16 Dec 2024
Winter Downs 200 2024 Race Report
In year two of this epic 200 mile winter adventure, records tumbled in fairly benign weather but poor underfoot conditions - even for December.
At the briefing we paused in memory of Steve Chamberlain who lost his life in a car accident earlier this year. Steve was the second person to sign up for this years event, back in late 2023 and will be sorely missed by all in our community.
Day one began in the dawn gloaming and as usual the pace at the front was quick even over the first section of the course which happens to contain some of the more difficult terrain with more ascent and descent - the North Downs Way between Box Hill and Botley Hill.
Day One Highlights
Day Two Highlights
The story of the front of the men's and women's races were intertwined as Emma Stuart ran through into the overall lead of the field when early front runner Dan Lawson withdrew at Ditchling Beacon, 80 miles in.
Uncrewed, she had to take more time at check points to charge batteries and sort clothing and nutrition, also taking the chance to grab a little sleep at Truleigh Hill.
From there onwards, Emma was joined on and off by Scott Newburn and Martin Wilson (also uncrewed) and the ebb and flow continued all the way up to the North Downs Way as they hovered right around Ry Webb's 49 hour course record pace. Scott ran into more difficulty coming into the last 50km which allowed first Emma and Martin and then Martin solo to pull away.
Emma Stuart and Martin Wilson
Martin crossed the line to win the mens race in 50:15, a superb run from the Sunderland native.
Martin Wilson First Place Mens Race
Emma shattered the existing course record by 13 hours to win the women's race in 50:52 in what was truly a world class performance. In what was also an astonishing performance, Rachel Fawcett took second in 54:14 as well as the FV50 award. Third lady was Allie Bailey who paced the race really well to cross the line in 65:34 having passed our Ultra Team and Centurion Coach Eddie Sutton who ran largely uncrewed, with only 15 miles to go.
Emma Stuart First Place Womens Race
Rachel Fawcett
Scott Newburn crossed the line for second in the mens race in 52:30 with third going to two time finisher Steinar Ulsnes.
In the age categories the FV40 award went to Allie Bailey and the FV50 award to Rachel Fawcett. In the mens, it was winner Martin Wilson who also took the MV40 category, Steinar Ulsnes who took the MV50 award - also third place and the MV60 award to Mike Armstrong in 75:36.
There were of course, the most epic stories towards the back of the pack. Where runners spent almost double the amount of time of our race winners, battling there way on to the finish.
Some of the more astounding stats from the weekend also lay there.
Day Three Highlights
Day Four Highlights
Not a single runner dropped out of the race after the 43 hour mark. All 47 athletes that made it into the third day, therefore went on to finish. Which speaks a lot to how much the investment of time into the course, guides a runners desire to finish. It also speaks to excellent race management from those that went on to finish as all made the cut offs.
Christian Maleedy who together with Rob Carr made it across the line as the final two finishers, was the final runner to DNF in 2023, when he missed the cut off with just 5 miles to go. This time he crossed in 94:42:50, giving us what was the perfect ending to the race.
We cannot express enough thanks to the volunteer team that made this race possible. Many of them arrived before the first runners on the Tuesday and departed at the final cut off on the Sunday. They literally poured a week of their lives into make the dreams of just over 100 athletes come to life.
Both races return in 2025 and the details and entry process are live on the webpages below. We look forward to another epice adventure this time next year.
