MHU - Malvern Hills Ultra

The course is self navigation and tough - although it is all on the 'Worcestershire Way' which does benefit from 'WW' signage along the route. With the use of the GPX files, or the maps and the written directions you can eliminate navigation issues. For those less confident with these navigation tools, but still wanting to take on the challenge, running with a timelord is the way to go.

MHU 47 will start at 7:00 from Abberley Village Hall, WR6 6AZ
MHU 38 will start from The Admiral Rodney, WR6 6PL at 8:30
MHU 31 will start from Suckley Post Office, WR6 5DU at 9:45
MHU 23 will start from Sally's Place, WR13 6DW at 11:00

If required, transport for MHU 37, MHU 30 & MHU 22 competitors can be provided to the various start locations which will cost £25.00 per person and you can secure your transport by selecting that option during your booking process. This must be booked prior to race day.

Approximate times competitors will be transfered from Abberley Village Hall:

MHU38 competitors will depart immediately after the main race start, be ready from 7:10
MHU31 competitors will depart at 8:25
MHU23 competitors will depart at 9:40

Actual transfer departure times will be confirmed by race email prior to race day.

Your race brief will be conducted at the location of your race start. The race brief will take place about 15 minutes prior to the race start which will be punctual, so please get to your race start location at least 30 minutes before the race.

On the day, each participant will be given a race number which must be clearly attached by safety pins, to either the back or front and be clearly visible. It is the competitors responsibility to ensure all CP stations have recorded their time as they pass through (this is in addition to the chip-timing system). Please arrive at your start location at least 30 minutes before the race to collect your Bib and attend a race brief. Late arrivals may not be allowed to start.

Toilets:
Please remember that the Malvern Hills Ultra is a 'CUP-FREE' race, so you need to bring your own reuseable cup. We do have some reuseable cups for sale in our shop.

The MHU benefits from 5 CP stations (MHU45), 4 CP Stations (MHU37), 3 CP Stations (MHU30) and 2 CP Stations (MHU22). All have a good selection of food items and drinks, but any personal requirements are the responsibility of the entrant.

Competitors must go through all of their designated check points and it is their sole responsibility to ensure that the check point attendant has recorded their race number; failure to do so at any check point will mean the competitor has failed to complete the race and will be disqualified.

Along the route, between CP2-CP3 and CP3-CP4 – there are two Punch Points which are un-manned punch-points, where you must use your punch-card to confirm your arrival. Initial punch-cards must be handed over at Sally's Place, where a fresh punch-card will be issued for your return leg. On finishing, the second leg the punch-card should be handed over to a URL Marshall at the finish-line. Any competitor found to not follow the pre determined race route may be disqualified.

For ease of finding the punch points, please use the following what3words:

Punch Points 2 & 3 - to the right and then left on your return journey of The Beacon Hill - resorting.drift.escaping
Punch Point 1 & 4 - to the left then right hand side (on your return journey) of North Hill - somewhere.moats.icons

Race distances - (MHU45, MHU37, MHU30) will use all four punch points. As the MHU23 starts from the midpoint, it will only reach these punch-points on the return leg.

Toilets:

At the Start and Finish (Abberley Village Hall), there are toilets available inside the hall, but please remove your shoes at the end of the race.
At CP1 / CP5 (The Admiral Rodney), we can use their entrance toilet, but please remove your shoes if they are muddy.
At CP2 / CP4 (Suckley Post Office), we will have a portaloo at this location.
At CP3 Sally's Place, there are public toilets just around the corner, on the race route.
Check Point Logistics:

Abberley Village Hall (Start) to The Admiral Rodney (CP1) is 7.3 miles
The Admiral Rodney (CP1) to Suckley Post Office (CP2) is 7.4 miles
Suckley Post Office (CP2) to Sally’s Place (CP3) is 9 miles
Sally’s Place (CP3) to Suckley Post Office (CP4) is 9 miles
Suckley Post Office (CP4) to The Admiral Rodney (CP5) is 7.4 miles
The Admiral Rodney (CP5) to Abberley Village Hall (Finish) is 7.3 miles
Total Out and Back distance is just over of 47 miles
Please treat all Checkpoint Stations with respect. If you have any rubbish please use the black bags at that location - always ask a marshalling if you can't find what you are looking for. Littering is an automatic disqualification anywhere on the course, including CP Station.

In 2015 we introduced the timelords. These are entrants who try their best to run at specific times – 11, 12 and back of the pack 13 hours. Any novice ultra-runner or person concerned with navigation can simply join a timelord who runs at their own race pace.

It must be noted that the timelord’s principal role is to offer navigation assistance and endeavour to complete the race within their given time period of either 11, 12 or 13 hours.

A timelord has many considerations on the day including at least a 5 minutes stay at a CP for everyone to fuel and take a toilet break and ground conditions can play an impacting role also. A timelord may also choose to push harder at the start with a view to allowing a walk/run pace on the last leg – so there are many variables.

It may be that once a timelord has a formed a group, the group unilaterally decides to increase pace and finish a bit earlier. On the flip side to this it may be that, during the later stages of the race (final leg), some members of a group require a slower pace which means the timelord arrival time may be delayed.

If you are not considering following a timelord add an hour to your expected finish time. The Malvern Hills Ultra is notable as a tough, hilly course.

13 hr Timelord expected CP departure times will be inline with CP closure times:

A Timelord will try to run at a reasonably consistent pace. The below times are a rough guide of where they will be when, in order to achieve their target times. Based on a 07:00 race start:

Please remember – these guys are all experienced ultra runners and have exceptional knowledge of the course. They have a really difficult task trying to pace their run to their allotted times. At the start they may seem to go off a bit faster than they should – but this is purely to avoid bottle-necks at the early stages.

CP Closure Times:

CP1 will close at 09:00
CP2 will close at 11:30
CP3 will close at 13:30
CP4 will close at 16:00
CP5 will close at 19:00

• Any competitor arriving at a CP after the above advised times will not be allowed to continue.

These are non negotiable and already include an allowance.

The only exception to this is the 13 hour Timelord who is the official back-stop, shepherding home the ultimate group of runners. Anybody who is with the 13 hour Timelord doesn't need to worry about time as the timelord is technically "Mr Mop" at the back of the pack. If you find yourself at anytime behind the 13 hour Timelord then you are in serious trouble!

Please remember that the Time Lord role is to help you navigate the course in a particular time. In order to achieve the end-goal time, the Time Lord may choose to run the earlier stages slightly faster than the later stages, to compensate for tired legs later on!

CP Closure Times:

CP1, The Admiral Rodney, WR6 6PL) will close at 09:00
CP2, Suckley Post Office, WR6 5DU), will close at 11:00
CP3, Sally's Place, British Camp, WR13 6DW, will close at 13:30
CP4, Suckle Post Office, WR6 5DU, will close at 15:50
CP5, The Admiral Rodney, WR6 6PL, will close at 17:40
Finish - Abberley Village Hall, WR6 6AZ, will close at 20:0
This gives an overall maximum race time for the full event of 13 hours.

Any competitor arriving at a CP after the above advised times will not be allowed to continue.

• Backpack or equivalent
• Ordnance Survey Map 150 (Our downloadable maps are ok)
• Compass or GPS device
• Whistle
• Mobile phone
• Emergency food pack consisting of a two chocolate bars, Mars or similar
• Basic first Aid Kit