Endurance walker supreme Andrew Titley produced yet another incredible performance last weekend at the British Centurion’s Walk.
The walk took place on a 400 metres six-lane track at Lewes Leisure Centre in East Sussex, where he achieved Centurion status for the 18th time; completing 100 miles in 24 hours or less.
There was also a magnificent effort from Sophie Watterson-Jones, who completed 85 miles with the spur of raising money for Victim Support.
Also in action from the Isle of Man were Colin Moore and Haydn Kenna.
Centurion Walk
Robbie Callister travelled to the event to support the Isle of Man contingent and provided the excellent report below:
The event was the 100th staging of the British Centurions 100 Miles Walking Race, where competitors aim to complete walking 100 miles in 24 hours.
100 miles on a 400 metres track equates to 402 laps. There were initially 39 entries, with an actual starting number of 35 which included four walkers from the Isle of Man on the day.
Representing the Island were Andrew Titley, Sophie Watterson-Jones, Colin Moore and Haydn Kenna.
Sarah Webster, ex Isle of Man resident who is now based in the Lewes area, was also there.
Sarah was given permission to run for six hours alongside the walking race as part of her preparations for the World 24 Hours Running Championships in France in October, enabling her to practice her drinks strategy.
Race Conditions
The race started at 12 noon on Saturday, with overcast conditions and a cooling breeze which became very blustery and cold towards the early evening.
After sunset the temperature dropped considerably and it became a very cold and damp night for everybody, walkers, judges and supporters.
All the Manx walkers were circulating well at this point. Andrew was in third place overall (second British walker).
Lead walker was number 6 Bart De Vries from Holland, followed by Jonathan Hobbs from the UK in second place. Sophie was walking a very solid and focused race, being first lady from virtually the start and circulating in eighth place overall.
Colin and Haydn were walking well but both admitted they were lacking some serious training in the lead-up to the event. But, as they pushed on into the early evening, the drop in the temperature was making life a little difficult for them.
The ever smiling Colin Moore retired a few minutes before 7pm, while “mister chatty man” Haydn Kenna called it a day a few minutes before 10pm. During the night there were 15 retirements in total.
Long Night
Meanwhile Andrew and Sophie battled on into a very, very cold and windy night. Both Andrew and Sophie struggled between the hours of 3am to 6am.
Andrew struggled with the cold, whereas Sophie was having problems taking food onboard. During the daytime her food intake was excellent but during the nighttime she was having trouble taking food in and had been sick a number of times.
We were all looking forward to the dawn with daylight and hopefully some sunshine to lift everyone’s spirits. Well the sunshine did come, and in contrast to Saturday being cold and windy, Sunday morning was very hot.
It’s safe to say that the remaining 20 walkers all found the heat difficult to walk in, with many slowing in pace considerably.
Pushing on
Sophie was still having problems trying to take enough food in, but was stubbornly and bravely pushing on until it became clear she would not make the 24 hour cutoff time. Sophie finally retired after 344 laps (85.59miles).
Andrew was still circulating well, but was also finding it tough going in the heat. His average lap times at this point on Sunday morning were some 45 to 60 seconds a lap slower than those on Saturday.
It was during this time he lost his third place overall to Ignace Matthys from Belgium, although he was still second best British walker.
Andrew eventually finished fourth overall, completing the 100 miles, 402 laps in 23hrs 01min 47sec. He then walked an extra 403rd lap just to be on the safe side! This was Andrew’s 18th 100 mile walk finish.
The race was won by Bart De Vries from Holland in 21hrs 13min 36sec. Out of the 35 starters there were nine that completed the 100 miles within the 24 hours. The ninth place finisher was Frank Van Der Gulik in a time of 23hrs 51min 48sec.
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