Stoked to finally tick off a 200 miler … completed the King Alfred’s Way 350km race over the weekend, starting and finishing in Winchester (England). With a bonus of finishing in third place ! I was ably supported and crewed by Eric Bremner, who was just amazing.
DNFs were high – of 42 starters, just 14 finished the journey. My time of 67:45 probably isn’t worthy of a podium, but you gotta finish it to be in it!
The course was stunning. Look up “King Alfred’s Way cycle route” for details. The terrain would be tough on a bike, and a lot of it just wasn’t suited to running. Which likely explains the attrition rate – RD said most people pulled out due to foot issues (I had one smallish blister, only discovered after removing shoes, so happy my foot care strategy was on the money). And there were only seven checkpoints (ranging from 25km to 56km), so doing this without crew (as many did), meant nutrition and hydration would be a struggle.
We were blessed by warm and dry conditions for the most part. There were many fields to cross and large parts of the track would have been wet or muddy if the rain hadn’t stopped two days prior. So very grateful for that!
I’d say “sign up and give it a try”, but it was a one-time only event. That said, the RDs (Mark Cockbain and Richard Weremiuk) were very friendly and professional (although kinda tough!) and the volunteers were just amazing – look these guys up if you’re ever looking for a UK-based race.
A huge thanks to Rob Donkersloot who’s coached me for the last couple of years and really changed the way I prepare and tackle these events. I’m a much better runner for what I have learnt.