Winter on the Downs 55mi | Race Recap
@tobiecharlton
Following the beautiful brutality that was the Lighthouse Marathon in November, the first week of the festive season brought with it the second and final prep race ahead of the Arc 100 in January.
UK Ultra provided the perfect opportunity with their Winter on the Downs 55-miler - following a looped route on trails I know inside out being my local playground.
Just under 7 weeks out, this was to be the determinant of whether I was to sign along the dotted line for the 2026 edition of the AoA - and with a fruity forecast in the form of gale force winds and driving rain, the ideal conditions to test winter race fitness…
The Pres
The morning started at 0445 - a drowsy rise after a midnight finish working at the pub.
Business as usual - porridge, bagels, foot tape and last minute packing and before too long it was time to pick up Mr Aitken from down the road.
Grant is a close friend of the family, and had become something of a legend this year after completing Dragon’s Back in September. On the journey down, he recalled all the crazy stories from the 236-mile race across Wales - something I am very keen to tick off the list in the future.
Still under cover of darkness, we pulled into the small village of East Dean - which played host to the event village for all 3 distances (50k, 55mi, 100mi). The village hall was already bustling with activity - people picking up trackers, checking kit, and getting some last minute time off the feet before embracing the elements.
0720 arrived, and it was time to take the short walk up to the edge of the village and the start line - poised at the foot of a looming climb that would take us up and onto the Downs.
East Dean to Southease | 0-16mi
The first climb out of East Dean was a nice injection of spice to get the legs moving - the top of which brought our first taste of a savage south-westerly that was to be a defining element of the day ahead.
@tobiecharlton
The wind grew more vicious as we wound our way down to the coastline. Slippery conditions underfoot meant, after a couple of early stacks, the sticks came out for an earlier-than-anticipated appearance with the sharp grassy slopes of the Sisters around the corner.
As we dipped under and over the undulating cliff path, everyone began tightening cap straps and fastening things down that little bit tighter as the gusty headwind blew strong.
The steady descent down into Cuckmere soon turned back on the up into Frisdon Forest - which seemed ten times easier thanks to the relative shelter from the breeze.
Runnable trails gave way for the tarmac of Litlington, before crossing the bridge and onto a gradual climb towards Rathvinny.
These trails were all too familiar having been a stalwart of last year’s RAS prep, but the wintery (albeit unseasonably mild) conditions gave for a slightly different experience.
3 or 4 miles of gentle ascent finished with a blustery summit of Firle Beacon, followed by the long steady descent back into Southease.
The hazy views of a sunny Lewes provided a stark contrast to the hills on the left: barely visible amidst some ominous looking clouds. Knowing that’s where we were headed, I got the waterproof out my pack while plodding down into Southease in preparation…
…only to completely bugger the zip through brute force on approach to CP2!
Southease to Housedean Farm | 16-23mi
A quick fuel up in the form of a peanut butter sandwich and some bananas for the road, and it was back on the way towards Falmer.
At this point, I was still feeling pretty sluggish - as with the 20 miles prior - compounded by the frustration of a knackered waterproof.
This was one of my favourite parts of the route when I looked at the GPX prior to the race - usually very runnable, but with the addition of the wind felt unusually tricky. At times, it felt like dragging a sled loaded up with gear - every step seemingly sapping energy out of the legs at an alarming rate given how slow I was going.
However, after the battle up onto the ridge looking down on the Kingston Windmill, I began finding a little more rhythm which started to lift the spirits.
Spurred further by a view of the Shrine, this was where I was entering unknown territory - taking a descending path down towards the main road into Brighton.
Having picked up the pace and found some energy for the first time in the day, I felt buoyed as we plodded into the well stocked checkpoint at Housedean Farm.
Housedean Farm to Offham | 23-33mi
Upon leaving, I saw the freshly-faced Grant motoring into the aid station close behind - so I took my time on the first slope of a 5 mile climb to the top of Ditchling in the hope that, before too long, he would catch up and share some miles.
Sure enough, about 2 miles on from the checkpoint, I saw the familiar red jacket/white cap combo coming up behind, and we cracked on a winding road section together.
In typical Ultrarunner fashion, we exchanged pointless complaint about the weather - lamenting about how nasty the wind on Firle was, while in the same breath saying how much fun it was.
We are an incredibly contradictory breed…
The weather started to turn again and, confronted with some long, looking climbs, it was nice to have company for a section that otherwise would’ve been rather bleak.
About ¾ of a mile from the top of Ditchling, conditions had worsened still - but Grant and I worked together to keep each other pacing up towards the hill, in the knowledge that the 5mi to follow down Blackcaps into Offham would be easy money with the slope and wind behind us.
As expected, we took a sharp right where the 100mi route had split off to go further west towards Steyning - and cracked on down towards Lewes.
On the turn of the 28-mile mark, I started feeling the groove big time - the fatigue from 3 hours’ sleep and a long shift the night before had just about passed, and for the first time I felt 100% on form.
Consequently, I opened up on the downhill to put a bit of distance between Grant and I - where being a 6’5 fat bastard really comes in handy thanks to gravity!
For me, this was the turning point in the race - where things started to really click, and the intense work of this 6 week block started to pay off.
Offham to Alfriston | 33-45mi
I spent a little longer at Offham to take some layers off - in the shelter of Blackcaps, out of the wind, I had started to get very hot so felt the waterproof-cover of my broken jacket was no longer needed.
A generous handful of flapjack and a quick brew - and it was out towards the Ouse to join back on the path towards Lewes; by which point Grant had caught up once more.
We plodded in tandem parallel to the river, through Lewes town centre, and up the vicious climb back up onto the Downs via the golf course. We were back into known territory!
For some reason, the Rig continued to feel better and better - which, with nearly 40 miles in the legs, felt rather unusual. The muddy descent into an open valley felt smooth, before heading back up and over a rather large lump before the checkpoint in the beautiful village of Glynde.
It was a quick turnaround, as I had reassessed the situation and decided to start putting some gentle pressure on the gas pedal with the body feeling so good.
The route turned onto the Old Coach Road - linking Firle village with Alfriston, and a path I knew all too well. This was as always the final stretch of countless long sessions on the Downs over the last few years, but never once had I felt this good pacing on the gravelly track.
An unexpected turn up and over Bo Peep added a hefty chunk of elevation in the mix that, although unexpected, felt smooth and solid on the march. What goes up must come down, though; and the open track down into Alfriston presented an opportunity to press down on the pace and get to the CP before sundown.
As planned, we got there with loads of time to spare - ready to transition into Night Ops in the comfort of Alfriston village hall.
Alfriston to East Dean | 45-55mi
I was stoked for the final 10 miles into the finish.
Luckily enough, I still had a bit of light to get out of Alfriston, up the Long Man and over the top towards Jevington.
Midway up Wilmington, with the wind picking up again, the visibility was much less hazy than most of the day - and the dotted sprawls of Saturday night street lights made for a pretty good view across the heart of Sussex.
Since the checkpoint at Glynde, I had started to pass some of the 100 runners on the last leg of their incredible adventure - and after hopping over Long Man, they began appearing with a more regular frequency.
Having suffered through, at this point, 29 hours of brutal wind and rain, the fact they were all moving so well gave me even more inspiration - and every wave/passing remark was met with a reply, even though they must have been completely battered. A reminder of how amazing the Ultra community is, even in the face of intense adversity. Legends.
I made a quick stop to grab a snack at the Jevington CP, but with 5 miles to go I wanted to keep in the groove to get up the final climb of the day.
Running in good rhythm, I decided that I had more than enough in the locker to run straight through to the finish - which, after the first ascent out of the checkpoint, felt pretty smooth and straightforward!
With much more dark training in the bank compared to last year, I felt more confident than ever picking the pace up as dusk turned to night.
The flat ridgeline alongside a lively Polegate gave way to the gentle downward slope through Willingdon Golf Course towards East Dean.
In what seemed like a split second, trail gave way to road - and the road sign for the Village Hall prompted a speedy burst to the finish line with a fair amount remaining in the tank!
10 hours and 38 minutes - 16th Overall, and one of my favourite day outs’ running in a long time!
The Afters
Over the finish, I quickly nipped inside to change into my base layers stowed away in my pack - wary of the wind and getting a chill after sweating a fair amount on the final stretch.
I saw the fresh faces of Grant’s family while knocking back a bacon sandwich, who told me he was about 20 minutes out - just enough time to do some foot and body admin before the drive home.
Grant looked strong on the finish - probably having a similar burst of energy to myself when darkness fell - and after a quick debrief, I left him to soak up the energy with the family.
A quality day out, with quality company - and all objectives for the race hit! Big thank you to the team of organisers and volunteers at UK Ultra for putting on such a well-run, well-supported race.
And, most importantly - confirmation that I am in much better shape to face this Winter’s Arc of Attrition. The Green Light hath been shown.
6 weeks out…
