How To Organise An Ultra Distance Event

After completing the Montane Spine Race last year, Sportstiks team member Chris Payne decided to organise his own ultra distance event, taking place in July. It was also his first time as a race director. Luckily he already knew where to go for the best race bibs, but any event, especially an ultra distance, takes months of preparation and organisation. Here he shares his experience as a first time race director and his tips on how to organise an ultra distance event.

To do list

Next step – build the website, launch entries and hope that someone out there would be interested in entering! Clicking ‘CONFRIM’ on the purchase of the website domain felt like the first big I’m really doing this moment. No more trying to talk myself out of it! With the site live and entries open, I set about trying to fill in all the gaps. Logistics, medical cover, insurance, volunteers, checkpoints, GPS tracking, kit list, medals, social media accounts, promotion – I made lists and spreadsheets for everything. Event organising really is a spreadsheet lover’s dream!

Fortunately, entries and other support for the event trickled in nicely in the coming months and by June I was gradually getting everything booked in and ticked off. Finding suitable areas for the checkpoints was tricky, particularly because several needed to be open during the night. But luckily, I was able to find some great locations and wonderfully receptive folk who welcomed the race with open arms.

Shopping for the aid station supplies was great fun and got me and my friends thinking, ‘What are our top 3 things to eat and drink when we do ultras?’ The answers? coke, watermelon & salty crisps – so I made sure I was well stocked with plenty of each for the checkpoints, along with other snacks and treats.

Race day

When race day finally came around, I was full of nervous excitement and with 2 cars packed with supplies and equipment, headed off to the start location in Epping. The weather throughout the day on the Friday had been dreadful, with heavy rain all day long and also very strong winds forecast for Harwich the following day. It seemed that no amount of checking the forecast made it improve, but I reasoned that it was far better that way than a heatwave!

Registration went smoothly and there was a lovely friendly atmosphere about the place as the runners chatted away while doing their final kit checks. Fortunately, the last of the rain just about cleared up in time for the short walk from race registration to the start. Then it was time for the off, and the inaugural running of the Essex Way Ultra was under way. A lot of the hard work was over, but there would still be a lot to think about over the next 24 hours.

The conditions calmed into the night, and we were treated to a beautiful clear night for running with a wonderful sunrise. The earlier heavy rain made for very challenging, claggy conditions under foot, but the runners were in great spirits as they arrived at the checkpoints for a snack, a refresh and a chat with the medics about any ailments that needed attention. There was a real collective feeling that while most of Essex was in bed asleep, we were out there doing something awesome!

Into Saturday, the wind worsened as the day progressed but thankfully it was mostly a tailwind and didn’t hamper the runners too much as they made their way along the Harwich promenade for the final push towards the finish. Although, it was a different story for my flags and finish banner, which were clinging on to the lighthouse railings for dear life!

Midway through the afternoon,  I received a text reminder that BBC Essex were going to call me for an on-air chat about the race. With a million different things running through my sleepy mind, I had completely forgotten about it! Thankfully, I think I made at least some sense during the interview.

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