Natalie Taylor was the first person to cross the line in the inaugural Winter on the Downs 100 mile ultra race. In challenging conditions, the 40-year-old Army GP won in 22:54:10, almost 18 minutes ahead of Bradley Smith (senior age category) who finished in 23:12:05. Third place was also taken by a female, Zsofia Gorka, in 24:39:51.
Nat, who lives in Wales, said: “I was very surprised to win overall but also very chuffed. It was a tough race due to the conditions, including more rain than forecast and often very strong headwinds so, in the end, I was just happy to finish.”
What is the Winter on the Downs 100 mile?
The route follows a figure-of-eight style loop around the trails of East Sussex and West Sussex. Starting and finishing in the seaside town of Eastbourne, runners then run over Beachy Head and the Seven Sisters, before heading up towards Plumpton and out to Findon along the South Downs Way. The route then loops back around and towards Lewes before finishing in Eastbourne.
The course is a combination of grass trails, farm tracks and paths through woodland, with a total of some 4000m ascent. The route is generally very runnable and best described as rolling hills with some longer, steeper climbs.
Race day for Nat at Winter on the Downs
As well as the 100-mile ultra race, there is a 55-mile race. The organisers faced news of Storm Darragh just before the event, which meant it was not possible to have a marquee at the start and finish. A last-minute change of plan saw the race base moving to a village hall.
Natalie, who is a British Army Major, had expected rain during the race but “not rain driven horizontal by the wind”. The period of heavy rain was longer than forecast, too. She said: “The wind was particularly harsh at the coast, too.”
The ground was muddy and she reveals she chose the wrong trail running shoes. She said: “I could have done with more grip than I had.”
Nat gave praise to the excellent organisation of the race, as well as the friendly volunteers. She said: “The food stations were amazing and I appreciated the cheers of encouragement.”
She had no idea that she was in strong contention in the race until around half-way. She overtook the second placed male after 51 miles and then went into the lead after 72 miles.
She said: “As well as the poor weather, there was some difficulties with navigation due to the wind causing signage to fly away. Some runners got a bit lost although I managed to follow the route on my phone.”
Then came the hardest part of the race. Nat said: “The last section was so tough. I was trying to run downhill and I could see the lights at the end but the strong gusts of wind made me slow to a walk. I was so relieved to finish. I would really recommend the UK Ultras races.”
See Winter on the Downs 100 Mile results. UK Ultra runs a list of around a dozen races.