Sam Amend rewrites 3 British records at the Track 100 Mile

Belgrave’s ultra distance legend, Sam Amend, breaks the British 12 hour, 100 mile and age category 50 mile records in Bedford.

Sammi is back to grace our news feed just a few weeks after earning another Team GB selection for the 100k World Championships. This time, she hit the track in Bedford for many, many laps alongside some of the best ultra distance runners in the world - namely world record holders Camille Herron and Aleksandr Sorokin - for the third edition of Centurion Running’s Track 100 event.

Many, many laps later, she emerged from the oval as the day’s winner as well as the new 100MI British record holder with a time of 14:10:41. Oh, and she casually took the British 12 hour record and the women’s FV40-50 50Mi record too, for good measure.

A lot of preparation went into these results and we can only imagine what must go through someone’s head during a 14 hour race, so we took some time to speak to Sam about her strategy, the race itself and what she took away from it.

Photo credit: Steve Ashworth

Were you expecting to break so many records?

“I was always aiming for the 12hr record I missed last year (I went off a bit quick and paid the price…). Having come second in the British 100k Championships where I qualified for Worlds only 3 weeks earlier I knew I was in good shape. The biggest battle was going to be the track monotony and the weather conditions.”

How did it go on the day? Did it help having such a quality field?

“I didn't sleep much the night before as a head cold had started to develop mid-week. Plus, the stress of performing when you know you’re going up against world champions is pretty huge. You definitely feel like a small fish in a big pond! But I told myself that if winning was out of the question, chasing fast people might drag me to a better time.

The goal was always to better my 12 hour time on the way to the 100Mi mark. The day was extremely windy and I think that pushed a lot of people to DNF. You cannot hide on a track! I decided to focus on my two most important tactics: stick to my 8s (as in minutes per mile) and eat the food my crew gave me. It’s amazing what benefits you can get from good fuelling.

Pretty soon I started feeling in a good place, both mentally and physically. I was in the zone, focused on knocking down the miles. I usually break the race down into 4 sections and call them marathons - the last 5/6 miles is a 10,000m race. I often get my second wind in the last few miles and this time I managed to pick up pace to 7 minute miles before finishing even stronger in the last 3 laps. I came away elated at breaking no less than three British records and taking the win in a class field. Honestly, I’m letting myself believe that on a less windy day a sub 14 hour clocking could be on the cards.”

Did you know the plans of the other runners?

“No, only that Camille was looking to qualify for the 100k World Championships and that Aleksandr was gunning for the 100k world record. When they peeled off [Camille with a DNF, Aleksandr because he broke the record] along with a few others I had all the bandwidth to focus on my own goals. It drove me to push myself and stay in the race despite the weather challenges. I actually feel it lifted the pressure a bit and gave me the opportunity to not worry about other people’s pace and being overtaken.”

Do you think you can keep getting better?

“I think a high 13:XX time or quicker is definitely possible. I’ll certainly be focusing on a few British ultra records! I feel, now my children are older, I have the ability to dedicate more time to my training and racing. I’ve also had a recent job change which has helped. Last year I had a few bad races last year and struggled with the Covid restrictions, but I have come out the other end with more confidence. I’ve made adjustments to my training, nutrition, and recovery, I’m enjoying the process and seeing results. You better believe age is just a number!”

The full Centurion race report is available to read on their website along with full results.