South Downs Way 50 miler 2026

 

I mean, the takeaway from this race has to be that it is better to run with others.  As compared to the Chiltern Wonderland where I experienced significant dips due to running entirely alone, during South Downs Way 50 I had no significant dips, and I also, not coincidentally, ran the entire race with a running friend.  

Let's just say that once we got synced up (which took about 5-7 miles at the start), we were on the same page, running downhills nicely, walking the steep uphills, and run/walking the flats to the sound of Dave's watch prompt.

We both used poles, and this was a key factor.  We had a crazy tailwind, a howling gale that at times became a side wind or a headwind, and it had a cooling effect as well.  There was no overheating.  We ate well and we kept our spirits up.

For me, there were no feet issues, and there were no food issues.  I felt a bit nauseous at the end, probably from too many gels (a form of nutrition upon which I tend to lean very heavily).  

The worst part of the course was probably the gully 5km from the end.  It was dark, rooty, channeled, rocky, and uneven, with thick brush on either side.  It comes at a moment when you just want to be finished.  Anyway, once we cleared the gully, we kept on running, passing several others walking it in along the way.

As with many of my best days of running (and of life), images of the course are burned into my brain, bright reminders of a great adventure.  This race is right up there with Chiltern Wonderland, Race to the Stones, North Downs Way, and Ultra Trail Snowdonia (runs all completed in the sunshine, btw).  I may be a fair weather (ultra) runner, and in this sense I've gotten lucky (lots of sunny day races).

It's really down to good training, tapering, eating well, and lots of support, not least from my wife Diane who met us at the windmills and at the end, running a ways with us towards the track, and from Dave being on the same page with me, and from the epic volunteers and fellow runners, creating that fellow feeling of positivity.

10/10 ranking for this race, and will do it again.  My list of go-to (do again) races from Centurion is becoming a long (and great) list!