Saturday December 7th 2023, Helen Garden, Eastbourne. BN20 7XL.
5:45am: Registration opens.
7:15am: Registration closes.
7.30am: Race start.
11pm: Race finish.
The race will start and finish in Helen Garden, Eastbourne. There is plenty of parking in the nearby streets and Eastbourne train station is a 20 min walk away. There will be toilets available with food and drink also.
Race numbers will not be sent out in the post but, must be collected at registration along with a GPS tracker.
There will be 7 very well stocked aid stations along the route which are listed below. 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 at all Aid Stations:
All runners must be finished by 11pm and have 15 and a half hours to complete the course. There are cutoffs at some aid stations along the route shown in the table above. We aren't overly strict on the cutoff times as we want everyone to finish so, please use these times as a rough guide. We will give you a bit of wiggle room but not too much.
Pacers are not allowed at any time during the race.
Spectators and crews must not attend at any of the aid station locations. This gets said every time and still they try to turn up at aid stations. 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. Runners are responsible for their crew and supporters, so it is down to you to pass this Information onto them.
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 except aid station locations, 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.
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.
Runners will have the option of leaving a drop bag at registration. This bag will be transported to the Glynde Village aid station, mile 33. Here it will be kept safe and ready for your collection. Please keep these bags as small as possible. and clearly labelled with your name and race number. 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.
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.
It is not mandatory but we do suggest you bring waterproof trousers and a foldable cup as the race will be cup less.
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. We will mark the route mainly with UK Ultra arrows, UK Ultra ribbons and ground flags. A map and compass are not necessary at all 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 it is mandatory to download the GPX file onto your GPS/mobile device. The markings should be more than enough for everyone to navigate the route however, unfortunately, sometimes markers do get removed by members of the public or turned in the opposite direction and visibility during thick fog can sometimes be tricky. 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 or visibility is low. We will also have recce runs available throughout the year that runners can join in to see the route.
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.