South Downs Way 50: My First 50 Mile Ultramarathon

An amazing day running on the trails. This is my race vlog from the Centurion South Downs Way 50 (SDW50) mile ultramarathon race. This was my first 50 mile ultramarathon. As part of this event, I completed a fundraiser for Alzheimer's Research UK.
The South Downs Way 50 is a 50 mile ultramarathon organised by Centurion Running. The race starts on the south coast of England in Worthing. The start is half way along the South Downs Way National Trail. The route follows the national trail to Eastbourne. 50 miles and over a mile in elevation gain and elevation loss, it's not a flat 50 mile ultra. The route is almost entirely on trails with views out to sea and inland. Definitely one of the most beautiful races I have ever done.
My fundraiser for Alzheimer's Research UK. Any contribution would be much appreciated!
www.justgiving.com/fundraisin....

[@markg99]

Brilliantly done. If the weather was like that at the start for every ultra I think they'd be even more popular! 👍🏻🏃‍♂️

[@jamesday1]

Thanks Mark. Yeah it was a dream day weather wise. Next time I’ll wear sunscreen when it’s like that. The sun burn was painful the next day 😅

[@Goggins12347]

Great effort James. These videos are brilliant, keep it up

[@jamesday1]

Thanks Harry. Really appreciate that. I love watching these type of videos on KZbin.

[@ds111dodger5]

Brilliant

[@jamesday1]

Thanks mate!

[@philipklink5406]

Well done James. Brilliant day out and a great result too. Cheers! Phil

[@jamesday1]

Thanks Phil!

[@MOGoalkeeping]

Well done James, cracking effort!

[@jamesday1]

Thanks! It was a great day!

[@michaelbennett6778]

Superb achievement James 🏃🏻‍♂️👊💥

[@jamesday1]

Thanks Michael! Much appreciated.

[@Ultrarunningamber]

You rocked that 50 miler. Congrats. That time is really good.

[@jamesday1]

Thanks Amber!

[@gregorylebret]

Well done!

[@jamesday1]

Thanks Greg!

[@northender2006]

Well done 👏

[@jamesday1]

Thanks very much! 🙂

[@paulmulks]

Myself and my wife will be lining up on the 2024 start line 😵‍💫

[@jamesday1]

Good luck Paul! It's such an amazing event. I hope you have a great time!

[@30somethingmike]

Smashed it! Great time for your first go too. Well done. I’m doing the North Downs 100 with Centurion in August so it’s good to see what it’s like to run one of their races. Great video too - subscribed! 👍

[@jamesday1]

Thanks Mike! They are really well organised events. I'm doing the Chiltern Wonderland 50 in September. I'm also hoping to do the North Downs 50 and South Downs 100 (first 100 miler) next year. Good luck with he ND100. Have you done a 100 miler before?

[@30somethingmike]

@@jamesday1 nice one! I was thinking about the sdw100 next year too, but I’ll see how I get on this year first! This will be my first, but I’ve recced the whole course (filmed it too so I don’t forget) and I’m doing a 70 mile in June, so fingers crossed. See you at a race sometime!

[@jamesday1]

Doing a recce makes a huge difference. It's why I'm looking at the SDW100. I've run the second half and the first half starts in Winchester (where I'm moving in June) so I'll definitely get a chance to recce the course.

[@stuartwalker6786]

brilliant vid!

[@jamesday1]

Thanks Stuart. Glad you enjoyed it!

[@uncletim88]

Hi James you are super !

[@jamesday1]

Thanks Tim!

[@andrewinpompey]

Great effort, congratulations. And useful video for people who may do the same run in the future...

[@jamesday1]

Thanks Andrew!

[@trailrunningphil]

New sub here James! :) A great race video. I was well impressed with how well you seemed to know the course!

[@jamesday1]

Thanks Phil! It was my first time running the route, but I had the course on my Garmin and I spent a lot of time researching the route - watching videos, mapping out the hills and memorising the main turns. The Garmin definitely takes away the worry of getting lost!

[@trailrunningphil]

@@jamesday1 Impressive race prep!! I've seen a few people's races ruined by going the wrong way so your spot on looking into that

[@adamwoods3092]

Well done James, I would love to do something like that myself.

[@jamesday1]

Thanks Adam. I’d definitely recommend it. The training takes a lot of time but it’s worth it.

[@paulvymeris425]

Amazing effort James! Looks like a tough one, but with some fantastic views. Looks like you nailed it with the training. I'd be interested to know if you'd do anything different in terms of training/fueling, etc, for your next one.

[@jamesday1]

Thanks Paul and thank you so much for the donation. Yeah very happy with the result. I’m considering doing less volume next time so I can maintain the speed work and avoid injury. I’m torn about the hill work and elevation. I was expecting my lack of hill training to impact me more towards the end of the race. I’m planning a follow up / recap video to talk about the race in more detail. I’ll add some stuff about my training into that. Thanks again for your support.

[@indayelena5646]

Goodluck new friend watching from Philippines

[@jamesday1]

Thanks Inday Elena! Hope you enjoy the videos 🙂

[@bev9708]

AWESOME!!! And now you've smashed a 100k!!! Though this one seemed even more difficult quite frankly... Is that because of those mega hills? Or you're that much fitter now since April?? Or maybe just my imagination!

[@jamesday1]

Thanks Bev! I think a major factor is how fast I ran. If I ran the ST at the same pace of the SDW50, I would have finished in 11 hours. My ST average HR was 157bpm, the SDW was 162bpm. The SDW was also a lot more hilly. But yes, I think I'm in slightly better shape now than I was in April.

[@DanCross]

Great recap of your race, which you did brilliantly in. Some of those climbs were tough, weren't they? I think I swore all the way up the one after Housedean Farm!

[@jamesday1]

Thanks Dan. Yeah the hills were brutal. They were also seriously long. No hills in london come close to replicating them. How did you get on?

[@DanCross]

@@jamesday1 OK... until about halfway! Had an escalating hip pain, but not enough to warrant a DNF, so walked the last miles. Aimed for sub-9, but finished in 10:45! Got my money's worth, though... Best of luck in your future races and continue documenting your progress.

[@jamesday1]

Congrats on battling through and finishing. There’s definitely something to be said about having a tough day and still getting it finished!

[@Ijustkeptrunning]

Great effort!! Well done. I was thinking of doing that race next year. Think you’ve just sold it to me 😅

[@jamesday1]

Thanks mate. I'd definitely recommend it! Make sure you find out when the entries open. This race sells out within a day. The Centurion Running newsletter will ensure you don't miss it. Good luck at the NDR50 this weekend!

[@Ijustkeptrunning]

@@jamesday1 Cheers for the heads up. I’ll try and jump right on it as soon as they go on sale.

[@kierenkd]

Looks lush. Footage is really crisp too. Is that a phone or action camera?

[@jamesday1]

Thanks! I use a GoPro Hero 9 and film in 5k. The files are pretty hard to edit (I had to invest in an M1 Mac) but the quality is really nice.

[@kierenkd]

Thanks.