South Downs races

Chalk downland, and the friendliest ultra ground in England. The South Downs Way runs along the ridge from Winchester to Eastbourne on wide, well-drained track, which makes this the place people run their first fifty or hundred. It is runnable in a way that fell country never is.

That does not make it flat. The Downs climb and drop off the ridge repeatedly, and the total ascent over a hundred miles is more than most people budget for. The difference is that almost all of it is runnable, which is its own trap: there is no walking break built into the terrain, so you have to take one deliberately.

Chalk is fast when dry and greasy when wet, particularly on the steeper flint-strewn descents. Very few races here need navigation — the Way is well signed and most events mark the course — so this is a sensible region to run a long race without adding the map to the list of things to get wrong. Winchester, Brighton and Eastbourne are the usual bases.