Hibernal Hills 50 MILE race
Runner information
Saturday 8th February 2025
MORE INFO

Schedule

Saturday February 8th 2025, Queen Elizabeth Country Park.
6:00am: Registration opens.
7:15am: Registration closes.
7.30am: Race start.
11pm: Race finish, Queen Elizabeth Country Park.

Race start/finish location

The race will start and finish in Queen Elizabeth Country Park. There will be toilets available.The What3Word location is
https://w3w.co/cools.monks.rational
There is plenty of free parking next to the start finish area

https://w3w.co/argued.recruiter.overruns

Race bibs will not be sent out but must be collected at registration.

Aid Stations:

There will be 7 very well stocked aid stations along the route which are listed below with 9 of these being indoors. Aid stations will carry a wide range of food and drink. They will cater for everyone’s needs including vegan, vegetarian and gluten free.

As a minimum, the below will be available at the aid stations:

  • Bananas
  • 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
  • Cheese cubes
  • Chocolate
  • Salted nuts
  • Sausage rolls(normal and vegan)
  • Water
  • Hot drinks
  • Salted potatoes
  • Pizza
  • Hot water for noodles etc
  • Peperami sticks

Location
Amenities
Rowlands Castle, mile 11.24, no cutoff
Toilets Available
Walderton, mile 14.70, no cutoff
No Toilets
West Dean, mile 20.70, no cutoff
No Toilets
East Dean, mile 25, cutoff 4pm
Toilets Available
Bignor Hill, mile 30, cut off 5.30pm
Toilets Available
Cocking, mile 38.70, cutoff 8pm
Toilets Available
South Harting, mile 45.70, cutoff 9.45pm
Toilets Available

Cut Offs:

All runners must be finished by 11pm allowing a 15.5 hour limit. There are no cutoffs until the East Dean aid station, mile 25 but, there will be after this point.

Pacers

Pacers are not allowed at any time during the race.

Spectators & Crews

Spectators and crews 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 aren’t 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.
Crews will be allowed to help runners almost anywhere along the route and we strongly recommend you bring a crew with you. If the weather is bad it will be really beneficial to have them meet you at regular intervals with dry clothes, shoes etc.

Spectators and crews must however, not attend at any of the aid station locations. If they turn up at these locations we will disqualify the runner. This is due to landowner requests, so it is very important to abide.

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. Please ensure the bag is clearly marked with your name and bib number.

Drop Bags

Runners will have the option of leaving a drop bag at registration. This bag will be transported to the East Dean aid station at the halfway point. Here it will be kept safe and ready for your collection. Please keep these bags as small as possible. There is a chance the route will be flooded in places. These areas are few and far between however, there is the possibility of getting wet feet. If it’s a cold day, running with wet feet can become a problem so we strongly recommend having a drop bag especially if you don’t have a crew. Include dry socks and shoes in this bag. These will all be transported back to the finish and will arrive by about 6pm. 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.

SWEEPER BUS

There will not be an official sweeper vehicle in operation during the event to collect runners that can no longer continue. We will do all we can to help, 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 and it is mandatory to bring cash and a bank card for local transport/taxi. If we are able to arrange transportation it 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 late into the race and the journey is not too far.

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 soft, wet, muddy and even frozen. We therefore suggest that trail shoes with a moderate to aggressive grip are suitable. We will send more details out during race week to confirm the underfoot conditions.

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 Smart Phone including the numbers for the Race Medic and Race Director which will be available at registration
  • A GPS device with the route on. Watch or handheld. Even though the route will be marked, you must essentially be prepared to navigate it by yourself in case markers get tampered with or thick fog makes visibility difficult
  • Running pack to carry the Mandatory Kit
  • Foil/survival blanket
  • Hydration system capable of holding one litre of liquid
  • Whistle
  • Dry bag to go in race pack
  • Headlamp and backup headlamp, both with a minimum of 300 Lumens each. Ideally 900 Lumens or more
  • At least one spare battery for each headlamp
  • Warm gloves or mittens x 2
  • Warm hat (Buff not acceptable)
  • Base layer. This must be carried separately in your race pack and not worn from the start
  • Waterproof jacket with a hood and taped/sealed seams ( Minimum 10,000 mm rating)
  • A high visibility/reflective item that can be seen at night such as a rear flashing LED light, high visibility arm band, clothing with reflective properties
  • Cash and a bank card
  • Please make sure to bring warm dry clothes for when you finish, either with your crew or in your finish line bag

It is not mandatory but we do suggest you bring waterproof trousers and a foldable cup as the race will be cup less.

Route Markers and Navigation

The route will combine three different trails through the South Downs National Park. The Staunton Way, The Monarchs Way and, The South Downs Way. All three of these routes are signposted with their own unique symbols. The route will be additionally marked mainly with UK Ultra signs throughout. A map and compass are not necessary at this event although, it is 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 STRONGLY suggest download the GPX file onto your GPS/mobile device. Unfortunately, sometimes markers do get removed by members of the public or turned in the opposite direction. Even though we will mark the route as thoroughly as possible, please don't rely on this. Having the GPX downloaded will save you a lot of hassle in this situation as it is very accurate, and you can easily navigate the route with this alone if markers are tampered with. This doesn't happen very often however, all it takes is for one marker to be removed to send you in the wrong direction.

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.