This event has ended
Chilcomb Sports Ground, Petersfield Road, Winchester, Hampshire, SO21 1HU
29th Apr 2022
97 mi
3 days
£205
3 pts
The Devil's Challenge
No. of days 3 days
Distance 97 mi
Ascent gain 3815 m
Accom. yes
Food yes
A three-day, 97-mile ultra marathon along the South Downs Way, passing the legendary Devil's Dyke valley.
Take in some of England's most breathtaking countryside between Winchester, our original capital city, and the distinctive white chalk cliffs at Eastbourne. Encompassing visible prehistory, picturesque villages and stunning wildlife, the South Downs Way is the perfect challenge for those training for events like the Marathon des Sables, long single-stage events like the SDW100, or who simply want to experience some of the best views in the country.
We are delighted to support SheRACES and commit to providing a great experience for female participants. Find out more
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 tshirt 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
The winners, runners up and age group winners will receive fantastic prizes or vouchers from our sponsors.
Multi-day event prizes for 1st male and 1st female winners, plus male and female age group prizes & FREE entry to the same event next year!
Multi-day event prizes for 1st male and 1st female winners, plus male and female age group prizes & FREE entry to the same event next year!
Route
The South Downs Way National Trail has excellent markings in the form of signposts or post discs to keep you on track.
It's worth bearing in mind that there will be road crossings to negotiate. We also recommend taking the time to explore the route beforehand and carrying a map with you on race day.
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Pricing
Early bird
£160
until 30th September 2021
Standard entry
£190
from 1st October 2021
Late entry
£205
from 1st March 2022
Single day: £65
Accommodation and food: £30 per night
Full event without food and accommodation: £160
There's a 10% discount available for all serving military or emergency services staff. To book with your discount, please email us: info@xnrg.co.uk.
Please note: a 2.5% service charge, levied by the registration software, will be added to your total. We are using a new entry system that takes payment through the secure system Stripe. No payment information is retained by Extreme Energy or our entry system tool. If you need to cancel your entry or transfer to another event, you can do that by logging back into the booking system, Racespace.
Refunds policy
If for some reason you are not able to make the event you have entered. The XNRG refund policy is that we will give you 70% refund of your entry fee up to 1 month before the start date of the event. You also have the option (1 month before the date of the event) to get a 100% transfer credit to another one of our multiday events. Both of these options you can execute on your Racespace entry page.
After this time we are sorry there will be no refunds or transfers to future events. Refunds will be to your booking credit card.
Race-day Preparation
Kit List
The only compulsory kit is a mobile phone with full battery and switched on to ring, not silent, and
a water bottle/hydration pack with a minimum of 500ml of water, but it's worth taking a look at our recommended kit list.
Other equipment may be made compulsory by the race director depending on the weather.
Medical
The event is supported by a Course Manager and a fully qualified medical crew will be in attendance. We strongly recommend taking a moment to read our medical page before booking.
FAQ
We've answered a range of common questions in our FAQ. For other questions, say hello on info@xnrg.co.uk.
Registration
Please register and pick up your timing chip from:
Full event/day 1 only entrants
7:00am on Saturday
Accommodation
You'll stay at Midhurst Rother College, North Street, Midhurst, GU29 9DT on the first night and Patcham High School, Ladies Mile Road, Brighton, BN1 8PB 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. Click the button below for more details.
Getting there
We will be operating mini-bus shuttles from Winchester Station to the start on Friday and from the finish to Eastbourne Station on Sunday.
Click below for full details.
More Information
Amazing evening speakers
Hear from the brightest and the best from the world of ultra running with our programme of evening speakers (TBC - keep your eyes peeled as we announce them).
Entries
You can enter the whole weekend event including food and accommodation, the whole event without food or accommodation, or individual days.
There are 150 places available and entries will close one week before the event (or when full). A waitlist option will be available if the event becomes fully booked.
Starts / Finishes
Day 1 - Friday
The start times are: walkers 09:30, runners 10:00 and 10:30, with registration open from 08:00 at Chilcomb Sports Ground, Petersfield Rd, Winchester SO21 1HU.
Day 1 finish: Elsted Village Hall GU29 0JY, followed by a minibus shuttle to Midhurst Rother College, North Street, Midhurst, GU29 9DT (our overnight location).
Day 2 - Saturday
Day 2 start: Minibus shuttles to the start at Hilltop Car Park, south of Cocking GU29 0HT.
Day 2 finish: Clayton Village Hall, BN6 9PJ, followed by a minibus shuttle to Patcham High School, Ladies Mile Road, Brighton, BN1 8PB (our overnight location).
Day 3 - Sunday
Day 3 start: Minibus shuttles to the start at Ditchling Beacon BN6 8XD.
Day 3 finish: St Andrew's Prep School, Meads Street, Eastbourne BN20 7RP.
Route
The South Downs Way National Trail has excellent markings in the form of signposts or post discs to keep you on track. The route goes through England's latest National Park, including some of the most spectacular scenery and quintessential villages the South has to offer.
It's worth bearing in mind that there will be road crossings to negotiate. We also recommend taking the time to explore the route beforehand and carrying a map with you on race day. For more information see the full event instructions (click on the 'Download Race Details' button above).
Some of our favourite South Downs Way publications:
Overnight accommodation
As with all of our events, everything is taken care of at the Devil’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 evenings are all included for three day participants, and are also available at a supplement for one day participants.
You'll stay at Midhurst Rother College, North Street, Midhurst, GU29 9DT on the first night and Patcham High School, Ladies Mile Road, Brighton, BN1 8PB on the second night, with sleeping accommodation in a large hall.
Everything is looked after - all you need to do is run (or jog or walk!)
Aid stations
There will be four aid stations each day, between 6-10 mile distances, fully stocked with water, and sweet and savoury food to keep you fuelled.
Due to the risk of cross contamination, we cannot provide checkpoint food to suit all dietary requirements. If you require special food or snacks to suit any allergies or vegetarian/vegan diets, can you please bring your own. Put them in containers, marked with your name and checkpoint number and give them to the checkpoint teams at the start of the race.
We're going 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 and on the overnights. 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/
Reviews
Thanks very much for yet another great event. As always the whole team were helpful, encouraging and full of positivity.
The ice was amazing and so welcome, as was the paddling pool.
I love the personal touch you bring to the events and although I enjoy other ultras it’s the XNRG ones I keep returning to. The fact that you support everyone including people like me who are never going to win anything means a lot.
Looking forward to Druid’s
Just wanted to say a massive thank you for all your hard work and making the devils challenge possible - I was so excited when you started this event and it was such an amAzing adventure- all the little touches make all the difference - checkpoints were amazing and you adjusted for weather amazingly - having water dipped caps, ice and that fantastic paddling pool made all the difference In the heat.
Thank you so much - I’m my opinion XNRG have got it all just right.
Hope to see you again soon.
First and foremost from no. 107 thank you for an amazing weekend your support and expertise were way beyond anything I have experienced before.
I finished the third day intact and confident and apart from the soles of my feet I’m all good the day after.
And in the meantime thank you again for making the SDW such an amazing event.
We can't wait to see you there! Questions? Say hello on info@xnrg.co.uk
