SDW100 2012 Project

We kicked off our research with a pilot project of 66 runners conducted at the 2012 South Downs Way race. The results of this study can be found below, and we hope that you will find the results interesting. Given the success of this pilot project we will be rolling out the survey on a larger scale in 2013. We hope that the interesting results that we show here will encourage more people to get involved, and as ever if you have any comments or suggestions please don't hesitate to contact us at [email protected]

Here is the link to download the SDW100 2012 research results document.

Here are some examples of the types of questions that we hoped to answer: 

Short term goals:

1) What sort of people entered the race?
2) How many people completed the race?
3) What were the main reasons for DNF?
4) What did the distribution of finishing/split times look like across the field?
5) What was the average weekly mileage of each runner and was this significantly different for different groups of runners (fast vs. slow, male vs. female, etc.)?
6) How many weeks out from the race did a runner reach his or her peak mileage?
7) What was that peak mileage week? 

Long term goals:

1) What are the factors that affect the ability to complete a 100 mile race?
2) What are the factors that affect the speed in which one is able to complete a 100 mile race?
3) What is the best approach to pacing for a 100 mile race?
4) What sort of people compete in 100 mile races?
5) Are any factors associated with improved 100 mile race results?