and a gaiter isn't going to help much... but for general muddy running conditions I think they would be a sensible addition to the kit...
Just need to find a good quality option that doesn't weigh much...
Can appreciate that the gaiters mite have stopped something, but by the end everything was seeping through the shoes. I found changing my socks with some extra Glide administered every 25 kept the blisters at bay for 87miles which was a godsend (I'd given up going round the puddles by that stage). I will look into the beeswax idea and definitely be lookin at a better waterproof coat. I've tried for a while but not happy with the dark colours
As for gloves, I'll never forget one person saying he was concerned about me and that my gloves were cold and wet!!! NSS comes to mind - couldnt get out of that aid station quick enough. Hats off to James & Al for getting the heating on at Streatley which meant my gloves were drying between each leg. Personally, I dont think its the wet thats the problem but the wind thats chills.
I mite put a machete in the kit bag next time to remove that fallen branch at c.5m
Let me know when you plan to run it mate. 26th Jan is a little close to Rocky Raccoon for me to run too much but I will certainly run with you for a bit if you want some company. Most importantly get fixed soon!
The Winter100 was my first ultra, this seems like an appropriate place to share some of my thoughts.
Firstly, a thank you to the organisers and volunteers, the course markings and the atmosphere at the aid stations were fantastic.
To learn that we wouldn't be running along the TP was understandable i was just relived i'd still have the chance attempt to run/walk/limp 100 miles.
Due to the updated and what turned out to be a very accurate weather forecast i opted to wear my waterproof trousers (i saw only 4 other runners fully waterproofed from head to toe).
I eventually dropped after 19hours 45mins at 75 miles due to a blistered left foot caused by some grit i got in my shoe at about mile 58.
My memories of the run include:
Rain, mud and wind. the 2 fields of mud we had to run across. how many runners waterproof kit wasn't waterproof. The feeling of failure. Having kit that performed, even on a budget. not getting cold. not feeling sick. Trying to keep up with Annie who was walking as fast as i was running. Running with Andy (Glam Slam). Not running/talking with Scott (USA) when i had the chance. Seeing Mimi on the POS. Support from friends and family. Knowing i'll be back.
Well done Buster 75 miles on your first Ultra in the conditions we had is a superb achievement ! That fallen branch really pissed me off as well. The ploughed mud fields on the north Ridgeway loop were not much fun either. I would love to know what state the golf course was in by sunday. As for gaiters I used the Inov8 debris sox and they worked fine, the fine silt still got through but gave me no problems.
Annie,s walking pace is amazing , evidently she has perfected it by walking dogs for 5 hours a day! Never seen that in an Ultra Training Plan but it obviously works for her.
First run this morning post W100. Easy 7 miles felt like 27..
My feet hurt like hell, i'll be glad to start wearing Hokas again.
Catch 22 though Hokas aggrevate my Achilles or Brooks smash my feet up. Lesser of two evils at the moment untill i can find some sort of heel lift for my Hokas.
Just wanted to say congrats to everyone for their achievements in what sound like horrendous conditions!