I managed to finish the Copthorne 100 back in 2022 which was one of the toughest races I’ve ever done. I made it round in 31:18 - less than hour inside cutoff. I was pleased to have finished the longest Copthorne event first time - only 15 people have finished it out of approximately 90 entrants. Blog here: https://76thmile.blogspot.com/2022/12/copthorne-100-2022.html?m=1
Then Allan announced a special anniversary edition which would be 200 miles. 72 hours cut off and 19.5 laps. The lap is 16.6km to give the right distance for 50k - it means the 100 miler is 103 miles… plus I did a bonus 3 miles loop last time so figured I had 40 hours extra for 94 miles. I’ve done Lon Las 253 plus 3 races of 145 miles plus so figured I had a good chance of finishing
I signed up in the summer of 2023 and had it in the background for a long time. In that time I had finished Spartathlon plus a pair of sub 24s at Thames Path and North Downs Way 100s. I had hit 200 miles every month this year so in good shape.
Mrs Dave kindly dropped me off at the start at about 1.30pm. It didn’t start until 4pm but it was her lunch hour so it was that or the train - I’m only a few miles down the road so would like to have avoided hanging around being a bit nervous.
It worked out well though as I snagged a good spot for my kit and set up my sleeping bag and air mattress. It was actually quite nice chatting to all my fellow competitors and catching up with Allan and Mike. Also my kit was a bit of a mess as I had just chucked things in a bag
There were some impressive running CVs. There were Spartathlon, UTMB, Lon Las, Western States, Centurion Grandslam, and Lakeland 100 finishers - and that is just me!
There were some other very impressive finishes including Tor Des Geants, Swiss Peaks and 100s of 100 mile finishes amongst the 15 starters.
I was sat next to Sam Jelf who I know from Fetcheveryone, but hadn’t met in real life plus Rae who had come over the channel from the Netherlands. I was worried the 2 hours would really drag but it wasn’t too bad with lots of good running chat. Tony Trundley also popped in to see us off.
Most people were wrapped up in lots of warm kit. There was a roughly 50/50 split between shorts and tights with one chap wearing tights and shorts. Justyna put us all to shame starting in short shorts and a tshirt.
Eventually it was time to get started. We headed out to the start - the 15 runners plus a few spectators. It was a very low key start with a bit of a countdown the Allan saying go.
It is a running joke in Bad Boy Running to lead races if you can. I set off with a brisk jog and held a surprising lead so eased back to let everyone past but no one overtook. The start is gently downhill for the first k so ended up leading until the first set of steps where Alex came past me.
I gradually gave up a few spots and was in about 6th spot for the descent from box hill and the short loop. The route on the way out is the bridge and back over stepping stones. I mindlessly followed the group in front over the stones - they were progressively deeper underwater with the last one being ankle deep. Starting a 200 with wet feet was a mistake - it would be back over the bridge every lap after that. However I did at least have one token crossing.
First rep of Box Hill was in the bag. Just 19 to go now. At the top it was the tail end of a beautiful sunset. The 4pm start meant it was almost straight into darkness but at least I got a couple of miles without turning the headtorch on. The darkness hit just after Donkey Green.
We finished the easy half of the loop - I had a debate with Alan about which half way harder. It is hard to believe the half with Box Hill and Satan’s staircase and be the easy half. We ran straight past the Mickleham aid station which was the main centre for the other races which would start in 39 hours time but was closed now.
To second half starts with a long slow climb past the abandoned stolen cars up to the gallops. It is a long drag as the gallops are also slightly uphill. They were beautiful with frost and stars making everything sparkle. The other side of the gallops are kamikaze hill which wasn’t too bad as they weren’t too muddy. Then another steady climb before Headley Heath, the private tarmac road before making it round for lap 1. The box hill checkpoint is pretty much the high point of the loop which explains why the Mickleham to Box Hill bit is the hardest
First lap was 2:15 which was spot on with timing plan. Carl and I only stopped to fill up bottles rather than going inside. There was Mountain Fuel blackcurrant on tap which was lovely - especially as it was nice and cold as it was left out in the sub zero temperatures.
Carl and I headed off for lap two. Alan came past us again as he had stopped in at the aid station - he sped off and that would be the last we saw of him. You don’t see many people in the race as there were only 15 to start with.
Lap 2 was done in 4:55. I didn’t have time in mind for lap two but was aiming for 3 laps in 8 hours so ok for that. Allan was working off 3 hours per lap plus faffing when he came out with the 72 hour cut off so I had banked an hour on that.
Lap 3 started to drag. It was cold but not brutally so. It was also amazing the microclimates of different parts of the route. The gallops were frozen solid but parts by the river were much warmer. When combined with different levels of effort made it relatively tricky to manage temperatures. I would be roasting at the top of box hill but cold by the end of donkey green a few minutes later
I have a no winter ultras rule. I love the short warm nights and can deal with heat but hate long cold ones. However the only exception is for Allan’s races. The long night was affirming the rule - I was 3 laps and 8 hours in and it was only midnight.
The race has superb volunteers and lap 3 pit stop featured mini Cornish pasties and a cup of team.
Lap 4 was ok - Carl and I had found a rhythm together. He is an interesting chap and ultras have helped him through a lot of challenges including recovering from some serious health issues. 11:05 for 4 laps was a decent bridge towards the Sub 32 for 10 laps which would be needed to finish in time
Lap 5 things started to crash a bit. The guidance for cutoff for 50 miles was 15 hours. I had hoped to be out on lap 5 after a 1 hour nap but it was looking like I would be arrived closing to 15 hours let alone leaving it. A few very minor navigation errors and the effects of a full night out in the cold and dark took its toll.
I finished up lap 5 in 14:47. The cut off was 15 hours so I could have viewed this as being almost timed out but Allan was relaxed with cutoffs. That was enough running for me… I waited around a bit at the checkpoint chatting to Allan and Paul White. After a bit of thinking, I bonged the gong. I wasn’t going to be able to push it to make it through another two nights and my pace wasn’t quite good enough
Carl settled down for a nap and Paul headed out for a 6th lap. I had run quite a bit with Paul in 2022 and I don’t think anyone has done more Copthorne laps than him - not even Mr T and Gimli. He ended up getting 11 laps in to be the penultimate person in the race before dropping Saturday morning.
It has made me appreciate my 2022 100 mile finish a lot more now. That was a year I finished UTMB and Western States so was in my best hill climbing fitness. This year I was not quite at the same level - I made it 50 miles in 12:06 that year and was almost at 60 miles by 15 hours. Admittedly that was with an 8am start so I got 3 laps in before dark in 2022.
The Copthorne 100 is great race - an understated challenge that seems like it shouldn’t be that tough by the short sharp climbs and descents add up plus the comfortable aid stations and wonderful volunteers make it all too easy to hang around eating and drinking tea. It should be on your list. Not sure about the 200 - hopefully Allan puts on again. Maybe if I spend all year working on my hill reps, I might have a chance… Having said that as of writing, it looks like only one runner out of 15 will finish so it might be Britain’s toughest 200 mile race so I will need a lot of training…
