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Resources (.. or how to organise a Social Ultra)

Organising a Social Ultra can be as simple as letting your friends know where & when to meet up for a long run, to organising a 100-person event with volunteers and checkpoints. It depends how organised you are, how much time you have to plan the event, and how many friends you have available to help. The sections below will give you hints, tips and links to help you successfuly organise your own get-together.

The Ethos

We all like a social long run. We don't always want to pay entry fees when we're not looking for a time or medal/tshirt.

The idea of SUL is to "Keep running free". A group of ultra runners of all abilities that meet up and run.

 

There are 3 simple things to remember:

Respect the countryside

Respect others

Run

 

It's that simple.. now get out there and enjoy yourself.

 

The Route

The easiest way to set a route is use something popular and recognised, such as a National Trail or canal towpath. Most now have their own organsed ultras and have proved to be ideal as they are already waymarked or easy to follow.

 

If you do want to set your own route there are mapping resources out there that let you share the route as a map or GPX file.

 

More on this as we road-test some of the options..

Sharing the work

Organising a Social Ultra is relatively easy. It just depends how much work you want to put in to your event and how much you want to give the runners. One thing is certain though - you will need help. If only to spread the word of your event.

 

Ask around your friends to see whether they're willing to help, and if they have any contacts. You may find that someone can get you access to changing rooms or a hall to use if the weather is bad. Someone may be an expert in setting up checkpoints & feeding runners, whilst others are happy to run at the back to make sure everyone's OK.

Permissions

If you stick to known footpaths and trails, you should be fine running in a group, though if you want to go off the normal tracks or organise an event on public or private land (e.g. a 6/12 hour race in a local park) you will need to contact the local council or landowner.

 

Some may be fine about you just crossing land, though as an organised event that may be spending some time on their land, you may need to prove a certain level of competence and/or insurance. If this becomes an issue, you may have to rethink the route.

 

If anyone has experience or advice on access permissions, please get in touch.

Running Resources

UMR lists just about every event going.. including Social Ultra.

On the day

People will inevitably be late / forget the start location / go off route. It's essential that they can contact someone for information and to let you know if there are problems. Even though it's a group social run, if someone gets lost you may feel bad if they're wandering around a field for hours.

 

We strongly suggest you provide a mobile number so that runners can contact you in case of problems. If you don't want to give out your personal number, we have PAYG mobile phones available for run leaders. If you need one, put this in the Event notes and we'll post it out with a return-paid envelope.

 

You might also want to:

  • Make a map available online (see The Route)

  • Provide details of where food & drink can be bought at the start and on the route

  • Make sure people know how they can get to the finish if they drop out and have BFH (bus fare home)

  • If people do have problems, a lift or other means of transport back to the start could be useful

This advice is provided as opinion only. Please do your own research and ensure you are properly organised for your event. Runners should also note these are social runs, not 'organised' events and you take part at your own risk.

If anyone needs help or advice, just ask in the Facebook forum

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