I can't believe it's a year since this event last year! I absolutely loved it last year, but I was a bit apprehensive about this one and wasn't sure how it would go - I did my last 100 miler 2 weeks ago, and a marathon last weekend, and I have never done 100s so close together before, so I was a bit unsure how it would go, or if I could do it. But I figured, turn up, try your best, and most important - remember to have fun!
The Centaur 100 was part of the Denbies Festival of Running weekend - where there were lots of different events on; a half marathon, marathon, the Minotaur 50 miles, Centaur 100 miles, or the P12 and P24 (where runners run a mile on the hour, every hour). Everyone was doing different things, and some people were doing multiple events. Which is always fun, I like it when people are all doing all sorts of different things! There were so many running friends around, it was brilliant to see everyone, and to make new friends too!
The course was a one mile loop around the triangle shaped field and the bottom part of Denbies Wine Estate. Compared to the rest of Denbies, it is relatively flat, although it doe s have some slopes! I love this loop - it's all through the vines and is surrounded by beautiful views, and it is easy to break it up into the different sections, and I find the loops go by so quickly. The greens of the vines, and the trees and the hills were just beautiful! These are some of the sections of the course:
The camping field was by the aid station, and the whole event felt like a festival really, with some running thrown in! This time, I had purchased a pop-up tent especially for the occasion, so felt like a proper camper (compared to the last time I went camping, and only took the ground sheet instead of the actual tent). It's different shades of green, and looks like a small green egg. It doesn't have a front, so Andrew says it is a fishing tent, but actually I think you'll find that it's name is actually a "beach tent" which is suitable for family camping, fishing (OK, fine, whatever), the beach, and picnics (now we're talking!). I thought, it would be perfect to pitch by the edge of the route, and arrange everything inside, so you can just grab things as you go past. Which was a great idea, apart from if it rains (see later section on The Weather)......
Another 100 miles with Sarah, and another 100 miles of chatting. This was our 6th 100 mile adventure together! We always have the best fun, genuinely, and I know it's 100 miles, and of course it is hard, but really we always do have such good fun and the miles fly by. I think, what's the point in doing these things if you won't enjoy them? People sometimes say, how can you find things to talk about for 100 miles? And I always want to be able to say something intelligent like, well, of course, for miles 0-20 we usually start by discussing the origins of the universe and any new theories we have been developing since our last run, then for miles 20-30 we move on to debating the changes in the political environment of the last week, before at mile 30 spending a few further miles contemplating quantum physics. But actually, of course, we are probably just talking rubbish, which becomes increasingly random the longer we've been running for. The tiny tiny grapes, and how they must make tiny tiny bottles of wine! The psychedelic grass pattern on the green carpet on Green Carpet Hill in the headtorches, and how this compared to green paisley carpets we may have had in our home growing up. 50 Shades of Green. If today is a good temperature for shrimps (actually, that's a rolling agenda item). Which is just the best fun, and I do think that the more you smile, the less you can worry about what mile it is, or what time it is, or what part of your body is starting to hurt now. We didn't even officially check what lap we were on until lap 92, and then there were only 8 left to count, which was much more manageable than 100!
It was fabulous too, to chat to and catch up with so many people during the event. And to see everyone achieve so many different things. All amazing!
Fabulous to spend the first marathon distance with Andrew - thank you! And well done on your bivvying adventure with Alan afterwards - hardcore!
Super to see Tara too - who dropped in (with cake!) after her Surrey Seven Tea Shop 27 miles (but in an impressive display of willpower, didn't go in a single tea shop). Thank you for the cake, and our unicorn biscuits!
The Weather: Oh! Must mention the weather, of course. Very hot and sunny when were started at 08:00 on Saturday, and it was very hot running around in a vineyard with no shade. In the afternoon, it started to rain (sandy rain!) and it cooled down a bit. Then the wind picked up. The combination of sandy rain and wind did not suit the fishing/picnic/beach tent at all, especially when it's open side was facing into the wind. Sarah's tiara had also blown off the top. We had a short interlude of tent rearranging, where we unpegged it, turned it round, and solved the problem, but not before everything inside had been covered in sand rain. Oh. The rain was on and off, heavy and drizzle. Soon after it got dark, there was a storm, with the most spectacular lightening show over Box Hill! Then it rained some more, got really cold overnight, and stayed that way. Lovely standard summer weather really. We did our packing on Friday, when it was 32oC, so packing gloves and extra layers seemed so unnecessary, but wow I'm glad we had them, it was chilly overnight!
It was very dusty at Denbies (no puddles like last year), and these were our legs after taking off the timing chips 😂
We finished 100 laps in 22:59:59, which is hilarious, as we had absolutely no plan about any particular time we wanted to do, and didn't know what the actual time was either, but now I am going to tell everyone we were aiming for sub-23 hours, and we nailed it by one second 😂
Huge big thank you to Phoenix Running and Rik, all the AMAZING marshals, and Timing Monkey for a brilliant event. And absolutely huge congratulations to everyone who ran - you are all brilliant and did amazing - thank you for everyone's company and support on the way around! And of course, thank you Sarah for another amazing adventure!
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