The Serpent Trail 100k Trail Ultra starts at 6am on Saturday 5th July 2025.
See our Frequently Asked Questions if you have any queries!
- Coach transport will leave the race venue / finish at Petersfield Rugby Club at 5.20am. It is your responsibility to be on the bus as it will be leaving promptly to take you to the race start.
- Registration is where you will receive your race number, free TRIBE bar, drop bags and any event T-Shirts & camping passes ordered. This is at the venue and is open from 5pm - 10pm on Friday and 4.30 am - 5 am on race day.
- Race Briefing will be at 5am, after close of registration, in the big ‘dining tent’ at the race venue.
- 1 drop bag is available during the 100k race, at the halfway point. These are supplied by yourself. You need to leave your drop bag in the correct place (outside our ‘race stores’ and FR trailer, from 5am on raceday) and we will take it to the Petworth CP.
They are brought back to the finish, for you to collect after the race - we cannot hold them for you or take them to post back to you should you forget!!
Previously we have supplied the drop bags - It is obviously better for the environment and less wasteful if you use one of your bags (small hold-all or rucksack etc) rather than the thick plastic bag that we have given out, which are then invariably used for the race and thrown away. Also you are then able to pack your drop bag at home and can make sure you have everything you might want rather than maybe rushing and forgetting things… We provide a swing tag / sticker to write your race number onto and attach to the drop bag.
- Rolling Start - Participants ‘dib’ at the start area in Haslemere and can start as soon as they have ‘dibbed in’ (recorded their timing chip in one of our marshalled control units). There will not be a mass start, and participants will all be starting in a window of 15-20 minutes, from roughly 5.40am - 6am. Each participants race is started from when they individually ‘dib in’ and not from any ‘gun’ time and race cut offs remain unchanged at specific times of day for relevant checkpoints.
Previously the 100k was a mass start. With more people doing the race now it means big bottlenecks as the Trail passes through a few narrow gateways in the first mile of the race - this can’t be changed - so a rolling start should hoepfully help ease this as much as possible.
- Kit List for this race has been planned to help create a fast race through a relatively straightforward landscape in summertime. Familiarise yourself with the mandatory kit - and make sure you have it! KIT LIST HERE.
- Use of Poles is fine and allowed in this race. Be aware of other users and considerate / courteous with your poles.
- Music is allowed but take headphones out / turn it off when at or on roads and be aware of other users on the Trail and other runners.
- Drop Outs from the race can only do so AT CHECKPOINTS unless there is a medical reason or emergency. We will transport any drop outs back to the finish line, but there may be a small wait.
- Course Records - M: Tristan Stephenson, 8:38:45, (2021) - F: Sorcha Loughnane, 9:38:46 (2024) See our Hall of Fame for the ALL TIME top ten finish times!
- UTMB - This race is a UTMB qualifier and contributes to an individuals UTMB index.
- Pacers are allowed to run alongside you from the town of Petworth. This is roughly halfway in the race and has good parking and transport links to pick the car up later. The Serpent Trail passes alongside the main council car park (pay and display) in the town so this is the ideal spot to join.
You can only have one pacer with you at a time but can have as many swapping over to run with you as you wish. Pacers are not allowed to carry your kit or race pack and will need to be self sufficient, apart from being able to take water from the Midhurst CP. This is halfway through the allowed 30 mile/50k pacing distance.
- Support Crew are allowed to follow you and supply you with food and drink in addition to race checkpoint supplies. We ask that they do not come to the checkpoint locations but meet you elsewhere.
- Cut Off for the 100k is midnight Saturday night. This gives 18 hours to complete. There are 3 checkpoints with cut off times that you need to LEAVE by. They are;
5pm / 11 hours for 38 miles at the Fittleworth CP
8.30pm / 14.5 hours for 51 miles at Midhurst CP
10pm / 16 hours for 56 miles at Trotton CP.
We will enforce the cut off times and those not continuing will be transported back to Petersfield.
- The Venue has camping available on the Friday and Saturday nights, plenty of parking and changing and shower facilities open all weekend. Consider camping after and/or before the race to make a weekend of it but especially after, to be rested before driving away from Petersfield afterwards.
- Arrival & Departure The venue opens at 5 pm on Friday evening and closes for the event at midday on Sunday.
- Checkpoints will have water, squash, coke and a good mixture of sweet and savoury snacks such as sandwiches, crisps, cake/biscuits, sweets, bananas, watermelon/oranges, nuts etc.
The 100k is CUPLESS - read HERE for detail plus link to example of a perfect lightweight, folding cup to bring with you for the race.
These are the Checkpoint locations, please make sure any support crews do not meet you at checkpoints but elsewhere along the route. To help you plan your drop bag and food and drink etc, the distance between CP's can be viewed HERE
- 1 - Linchmere Common
- 2 - Hill Brow
- 3 - Henley
- 4 - Petworth (Sylvia Beaufoy Centre)
- 5 - Fittleworth (Tripp Hill Farm)
- 6 - Grafham
- 7 - Midhurst
- 8 - Trotton
- 9 - Durford Mill (water only)
- Route Map for the 100k race is HERE and downloadable from the website GPX FILE HERE - or via Google Drive --- (We recommend having a gps device as backup whilst you are running - many running watches allow you to upload the route onto them, or Outdooractive is a great free app to enable your smartphone to be used as a gps) The official South Downs Serpent Trail guide is available in pdf from here.
- About the Serpent Trail Here are some links for background information about the Serpent Trail; Wikpedia, South Downs National Park Authority, Long Distance Walkers Association.
- Route Markings - The whole of the 100k distance is signed with our extra race signage, in addition to the permanent Trail markings as shown below. The Serpent Trail is a permanent way-marked Trail with regular signage. Below are photos of the temporary race signage and the permanent markers.
We put these extra signs out along the route during the week before the race and they are collected by sweeper runners at the back of the field, then the whole route is ran again by ourselves in the week after the event to make sure we have all the signage collected back in and that litter etc isn’t left from the races.
