800 words to let you know nothing is changing…

I have exciting news!

I’m going to be race directing Centurion Running’s North Downs 50 and Wendover Woods 50 events in 2022 and hopefully beyond. I’m very excited, I’ve been bursting to tell people!

If you’ve never come across Centurion Running I think they are the gold standard in ultra running events in the UK and have been around for over 10 years. Their events are mostly 50 and 100 mile point to point ultras in South East England. They have a dedicated fanbase (myself included) who love the professional, well stocked and expertly run events. You turn up to the start and you know you’re going to be looked after from start to finish by a great team with nothing left to chance.

My first ever ultra events were with Centurion at the South Downs Way 50 in 2015 and a DNF at the North Downs Way 100 in the same year. Wrongly, I assumed all ultras were at this standard but my experience since has indicated otherwise! James really has set the bar of what events can (and should!) look like. There are many, many aspects of Big Bear that are born out of my experiences with Centurion. Imitation is the greatest form of flattery after all!

If you’re a Big Bear Events runner reading this you’re probably thinking “what does it mean for me and your events?”. Not much really! Big Bear Events will not be merging, partnering, synergising or any other stupid business term for changing. Neither Big Bear nor Centurion have a stake in each others business. This isn’t UTMB and Ironman! However, if I work with one of the best and most experienced race directors in the country and don’t learn a thing or 2 I’ll have wasted my time. That does not mean you’ll see wholesale changes when you turn up to an event. You’ll still get the flapjack, the medal and all the other bits you’ve said you love - don’t worry!! You’ve been giving such great feedback on Big Bear events I’d be mad to change them.

Big Bear will still be about putting on (mostly) mid-week 6 hour events in parks and forests in the Midlands. The summer and head torch 10K series have gone down well and we’ve got 2 weekend ultras in the diary. This news wont effect any of that. My 2022 calendar currently has 12 6-hour events, 6 10K’s and 2 weekend ultras pencilled in. There may even be 1 or 2 more events thrown in to the mix! This is broadly similar to the planned 2021 schedule. There is cross over with our entrants but Centurion events aren’t for every Big Bear runner and Big Bear events aren’t for every Centurion runner – that’s fine!!

If you’re a Centurion runner reading this you’re probably thinking “What does this mean for me and the events you’ll be directing?”. Again, not much really!! The NDW50 and WW50 are great events. The NDW50 has been going for many years and sells out in hours. Neither of them need changes and that is not what I’ve been asked to do at all. The hope is that if you have run in every edition you wouldn’t notice a fundamental difference in 2022. Every event has tweaks each year, routes might need adjusting due to engineering works or landowner requests for example but that’s the same whoever is in charge for the day.

Ultimately James is looking to grow Centurion and make it bigger, better and sustainable. To do that he needs to create some time. Planning and organising these events is incredibly time consuming and mentally draining. Add on the coaching, store and the other elements of Centurion and you’ve got an all-consuming job. The hope is with me RD’ing these events, and the other announcements he’s made on the Centurion channels, he’ll have more time. He’ll have more time to plot, plan and of course… podcast! If you’ve been part of the Centurion family for a while trust him to make the right decision on this the same as you’ve trusted him over the years on other decisions (who knew the One Love virtual event would be such a hit for example!).

If you’ve got this far, thanks for reading! This is all a very long way of saying there will be no noticeable changes at Centurion or Big Bear Events. I just feel it’s really important to not allow for any misunderstandings that could arise. No one likes change to things they enjoy so it’s important to give people all the information. If James and I can both be as transparent as possible then we’ll hopefully make it clear to our own audiences that this is only good news for everyone involved.

Anyone fancy a 50 miler?

Me at the top of Boxhill in 2015 at mile 27 of the Centurion North Downs Way 100. Feeling “good” (I didn’t after half way!!)