Centurion Winter Downs 100 ❄ 2025

The Winter Downs 100 by Centurion Running is a 100 mile continuous trail race with 10,000 feet of elevation and a 35 hour cut off. The route starts at Amberley Museum (West Sussex) on the South Downs Way and runs point to point, following the South Downs Way in a westerly direction, turning north following the Wayfarer’s Walk and St Swithun’s Way to Farnham, where the course turns east along the North Downs Way to finish at Juniper Hall on the north side of Box Hill (Surrey). The route is exactly the same as the second half of the Winter Downs 200, which is a full loop rather than our half, and had started two days earlier from Juniper Hall. This was the third edition of the 200, and only the second edition of the 100 mile race.

Pre-race accommodation was offered at Race HQ, Juniper Hall, which is a field studies centre, an option I gladly took up as it was much cheaper than a hotel. I travelled down by train from Yorkshire to Dorking on the Thursday and arrived mid afternoon following an uneventful journey, just as the light was fading. After I was shown to my room (which I had to myself, as there were very few of us staying overnight) the first thing I did was hike up to Box Hill and back, to recce the final mile and a half of the route. I had been down to check out the course in November by fast packing from Amberley to Farnham over three days. I had no need to recce the North Downs Way section from Farnham to Box Hill as I had run the NDW100 in August. Just this last little section was very useful to do, especially as I would be coming to the finish in the dark. I had heard that a few runners have come a little unstuck here, navigationally speaking. It turned out to be very straightforward, though of course for the 200 mile runners nothing would be straightforward by that point!

Unlike the regular ‘in-season’ Centurion races this course is unmarked, that is to say there are no flags put out. There are however many permanent signposts as the course follows two national trails and two marked routes, so the navigation is really not that difficult. Still, I was very glad I had recced every inch of this course, especially as it would be dark for most of my time on the trail.

There are only three checkpoints (roughly at 30, 50 and 80 miles, with drop bags) on this course, in contrast to the regular Centurion 100 mile races where there tend to be around 10. The race has deliberately been designed to be a step up in difficulty from the other races. Runners are allowed to be crewed at various locations, and many choose to do so, but I opted to run uncrewed (as did approximately half of the field in the 100) as I prefer self-sufficiency. I had looked at the water and food resupply options and decided that it would be eminently doable to run without a crew. I found a spreadsheet in the Facebook group which another runner had made for the 200 mile race in an earlier year, listing all the water taps en route, as well as e.g. cafés and petrol stations. I then checked all of these out on my November recce. There are official South Downs Way water points, and most churches have an outside tap too. Obviously if there was a hard frost one would have to rethink the strategy as taps might be turned off.

When I returned from my little outing to Box Hill I sorted out my gear and my drop bags, after which I ate the food I had brought with me as an evening meal: pizza, and a microwaveable bag of mushroom rice. A few other runners had arrived, including Nathan Hutton who would go on to finish in second place, and we spent some time chatting, after which I went to bed for an early night. With the race starting at 2 pm the next day I could have a bit of a lie-in, so the fact that I struggled to get to sleep, tossing and turning until well after midnight, did not matter so much as I only got up at 8am.

Registration and kit check were from 10 am, but those of us staying at Juniper Hall overnight were welcome from 9:30, so I got it out of the way nice and early. There is a fairly extensive mandatory kit to carry for the race, the same kit for crewed or uncrewed runners, to keep everyone safe in potentially real winter conditions. Whilst the environment is fairly tame compared to what one could encounter on e.g. the Spine Race, and you are never too far from a road, you would still need to be able to keep warm in case of needing rescue after an accident. As it was, the weather turned out to be about as perfect as it could have been for December in the UK. Whilst it was muddy underfoot in places due to a lot of rain in preceding days and weeks, we did not have a drop of rain during the race, and there was barely any wind either, in fact overnight it became totally still, which I loved! It did get cold, around freezing, and I was glad of my insulated jacket and warm over mittens. There was also a bit of fog in places limiting visibility due to the bounce back from my head torch.

Once I had passed kit check (mine was only a partial one anyway) I packed everything properly into my race vest, dropped my three drop bags off, and then sat around chatting with other runners, and drinking coffee until 12 when we all got onto the coach to Amberley. It was exactly an hour’s drive (the 100 mile race route goes in a loop, but the direct route is only 45 miles) so we arrived at 1pm, leaving an hour until the start. We all had our tracker taped to our race vest, and could then spend some time in the museum café. I bought a tea, and ate the other half of last night’s pizza. I did some ‘celebrity spotting’ (Sophie Power, Laura Swanton-Rouvelin) and also saw several Centurion regulars. This being my third Centurion race I am getting to know a few faces now. Hardmoors’ race directors Jon and Shirley Steele were also there, with Jon running. I was pleased to meet Sandra Tullett, the only other F60 runner in the race. We had been exchanging messages online for a few months, but this was the first time we met in real life. I also met the other Petra in the race, Petra Gowans. It is not often I encounter someone with the same name, not in the UK anyway. She turned out to be Austrian.

After the race briefing from RD James Elson we, 88 runners (72 men, 16 women), were on our way at exactly 2 pm. Within two hours of starting the race we would be going into a 16 hour night. I started at a comfortable (read ‘very steady indeed’) pace. Unlike some runners, I don’t have the tendency to go out too fast, so I am usually at or near the back in the early phases of an ultra. I find I can often move up the field a bit after around 70 or 80 miles when I fade less than others. My plan was to move at an average pace of around four miles per hour overall, and stop three times for 30 minutes each time. That would give me a finish time of under 27 hours, which felt a little optimistic, and indeed proved to be so. But I definitely wanted to come in under 30 hours. Whilst I moved at around 4.5 miles per hour in the early part of the race, my pace in the middle (lower lying) section on the Wayfarer’s Walk and St. Swithun’s Way dropped a bit due to the muddy underfoot conditions, which, combined with the darkness, made it not very runnable. Though I am sure the runners at the front just flew over the mud with their greater forward momentum. I should add that the mud, though slippery, was never particularly wet, in the sense that I managed to keep my feet dry* all the way round, which is quite something!

*I had been deliberating which socks (and which shoes) to wear for days, if not weeks, before the race and could not make up my mind! Normal socks or waterproof socks? If waterproof socks I would need to wear my bigger shoes, that’s fine, but obviously needs to be planned for. Do I start in waterproof socks or only wear them from the middle section, seeing the South Downs Way is well draining chalk and probably relatively dry? Which shoes do I start in, which shoes do I send to a check point in case I want to change them. And which one of the check points then? (we had to make three separate drop bags, rather than have one that travels from checkpoint to checkpoint like on the 200) I kept looking at the weather forecast, in particular the predicted temperatures. I am a big fan of waterproof socks and have worn them to great effect, but only really when it is quite cold, perhaps below 5C. When it is relatively warm my feet get too sweaty in them. Wearing liner socks is an option to deal with this, but I find my feet feel too constrained in two pairs of socks. In the end I decided to start in normal socks (Hilly Twin Skin), and carry a pair of waterproof socks with me in my race vest. I also sent a pair of socks of each type (plus a towel and foot cream) to each check point, so I would have a choice every time. Covering every eventuality! I started in my larger size La Sportiva Prodigio Pro, so if I wanted to change to waterproof socks they would fit inside my shoes. If not then my feet would undoubtedly swell to fill the available space anyway. I sent a spare pair of shoes, my largest size Hoka Mafate Speed 4, to the 2nd check point (50 miles) in case I wanted a change. In the end, astonishingly, not only did I never change my socks or shoes, I did not even take them off as there was no need to even look at my feet. My shoes were obviously caked in mud but my socks and feet had remained dry. No blisters, no hot spots, nothing. After major blister issues on the Northern Traverse and the Hardmoors 110 earlier this year I have since run two 100 milers without blisters. Looks like normal service has resumed. Happy days!

Before darkness fell we did have a stunning sunset on the South Downs. I don’t often take photos during a race, but this was so spectacular, with the signpost almost looking like it was on fire, that I stopped to take my phone out.

After the sun went down I settled in for the 16 hour night, initially heading for the first check point, 30 miles in at the Sustainability Centre, a few miles after Queen Elizabeth Country Park. On the way I refilled one of my flasks at one of the official South Downs Way water taps at mile 12 at Cocking, and enjoyed revisiting and recognising sections I had recced six weeks ago: Beacon Hill, Harting Down, Butser Hill.

I reached the check point just after 9 pm, so had maintained 4.3 miles per hour so far. The volunteers at the check point were wonderful, truly so helpful. As these are not big races and there are a lot of volunteers you really are waited on hand and foot. They even put the plastic overshoes on your feet and take them off again for you. I was complimented on my mobility as I could still lift my feet quite high. I would hope so too at only 30 miles in! Maybe they thought ‘not bad for an F60’ 🤣. A volunteer (I think her name was Yin – do get in touch if you read this!) told me she had been reading my blog and said lots of nice things about it, she even wanted a selfie with me. Fame at last! I had pasta with cheese and tomato sauce and a cup of tea. A volunteer filled my soft flasks with Precision Fuel & Hydration electrolyte solution (available as standard on Centurion races). I used the toilet and brushed my teeth, and did my usual** back exercises on the floor. Then I stocked up my food for the next section out of my drop bag, and knocked back a can of Starbucks double espresso mocha as ‘one for the road’ (also from my drop bag, Centurion are wonderful but they don’t supply these 😉).

**As some might know I have had issues with my back on previous ultras. I never have back problems in normal life, but running ultras I have developed a severe ‘lean’ twice (one of those was race-ending, with the other one I managed to struggle on to the finish). I have also had problems with SI joint irritation which sounds like nothing much (and is totally not serious), compounded by a minor lean too, the combination of which caused me so much pain that that race ended too. This was all on multi-day events. Since the last occasion (January 2025) I have substantially increased my strength training in the gym, and also developed a routine of stopping at every checkpoint, making sure I take my pack off, and lying down on the floor doing some simple mobility exercises. I have managed to avoid problems since then, successfully completing a multi-day ultra and three 100 milers this year. Whether that is luck or down to my strategy or a bit of both I don’t know, but I am sticking to my routine!

I left the Sustainability Centre after 30 minutes, with the next goal check point 2 at Bishop’s Sutton, a section of just 20 miles. First past Meon Springs Fishery, where I availed myself of a water top up, I wasn’t running low yet but as I was passing another ‘official’ tap I might as well. Then over Old Winchester Hill (not in Winchester though!) and on to Exton. Rumours of potential flooding by the river Meon proved exaggerated, no issues at all and I crossed safely over the footbridge. Next another Beacon Hill, this one with a brazier on top. I did not have every landmark clearly lined up in my head, and certainly not in the right order, so I enjoyed seeing them again and piecing the landscape together in my mind’s eye. Then Lomer Farm where I had another water top-up. It was half past midnight. The cows in the barn must have been disturbed, maybe by my head torch or one from a runner ahead of me, as there was an awful lot of loud mooing going on. I recalled passing through the farm on my recce, also stopping for water, and the farmer driving a huge tractor across the yard, with his toddler son sitting on his lap, stopping briefly to let me pass safely. And me waving to some of the farm labourers at the cottages. Funny how all these memories came flooding back, and they provided some distraction from the by now increasing achy fatigue in my feet, legs and back.

Shortly after Lomer Farm I left the South Downs Way to join the Wayfarer’s Walk. Now travelling north through some pretty villages; Kilmeston, Hinton Ampner and Cheriton. There was not always that much to see of course in the dark, but I remembered what the landscape had looked like in the daylight. In places it was becoming quite foggy now, especially when water was near such as the river Itchen near Cheriton. In fact it is here I stopped by a stile in a field to get my insulated jacket and over mittens out of my pack as I was getting cold. James Elson had warned us at the start that it would get cold in the night and to ‘be bothered’ about putting extra layers on. Such instructions are always valuable. Even though I am quite experienced there is always the temptation to put off stopping to get something out of your pack, and try and push on to the next check point instead. But somehow the almost ‘last words’ from a race director before the start tend to stick firmly in your mind. I skirted around New Alresford and reached Bishop’s Sutton and the second checkpoint at 3:10 am. My routine at this check point was the same, and the volunteers were just as marvellous. I think if prizes need to be awarded between check points then this one would win it, simply because they had black olives on offer to go on top of my pasta 😋! Total bliss.

I checked the tracker whilst I was there and saw that Sandra, the other F60 runner, had retired from the race. I felt really sorry for her, a faster runner than I am, she had been well ahead of me. Still, another woman’s misfortune could now make my day if I made it to the finish. Never a given in these long races! But the thought of the F60 trophy certainly provided extra motivation to keep me moving forward. At the same time I tried to put all of that out of my mind and kept saying to myself ‘just run the mile you are in’. As someone who has experienced a DNF 153 miles into a 160 mile race (Spine Challenger North) I am only too aware that it’s never over until it’s over, and it is not very useful dreaming about the finish. Though sometimes difficult to avoid.

I was out of the check point and on my way after 30 minutes. Now on the St. Swithun’s Way, to Ropley, Four Marks, Chawton (and Jane Austen’s House) and Alton. I met up with a few runners on this stretch and spent some time running and chatting with them which helped pass the time.

The first signs of dawn, followed shortly afterwards by a glorious sunrise, arrived when I got to Alton, a small town where there is a 24/7 petrol station right on the route, as well as shops. At the petrol station I bought water to top up my flasks, as well as a hot chocolate which I drank on the go. It was very welcome as it really was quite cold at this point, with frost appearing on parked cars. The attendant had obviously seen a few runners come through and asked me about the race. He seemed impressed I had come all the way from Amberley (I did stress we were taking the long way round!) but for honesty’s sake I did add that I was merely on the ‘fun run’ and that others were running 200 miles. Indeed, it was in Alton that I passed the first 200 mile runner I came across. We chatted briefly and he mentioned how cold he was, it reminded me of wearing seven layers by the end of the Northern Traverse because all thermoregulation had gone out of the window by that point. Still, he was moving relatively well (and did go on to finish, as did all the 200 milers I subsequently encountered) so I said good luck and moved on ahead. It was cold, as it often is just before and around sunrise, and in fact it stayed pretty cold until late morning, I would not take my extra jacket off until around 11 am.

The section between Alton and Farnham was fairly unremarkable. There were a lot of muddy fields and it was slow going. I started to overtake some runners here and there, many of these were walking. My pace was certainly nothing earth-shattering (is it ever? 🤣), but away from the mud I managed to still run for decent stretches, interspersed with walk breaks.

I was delighted to reach Farnham and the start of the North Downs Way at around 10:30. Only a marathon to go. I resisted the temptation to go into Waitrose or Sainsbury’s, both were right on the route. I had enough food and water, I did not need the toilet, there was no need to stop, tempting as it was. Keep on trucking Petra I told myself, no faffing. Two hours later I reached the third and final checkpoint at Puttenham, about seven miles after Farnham. I spent 40 minutes there, somehow I could not fit all my tasks into 30. I was still eating and drinking well, which I was really pleased about, and definitely no vomiting, like I had endured on the NDW100 in August. There was soup rather than pasta at this check point, which I enjoyed, and I had another hot chocolate. Again, the volunteers could not do enough for us. Then out into the sunshine to start the final 19 or so miles. It was lovely to go over St. Martha’s Hill on such a beautiful afternoon. Still, it’s a long way when you have 80 miles in your legs already, and bits of it really dragged. It was also very busy in the area with families out for a stroll, and with dog walkers. Many of us (as some mentioned in the Facebook group afterwards) were asked there about our ‘walk’, and we all felt like shouting ‘it’s a RUN’. I also struggled with changing direction to avoid colliding with oncoming walkers, children and out of control dogs (there were rather a lot of those 😏)

It was great to see Jamie Rutherford again out with his camera, running up and down to capture us all. I remembered that when I ran the NDW100 Pierre Papet had managed to snap me with both feet off the ground at this same spot, but I certainly wasn’t flying now. More like a slow-moving snail 🐌

I reached Newlands Corner, where there was a safety team stationed to check up on everyone’s welfare. After a brief chat with them I headed straight across the road into the woods. As the sun began to set once more I had to briefly stop to get my layers and head torch on again. I could barely wait to reach the final few miles, and I could visualise them very well in my mind, that is the section from St. Barnabas Church on Ranmore Common, through the Denbies Wine Estate, crossing the A24 via the underpass, onto Box Hill and down the other side. But I had forgotten how long and tedious the eight mile stretch through the woods from Newlands Corner over the White Downs to Ranmore Common is, and it felt more like eighty miles than eight! This is the section with the WWII pill boxes, for those in the know. I was reminded of hearing Allie Bailey talk about this very same section (when she ran the 200 in 2024) on this podcast which I had listened to only very recently. At least there were no parties going on inside the pill boxes as far as I could tell and I wasn’t hallucinating either of course, being just on the fun run 😉.

Eventually we came out of the woods and reached Steer’s Field and Ranmore Common, and the geography all fell into place again in my mind. By this time I had fallen into step with another runner, Steve Gilmour, and we stayed together until the finish, he had not been over Box Hill before nor checked out the way down from there to Juniper Hall. He was more than competent and would have managed perfectly by himself, but I enjoyed his company so I said I was happy to show him the way. Once at the top of Box Hill (those 275 steps are really not fun after 100 miles) we reckoned we could comfortably make a sub-29 hour finish so we pushed on a bit down the hill. Catching sight of the lights of Juniper Hall once we reached Broadwood’s Folly, the ruined tower on the hill above it, was the best view I had seen for a while!

We were delighted to both cross the line just before 7 pm in 28:56, and receive our finisher’s buckles, and for me there was the F60 trophy. My time is the new F60 course record too. This is not the first time that I have won my age category simply because the other runner(s) have retired from the race. I used to feel that somehow it makes the trophy less deserved. But I might be changing my mind a bit on that. These races are hard, for everyone, but they are perhaps especially hard once you are that bit older. Even though in the end I was on my own in the category, I still had to work really hard to get to the finish, it’s never a walk in the park!

However tough it felt at times, and however much my back, legs and feet hurt, I had a good race. Perfect weather, no injuries, no blisters (I never even changed my socks or shoes), no lean, not much nausea to speak of and certainly no vomiting, no dizziness (not until I stopped anyway). We were all looked after tremendously well at the finish. I was given a room (again I was lucky to have it to myself), and a volunteer carried my big bag and the three returned drop bags up for me. I did feel dizzy then, but nothing as bad as I have experienced in the past*** so I laid down on the bed for maybe 20 minutes before risking getting up and having a shower. It was challenging and I had to put my head down between my knees a few times in the shower but I managed to get clean without fainting. By the time I was dressed I felt a lot more human and went down for my post-race food. It was delicious, an enormous vegetarian all-day breakfast with a baked potato too. Several other runners came in whilst I was in the dining room, nice to see Jon and Shirley Steele again who were at the table next to me.

*** I have suffered with dizziness, nausea and vomiting during several races, mainly in warm conditions. After particularly unpleasant episodes of this during the Hardmoors 110 and the North Downs Way 100 I decided to have a sweat test with Precision Fuel and Hydration this autumn. I am not a heavy sweater, and somehow I had assumed that I am not a salty sweater either, as I don’t get the tell tale white stripes on my clothes. So I decided to have the test more as a rule-out really. Imagine my surprise when I turned out to be a very salty sweater indeed! I have now radically overhauled my strategy around salt intake whilst running, and this race certainly went a lot better. The acid test will of course come in the summer, so for now I am rejoicing cautiously! I am not on commission 😉, but would definitely recommend getting a sweat test done if you suffer from similar issues.

I slept really well and woke spontaneously around 5 am and set about packing my bag. I had tried to pre-book a taxi before I went to bed, and had been told to ring back in the morning. But of course when I rang just after 6 am I got their voice mail. Tried several other firms: no answer. Finally I got hold of one, where I was told they were fully booked until 10 am. So basically, all Dorking taxi firms were still asleep, bar one who was hoovering up all the work. Thankfully a kind volunteer was happy to drive me to Dorking station where I got the first Sunday train to London Victoria. Onwards to King’s Cross on the underground, those long corridors to get to the tube are always a challenge after a race, with swollen feet and achilles tendons that feel as if they have shrunk to half their length, and my big duffel bag on my back. I caught the 09:36 from King’s Cross to Leeds and bagged myself a first-class upgrade too, a treat I like to give myself after a race! One final train from Leeds and I was home by lunchtime.

The race was won by Harry Pickering (17:19:17) and Natalie Utting (18:09:04). 73 runners out of 88 finished, I was the 52nd finisher. The official race report, with full results and more photos can be found on the Centurion website here.

With HUGE thanks to Centurion Running’s staff and volunteers, nothing is too much for these wonderful people. And to my fellow runners for their company on the trails. I shall be back for more in 2026.

For those who are interested below is a list of the main items I used on this race. Any questions just get in touch!

• Pack – Montane Gecko 20L
• Waterproof jacket – Montane Spine (not worn)
• Waterproof trousers – Montane Spirit Minimus (not worn)
• Windproof – OMM Sonic Smock (worn from start to finish)
• Base layer top – Isobaa Merino long sleeves
• Leggings – Montane 3/4
• Socks – Hilly Twin Skin.
• Shoes – La Sportiva Prodigio Pro
• Insulated jacket – Rab Xenair Alpine Light (worn during the night)
• Hat – Inov8 Extreme Thermo Beanie (not worn – but I did put the hood up of my jacket, it was cold!)
• Buff
• Gloves – Decathlon Forclaz merino liner gloves
• Mittens – Montane Prism (worn at night)
• Watch – Garmin Enduro2 (with spare Suunto Race S)
• Head torch – Petzl Nao RL (with spare Petzl Swift RL)
• Running poles – Raidlight Compact Z Carbon