something else. The winning enclosure saw more Centurions than ‘top hats and Tatler’s; 72 walkers started, 31 reached the 100 mile mark and the Centurions welcomed 17 new members, of which there were 4 Dutch, 3 Belgian and 10 British. The race was unusually exciting with Peter Ryan C983 displaying all his native Sheffield steel, leading for most of the race; after succumbing to fatigue in the final hours, slowing drastically and listing sideways, he held on to take first place in 19:57:35, less than a minute ahead of Dutchman Willem Mutze C927 who recorded 19:58:30. The honour of being the 1000th Centurion fell to Wendy Watson but although she received the coveted C1000 number, she was not the 1000th Centurion, that was reserved for C1002 (numbers 99 and 453 were never issued - see preceeding text in introduction). The 2003 A.G.M., usually held in the latter stages of the year, was moved in 2004 to the month of February. There were a number of changes to the Executive; President John Eddershaw C299, Captain Colin Young C317 and Secretary Ken Munro C70 all stood down and new members came to the fore; Carl Lawton C750 took over the Presidency, Charlie Weston C584 became the new Captain and Chris Flint C849 took on the role as Secretary. It was noted that Minute Book No. 2 covering 1946 - 1959 was missing, presumed destroyed. The 2004 100 mile qualifier was held in mid-August at the historic town of Colchester where Centurions where once garrisoned, It was hosted by the London Vidarians, led by Chris Flint C849 with assistance from Ron Wallwork C893 of the New Astley Club and Jerry Everett of Colchester Harriers. The incorporation of a sharp incline within the Castle Park made the route even more difficult. The race attracted an entry list of 58, including a strong contingent from the Continent. Out of the 48 starters, a total of 24 walkers achieved the 100 miles and 13 new Centurions, C1001 to C1013, were admitted to the Brotherhood of Centurions. The prized C1002 badge for the thousandth centurion went to Dutch walker Gerrit van Haandel. The 2005 100 mile qualifier at Kings Lynn in Norfolk in late July was very well organised


by Peter Duhig, Cath Duhig C986 and Ron Wallwork C893. The trend of the last few years continued and 2005 saw an amazing 81 starters, of whom 37 finished the hundred; overall, there were 16 new Centurions including a strong contingent from the Isle of Man. This successful race showed the benefit of good organisation and involving the local community. Sean Hands displayed his strength in high performance ultra distance walking, completing the 100 miles in 19.02.57 and becoming not only a new Centurion, but winning the race to become national champion in his first attempt at the distance. Sandra Brown C735 completed her 20th finish and equalled Hew Neilson's 20 finishes in the period 1948-1972. She had previously stood in equal second place on 19 finishes with Freddie Baker C266 and Gerrit de Jong C456. One of the highlights of the day was the presentation to her of a new trophy donated by Freddie Baker to recognise those walkers who complete 20 UK 100s, the Fred Baker Plate, the inaugural names being Hew Neilson and Sandra Brown. 2005 also saw the release of an insert to the existing handbook to update the list of all new Centurions since the 24 hour Track Race at Ware in 1997. It was produced by Sue Clements C950 and Charlie Weston C584 after referring to the meticulous records of Gerrit de Jong C456. They subsequently began the task of producing the next edition to be released in 2011, our Centenary year. The text would be transcribed into electronic format, then revised and updated after consulting Gerrit de Jong C456, Piet Jansens C389 and Tim Erickson of the Australian Centurions. In 2006, the Centurions accepted the invitation from the Isle of Man Veterans Athletics Club, to hold the annual qualifying event in conjunction with a 100mile/24hour event that they were holding at the National Sports Centre in Ramsey on 19-20 August. The course of just over  mile included a lap of the Douglas track and a lap of the famous Douglas Bowl. It was another well organised, successful race and for the first time in a 100 mile walk in the


53


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