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This is a single loop event around the trails of East Sussex. Starting and finishing in the seaside town of Eastbourne, runners will begin over Beachy Head and the famous Seven Sisters before heading up towards Mount Harry, Blackcap and Lewes along the South Downs Way. The route then passes Mount Caburn, through Glynde and Firle before finishing back in Eastbourne. The views are spectacular, and the course is a combination of grass trails, farm tracks and woodland paths. There is 7,500 ft of elevation to navigate, but the route is generally very runnable and best described as rolling hills with some longer, steeper climbs also. The weather at this time of year can be unpredictable with anything from glorious crisp sunny days to strong winds, rain, sleet and snow. East Sussex, and the eastern side of the South Downs, lends itself to being ideal for a race at this time of year with it having probably the driest climate in the U.K. The terrain has fantastic drainage meaning although some places can and will become wet and muddy, it is generally speaking, very runnable all year round.
This race will also form part of the new South Downs Triple Crown challenge starting in 2025 if you wish to enter.
https://www.ukultra.co.uk/south-downs-triple-crown
Permit: Our permits are granted through the ARC.
Permit number pending.
Entry & Qualification details
Entries are available on a first come, first served basis and once it is full, they will be closed. No waitlist will be in operation. In order to qualify you must have completed a minimum of a trail marathon within the cutoff time of that race within the last four years. Ideally this qualifier would be a hilly trail 50k. This must be an official race where the results can be viewed online.
You must also have good experience of trail running in Winter time and, during darkness. Trail running experience in general and during Winter as well as in darkness is essential to having a good experience in this race. Please don't kid yourself.
Entries will close one week prior to the race or once entry limits are reached. You can enter before achieving this qualifier, but it must be updated before race day. Please get in touch by emailing neil@ukultra.co.uk if this applies to you.
EVent Postponement/abandonment
At the time of year the event takes place, there is always the possibility of more extreme weather situations occurring. This is of course a Winter event and potentially tough conditions are sometimes part of it however, it would take very extreme conditions to affect the event going ahead. If the event does need to be postponed or abandoned due to extreme weather conditions, then we will of course do all we can to find a suitable alternative. In this situation, unfortunately no refunds can be offered, but the event will be postponed to a new date a few months later highly likely in either January, February or March of the following year. If you cannot make this new date, there will also be the choice of deferring to some of our other events. We will always try to make things work for everyone involved and will always find a solution to make sure no one loses out in anyway.
Refund, Deferral and transfer Policy
Any time up until September 6th 2025 you are entitled to a 50% refund. After this time no refunds will be given. The only exception to this is pregnancy. In this case if you inform us before the race you will receive a full refund.
If you can no longer make the event, there is the option of deferring your place to 2026 or transferring it to another runner. Deferrals to the following year can only be made up until one week before race day and transferring to another runner must only be done one week before and, not after. Deferals can only be made once. Pregnant women will be able to defer their place to 2027/28 if they wish and for a further 2 years if they fall pregnant again within that period. Please email neil@ukultra.co.uk if you wish to do either of these.
Elite Entries
We want highly competitive races at the sharp end of the fields and, welcome elite runners to come and compete for wins and course records. We do reserve places for elites and have packages in place to help. These are decided on an individual basis by the Race Director. If you are an elite runner and would like to take part then please email neil@ukultra.co.uk.
- A fantastic, fully signed and way marked route through the South Downs National Park
- A bespoke UK Ultra finisher medal
- Bespoke male and female winner trophies
- Downloadable race photos
- 7 well stocked aid stations
- Live GPS tracking and chip timing to track runners progress and times
- This is a UTMB Index race
- 3 ITRA points
- Prizes for all male and female winners in vet categories over 40, 50, 60 and 70
- Event insurance
- First Aid and Medical Cover
- Free shuttle bus from finish line to local hotels and Eastbourne Train Station
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