The Winter GMU

All competitors must register on-line prior to the event. Collection of race numbers and a safety brief will be at the start location at least half an hour before the start of the race, where competitors will present their kit for examination on request.

Participants will be given a race number which must be clearly attached by safety pins. If this is not clearly visible you may be delayed at checkpoints.

The course is very challenging and for competitors own safety and fairness the following rules must be adhered to. Failure to comply with these rules may result in disqualification from this and future events.

The event is under race conditions and entrants will be issued with race numbers

Checkpoints will be provided (4 in total) to (a) monitor times & well-being of competitors, (b) provide water and some nutrition.

Check point cut-off times are set which will allow completion of the event within a 12 hour period. Anybody who falls outside these times, at any of the checkpoints, will have failed to have completed the challenge and not be allowed to continue. The cut-off times are as listed departure times for the 12 hour timelord.

All entrants must be 20 years of age or over at the start of the race.

Each competitor must ensure that they carry with them all mandatory requirements needed to complete the race.

Every entrant must confirm that they have read these rules and other event information and therefore understand the nature of the event and that participation is at their own risk.

At the end of the race finishers will receive (a) bespoke Green Man T-Shirt, (b) bespoke Green Man medal, (c) Signed certificate to confirm entitlement to either a Woodwose or a Woodwight (providing completion inside 12 hours).

Hot food will be available at the finish.

The Winter Green Man Ultra 45 is a full anti-clockwise loop of the Community Forest Path, starting and finishing at Ashton Park School just outside the centre of Bristol.

Location: Ashton Park School, Bristol

Distance: 45 miles / 72 Kilometres

Elevation: 3100 feet / 945 metres

Cut-Off: 12 Hours

Number of Checkpoints: Four

The Winter Green Man Ultra 30 (affectionately known as The Green Boy) is a partial anti-clockwise loop of the Community Forest Path, starting in Keynsham at checkpoint two of the 45 mile route and finishing at Ashton Park School just outside the centre of Bristol. Other than the start time, distance and location, all information for the 45 mile event is also relevant for the 30 mile event.

Location: The Lock Keepers, Keynsham

Distance: 30 miles / 48 Kilometres

Elevation: 1900 feet / 580 metres

Cut-Off: 9 Hours

Number of Checkpoints: Two

Please remember that the Green Man Ultra is a 'CUP-FREE' race, so you need to bring your own reuseable cup. We do have some GMU branded reuseable cups in our shop.

URL provide a selection of food and drinks to include sandwiches, jelly babies, malt loaf, crisps, savoury items, water, squash, coke, tea etc. The White Horse at Hambrook provide the food & drink at CP3 for the runners and the pub is open for normal fayre after 12:00. Competitors should cater for their own special requirements.

Example Food at Check-Points as 2020:

CP1 - Water, Squash, Cola & Maltloaf

CP2 - Water, Squash, Cola, Sandwiches and some cake.

CP3 - Ditto CP2

CP4 - Water, Squash, Cola, Coffee/Tea and Soup.

Toilets:

Competitors who have commenced their race cannot use the inside toilets at check-points.

At CP1 Norton Malreward Village Hall we will be supplying a Portaloo at the far end of the carpark.

At CP2 there will be a Portaloo in the carpark.

At CP3 The White Horse there is a toilet in the beer-garden where the food and water are on offer.

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 – 9, 10, 11 and back of the pack 12 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 9, 10, 11 or 12 hours. The check-point departure times are purely guide times.

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 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.

The only issue here is the 12 hour timelord position, because any finishers outside the 12 hour limit will not receive their certificate so the 12 hour timelord must allow sufficient margin to be within the 12 hour period.

If you are considering following a timelord add an hour to your expected finish time. The Green Man Ultra is notable as a tough and muddy course. If you choose either the 9 or 10 hour timelord, be prepared for a faster start than possibly you would expected. This is due to initial bottlenecks which are likely with so many starters and the obvious issues caused if the faster timelords were caught at the back of a queue.

Timelords will be conspicuous by having their hour marker flag attached to their back-packs. They will also be acknowledged during the Race Brief.

Timelord expected CP arrival and departure 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 08:00 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.

The 9hr Time Lord will depart:
CP1 at 9.45am, CP2 at 11.00am, CP3 at 1.30pm, CP4 at 3.40pm and finish at 5.00pm

The 10hr Time Lord will depart:
CP1 at 9.55am, CP2 at 11.20am, CP3 at 2.05pm, CP4 at 4.30pm and finish at 6.00pm

The 11hr Time Lord will depart at:
CP1 at 10.05am, CP2 at 11.40am, CP3 at 2.40am, CP4 at 5.20pm and finish at 7.00pm

The 12hr Time Lord will depart at:
CP1 at 10.15am, CP2 at 12.00pm, CP3 at 3.15pm, CP4 at 6.10pm and finish at 8.00pm.

The course is self navigation and tough. With the use of the GPX files, and the written directions produced by Ali Hubbard in 2020( GMU-2020 dowloadable HERE ) 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.

Leading up to the event there will be many groups carrying out recce runs. If you wish to join a group, check out the Green Man Challenge Facebook Group by clicking HERE

These are non negotiable and already include an allowance.

The only exception to this is the 12 hour Timelord who is the official back-stop, shepherding home the ultimate group of runners. Anybody who is with the 12 hour Timelord doesn't need to worry about time as he is technically "Mr Mop" at the back of the pack. If you find yourself at anytime behind the 12 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!

If you arrive at a Check-Point after these times, for any reason, you will not be allowed to continue:

CP1 - 10:20am
CP2 - 12:05am
CP3 - 3:20pm
CP4 - 6:10pm

These times are not debateable.

Checkpoint details and directions

Competitors must be self-sufficient, and carry the following mandatory items:

Backpack or equivalent

Head Torch with spare batteries

Ordnance Survey Maps 155 & 167 (a printed version of our downloadable
direction booklet is fine)

Compass or GPS device

Whistle

Mobile phone

Emergency food consisting of a chocolate bar, Mars or similar

First Aid Kit

By signing up to one of Ultra Running Ltd events you agree to abide by our general race rules;

The following are the race rules that apply to all Ultra Running Ltd events and should be adhered to by all race participants.

Each participant will be given a race number which must be clearly attached by safety pins to the front chest. If this is not clearly visible you may be delayed at checkpoints.
Teams must have pre-registered before the day and consist of at least three competitors who will also count as individual competitors amongst the rankings. For a Team to successfully complete the race, a minimum of three members of that Team must finish.

Each participant must make sure he/she is carrying all items detailed in the mandatory kit list

You cannot change your race entry category or team once the race has started.

Relay team members: All originally designated members of a team must complete the leg they have chosen, and the following team member must not start the race until the person they are handing over from has arrived at that CP, otherwise automatic disqualification will apply. Changes to the team members and/or race order can only be made up until the team has signed in on the day of the race.

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

All entrants must be 20 years or over on the start day of the race.

Mandatory Kit List

Competitors must carry the following items. Random bag checks will be made on registration. Anyone found not to have the correct kit will not be allowed to start the race

Backpack or equivalent
Head Torch with spare batteries
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,
Basic first Aid Kit

Competitor Retirement

If any competitor has to retire for whatever reason they must contact the race organisers immediately, either by advising a checkpoint attendant or by telephoning the emergency number which will be written on the race numbers of each competitor.

Time Constraints

The organisers want to give every competitor the opportunity of completing the race and will, where reasonable practicable, allow generous opening times of CP Stations; the allowance should be within an average of 4.0 miles per hour. If you fall below the 4.0 miles per hour you will be pulled from the race without concession.

Cancellation

In the event of Ultra Running Ltd. having to cancel the event, an alternative date will be provided. If re-scheduling of the event isn’t possible, or a competitor cannot make the revised date. URL undertakes to refund payments received, less any out of pocket expenses which are determined at 25%.

For all other circumstances, including Competitor cancellations due to personal reasons, refunds are not allowed. But at the discretion of the organisers an entry may be transferred to the following years race providing the request is within four weeks of the event date.

Any ‘transferred races’ or ‘reduced rate races’ are not refundable or transferable in any respect.

Race Photography

Ultra Running Ltd. reserve all exclusive rights relating to photographic coverage of their races. By entering an event, participants agree that Ultra Running Ltd may exclusively use any photographic or textual content captured during the event for advertisement purposes.