North Wales Road Running trio tackled the historic 100km Race to the Stones ultra-marathon.

*Pictured above -  Road Runners Ben and Sarah Hudson.

North Wales Road Running trio tackled the historic 100km Race to the Stones ultra-marathon.

Report by Don Hale.

https://donhaleblog.blogspot.com

www.welshmastersathletics.co.uk

 

Three North Wales Road Runners competed in the historic, tough, but prestigious Ridgeway Ultra-Marathon, Race to the Stones event, over the weekend and staged over a gruelling 100km course including parts of the oldest path in Great Britain.

The talented trio of Ben and Sarah Hudson, together with club colleague Jamie Tharme accepted this exceptional ultra-marathon challenge which was run in decent weather conditions and along a picturesque but undulating route.

The event organisers claimed it was the UK’s biggest ultra-marathon, and challenged entrants to conquer Britain’s oldest road, confirming that the Ridgeway, followed the same route over high ground used by herdsmen and travellers since prehistoric times. 

In their publicity brief they stated, ‘runners can explore a remarkably isolated and unspoilt corner of Southern England through some of its most ancient landscapes, finishing by the 5,000-year-old Avebury Standing Stones, which is also a UNESCO World Heritage site.’

Ben and Sarah Hudson ran the race together, and despite the fact that this latest run was only a few weeks after their gruelling ultra ‘Wall’ challenge, they competed well in the ‘non-stop’ race option, and eventually finished with superb chip time of 14hrs 49 mins and 16 secs. 

Ben was 462nd overall out of 1,029 finishers, and the 361st out of 710 men. He was also 130th out of 246 in his M40 age cat. Sarah shared the exact same time as Ben, and she was 463rd overall, and the 101st female out of 318 finishers, and 31st in her F40 age cat. And this experienced ultra-pair also set a new PR over 50k during this race!

 

*The long and winding road (*above left), at the 50k marker, and (*right), the 100k commemorative medal for completing their 100k challenge.

After the event, Sarah explained: “We managed to complete ‘Race to the Stones’ along the Ridgeway from Lewknor to Avebury. 100-crazy km! Our feet are not overly happy with us now, but it was an amazing experience with stunning scenery. 
“My friend Emma Vadhesha ended up running the 50k instead (very wise) but me and Ben finished in 14:49:16, and over one and a half hours quicker than when I first ran it in 2021. The results are only just coming in, as there was a 25-hour cut off. I’m tired but happy this morning.”
And Ben added: “I went OK until about mile 40, then I flagged. The blister problem from the ‘Wall’ race re-appeared which didn’t help.”

 

*Pictured above - Ben and Sarah Hudson with their friend Emma Vadhesha by the Race to the Stones map, and (*above right), Jamie Tharme.

Jamie Tharme also managed to run a good chunk of this same ‘Race to the Stones’ course and bravely completed 72.14kms in 10 hrs and 37 mins, before eventually having to pull-out due to injury and sheer exhaustion. Jamie’s time over 50k however, was his third best time ever.

After the race, he admitted: “I’m not a fan of DNF but I physically can’t even walk never mind run. I’m a stubborn old goat, but I’m not stupid, and medical advice I will take!”