So, last night my running buddy and I decided to drive and try to meet two of our run club leaders doing the Centurion 100mile South Downs way ultra! We got our calculations wrong and waited for nearly 3 hours! In a car park in the middle of nowhere (Devils dyke near Brighton) we eventually saw them around 11pm.
What we witnessed in those three hours was both terrifying and utterly inspirational!!
We saw a lady fall over screaming for help, we saw men unable to walk fall into bushes!! We saw men and woman with eyes wide, in an almost zombie like state!! Then we had runners that stopped to have a little chat and break the monotony!
I am in total awe of these amazing people! This really is running laid bare...with some people totally alone, going through the night...all the have is themselves and 100miles! The mental strength needed for this is almost more important than their physical ability!!
Looked this morning and the guys finished after 28 hours! Bloody amazing!!
Hats off to anyone who has attempted or completed this type of event! Absolutely amazing!
Runners are amazing!!! 🏃♂️🏃♀️💪🏻
Written by
Lisaloopy9
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We had our very own Roseabi report here on her ultra the other day. Do have a read as it’s very interesting hearing a first-hand account, also,through the night
Yep, crazy feats of endurance. They must like it 😃. Imagine doing so over the mountains and fells Eeek. Mind you Ju Ju has done the super-tough Dartmoor marathon, which is top of the scale for degree of difficulty 😬✊
If you get time, Google the Berghaus Dragon’s Back,315 km and 15,500m of ascent, over 5days of Welsh Mountains.Proficient climbers are tested to traverse Crib Goch and the best ultra people run over the Arête standing upright.🙈
3 years ago won by Jim Mann, the first fell runner ever to hold all the
UK mountain world record times at the same time.
As you say these ultra athletes are just mind blowing,in particular this one and the Scottish equivalent.
It takes a special kind of person to take on these kind of extreme challenges. Huge respect to anyone (Roseabi and Ju-ju) that comes out the other end intact!
back when I first graduated C25k and was bitten by the running bug, having charged through 10k, HM and diverted into trails and cross country, Ultra running became my great ambition. I think it was 'Eat and Run' by Scott Jurek that ignited my passion, and teh film 'Unbreakable' about the Western Trails 100 miler. Kilian Jornet and Emilie Forsberg became my heroes.
Unfortunately for me, my, at that time undiagnosed, heart condition put paid to those dreams: very long moderate intensity exercise is ruinous for me. I can do HIIT. I can do 10k s or the odd HM but the hours of long slow distance required for ultra traing would, literally kill me.
The greatest distance I managed was 32.5 miles, which is technically an Ultra, so I will have to be satisfied with that. I still feel wistful about the 100 mile challenge but the great thing about sports and exercise is that as one door closes another one opens and I have found other avenues of challenge.
(this will not stop me from doing the VLM if my ballot place ever come up)
I've entered for 4 years. I always breathe a sigh of relief when i dont get in. i would live to tick it off my bucket list but ot would disrupt my training no end. All that junk mileage...
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Another Very Long NFM 10K Report 🥱 