Burgess Hill Runners' Ecaille takes on final race in Centurion Grand Slam 50

Burgess Hill Runners were delighted to see one of their team complete their final race in the "Centurion Grand Slam 50" last weekend.
Philippe dwarfed by his impressive medal.Philippe dwarfed by his impressive medal.
Philippe dwarfed by his impressive medal.

Philippe Ecaille sadly lost his wife to cancer in January 2015, aged just 45 and Philippe decided he needed a challenging race plan for 2016 to keep him going mentally and physically. Among the races he picked, the Centurion Grand Slam 50 was possibly the most challenging and consisted of the South Downs Way 50, the North Downs 50, the Chiltern Way 50 and finally the Wendover Woods 50.

To use Philippe's words, they were "all very different races and bringing their own challenges, I never thought I would have it in me to complete it but I finally finished the last race on 26 November sealed it and i was very happy to be collecting my huge dinner plate (medal) alongside 42 others - after running for 52 hours or so, I think I earned it! Long distances running has proved invaluable to me to either give me time to think or empty my head; the build up to a race, the buzz at the start and the support of the running community were all amazing." Further to this, Philippe plans to run all 4 Centurion 100 mile races in 2017!

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Philippe completed the Wendover Woods 50 in 15:16:03, whilst fellow BHR team mate, Jamie Goodhead also impressed in 10:49:00.

Meanwhile, in San Francisco, club member Matt Wilson flew the flag for the club in the "Windmill 10k", completing it in 59:18.

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