How to Tame Your First 100 Miler - South Downs Way by Sarah Preston

A year ago we were contacted by Sarah Preston about the potential of Camino coaching her to her first ever 100 miler.

We loved the initial conversation - Sarah is everything we love about ultrarunners - she is ultra curious - she is passionate about covering all the bases and we felt (maybe more than she did at the time) that she had every element needed to succeed in her goal.

So we agreed to start 7 months out.

We were able to establish a great routine over the winter and Sarah became an A Star student in the ways of the Camino Toolbox - always experimenting - learning - making changes and getting specific around the SDW.

With a brilliant marathon proving that there was speed to help with cutoffs and plenty of resilience being built in during the long runs we got down some marginal gains in the final weeks. Sarah learnt the course, got to work on the final kit and the real dynamite up the sleeve was having an incredibly supportive and active crew team.

We knew that Sarah was ready but could Sarah put it all together and bring home that special buckle. We never thought that it would be the incredible rollercoaster that it became - so over to Sarah to share more on the 100 miler with some helpful advice if you are thinking of doing the same.

SARAH PRESTON:

"Did my first ultra 7 years ago when I turned 40. Loved how ultras let me explore different parts of the country and gave me peace and quiet away from my busy family/work life.

I love running with my friends, we use our runs to catch up with each other. I am an early morning person and find running or gym helps me get ready for the day.

The furthest ultra I had run was 100k. Although I was happy with every ultra I had done the 100 miles distance was always in the back of my head. I follow @subrunsmiles and when I saw her complete SDW200 with the help of Camino_ultra I knew if I was going to do the 100 I would want them to help me. After speaking to my family and friends about my ultra plans I contacted Camino_ultra.

Darren was lovely and told me I could do it he put my mind at rest when I told him my worries of finding time as a mum with a full on job. Within weeks I had a training plan and a WhatsApp group chat with Paula, Darren and David. They were always on hand to answer my questions and I never felt silly asking for advice. We used training peaks for my plan and for someone who is not great with apps I found it easy to navigate and could move sessions around if needed. My coaches were great the week before SDW100, we had a chat and set up a group for them the crew me virtually and help my crew who were with me. This made me feel at ease as my crew had never done an event like this before and having some experts to hand really helped.

I travelled to Winchester the day before the race so that I could be relaxed. Picking up my number and tracker was easy, it was also nice to hear some of the elites talk and watch the kids race. I have never had a proper tracker before and felt excited that I was actually going to be a dot!

My alarm went off at 4am and by 5.45 I was at the start line. I was really excited and happy to be there, everyone was so nice and welcoming. I knew the course was going to be tough at times but had to remind myself this was what I wanted to do for me. I was doing really well and met some lovely people along to the way, a few that I will now keep in contact with. I got to miler 55 Washington 30 minutes later that I wanted to and sickness kicked in from around mile 50. This had never happened to me before and I was now struggling to eat. I changed my clothes and forced down some pasta. I then picked up my first pacer, Kyle one of my sons. He was just what I needed, someone to listen to me when I was upset and he was just there to keep me safe through the night. I don’t like running in the dark on my own. The nausea feeling carried on through the night and I struggled to eat. Ginger biscuits and watermelon were my go to foods.

I switched pacers at mile 69, Dean my other son took over. Dean is more militant and likes maths so was working out what pace I needed to be going to reach aid stations with time before the cut offs. This the where we picked you Jaco, a lovely guy who was doing his 4th SDW100. Jaco stayed with us till the end and congratulated me on getting g my buckle around mile 80. At that point I wasn’t sure I would make it as the blisters in the soles of my feet were so big and painful they hurts just standing let alone run/walk. At mile 86 I said goodbye to Dean and picked up my final pacer Lisa. She is my running friend and knows me very well.

We also picked up some fruit sherbet sweets from my crew. That was all I wanted to eat and gave myself and Jaco the boost we needed. Lisa was great, she talked away letting my mind off my blisters and she also loves a stat so was figuring out what pace I needed to be doing to reach aid stations before the cut off. I think I had 5 mins to spare coming g out of the last aid station and panicked that the sweeper was chasing me down. Jaco told me that was not the case and that I was going to complete the course.

With this I pushed on having a little teary moment every now and again as I knew I would achieve what I came to do. I know I had everyone on the edge of their seats watching my dot and wondering if I would make it in time. They needed to be with Jaco and Lisa 😂.

My finish was something I could only of dreamed about. My children and friends got to run round with me. I got to run through the ribbon and then I was interviewed.

All my family and friends that could not be there got to see me something that I had been wanting to do for years. It was everything I could have wished for and more.

My highs of the SDW100 were the start line, completing 55 miles on my own, the ghost horses, friends I made along the way and my finish.

My lows were feeling sick from mile 50, changing my socks to a pair I hadn’t worn before that caused my blisters. Getting into mile 55 later than I wanted to.

Things that I have learnt from this is. Fitting training in around family/work is tricky but can be done. Don’t try anything new on race day (socks). Eat, even if you don’t feel like it keep eating