Schedule

Sunday 26th May 2024, Arundel Football Club.

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4am: Check-in open.
4:45am: Check-in closes.
5am: Race start, Mill Road, Arundel.
10pm: Race finish

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Race start/finish location

Race registration/start will take part at Arundel Football Club, Mill Road, Arundel, BN18 9PA. What3Words location https://w3w.co/brilliant.grand.shelters

The race will finish at Helen Garden, Royal Parade, Eastbourne, BN20 7XL.

There will be free parking available at Mill Road Car Park on the morning of the race next to Arundel Football Club. Unfortunately, you will not be able to leave your car in this car park for the remainder of the day. It is only for being dropped off. There are plenty of places to park in nearby streets around Arundel if you are returning to the start after the race.

There will be separate male and female toilets available at the start in the football club.

There will be plenty of parking at the finish line in the nearby streets of Eastbourne. The train station is a 1.5 mile walk from the finish line, however there will be free regular shuttles to take runners from the finish line if you so choose (please see bottom of page for bus info). There will be a large marquee, toilets, seating, food/drink, and music at the finish.

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Aid Stations

There will be 8 very well stocked aid stations along the route which are listed below. Aid stations will carry a wide range of food and drink and will cater for everyone’s needs including vegan, vegetarian and gluten free.

• Bananas
• Watermelon
• Crisps
• High 5 energy drink and gels
• PB, jam, cheese, ham, marmite sandwiches
• Homemade vegan/gluten free lemon drizzle cake
• Skittles and jelly babies
• Coke
• Soreen
• Chocolate
• Salted nuts
• Homemade flapjack
• Sausage rolls
• Water

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Cut Offs

There is a time limit of 17 hours for the race and all runners must be finished by 10pm. There are cut offs at some of the aid station locations. We aren't overly strict on the cut off times as we want everyone to finish, so please use these times as a rough guide. We will give you a little bit of wiggle room with these so please don't stress too much. If you are way over the cut off time then we will have to ask you to stop. The one exception to this is the final aid station in East Dean. You will not under any circumstances be allowed to leave here after 8pm.

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Drop Bags

Runners will have the option of leaving a drop bag at registration. This bag will be transported to the 33mile (53km) point at Housedean Farm where it will be kept safe and ready for your collection. Please keep these bags as small as possible. Please be aware that if you would like to transfer the drop bag to the finish line after using it then it will not be transported until after the last runner has left Housedean Farm. With travel time it should arrive at the finish by 4:30pm. If you finish before this and don’t want to wait, then we can hold the bag for collection the following week or post it to you if you are willing to cover postage costs. We suggest you have some spare clothes in this bag incase of bad weather, along with any snacks/drinks you might prefer that we don't provide.

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Crews and spectators

Crews and spectators are very welcome to come along and support their runners throughout the day. It is however very important for the future of the race that they behave in a sensible manner throughout. There are privately owned car parks along the route that can become overcrowded very quickly and spectators must take it upon themselves to follow the rules of any certain car park. Not following these rules by parking on grass verges and in places that are not official parking spaces etc just because they are there to watch the race will not go down well and could put the future of the race in jeopardy. If a certain car park is full then please just move on to the next one. Any crew not acting sensibly will result in the disqualification of their runner.

Crews and spectators can meet runners along the route, however please not at aid station locations. This is by request of the landowners and is very important we abide with this. We will disqualify any runner whose crew/spectators turns up at these locations. They must also be aware to keep noise down during the early morning hours in residential areas.

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SWEEPER BUS

There will be a sweeper bus in operation to collect you if you cannot continue but there is often a long waiting time for this and, there is only so much we can do to support runners in this situation. It is essentially the runner’s responsibility to plan ahead in the situation they do have to drop out of the race, to arrange support and transport to get home. Our main priority when runners drop out is with runners still in the race. We will do what we can to help but, please plan ahead for this by arranging your own transport or bringing money for local transport/taxi. The sweeper bus will only be able to take you to nearby aid stations, local transport locations etc. It will not be able to take you to the finish line unless you decide to drop out very late into the race and are willing to wait.

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Finish Line Bags

Runners will also have the option of leaving a finish line bag at registration. This is limited to one bag per runner. The bag will be transported to the finish line area safe and ready for your collection. Please ensure the bag is clearly marked with your name and bib number. We recommend that runners bring some warm, dry clothes to change into after finishing. If any bags are not collected, then we can hold them for collection until the following week, or post them if you are willing to cover postage costs.

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Pacers

Pacers are not permitted during the race other than for any runner leaving the last aid station in East Dean after 7.30pm. This is for safety reasons of running in the dark.

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Mandatory Kit

The course is predominantly on easy going trails with small road sections as well. At the time of year the race takes place, the ground should be dry and hard. We therefore suggest that both road running and trail shoes are suitable.

Runners must carry the following equipment with them at all times and, will be disqualified for failing kit checks. Inspections will take place before, during and, after the race.

• Fully charged mobile phone including the numbers for the Race Medic, Race Director and Event Control which will be available at registration.

• Foil blanket/Emergency survival blanket.
• Hydration system capable of holding one litre of liquid.
• Whistle
• Headlamp and backup headlamp for runners who expect to finish after 8pm.
• Waterproof jacket with a hood and taped seams
• Bank card/cash
• The route downloaded to a GPS device or mobile (While this is not mandatory, it is strongly recommended, and runners should really always have this on them during a race of this nature)

It is not mandatory, but we do suggest you bring a foldable cup as the race will be cup less as well as items such as a warm hat, gloves, spare base layer in case of bad weather. These can be left in your finish bag or with your crew if you decide before the race that they aren't necessary.

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Route Markers and Navigation

A large part of the route will be on the South Downs Way and on these sections, there will be South Downs Way, way-marker posts showing the acorn sign symbolising a National Trail. The three exceptions to this are the first 4miles (6km) from Arundel where the path heads up towards Houghton, the section after 50 miles (81km) where the race comes off the SDW briefly past the Longman, and lastly, after the Jevington aid station. The route will then rejoin the South Downs Way at Birling Gap for the final section. These sections will all be well marked as will the entire route with our UK Ultra arrows, flags and ribbons. A map and compass are not necessary although, never a bad idea.

Even though the course will be thoroughly marked, it is the runner’s responsibility to navigate it successfully. We do however suggest you try and recce the route as much as possible, and also strongly suggest you download the GPX file onto your GPS/mobile device. Markers can get tampered with, taken down, moved in the opposite direction by members of the public, so it is advised that you have the route downloaded somewhere. We will do all we can to make sure the route is well marked but if people do decide to tamper with signs, then it won't matter too much if you have the GPX file on you. It is very accurate, and you will have no problem navigating the route with this alone.

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Medical

There will be an experienced team of race medics available to runners before, during and after the event including first aid teams, response cars and ambulances. There is the possibility due to some locations on the course that the medical team might take some time to reach you. In this situation you should call 999.

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Shuttle Bus

There will be a shuttle bus service in operation on the morning of the race, travelling from Eastbourne to Arundel. Any entrants staying Eastbourne before the event will be able to choose this option along with any local-residents. The bus will depart at 3 am from the Langham Hotel on the seafront at a cost of £15 per ticket. It will also stop off on the way at the finish line in Helen Garden if you would prefer to be collected here. This will be around 3.05am. Places can be booked during the checkout process or via this link:

https://ukultra.eventrac.co.uk/e/south-downs-10150/products

There will also be a small shuttle service available after the race, which will transport all entrants that wish to use it, to the local train station and nearby hotels. This is free of charge and will depart every 30 mins.