Centurion Running

Autumn 100®

12 Oct 2019

Course Records

Mark Denby (M)

14:07:39

2016

Susie Chesher (F)

15:22:00

2016

The Autumn 100 is a 100 mile continuous trail race based in the twinned villages of Goring & Streatley on the river Thames. The course reflects the shape of a cross and takes runners on a series of 4 different 25 mile out and back spurs using sections of both the Ridgeway and Thames Path National Trails.

Runners will depart from Goring at 0900 on Saturday 12th October and make their way to Little Wittenham on the first out and back section on the Thames Path. On returning to Goring, runners will be faced with the more challenging but beautiful second spur of the course, out to Swyncombe Farm on the Ridgeway before returning to Goring a second time. Spur three takes runners west on the Ridgeway to Chain Hill before returning to Goring for the final leg on the Thames Path to Reading and return for their 100 mile finish.

The difficulty of this race should not be underestimated. During a dry spell the route is flat, fast and picturesque presenting ideal conditions for a trail 100. However, runners will also be faced with up to 13 hours of darkness and the possibility of extremely low temperatures, rain and very wet and windy conditions. Conditions underfoot can vary dramatically.

As with all Centurion events, runners will be fully supported by 16 well stocked aid stations , full medical support and course markings in addition to the pre-existing national trail waymarkers. Race held under full UK Athletics Permit granted through the TRA (Permit Number: 2579).

Photos

Vital Stats

Distance

100mi

161KMs

Elevation

5000ft

1500m

Cut-off

28hours

Entry Fee

£165

Date

12 Oct 2019 09:00

Course Marked

YES

Medical Support

YES

No. of Starters

250

Avg Temp.

11C

51.8F

Avg Rainfall.

61mm

2inches

Avg Humidity

35%

# of Aid Stations

16

Location

EU / UK / ENGLAND / SOUTH-EAST

Terrain

20% road / 80% trail

General Info

Entries

Entries for the event open on Saturday 1st December 2018 at 1000. 

There will be 330 places for the event on open registration and places are available on a first come, first served basis. Entrants must meet the minimum qualification standard below in order to apply. Qualifiers will be checked 6 weeks from race day - if you have not updated your registration with a valid qualifier by that point or have not met the criteria, you will be contacted and potentially removed from the start list.

There will be NO WAITING LIST for this event.

Exceptions to the above are:

Those who volunteered over 8 hours of service to the race in 2018 and are therefore guaranteed 2018 entry. These will be confirmed prior to general entries opening. 

The entry fee is £165.

Qualification Standard

In order to start the race, you must have completed a minimum of a 50 mile distance race within 15hrs, between 1st January 2016 and the 2019 race date. As organisers, we reserve the right to refuse anybody entry who does not meet this standard. Unqualified runners may enter but should they not complete a qualifer within the requisite time frame, they will not be permitted to start. There are further conditions to what may be used as a qualifier. 

Click here to read more about what counts as a qualifier.  

Cut Offs

Runners must finish within a 28 hour time limit. There are additional cut offs at every aid station as listed in the aid station table.

Start/ Finish Location

Registration, Race Start, Race Finish and Race HQ is at Goring Village Hall, High Street, Goring-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, RG8 9AG.

Route

The route is a series of 4 separate 12.5 mile out and back sections using both the Thames Path and Ridgeway trails which converge at Goring & Streatley. Each section will start and finish in Goring & Streatley but will be run on a different stretch of one of the above trails. As in 2013-18, the course will be run in the following order.

Spur 1: (Thames Path): Streatley to Little Wittenham and return
Spur 2: (Ridgeway): Streatley to Swyncombe Farm and return
Spur 3: (Ridgeway): Streatley to Chain Hill and return
Spur 4: (Thames Path): Streatley to Reading and return

Total: Distance 100 miles. 

A map of the route can be found at the bottom of this page. 

Awards

All finishers will receive a Centurion 100 mile finishers belt buckle. Finishers in under 24 hours will receive a special '100 miles - One Day' Buckle, finishers between 24 and 28 hours will receive '100 mile Finisher' buckles. Male and Female winners will be awarded the Centurion Trophy as well as additional prizes. Those finishing the Grand Slam will be given special awards on completion of the race. 

Further Prizes will be awarded to 2nd and 3rd Placed Male and Female. Age Group Prizes will be awarded for 1st Male and Female Vet40, 50, 60 and 70. 

Aid Stations

There will be 16 fully stocked aid stations along the length of the course. A list of the aid stations and all relevant details, can be found here. Aid stations carry as a minimum: water, coke, chocolate, sweets, nuts, fruit, crisps, a limited number of GU energy gel packets, Tailwind, sandwiches and other sweet and savoury snacks. All of the aid stations on legs 2, 3 and 4 will have hot drinks. Hot food will be available at Goring.

Drop Bags

Drop Bags can be accessed at Goring, meaning runners will have access to drop bags at mile 25, 50, 75 and 100 miles. 

Course Markings

The course is marked by national trail marker posts which come in different forms but most commonly display the acorn which is the key symbol and guide on both the Thames Path and the Ridgeway.

In addition to the National Trail markers, the course will also be marked with reflective red and white tape and marker arrows as well as orange chalk paint on the ground through any section being covered at night. There are a number of road crossings to negotiate, some of them are extremely busy. The road crossings are NOT marshalled. Please be extremely careful when you are crossing roads of any nature.

It is ultimately the runners responsibility to navigate the course successfully, with or without course markings. If you are in any doubt we strongly recommend that you take the time to recce the route before race day.

Pacers

Pacers are permitted from Mile 50. Pacers may join a runner only at Mile 50 or Mile 75 and must cover either 25 or 50 miles (Leg Three and/ or Leg Four) with their runner. Pacer handovers are not permitted anywhere other than HQ at Goring. 

Crew

Crews are not permitted at this race due to the size of the aid station locations and pressure on the local community. This rule was implemented in 2017 and 2018 with great success and will continue for 2019.

Medical

There will be a dedicated team of race medics available throughout the duration of the weekend. If you suffer an injury or accident that warrants direct medical attention, the medics will be on hand to provide you with exactly that. Contact numbers and full details of what to do in an emergency are available in the information packs and will be re-iterated in pre-race mail outs and at race registration. Due to the nature of the course ie. some off road, the medics may take some time to reach you, or potentially be out of contact tending to other runners. A level of self sufficiency is absolutely critical in such situations. 

Kit

The majority of the course is on trail. Trail shoes are advised especially given the time of year. There are sections of trail which can become very muddy or flooded in wet conditions. 

There will be kit checks prior, during and after the race. Runners must carry the following mandatory equipment at all times. A time penalty of one hour will be imposed for any item found to be missing at any point on course. Please refer to this page for explanations on the inclusion of the below items. 

There are many options regards kit for fulfilling these requirements and those of other events. We stock what we believe to be the best options at our online store available by clicking here under the Mandatory Gear Section. Please ask us if you have any questions.

  • Fully Charged Mobile Phone including the numbers for the Race Medic and Race Director (on the number you have given at registration)
  • Water Bottles/Bladder capable of carrying a minimum of 1 litre.
  • Survival Blanket: 1.4m x 2m minimum
  • Waterproof Jacket: Gore-tex or similar, minimum 10000mm+ & must have sealed seams. 
  • Whistle
  • Headtorch or Primary Light Source - Minimum 75 Lumens
  • Back Up Light source - Minimum 25 Lumens 
  • Warm Hat - Beanie Hat or Buff (either are accepted)
  • Gloves 
  • Long sleeved base layer or fleece top - This must be carried separately from the start and kept dry, for use only in an emergency. Starting in 2 layers is not a substitute.
  • The race is cupless which means you must bring a cup with you. Soft cups are available at the store here

Strongly recommended but not mandatory: 

  • Route Map - Should be a hard copy that you are able to navigate from and not a map on your phone. We advise the Harveys Maps available here. You will require the Thames Path and Ridgeway Editions for this event.
  • Compass - This should be a separate physical compass and not electronic/ on your phone. 

Course Map

Download KML fileDownload GPX fileNote: you may need to right click and Save As to download these files

Route