Isle of Man endurance walker Andrew Titley produced another impressive performance last weekend.

Competing at the British Centurions Walk, which took place on a 400m six-lane track at Lewes Leisure Centre in East Sussex, he achieved centurion status for the 18th time.

The event was the 100th staging of the British Centurions 100 Miles Walking Race, where competitors aim to walk 100 miles in 24 hours. On a 400m track, this equates to 402 laps.

There were initially 39 entries, with an actual starting number of 35 which included four from the Isle of Man: alongside Titley were Sophie Watterson-Jones, Colin Moore and Haydn Kenna.

Ex-Isle of Man resident Sarah Webster, now based in the Lewes area, was also there and given permission to run for six hours alongside the walk as part of her preparations for October’s World 24 Hours Running Championships in France, enabling her to practice her drinks strategy.

The race started at midday on Saturday, with overcast conditions and a cooling breeze which became very blustery and cold towards the early evening. After sunset the temperature dropped considerably and it became a very cold and damp night for everybody, walkers, judges and supporters.

All the Manx walkers were circulating well at this point. Titley was in third place overall (second British walker). Lead walker was Bart De Vries from Holland, followed by Jonathan Hobbs from the UK in second place.

Watterson-Jones was walking a very solid and focused race, being first woman from virtually the start and circulating in eighth place overall.

Moore and Kenna were walking well but both admitted they were lacking some serious training in the lead-up to the event and, as they pushed on into the early evening, the drop in the temperature made life a little difficult for them.

The ever-smiling Moore retired a few minutes before 7pm, while Kenna called it a day a few minutes before 10pm. During the night there were 15 retirements in total.

Titley and Watterson-Jones battled on into a very cold and windy night. Both struggled between the hours of 3-6am, Titley with the cold whereas Watterson-Jones had problems taking food onboard.

During the daytime her food intake was excellent but throughout the nighttime she was sick a number of times.

Everyone was looking forward to the dawn with daylight and hopefully some sunshine to lift spirits. The sunshine arrived and, in contrast to Saturday’s cold and wind, Sunday morning was very hot.

The remaining 20 walkers all found the heat difficult to walk in, with many slowing in pace considerably.

Watterson-Jones still had problems trying to take enough food in, but stubbornly and bravely pushed on until it became clear she would not make the 24-hour cut-off time. She finally retired after 344 laps (85.59miles).

Titley was circulating well but was also finding it tough in the heat. His average lap times on Sunday morning were some 45 to 60 seconds a lap slower than those on Saturday.

It was during this time he lost his third place overall to Ignace Matthys from Belgium, although he was still second best British walker.

Titley eventually finished fourth overall, completing 100 miles, 402 laps in 23hrs 01min 47sec. He then walked an extra 403rd lap just to be on the safe side!

The race was won by Bart De Vries from Holland in 21:13.36. Out of the 35 starters, there were nine that completed it within the 24 hours, the last being Frank Van Der Gulik in 23:51.48.

Full results at https://www.timingmonkey.co.uk/results-list/

ROBBIE CALLISTER