Bristol Punks Beginners Ultra

On Saturday 16th November 2024 the Bristol Punks are leading a beginner focused ultra marathon, with the aim being to help everyone complete at an easy going, chatty pace with plenty of photo stops, breaks and snacks.

Who Is This Run For?

No Punks Left Behind

This run is specifically aimed at those looking to complete their first ultra: unlike a race the goal in this one is for us all to stay together and complete as a group.

Timing wise we take as long as the slowest person, as an estimate I'd expect 8-12 hours inclusive of stops. If that seems too slow to you this probably isn't the right event.

What To Expect?

Firstly, patience: we all stick together and everyone is cool with it.

We'll provide a resupply point roughly every 10k with water and snacks. Please bear in mind, as it's a free event, don't expect fully stocked stops, please assume you will need to be self sufficient in terms of food and any snacks are a cheeky bonus.

The only toilets on route are at a garage at 19k and a village cafe at 41k, both would require politely asking and likely buying something out of courtesy.

As it is a free event run by a local group of runners, there will be no medical support on the day (bar a first aid kit and survival bag in the leader's pack), so you are responsible for your own safety.

The Route

We'll be tackling the Imber Range Perimeter Path which makes up the Imber Ultra challenge; a 30 mile route east of Warminster with 789m elevation over undulating, steady going hills.

You can find the GPX file for navigation below:

Terrain wise the first ~14k is along tarmaced lanes / fire tracks, and some of the route later lies on road stretches, however the majority from that point on is on undulating trail. Nothing too technical, though do expect your feet to get wet when going through the longer grass sections, and some uneven ground over the hills.

It's worth noting the Imber Range is high up and exposed with little shelter, expect conditions to be cold, especially if there's wind or rain forecast.

Start Point

We start in the White Horse Car Park, Bratton, Westbury BA13 4SY, a spacious free spot to begin from.

The route is a loop which will finish with us back at the cars in the end.

Fuelling

We have fellow Bristol Punk Chris kindly offering to host an aid station on the day and we will drop cars along the path to ensure there are plenty of places for water and grub. This means we can have a place to stop every 10k.

We'll ensure there's enough water for everyone, however please make sure you carry enough food to fuel yourself throughout the run as snacks will be limited.

We're encouraging everyone to bring some food for the potluck checkpoint; we'll load these into Chris' car and they will be available later on the course for folks to snack on.

If you have any dietary restrictions or allergies please bring food specific to your needs in your pack and we can't guarantee the restock point will have something appropriate.

Required Kit

As it's a beginner's friendly ultra we want to be prescriptive of the sort of kit you'd need to bring to be safe on the day. This is based on the Pegasus Ultra Running kit list for an event of similar distance (ref):

• Trail shoes you are comfortable in
• Minimum 1 litre water carrying capacity
• Food to fuel you on the adventure
• Mobile phone
• Head torch
  • In case we are still out after sunset and need to navigate in the dark
• Foil blanket
  • If you get injured and need to stop, being on the ground in a fatigued state risks exposure from the cold
  • A foil blanket prevents this by keeping you warm whilst we wait for help
• Waterproof jacket
  • Incase the rain comes in (it is England in November after all!)
  • And for the same reason as the foil blanket, warmth if injured
• Warm clothes (mid-layer, gloves, hat)
  • The Imber range is high up and exposed with little shelter: wind and rain is especially impactful up there.
  • We recced it in August and the morning was already a little chilly
• Toilet roll / pack of tissues and hand sanitiser
  • Just incase...
• Food for the potluck checkpoint
  • Anything you fancy, this is more a bit of fun / a morale boost for later in the race

Cost

Free! All we ask is you bring something for the potluck checkpoint and enjoy yourself!