The following fascinating facts have been derived from the Centurion Handbook (11th edition published 2011). Producing the more detailed records has been made possible because Gerrit de Jong C456 kindly shared the records he meticulously keeps. We extend our thanks and appreciation to him.
Out of the 1218* walkers qualified as Centurions in Great Britain 374 have done more than one “100 miles within 24 hour” Centurion race (* 2 numbers were not allocated)
Centurions who have more than one completion
Race results for Centurions with more than one completion
List of Centurion Race Promoters
List of Amendments to Handbook Published in 2011
GB walkers are from 154 UK clubs. Clubs with 5 or Centurions are:
Surrey Walking Club 76
Lancashire Walking Club 40
Leicester Walking Club 41
Isle of Man (unattached) 39
Long Distance Walkers Association 33
Belgrave Harriers 27
Yorkshire Walking Club 21
Highgate Harriers 20
Isle of Man Vets A.C. 20
Woodford Green A.C 20
Polytechnic Harriers 19
Isle of Man, Manx Harriers 18
Unattached 18
Trowbridge A.C. 15
London Vidarians 14
Enfield & Haringey 13
Ilford A.C. 13
Sheffield United Harriers 13
Cambridge Harriers 12
Royal Sutton & Birmingham 12
Essex Beagles 11
Metropolitan W.C. 10
York Postal Walking Club 10
Isle of Man Boundary Harriers 9
Bristol Race Walking Club 9
Steyning A.C. 9
Queens Park Harriers 8
Southend A.C. 7
Brighton & Hove A.C. 6
Dawlish & S. Devon 6
Lozells Harriers 6
Middlesex Walking Club 6
Wakefield Harriers 6
Metropolitan Police 5
Yorkshire race Walking Club 5
Fastest times for walkers aged over 70 – First Race
- John Borgars (GB) C1170 was 70 years old (70y 4mo) when he qualified at Redcar in 2016 (22:31:52)
- Eddy McNeir C375 (GB) qualified at Chigwell in 1965 aged 65 (22:32:10).
When he completed his 10th and final 100 in 24 hours he was 76 (Woodford 1976)
- Len Matthews C316 in 1960 when he was 67.
- Jaap Visser C944 (NED) was 73 when he completed his 11th and final 100 in 24 hours (Lingfield 2011, 22:46:31).
The fastest times for completing 100 miles
Road
Fastest man: Frank O’Reilly C276 (Lozells Harriers) Leicester to Skegness 02/07/1960 16:54:16
Fastest Woman: Sandra Brown C735 (Surrey W.C.) Leicester 27/07/1984 18:36:29
Track
Fastest man: Hew Neilson C145 (Woodford Green) Walton 20/10/1960 17:18:51
Fastest woman: Sandra Brown C735 (Surrey W.C.) Kings Lynn 30/07/2005 19:25:07
The first British husband and wife to qualify
Sandra C735 Leicester 100 in 1982
Richard Brown C760 Surrey W.C. ‘Ewhurst 100’, 1983
The first walker to complete 100 miles wearing clogs
Hendrik J. Doornekamp (AV Altis; Nederland) completed the 1965 Chigwell 100 miles in 23:03:15 wearing clogs the entire way.
Centurion qualifiers who were Partially-sighted
C 253 1955 Archie Brown Polytechnic Harriers (St. Dunstans)
London to Brighton and Back 100 miles in 22.12.07 104 miles in 23.16.58
C 295 JL Dennis 1959 Surrey Walking Club (St. Dunstans)
London to Brighton and Back 100 miles in 21.38.30 106 miles in 23.21.05
Dennis took 5th place in 1961.
Twins qualified at Colchester in 2012
Dominic King C1098 (Colchester Harriers A.C.) 18:13:11
Daniel King (Colchester Harriers A.C.) C1100 20:51:59
Youngest walker to qualify as a Centurion in the UK
F.T. Lock (Ashcombe A.C.)
1909 London – White City 100 miles; 23:06:44 Qualified as C 45 when 18 years old
Ray Flynn (London Vidarians)
1973 Bristol 100 miles; 21:40:13 Qualified as C512 when 19 years old
Ten Centurions are also Olympians
C2 Jack Butler (John)
Club: Polytechnic Harriers
Centurion qualification: London to Brighton & Back 1902 21:36:27 (104 miles)
Olympics: 1908 London 3,500m & 10 miles
C10 Thomas E. Hammond
Club: Blackheath Harriers
Centurion qualification: London to Brighton & Back 1907 18:13:37
Olympics: 1908 Summer Olympics
C12 William Brown
Club: Polytechnic Harriers
Centurion qualification: London to Brighton & Back 1907 20:38:01
Olympics: 1908 London Olympics 3,500m walk
C175 Rex Whitlock
Club: Metropolitan W.C.
Centurion qualification: Bath to London 1952 17:44:40
Olympics: 1948 London; 1952 Helsinki Olympics 50K
C276 Frank O’Reilly
Club: Lozells Harriers (Eire)
Centurion qualification: Leicester to Skegness 1958 18:22:14
Olympics: 1960 Rome 50K
C376 John Kelly
Club: Millrose A.A. (USA)
Centurion qualification: Chigwell 100 1965 22:53:07
Olympics: 1968 Mexico 50K
C631 Don Thompson
Club: Metropolitan W.C.
Centurion qualification: Leicester to Skegness 1978 20:46:48
Olympics: 1960 Rome 50K
C778 Brian Adams
Club: Leicester W.C.
Centurion qualification: Leicester 100 1984 (Congerstone) 17:39:28
Olympics: 1976 Montreal 20K
C1064 Ian Richards
Club: Steyning A.C.
Centurion qualification: Milton Keynes track 100 2008 19:37:11
Olympics: 1980 Moscow 50K
C1098 Dominic King
Club: Colchester Harriers A.C.
Centurion qualification: Colchester 100 2012 18:13:11
Olympics: 2012 London/2016 Rio 50K