Runners will depart from Goring at 10am on Saturday 21st October and make their way to Little Wittenham on the first out and back section on the Thames Path. On returning to Goring, runners will be faced with the more challenging but beautiful second spur of the course, out to Swyncombe Farm on the Ridgeway before returning to Goring a second time. Spur 3 takes runners west on the Ridgeway to Chain Hill before returning to Goring for the final leg on the Thames Path to Reading and return for their 100 mile finish.
The difficulty of this race should not be underestimated. During a dry spell the route is flat, fast and picturesque presenting ideal conditions for a trail 100. However, runners will also be faced with up to 13 hours of darkness and the possibility of extremely low temperatures, rain and very wet and windy conditions. Conditions underfoot can vary dramatially.
As with all Centurion events, runners will be fully supported by 16 well stocked aid stations , full medical support and course markings in addition to the pre-existing national trail waymarkers. Race held under full UK Athletics Permit granted through the TRA (Permit Number: 799).
Distance
100mi
161KMs
Elevation
3840ft
1170m
Cut-off
28hours
Entry Fee
£140
Date
21 Oct 2017 10:00
Course Marked
YES
Medical Support
YES
No. of Starters
300
Avg Temp.
11C
51.8F
Avg Rainfall.
61mm
2inches
Avg Humidity
35%
# of Aid Stations
16
Location
EU / UK / ENGLAND / SOUTH-EAST
Terrain
20% road / 80% trail
Entries for the event open on Saturday 3rd December 2016 at 1000.
There will be 300 places for the event on open registration and places are available on a first come, first served basis. Entrants must meet the minimum qualification standard below in order to apply. Qualifiers will be checked 6 weeks from race day - if you have not updated your registration with a valid qualifier by that point or have not met the criteria, you will be contacted and potentially removed from the start list.
There will be a wait list in operation once the initial places are taken. Exceptions to the above are:
Those who volunteered over 8 hours of service to the race in 2016 and are therefore guaranteed 2017 entry. These will be confirmed prior to general entries opening.
The entry fee is £140 with an additional card fee taken by the registration company.
In order to start the race, you must have completed a minimum of a 50 mile distance race within 15hrs, between 1st January 2014 and the 2017 race date. As organisers, we reserve the right to refuse anybody entry who does not meet this standard. Unqualified runners may enter but should they not complete a qualifer within the requisite time frame, they will not be permitted to start. There are further conditions to what may be used as a qualifier.
Click here to read more about what counts as a qualifier.
Runners must finish within a 28 hour time limit. There are additional cut offs at every aid station as listed in the aid station table.
Registration, Race Start, Race Finish and Race HQ is at Goring Village Hall, High Street, Goring-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, RG8 9AG.
The route is a series of 4 separate 12.5 mile out and back sections using both the Thames Path and Ridgeway trails which converge at Goring & Streatley. Each section will start and finish in Goring & Streatley but will be run on a different stretch of one of the above trails. As in 2013-16, the course will be run in the following order.
Spur 1: (Thames Path): Streatley to Little Wittenham and return
Spur 2: (Ridgeway): Streatley to Swyncombe Farm and return
Spur 3: (Ridgeway): Streatley to Chain Hill and return
Spur 4: (Thames Path): Streatley to Reading and return
Total: Distance 100 miles.
A map of the route can be found at the bottom of this page.
100 mile Buckle to all finishers. Runners finishing the course in under 24 hours will receive '100 miles - One Day' buckles commemorating their achievement. Runners finishing between 24 and 28 hours will receive '100 mile - Finisher' buckles. Runners finishing all 4 Centurion 100 mile races within a calendar year will be awarded Grand Slam Finisher Awards at the conclusion of the race.
There will be 16 fully stocked aid stations along the length of the course. A list of the aid stations and all relevant details, can be found here. Aid stations carry as a minimum: water, coke, chocolate, sweets, nuts, fruit, crisps, a limited number of GU energy gel packets, sandwiches and other sweet and savory snacks. All of the aid stations on legs 2, 3 and 4 will have hot drinks. Hot food will be available at Goring.
Drop Bags can be accessed at Goring, meaning runners will have access to drop bags at mile 25, 50, 75 and 100 miles.
The course is marked by national trail marker posts which come in different forms but most commonly display the acorn which is the key symbol and guide on both the Thames Path and the Ridgeway.
In addition to the National Trail markers, the course will also be marked with reflective red and white tape and marker arrows as well as orange chalk paint on the ground through any section being covered at night. It is always possible that our course markers may be removed or vandalised, in which case you will need to use the National Trail marker posts as the guide. There are a number of road crossings to negotiate, some of them are extremely busy. The road crossings are NOT marshalled. Please be extremely careful when you are crossing roads of any nature.
It is ultimately the runners responsibility to navigate the course successfully, with or without course markings. If you are in any doubt we strongly recommend that you take the time to recce the route before race day.
Pacers are permitted from Mile 50. Pacers may join a runner only at Mile 50 or Mile 75 and must cover either 25 or 50 miles (Leg Three and/ or Leg Four) with their runner. Pacer handovers are not permitted anywhere other than HQ at Goring.
Crews are not permitted at this race due to the size of the aid station locations and pressure on the local community.
There will be a dedicated team of race medics available throughout the duration of the weekend. If you suffer an injury or accident that warrants direct medical attention, the medics will be on hand to provide you with exactly that. Contact numbers and full details of what to do in an emergency are available in the information packs and will be re-iterated in pre-race mail outs and at race registration. Due to the nature of the course ie. some off road, the medics may take some time to reach you, or potentially be out of contact tending to other runners. A level of self sufficiency is absolutely critical in such situations.
The majority of the course is on trail. Trail shoes are advised especially given the time of year. There are sections of trail which can become very muddy or flooded in wet conditions.
There will be kit checks prior, during and after the race. Runners must carry the following mandatory equipment at all times. A time penalty of one hour will be imposed for any item found to be missing at any point on course. Please refer to this page for explanations on the inclusion of the below items.
There are many options regards kit for fulfilling these requirements and those of other events. We stock what we believe to be the best options at our online store available by clicking here under the Mandatory Gear Section. Please ask us if you have any questions.
Strongly recommended but not mandatory: