User:Terickso/sandbox/Sandra Brown (Ultradistance Athlete)

Sandra Brown is arguably the greatest ever female long distance walker, based on a competitive record which is unmatched for both quality and longevity. Born 1st April 1949, she competed in her first ultradistance race in May 1982, aged 33 years. Now, 34 years later, she continues to compete at the highest level, accumulating a list of achievements that has no parallel for quality and quantity. To list some of her many achievements


 * Over the last 34 years, she has successfully completed an amazing 175 races of 100 miles or more and is still adding to the list year by year.
 * She holds the record for the most number of finishes (100 miles in less than 24 hours) in the annual English Centurions 24 Hour race - an amazing 30 times and still going.


 * In 1995 she walked from Land's End to John o' Groats (the epic walk from one end of Great Britain to the other), a distance of 830 miles. Her time of 13 days 10 hours beat the current running record and was to last for 9 years until, in 2006, it was finally beaten by world famous ultra distance runner Sharon Gaytor who ran the distance in 12 days 16 hours.


 * In Nanango (Queensland, Australia) in 1996, she set Women's World running records for 1000 kilometres (8 days 12 hours 16 mins 20 secs) and 1000 miles (14 days 10 hours 27 mins 20 secs). And as with her Land's End to John O'Groats record, she did it walking nearly the whole way. Even now, 20 years later, these performances stand as the second and third ranking performances of all time behind the great Eleanor Robinson.


 * She is also a very good runner and has represented England on many occasions in ultra distance championships including the 2007 IAU 24 Hour Championship in Canada and the inaugural Commonwealth 24 Hour Run Championship in 2009 in Wales.


 * She is a member of the prestigious '100 Marathon Club', having run well over 100 marathon distances and still counting.

Records
Sandra holds the official World Walking Records (track) for the 100 km, 100 miles, 12 hours and 24 hours.

Sandra also holds British Racewalking Masters records going back to the W40 age group, her oldest being her W40 10,000m Track Walk record of 52:43.71, set in Horsham on 20 June 1993.

As she has progressed through the Masters age groups, she has rewritten the walk records. By way of example, she completely rewrote the W60 record books upon turning 60 in 2009, setting 6 W60 British racewalking bests and one British road running best performance in a 12 month period from April 2009 till March 2010.

Since turning 65 in 2014, she has similarly rewritten the W65 records.

Centurion Badges
The aim for all serious ultradistance walkers is to gain membership of the Centurion Brotherhood, a membership reserved for those who can walk 100 miles (160.934 kilometres) within 24 hours. Sandra was the first person in the world to be awarded all 6 Centurion medals (English, Continental, Australian, New Zealand, American and Malaysian).

British Centurions Finishes
Her 30 finishes in the annual British Centurions 100 Mile qualifying event speak for themselves in terms of quality and quantity.

In all but 1982 and 2015, she has been the first woman to finish in the English Centurions event and in a number she has been the first overall, beating the men as well. In a number, she and her husband Richard have filled the first two places (in varying order!). In 14 of the 30 finishes, she has broken the 20 hour barrier and on 3 occasions, she has broken the 19 hour barrier.

Centurion Finishes World Wide
Her centurion completions world wide currently stand at 47 (30 English, 13 Continental, 1 New Zealand, 1 American, 1 Australian and 1 Malaysian) and she is likely to reach 50 within the next 12 months.

What Makes a Great and Long Lasting Ultra Champion
Like the great Yiannis Kouros, the key to Sandra's success is her efficient and balanced technique, whereby she is able to maintain a racewalking action throughout a long event, thus keeping her pace up and avoiding injuries due to inbalance and postural irregularities.

A Rounded Life
Sandra's life has always revolved around much more than ultra distance racing. Some of the other threads include


 * Her love of non-competitive ultra-distance walking. This has included off-road walking with the UK Long Distance Walkers Association, including completing their annual cross-country 100 miles, always around a very scenic area with lots of hills anf her continuing participation in the classic Nijmegen to Rotterdam in Holland, a 100 miles social walk with great company and excellent support.


 * Her interest in the environment, a volunteer commitment which ran alongside her professional and ultra careers. In retirement, she now works as a volunteer for National Park designation of the internationally important landscapes of her home county, Dorset.


 * Her family: her amazing husband and partner-in-sport-and-all-things Richard, himself an outstanding ultra distance athlete, [they have been married since meeting as students in the college library] and their daughter Vicky, who has been their great supporter and wonderful "soigneuse" since she was very young, and is now an ultra-distance walker herself.

Biographies
The Winning Experience: Winning in Sport, in Business, in Life By Richard Brown, 1996

Long At The Top: Richard and Sandra Brown 1982-1993 By Dudley Harris, 1994, self published