Challenge Running Ltd

Challenge Running Ltd Trail Running Event organiser. home of the UK's largest Backyard Ultra and other ultra distance races.

05/10/2026

You know you want to.

Maybe you want to squeeze one in before the end of the year in which case the Stort30 and St Edmund Way Ultra are calling your name.

Maybe you're looking ahead and planning your 2027? Peddars Way, Peters Way, Thames Ring, Backyard Ultras, 24 hours... There's so much to choose from.

You can't go wrong with a challenge running event 🤩

https://www.challenge-running.com/calendars/sport-events

30/09/2026

St Edmund Way Ultra is new for 2026, and there's something special about running a race nobody has ever finished before.

It's 80 miles through Essex, Suffolk and Norfolk, starting at 10am on Saturday 5th December. You'll have 28 hours to reach the finish, which means a proper winter night out on the trail with just your headtorch, your thoughts and whoever happens to be nearby. It won't be easy, and that's the point. December ultras have a way of stripping everything back, and the ones you finish tend to be the ones you remember.

There are four checkpoints along the way, live tracking so the people at home can follow every step (and see exactly how long you spent at CP3), and a bus back to the start on Sunday morning once it's all done. We're still finalising a few details, but the date and distance are set.

Whoever crosses the line this December will be the first to finish it. Thirty people have already entered, and because early entries are cheaper, it pays not to wait. Entries are open now.

https://www.challenge-running.com/e/st-edmund-way-ultra-13957

Looking for your first ultra? Stort30 is a great place to start.30 miles, a flat and runnable riverside route, regular c...
27/09/2026

Looking for your first ultra? Stort30 is a great place to start.

30 miles, a flat and runnable riverside route, regular checkpoints and an 8 hour cut off make it a straightforward step beyond marathon distance without throwing you straight into mountains and technical trails.

Already an ultra runner? It’s a chance to really settle into your rhythm on a fast, runnable course.

And if 2027 is more your thing, the reduced early entry price is still available until 50 people have entered.

Stort30 2026 | 25 October | 30 miles | Bishop’s Stortford

Your first ultra could start here.

đź‘€ Can we tempt you?

https://www.challenge-running.com/e/stort30-10280

Apparently, 90's nostalgia is a thing. If you were a kid in the 90s you were basically raised to run ultras. Here's why....
22/09/2026

Apparently, 90's nostalgia is a thing.

If you were a kid in the 90s you were basically raised to run ultras. Here's why...

1. You already know how to spend hours being uncomfortable
Have you ever sat through a family car journey with no entertainment.
Ultra.

2. You understand delayed gratification
We waited until Saturday morning to watch cartoons.
You can wait 40 miles for the good checkpoint food.

3. You know how to function without technology
Your Nokia 3210 had Snake and that was considered plenty.
You can handle having to save the battery on your phone.

4. You have experience with questionable nutrition
Space Raiders. Sunny Delight. Turkey Twizzlers. Panda Pops.
Your nutritional strategy has nowhere to go but up.

5. You remember when entertainment involved going somewhere
The woods. The park. The field. The local swimming pool.
An ultra is essentially an extremely long trip to somewhere.

6. You have already completed several endurance events
School sports day.
Duke of Edinburgh.
Waiting for your parents in a queue while they bought something from Argos.
You know endurance.

Send this to someone who really should enter a/another ultra...

Hi all, Ben has finished uploading all the photos from last weekend's TBYU.These are free to download and share as you w...
18/09/2026

Hi all, Ben has finished uploading all the photos from last weekend's TBYU.

These are free to download and share as you wish.

Hopefully you find some good ones you are in but please remember Ben was doing us a favour as the smaller events don't have the budget for a full media team and there was only one of him.

https://www.picdrop.com/benroake/ABYCvxFdEM

Let us know what you think.

Lindley

Hi all. Just a quick message to thank everyone who took part in this weekend's TBYU. No matter what your distance we saw...
15/09/2026

Hi all. Just a quick message to thank everyone who took part in this weekend's TBYU.

No matter what your distance we saw some massive PB's and amazing running all the way through.

You will have an email asking you to review the race in your inbox from the Saturday and if you have some time to review the race we would appreciate it.

I would like to publicly thank my amazing volunteers for putting in all the hard work looking after everyone and helping set the event up and take it down after.

Mandy our kitchen manager
Clair and Richard helping in the kitchen.
Joe, Jon and Andrew who camped people and kept the site clean and serviced toilets.
Stephen and Kate who helped check stuff each hour and managed the car parking and generally looking after everything.

Lisa our volunteer manager doing stuff behind the scenes.

Our social media team Jen and Robyn posting out during the event from the background.

Ben taking photos.

The High Lodge team.

Hopefully see you next year or at another of our events before then.

Lindley

There aren’t enough words to fully describe a Backyard Ultra and everything that goes into it from the runners, crews an...
13/09/2026

There aren’t enough words to fully describe a Backyard Ultra and everything that goes into it from the runners, crews and event team.

But there really aren’t enough words for Alex Marshall.

Just one week after completing a 100 mile race, she stepped back onto a start line and kept coming back to that corral, yard after yard, until nobody else could.

The strength, resilience and sheer determination that takes is difficult to comprehend.

An absolutely phenomenal performance from an incredible athlete.

Alex Marshall. Last Person Standing.

13/09/2026

has kept on pushing himself valiantly but it was time to ring the bell.

Alex Marshall is out on her last lap to become the last person standing!

Down to the final 2. Alex Marshall coming straight back off a 100 miler last week and straight into it again. Kingsley P...
13/09/2026

Down to the final 2.

Alex Marshall coming straight back off a 100 miler last week and straight into it again.

Kingsley Phillips has unfinished business from Suffolk.

Let's see how far they can go!

Address

Suite 108, Communications House
Colchester
CO27NN

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