Saturday 6th December 2025

The Winter on the Downs 50k is one of UK Ultra’s flagship winter ultra’s — a single loop of roughly 50 km over the scenic South Downs in East Sussex, finishing at Plumpton Racecourse. It’s well known for its rolling chalk hills, open views across the Downs, and variable winter conditions that can range from chilly fog to blustery winds and rain. The route is strongly marked with regular aid stations, making it both challenging and supportive for runners taking on a long late-season trail ultra.

Bartz 🍻 flew our Harriers colours as he took on this mighty 50K with 4,200 ft of ascent/descent 🤩 Bartz finished in 5:21:46, placing an impressive 20th overall 🙌

That’s a solid result in a competitive field, especially given the tough winter trail conditions these races throw at runners, and for Bartz this completed the inaugural UK 🇬🇧 Ultra triple crown challenge 👑 👑 👑

The South Downs Triple Crown 👑 Challenge was a new endurance challenge introduced by UK Ultra this year. It requires runners to complete three 50 km ultras within the same calendar year.

In May, Bartz 🍺 took on the South Downs 50K where he romped home in 4:47:14 securing 1st 🥇 in age & placing 18th overall.  In September he completed the Dark Downs 50K with bestie Bilts ⚽️ finishing in a mighty 5:59:27 🌟

Bartz 🍻 now becomes our first Harrier to complete this amazing challenge and we are all incredibly proud 🙌

Completing the Triple Crown is not only about fitness but consistency and resilience across the seasons.

Big thanks to our band of hardy volunteers across all the UK ultra events this year especially to Jayne 🦸🏻 , and Abi 🌷who marshalled at more than one 🙌