A three day, 85-mile, 136km, ultra marathon crossing the historic Ridgeway. You’ll be following in the footsteps of travellers, herdsmen and soldiers who have used the Ridgeway since prehistoric times. Be entranced by the ancient landscapes, hidden valleys, beautiful downland and woodland.
As with all of our events, everything is taken care of at the Druid’s Challenge so you can focus on the experience! Overnight accommodation, evening meals, showers, breakfast, food and drink at checkpoints, free parking, and even inspiring guest speakers in the evening are all included.
Early bird entry: £215 until the end of February
Standard entry: £255
Late entry: £280
INCLUDED
- Overnight accommodation
- Free parking
- A fully recced and marked route
- Full medical cover throughout
- Toilets, showers and changing facilities
- Breakfast and evening meals
- Checkpoint food and water at regular intervals
- Inspiring guest speakers in the evening
- A quality finishers t-shirt and medal
- Prizes and trophies for overall and category winners
- Action photos en-route, free to download
- A great atmosphere and a fun but challenging day out
ROUTE
The route is a National Trail with plenty of clear signposts and post discs. You’ll also be given a route card, designed to get you through any trickier sections. We recommend familiarising yourself with the route before the start of the race.
INSPIRING EVENING SPEAKERS
We are very pleased to be able to look forward to two inspiring talks on the Saturday evening, from Rory Coleman and Eray Cakir!
Rory has spoken at all of our Druid Challenges since we started in 2009 and his knowledge of how to succeed at the MDS is 2nd to none. He will be talking about “The Ultra mindset needed to succeed in the MDS” – a great topic especially in the wake of the 2021 race.
Eray is an ultra runner who would love to share his experience of MDS 2017 and his learnings from the ultra world.I always wanted to challenge myself, therefore, I have completed Marathon Des Sables in 2017 and featured in Ultra-Trail® World Tour 2017 documentary. I have also completed London 2 Brighton Ultra Marathon in 2019 (110km), Alps Ultra 2021 (1065km), Winter Walk 25km and Summer Walk 25km. I am trying to gain enough UTMB points to qualify for UTMB CCC race. I always had “I can do anything” attitude. I don’t consider myself an experienced runner but would like to share my life changing Ultra Marathon experiences with others.
ENTRIES
You can enter the whole weekend event including food and accommodation or individual days.
Entries will close one week before the event (or when full). A waitlist option will be available if the event becomes fully booked.
ROUTE
A broad track that takes the higher ground, the Ridgeway is a unique route that passes through the North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), often quite a distance from any towns or villages, giving a real sense of peace and seclusion. You’ll experience open views of the rolling chalk downland, peppered with ancient monuments including Stone Age long barrows, Bronze Age round barrows, Iron Age forts and white horse chalk figures. It’s a National Trail with plenty of clear signposts and post discs. You’ll also be given a route card, designed to get you through any trickier sections. We recommend familiarising yourself with the route before the start of the race.
AID STATIONS
There will be three checkpoints each day at regular intervals, fully stocked with water and food.
WE’ve Gone GREEN
Help us do our bit to reduce the impact our events have on the environment by bringing your own reusable or collapsible cups for drinks at checkpoints. Some suggestions we love: the Salomon soft cup and the X cup.
As part of your entry fee you will get an event T-shirt, or you can choose not to have the T-shirt and the money we would pay for the T-shirt will go to Trees not Tees and a tree will be planted instead.
For more details visit their website – https://treesnottees.com/
ACCOMMODATION
You’ll stay at Lord Williams’s Lower School in Thame (OX9 3NW) on the first night and Didcot Leisure Centre, Mereland Road, Didcot, OX11 8AY on the second night, with sleeping accommodation in a large hall.
Don’t fancy sharing accommodation during the event? We’ll be running minibus shuttles to and from three local hotels during the event.
GETTING THERE
There are plenty of options for reaching the start and finish points of the Druid’s Challenge.
By train to the start: Trains run regularly from London Marylebone to Tring, taking roughly 35 minutes. It’s a short shuttle ride from the Station to the registration point.
