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This page contains the concise information about the Ridgeway Challenge 86 Miles and some background.  Press can use this information and links for their releases.

Who Organises the Ridgeway Challenge 86 Miles?

The Trail Running Association organised the event until 2022. 

Anthony Taylor was the lead organiser until 2012, then Tim Mitchell to 2022.

The Trail Running Associations (TRA) is an association of UK Athletics and is responsible for the British Trail Running Championships.  These are Short, Middle and Ultra.  The Ridgeway Challenge 86 Miles is the Trail Running Championships Ultra Distance.


The Course

The event begins at the start of the Ridgeway proper at Ivinghoe Beacon on the Ashridge Estate and ends at Avebury Stone Circle (Avebury Sports Club). The course is just over 86miles, 138km.


Naming Conventions

The full name of the event is:  The Ridgeway Challenge 86 Miles

This is abbrieviated to: R86, or, The R86.

The event incorporates the British Trail Running Championships Ultra Distance.

Collectively:  The Ridgeway Challenge 86 Miles incorporating the British Trail Running Championships Ultra Distance.

The R86 is the official trail running championships as recognised by British Athletics.


Why two start times?

There are two start times to allow for mixed abilities.  10:00 runners are not competing in the British Trail Running Championships Ultra Distance, they are competing to finish only.  12:00 runners have two hours less than 10:00 runners.  12:00 runners are competing in the British Trail Running Championships Ultra Distance.


There are other events that race to the stones at Avebury, how is the R86 different?

The R86 is the only event that covers the entire length of the Ridgeway apart from the section from Fyfieled Down to The Sanctuary, about one and half miles.  The R86 is the one of two trail event organised by the TRA with the other being the Thames Ring 250.  It is the only Ridgeway event that requires entrants to qualify by running at least a ultra distance event prior to application.


Course Records

The current course records:

2015 Dan Lawson, 12:07

2018 Sarah Burns-Morwood 14:00


Links

www.tra-uk.org

www.tra-uk.org/ridgeway-challenge

ridgewaychallenge.com