North Downs Way 100 2025 Race Preview

This will be the fifteenth edition of the North Downs Way 100, our original event back in 2011. The one that started it all! A field including past champions in both the mens and womens races as well as multiple champions of our other events down the years, all line up to take a shot at the crown.

Dave Phillips: A quick note on one runner who is starting out with the main field but is pushing out on his own separate challenge alongside rather than in the race. Dave Phillips, past winner of the summer Spine Race and Northern Traverse amongst others, will be running the whole of the North Downs Way National Trail. In May, Dave ran from the Thames Barrier, to the start of the Thames Path 100, finished in the top ten in the race and then continued on to an FKT for the 184 mile route in 33 hours and 20 minutes. The North Downs Way is slightly shorter but more challenging from an elevation and terrain perspective. Coming in at around 161 miles on the ground, 164 including the route from the end of the official trail back to the NDW100 finish in Ashford, it will be fascinating to see if Dave can set a new FKT (currently 42:33 held by Centurion regular Leroy Valentine), but also whether Dave can finish the whole extended route within the 30 hour race cut off to boot! His tracker link will be posted on the main tracking page which will go live just prior to race day.

WOMEN

Alice Robinson: Our 2021 South Downs Way 100 Champion, Alice ran even quicker at the same race in 2022 and picked up third in 18:12 behind the course record of Bethan Male. She has run this race before, finishing sixth in 2019, but has gained a huge amount of experience since then in what was her first 100 miler. In 2023 she ran and won four different 50km events but this looks to be her firs ultra in almost two years.

Mel Venables: 2020 Champion here in a time of 21:42, when the rolling start due to covid was in place. Mel has gone on to great long run success in the years in between, with a victory at GUCR in 2022, before winning again in 2024 as well as taking first at the other two canal races to complete the hat-trick at the Canal Slam. Mel's ultra career is over ten years in the making now and includes amongst other things a British 100km title at the ACP in Perth in 2016.  

Mel Venables on her way to victory here in 2020

Jennie Dunkley: 2025 Thames Path 100 Champion, Jennie had previously run home fifth at the Autumn 100 last year. An entrant to this years 100 mile Grand Slam, Jennie had a more challenging SDW100 to say the least but battled on to the finish in 24th place, keeping the journey going. 

Jennie Dunkley

Rachel Lindley: Rachel has a raft of top ten finishes at Centurion events but further afield too. Top results include podium finishes at Chiltern Wonderland 50 and Hundred Hills 50km. In 2022 she ran the 50 Mile Grand Slam and finished in the top six in all four events, as well as at the Arc 50 in addition. She knows this trail well having finished the NDW50 four times.

Harriet Foreman: 2023 Hardmoors 110 Champion, in 2024 she won the Chalkland Way ultra and earlier this year took home the win at the Ripon Stinger Ultra. 

MEN

Ryan Whelan: Winner of the past two editions of the race. In 2023 Ryan took the win by less than 400 metres as he and second place Joe Ackerley were both on the finishing track at the same time. In 2024, he set the fourth fastest time ever - 15:56. He's back for a third time. His performances in 2025 so far have been superb. The Hong Kong resident has finished third at Tarawera 100 mile, second at the Vietnam Ultra over 55km and second at the Salomon Dynamic Hong Kong 50km. In 2024 he set a PB over 12 hours of 146.9km.

Ryan Whelan (Left)

Alistair Courtney: Alistair was our 2024 Grand Slam 50 mile champion, taking wins in three of the four races in the process with an overall Slam record time to boot. In 2025 he stepped up to the 100 mile Slam and it's fair to say the transition has not been as smooth as he hoped. He dropped late into the TP100, returned at SDW100 and took 18th place in 16:58 - a battling first 100 mile finish which will stand him in good stead as he aims to get this third one right.

Alistair Courtney (Front)

Peter Windross: 7 time finisher of this event with a best of 16:58 for second place in 2022. Pete has a remarkable record here and indeed across our events - at the NDW100 he has finished second, third, fourth and fifth. He has previously won our Thames Path 100 and South Downs Way 100, with a best of second at the Autumn 100 in one of only a handful of sub-14 hour 100 milers we've ever had at our 60+ events. Pete's 2025 has so far seen him finish the SDW100 for an eighth time in 18 hours flat.

James Chapman: Possibly flatter and faster than this superb long distance fell specialist has run before. His record over rougher longer events is outstanding. Third at Lakeland 100 in 2022 in just under 22 hours which he improved to a 21:08 finish in 2024 where he took fifth. Last year he also finished fifth at the Arc of Attrition, won the 7 Valleys Ultra and the Lakeland 5 Passes. This year he is off to a flier having finished second in the Northern Traverse to Damian Hall under the magic 48 hour mark.

Nick Smith: Second at Wendover Woods 50 in 2023, that year he also finished sixth at the NDW50 and ran 14:06 for 100 miles on the track at Battersea. This looks to be his first ultra barring a DNF at Winter Downs 200, since October where he ran home fourth at the Chiltern Ridge 50km.

Matt Gallagher: Fourth at the Thames Path 100 earlier this year in 16:24, a race he has consistently finished in the top ten at over the years. His best at this event is a fourth in 2022. 

Paul Fernandez: Fourth here in 2020, Paul is a bit of a legend of the sport from down the years, Having been running ultras since 2003. Multiple wins and podiums at the Ridgeway 86 went alongside plenty of other race wins and some international vests in the early 2010's.