Stuart’s 50th Birthday 50km Run from Salisbury to Romsey

Date: 27th April 2024

Train Travel
If you are traveling from Romsey there is a train at 07:12 which will get you to Salisbury station with a few minutes to sort out your shoes, packs and have a pee before we start. Stat point is immediately outside Salisbury station.

Support Crew
My awesome neighbour Tristan will be at Salisbury station, Check Points 1, 2, 3 and the finish. If you need a bag drop he is happy for you to put it in his van. He will be carrying additional water and a few snacks if you get bored of your choice.

GPX Route File: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1fCCRTBihVeL2lPRIPv9hsq4sdKzU8-UN/view?usp=sharing

Update 7th April 2024
I’m pleased to say after today’s recce the route it is finalised (hurrah), since last week I’ve been able to remove some more of the road sections and create a route that is safer and more fun.
This is a trail run and it has rained a lot recently, you are likely to get wet and muddy. Hopefully this doesn’t bother you and you’ll have a great time, I just wanted to be transparent.
There may be one final update next week, I’ll say more but it may be worth checking in next Sunday.
I look forward to seeing you on the 27th.

Update 1st April 2024
To add to the update of the 30th March I have revised the course and will re-run this part on the 7th April. None of the checkpoints will move and the distance between the checkpoints will remain the same (ish). Final updates will be added to this page on the 9th April 2024.

Update 30th March 2024
I ran the route today to test my planning and look for places for us to top up water along the way.

Route: there is more road than i’m happy with given the unknown number of runners and keeping everyone safe. I’ll make some changes to the route in the next two days and share on this page. Those considering joining at Dunbridge or Mottisfont will see no changes.

Water: there are no shops on the route after leaving Salisbury, therefore I’m going to have two 5 litre bottles of water dropped at Dunbridge station (CP2) and Mottisfont (CP3). This should be more than enough for those running the longer distances.
*I used 1 litre today, it wasn’t enough, it will be warmer in a month, please plan appropriately.

Intro

Friends, runners and cake lovers, I have or hopefully will make it to my 50th year (small cheer). To celebrate I shall be running one kilometer for each year, starting at Salisbury train station and ‘navigating’ along roads, lanes and fields back to Romsey and 108 The Bakery (hurrah). It would be great to have you join the run and come for a coffee, cake or perhaps some bubbles at the end. I appreciate not everyone wants to run 50km so I've built in points along the way where you can join (or leave) and have a shorter run and enjoy the fun. This is an easy going event, the pace will be around 11 to 11:30 minutes per mile with time for photos, taking on nutrition etc. 

If you want to let me know before the run that you are coming, that's great, if not just turn up and enjoy the run.  

Start Time: 08:00

End Time: 14:00 (estimate based on 11:30 minutes per mile or 7:08 per kilometer approx)

Distance: 50km (31:27 miles)

Total Ascent: 1,426 ft

Total Descent: 1,549 ft

Nutrition & Hydration

This is a relatively long event, the weather at the end of April can be quite warm and there are a limited number of village shops etc along the way so responsibility for nutrition and hydration is your own. If you have questions about how much liquid you should be carrying I’m happy to try and help.

IMPORTANT
If you are joining at Check Point 3 (CP3) you need to get the train to Mottisfont & Dunbridge Station and walk 0.64 miles to the junction of Mottisfont Lane and Hatt Lane in Mottisfont (see map below). Joining at CP3 gives you the shortest run back to  108 The Bakery, Romsey of 6 miles.

Garmin Link: https://connect.garmin.com/modern/course/245836406

Route Map with Check Points

Route from Mottisfont & Dunbridge Station to Check Point 3