Winter Downs Racing & More Adventures: This Week's Trail Tally

Winter Downs © Centurion Running

Chasing Trails: Week 51

After catching up with Centurion Running’s James Elson and all the Centurion customers last weekend, it was great to keep close to the Downs by following all the amazing athletes who took on the Winter 200 and 100-mile races. And what a joy to see Sam King finish his 79 consecutive ultras in honour of his mum. A fantastic week, full of inspiring achievements, well done to all!

Sarah Enright and Caspian James Triumph at the Winter Downs 200

If you’ve ever wanted to experience the best southern trails have to offer, but thought the 100-mile distance wasn’t quite long enough… Centurion Running organised the third running of the Winter Downs 200 - a 200-mile adventure on the North and South Downs Ways, Vanguard Way, Wayfarers Walk, and St Swithuns Way.

The brave runners who lined up would have 96 hours to complete 200 miles / 321 km with 22500 feet / 6800 m of ascent. 200-mile specialist Sarah Enright emerged victorious in 68:29:40 after leading the women’s field from the start. Sarah has got the Race Across Scotland and Northern Traverse on her resume, but she crowns 2025 with this impressive win. Behind her, Libby Clark and Jemma Lyons crossed the finish line together in 75:16:27. Libby had been in front for much of the race, but came together with Jemma to run the final miles as a team. 

In the men’s race, it was an exciting watch as Caspian James led from start to finish, but ran an impressive time to beat the previous course record held by Ry Webb. Ry had run 49:15:50… Cas crossed the finish line in 43:38:55! (That’s faster than it took me to complete 100 miles at the UTMB!)

Behind him, Mike Samuels, crewed by Harrier’s PRO Athlete Sam, finished in an impressive 50:34:19. Third place went to Tom Harvey in 55:28:27.

This was a fantastic display of grit and resilience from all the runners - a huge congratulations for the 37 brave finishers and for everyone who took the start!

Winter Downs 200 Podium Photos © Centurion Running

100-Mile Victories for Natalie Utting and Harry Pickering

In the 100-mile Winter Downs, Natalie Utting took the win in an impressive course-record setting time of 18:09:04, which also placed her third overall. Behind her, SheRACES Founder Sophie Power, who decided to enter the race at the last minute to get some “me time” on the trails in fresh air, ran 19:38:47 for second place and sixth overall. She was followed on the podium by Laura Swanton-Rouvelin, previous winner of the Winter Downs 200 in 2023, who finished in 20:30:37.

Harry Pickering won the men’s race in 17:19:17, followed by Nathan Hutton in second (17:39:06) and Andrew Harrower in third (19:00:12). Congratulations to all!

Winter Downs 100 Podium Photos © Centurion Running

79 Ultras in 79 Days for Sam King

Last week also marked an inspiring challenge completion: Sam King ran 79 ultra marathons in 79 days to raise money for the Headway charity in honour of his mum, who is recovering from a near-fatal bleed on the brain.

Sam used to be best known for his high-ranking achievements playing Call of Duty online. He took up running to get fit, became an endurance athlete, and changed his life completely. But it was the terrible accident his mother had to inspired him to make an even bigger change - running c. 31 miles every day for 79 days straight. The challenge started out with a plan to run 74 days - one for every day of his mum’s life. It turned to 79 in order to finish this past Sunday outside the church in Frinton, Essex.

You can follow Sam’s progress on his Instagram page, where he has shared updates from every day of the challenge. And you can donate to Sam’s fundraiser here.

Sam at the finish and with his mum © Sam’s Instagram

An Inspiring FKT on the Arc of Attrition Route

If you’re looking for a film to help you visualise the upcoming Arc of Attrition by UTMB races, you’re in luck. Mike Samuels, this year’s second-placed runner at the Winter Downs 200, also set a double Arc of Attrition FKT (fastest known time) in March. Mike returned to the Cornish coast after running the 100-mile route one-way and decided to tackle the double, running 210 miles with 33,993 feet / 10,361 m of ascent.

You can read his race report here, but you can also see a film made about the challenge, here. Jump to 10 minutes in for foot care tips or just enjoy the fantastic scenery and display of grit!

We are nearing the end of the year, but the fabulous challenges and achievements keep coming! The Winter Downs almost inspired me to sign up for a 200-miler myself… albeit I can only applaud a winter run like this. Next week, we’ll take a look back at some of the most inspiring performances of 2025 before signing off for the year. So tune in to reminisce with us!

Alecsa Stewart