From Matthew Kennedy…

I signed up for the Cotswold Way Century on the strength of an enthusiastic recommendation from a runner I met earlier this year at the Dales High Way Ultra. He said it was another small, friendly race and, sure enough, only about 50 runners assembled in Chipping Campden on Saturday at noon to attempt the 102 miles & about 14,600 feet of climbing down to Bath (actually 101 miles this year, since we stopped short of Bath Abbey due to the events of the weekend).

Although the headline numbers are very similar to the Dales High Way (which is 90 miles & also about 14,600 feet of climbing), the Cotswold Way has a completely different feel. Instead of crossing wide open moors and making a few big ascents, the Cotswold Way makes a seemingly endless number of small climbs up & down the Cotswold escarpment, as it snakes through fields, woods & parkland to a succession of picturesque villages & viewpoints (not to mention a surprising number of golf courses).

Whether it was all the unfamiliar twists & turns, or something else, I couldn’t quite find my stride on a hot, sunny afternoon, but I still managed to make steady progress until not long after sundown, when I was lucky enough to be caught just before Painswick (roughly 10 hours & 48 miles) by a local runner attempting his first 100-miler. It was a cool, pleasant night anyway, but the hours began to pass more easily as his running clubmates, family & friends came out in force to support him at all the checkpoints, culminating in an enthusiastic 4am welcome to his home village of Wotton-under-Edge (roughly 16 hours & 71 miles).

By then, we had caught a third runner, and he & I ended up taking turns to pace each other for the final 30 miles, through the sunrise and over Lansdown Hill towards the finish in Royal Victoria Park, just before noon on Sunday. While I may not follow in the footsteps of my recommender and return four more times (!), the event definitely lived up to its billing – for which many thanks to the race directors & volunteers – and is certainly worth a look for anyone interested in trying ultras in other parts of the country.

Results

(1 Martin Indge 21h12)

4 Matthew Kennedy 23h43

26 finishers