This event has ended
Dorian Williams Sports Ground, Cow Ln, Hertfordshire, Tring HP23 5NS
10th Nov 2023
85 miles
3 days
£280
3 pts
The Druid's Challenge
No. of days 3 days
Distance 85 mi
Ascent gain 2203 m
Accom. yes
Food yes
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.
Thanks to all your wonderful reviews, we're delighted to say The Druid's Challenge been awarded a GOLD race award! Thank you so much for your feedback!
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 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
The winners, runners up and age group winners will receive fantastic prizes or vouchers from our sponsors.
The multi day event prize for 1st male and 1st female overall winners is FREE entry to the same event next year!
The multi day event prize for 1st male and 1st female overall winners is FREE entry to the same event next year!
Route
The route is a National Trail with plenty of clear signposts and post discs. This year we will not be marking the route. Instead, you'll be following the Ridgeway markings until you come off the Ridgeway, with glow sticks out for the last 6 miles on day 1. We recommend you familiarise yourself with the route before the start of the race and download the GPX file or OS Maps route onto your watch or phone.
Registration
Registration opens at 8:00am on Friday at Tring Rugby Club, Cow Ln, Hertfordshire, Tring HP23 5NS. You will be taken from here to the start by a coach/minibus.
Toilets
Below are what3words locations of public toilets on the route:
- Day 1: Wendover Library Car Park ///choirs.skirt.hotspots
- Day 2: Goring High Street Wheel Orchard Car Park ///clearcut.rosette.gliders
- Day 3: Barbury Castle ///stacks.bother.shins and finish
Download printable route information including checkpoint locations and overnight accommodation.
Day 1
Day 2
Pricing
Early bird
£215
until 28th February 2023
Standard entry
£255
from 1st March 2023
Late entry
£280
from 1st October 2023
Single day: £70
Accommodation and food: £30 per night
Full event without food and accommodation: £210
There is a Mercure Hotel 20 minutes from the finish of day 1 and a Premier Inn a few miles away from day 2 overnight location. So, why not book the full event (no accommodation or food) option and have a comfortable bed instead? Scroll down for more information about hotel pick-ups.
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. 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 fully charged mobile phone and a minimum 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.
More Information
INspiring EVENING SPEAKERS
This year, we are very pleased to be able to look forward to inspiring talks from Guillaume Arthus and James Bull on the Saturday evening!
Guillaume Arthus
"Guillaume Arthus is a 32 y.o. ultra runner who specialises in both the longest challenges and the craziest races. He has run on 100+ trails all across the world. Back in 2019, he ran across the Alps, crossing the 1600 miles (with 100 miles of positive elevation gain), self supported in 43 days from Slovenia to Monaco. He has also run many classics (UTMB, Marathon des Sables, Tor des Géants), yet he truly found his calling in stranger formats (Barkley, Viking Way, Tunnel Ultra, Escape from Meriden).
He will be there during the Druid Challenge to run, but also to share his experience with others."
James Bull
"James Bull began running seriously when he retired from semi-professional rugby, and it was only ever meant to be a replacement hobby to satisfy his competitive urge. However, within two years he was chasing British rankings and the running had taken off from where the rugby had finished. In that time, he has run in many places across the globe including the USA, Europe, the Azores, and competed in the Marathon Des Sables twice. Now older and with a family, he very much considers himself a ‘mid-pack, seen better days’ runner, but remains active on the ‘circuit’ and runs on the Ultra-X Recce team in some very remote and unspoilt international trails. Having served as a Firefighter for over 22 years, he opened up about his struggles with mental health in 2017 and began raising money for the recovery programmes developed by the Firefighters Charity. His story became known to Hide & Seek Media who decided to make a documentary film about his story whilst raising awareness of mental health in the emergency services. This project gained a quick following and was widely circulated in the press over the next 3 years (he was even filmed running the Pilgrims challenge with Kevin Webber). Several podcasts and media interviews followed which motivated James to become a public speaker on the subject. He is now an Ambassador for PTSD999 and is represented by the Speakers Collective and talks at numerous events on mental health and suicide prevention, resilience and endurance mindsets. He is also a sponsored athlete and represents several leading sports brands as an Ambassador."
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.
Start / Finish
Registration will be open from 08:00 on Friday at Dorian Williams Sports Ground, Cow Ln, Hertfordshire, Tring HP23 5NS.
Shuttle bus from registration location to start:
You will be taken to the start by a coach/minibus.
Start on day 1: Ivinghoe Beacon, LU7 9EB ///pound.friends.vacancies
Finish on day 1: Watlington Social Club, Shirburn Rd, Watlington OX49 5BZ (SU691948) ///disarmed.rider.mirroring
Shuttle bus from day 1 finish to overnight location:
Lord Williams's Lower School, Towersey Road, Thame OX9 3NW
Registration for day 2 only entrants: please register and pick up your timing chip at Lord Williams's Lower School, Towersey Road, Thame OX9 3NW
Start on day 2: Watlington Social Club, Shirburn Rd, Watlington OX49 5BZ (SU691948) ///disarmed.rider.mirroring
Finish on day 2: Chilton Community Room, Horsa Lane, Chilton, Didcot OX11 0UE (SU480858) ///staining.groom.workloads
Shuttle bus from day 2 finish to overnight location:
Didcot Leisure Centre, Mereland Road, Didcot OX11 8AY
Registration for day 3 only entrants: please register and pick up your timing chip at Didcot Leisure Centre (address above).
Start on day 3: The Ridgeway Car Park OX11 0RW (SU479840) ///firewall.targeted.encourage
Finish on day 3: Alexandra House Hotel, Wroughton SN4 0QJ ///orders.shaky.nodded
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.
This year we will not be marking the route. Instead, you'll be following the Ridgeway markings until you come off the Ridgeway, with glow sticks out for the last 6 miles on day 1. We recommend you familiarise yourself with the route before the start of the race and download the GPX file or OS Maps route onto your watch or phone.
Aid stations
There will be three checkpoints each day at regular intervals, fully stocked with water and food.
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. 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. Click the button below for more details.
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.
Testimonials
Just wanted to say thank you to everyone who helped with this event yesterday. It was my first ultra and I absolutely loved it! The fantastic organisation meant all I had to do was concentrate on getting myself round the distance! The malt loaf and coke at the checkpoints were a much needed treat! Thanks again
Rachel O'Dwyer
Dear Neil, Many thanks to you and all your team for yesterday. It was a tough day, but made so much easier thanks to the warm and sincere support from all the marshalls. Thanks again.
Karen
Thank you for arranging the Druids. It was my first multi-dayer. Great weekend. Your slick organisation, flexibility and attentiveness made it. It was just the right size to make a great atmosphere and friendly. Also thank you for instigating the minutes silence on Sunday morning, very much appreciated.
Thanks again for organising a superb Druid Challenge this weekend. I reckon your races are the smoothest, best-organised events of any kind I've ever been on -- and everybody is so pleasant, helpful and patient, even with the most ridiculous requests.
Many thanks for yet another great weekend, it was a beautiful and tough route, the support as always was fantastic. It was great seeing so many familiar faces and catching up with friends. Please pass on my gratitude to all the team, have a great Christmas and new year.
See you next year.
We can't wait to see you there! Questions? Say hello on info@xnrg.co.uk
