Winter Downs 200 2025 Race Report

The third edition of our Winter Downs 200 kicked off on Wednesday 10th December 2025. This event has become an incredible season finale, with the 100 (or half as some are calling it) kicking off alongside it, approximately half way into the overall 96 hour cut off. 

Conditions were frankly, exceptional. This was the driest the course has been yet, with any memories of the flooded sections of years past, firmly in the background. The sun even shone. On Day 1 and on Day 3/4, bright skies welcomed runners overhead. However, needless to say the 16 hours of darkness per night, plus the temperatures dropping as low as two degrees in the small hours out on course, made this a winter challenge all the same.

There were some truly remarkable stories throughout the field. Each runner deserves their own post in a way. You can catch up with the video highlights of the race on YouTube and our Daily Podcast Episodes too which give more colour to the race. But read on for the tales from the trail. 

Juniper Hall and the tower. The first and final mile of the course.

Womens Race

The womens race featured nine runners, all of whom had a back story coming in. Of course, with a field of this size, literally any one of them can land themselves on the podium by sticking to a game plan and usually, watching others drop around them. But this group of ladies were cut from a different cloth. In the end, eight of them finished with Darla Crispin, our returning Winter Downs 100 finisher and the only FV60 in the field forced to stop well passed the half way mark with deteriorating feet.

Irish runner Sarah Enright led from the off. Past finisher of two other 200 milers, she had more experience than most and put that to good use. Through the bright sunshine of day 1, she ran well and pushed out a bit of a gap over second place Libby Clark and others behind. By CP1 and the 49 mile mark, that lead was 45 minutes. But as an uncrewed runner, she was at a distinct disadvange over the rest of the field, having to take much more time in the four check points with the bigger gaps she faced between aid, rather than relying on a crew to meet her every few hours. 

Out into the first night and on to the South Downs Way, Sarah stayed strong, but again without the opportunity to sleep properly elsewhere, she opted to do so at Truleigh Hill YHA - check point 2 - and was caught in the check point by Libby, still in second. This is where the tactical side and the shape of 200 mile racing is so different to 100s. If Libby left first, being crewed could give her an advantage she might hold. But Sarah left first and ran really well to CP3 at the Sustainability Centre. There, she seriously considered quitting. In fact she left the check point and came back again with the intention of dropping, but was looked after by Alexandra Coomber one of our very experienced volunteers who was able to help her sort out an ankle issue and ultimately decided to press on. 

Press on she did as she continued to extend her lead over the final 100km of the race. She finished in the early hours of Saturday morning in a time of 68:29 becoming easily the fastest uncrewed finisher we have had in the womens race. 

Libby Clark was caught by returning 2023 finisher Jemma Lyons and the two formed a partnership over the final quarter of the race to cross the line together and round out the podium in 75:16. A ten hour plus improvement for Jemma and a first finish for Libby. 

 Womens Podium: Left to Right Libby Clark, Sarah Enright and Jemma Lyons

Fourth went to Jade Barrett, who became the first person to ever complete a full Centurion calendar. Starting with Hundred Hills 50km in March, she completed all of our in season 50s and 100s before capping things off with the 200. 

Jade Barrett 

Fifth and first FV50 went to Julie Dennis. Zoe Norman put two DNF's to bed and finished at her third try in what was one of the moments of the week. Aimee Tippens finished seventh in 86:17 before Helen Milton-Symes rounded out the race. As last over the line of all the 200 and 100 mile runners, hers was a special moment. She planned and executed a phenomenal race, essentially running a negative split. At 2/3rds of the way around she was less than an hour up on the cut off but eventually finished in 93:33, well over two hours inside of it, bringing the week to a successful close.

Helen Milton-Symes

Mens Race

The mens race took a not dissimilar shape to the womens, with one athlete forging ahead on literally the first climb shaking loose hangers on and simply executing a phenomenal race, setting a new benchmark in the process.

Caspian James came down from the North West to race with us for the first time, coming into it he seemed the likely favourite but he had a host of other strong guys to contend with. 

Initially Nick Berry and went with him, the two having raced together before at UTS amongst others, before Caspian forged ahead. He made CP1 at Blackboys Village Hall in first, in fact he became the only person ever to make it to that check point with some daylight still in the sky - 8:24 elapsed. 

His crew were well prepped to keep him efficient, nevertheless the general pattern of his race included bouts of relatively quick running alternated with sufficient down time, much longer spells spent stationary than we have seen from past race winners. Whilst he only stopped for one forty minute sleep, his total dwell time in the race was well over 4 hours. Which makes his overall finish time of 43:38 even more remarkable in some ways.

He simply never looked back and nobody ever got close. As other runners dropped or faded, it was Mike Samuels who had clearly paced himself the best of the rest and at one point moved to within three hours of Caspian, but over the final stages where runners traditionally fade hard as the sleep monsters kick in, Caspian was strong. His being so fast essentially allowed him to avoid running in to those issues as heavily as others. It was far from plain sailing as he clearly suffered for his art, but it was to resounding success as he shattered the existing course record by almost six hours.

Mike Samuels, after a very tough year on a personal level, found some solace out on the trails and ran a superb race to finish second in 50:34. Third place went to Tom Harvey in 55:28 who also took home first MV50, having beaten all of the MV40s in the process. 

Caspian James 

In the Age Categories:

First FV40 was race winner Sarah Enright. First FV50 went to fifth place Julie Dennis.

First MV40 was Ben Hart in 58:18. First MV50 was ahead of all the MV40's too - Tom Harvey in 55:28. 

A huge thank you to all of the volunteers that make this type of event possible, it is a huge effort for a relatively small group of athletes, but the magic is real!