Schedule

Saturday December 7th 2023, Helen Garden, Eastbourne. BN20 7XL.

What3Words location: https://w3w.co/reason.undulation.asset

5:45am: Registration opens

7:15am: Registration closes

7.30am: Race start

11pm: Race finish

‍

Race start/finish location

Race HQ will be in n Helen Garden, Eastbourne. Race registration will take place here and it will be the start/finish area. There is plenty of parking in the nearby streets and Eastbourne train station is a 20 min walk away. There will be toilets available throughout with free hot food and drink also after the race for runners only.

Race numbers will not be sent out in the post but, must be collected at registration along with a GPS tracker.

‍

Aid Stations:

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 available at all aid stations:

• Bananas
• Crisps
• High 5 gels
• Peanut Butter, jam, cheese, ham, marmite sandwiches (made with vegan spread)
• Homemade vegan/gluten free lemon drizzle cake
• Skittles and jelly babies
• Coke
• Soreen
• Cheese squares
• Chocolate
• Salted nuts
• Homemade flapjack
• Sausage rolls (normal and vegan)
• Salted potatoes
• Pizza
• Water
• Hot drinks (except for Southease)

‍

Cut Offs:

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

Pacers are not allowed at any time during the race.

‍

Spectators & Crews

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.

‍

SWEEPER BUS

There will be a sweeper vehicle 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/crew 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.

‍

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 Offham 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 from this and obviously from potential rain. 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.

‍

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 mobile phone including the numbers for the Race Medic and Race Director which will be available at registration
• Race pack to carry and transport Mandatory Kit
• Foil/survival blanket
• Hydration system capable of holding one litre of liquid
• Dry bag to go in race pack to keep items dry
• Whistle
• Headlamp and backup headlamp with a minimum of 300 Lumens each. Ideally 900 Lumens or more
• At least one spare battery for each headlamp
• 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.

• Warm gloves/mittens x 2 (It is not mandatory but if rain is forecast, then one of these pairs should be waterproof)
• Warm hat
• Base layer x 2 (One must be carried in your race pack for emergency use and not worn from the start)

• Waterproof jacket with a hood and taped seams (Must have a rating of at least 10,000mm)
• 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
• £50 cash and bank card
• Please make sure to bring warm dry clothes for when you finish, either with your crew or in your finish line bag
• Foldable cup suitable for hot drinks as the race will be cup less
• It is also recommended for runners that do not have a crew or drop bag, to carry spare socks just in case (This is not mandatory)

• It is also recommended to bring dry clothes/shoes to go in a drop bag to mile 33 (Drop bags are not mandatory, so this is not mandatory but a very good idea especially if you don't have a crew for the day)
• It is also recommended that you bring waterproof trousers (This is not mandatory)

‍

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. However, large parts will also not be on the SDW. We will mark the entire route mainly with UK Ultra arrows but also, 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. For Information on these recce runs then please head the the Trail Run Explorers website. This is a small local company that take the guided runs for us. https://trailrunexplorers.com/

‍

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.