After a long lockdown wait, and postponement from its original date in February 2021, it was great to finally welcome the ‘new kid on the block’ to the Freedom Racing calendar 2021, the North Down’s Ridge 50km.  Originally billed as a winter race along the North Down’s Way and Surrey Wildlife Trust reserve at Norbury Park, COVID restrictions meant race day was postponed to May 1^st this year.

The new date suited the route extremely well.  Leaving Denbies Wine Estate on the edge of Dorking runners were very quickly greeted by beautiful luscious green woodland trails running along the ridgeline of hills that overlook the Surrey Hills.  The ground was dry, trails compact, runnable and easy to navigate, and boy did the sun shine!  You could almost be forgiven to think summertime had arrived early in Surrey!

With the woodlands springing into life all around, step by step runners were treated to wonderful woodland scenery, which every so often broke to reveal wide open expanses of rolling downs and stunning views across the lush green valley below to the Surrey Hills in the distance.

Staying high on the ridgeline runners pass through Ranmore Common, White Downs, Dunley Woods and Netley Heath before reaching the famous Newlands Corner and the expansive Albury Downs.  The route then climbs to the beautiful St Martha’s Church before reaching the turnaround point on the edge of Guildford and returning by the same route to the edge of Denbies Wine Estate.  Once back to the edges of Denbies runners then loop through the Surrey Wildlife Trust Reserve woodland of Norbury Park before returning through the vineyards of Denbies to cross the finish line.

With just 2986 ft of ascent across the entire route, this is a fast runnable race on well defined and well marked trails, ideal for those new to Ultras through to those chasing quick finish times.  If you like flat well made trails, love the variety of being surrounded by woodlands one minute and then suddenly presented with wide open expanse and stunning views the next, then this race is most definitely made of the right stuff for you!

This was an epic first outing for Freedom Racing’s newest race route, the weather couldn’t have been kinder, and all taking part couldn’t have been happier to be out racing once again.  The course record has been set by Paul O’Sullivan at 03:40:30, a super quick time for 50km! And so to all you budding North Downs Ridge 50km runners out there, let’s try it again next year and see if Paul’s record is smashed or manages to remains hanging tough!

It’s sooooo good to be back!! After a year of restrictions and uncertainty across the entire outdoor industry, it was wonderful to be able to dust down the cameras and head out in search of the ever illusive Ultra Trail Runner once again.  And what a great way to ease back in to the world of trail racing, with the exceptionally professional and superbly well organised guys from Freedom Racing.

With Lockdown rules having only been eased to allow for travel and overnight stays just 5 days before race day, Freedom Racing really did take a giant leap into the unknown as they finally had the opportunity to host their 3 times postponed Hurtwood 50 race through the beautiful Surrey Hills.

The pressure to host a mass participation COVID secure race just days after government restrictions had been eased must have been incredibly daunting but, as always, we knew we’d all be in safe hands; runners, volunteers and photographers alike.  

And we were.  A wealth of information had been sent out in advance of race day providing extensive details of COVID safe procedures for participants and volunteers.  And when race day arrived the Freedom Racing team were on site at the crack of dawn putting their safety and hygiene procedures in place before the first runners arrived on site for registration.

The new race HQ venue of Denbies Vineyard on the edge of Dorking was most definitely a blessing.  With masses of outdoor space and a huge area set aside for race parking and registration, having the space in which to socially distance really wasn’t a problem at all.  A huge marquee had been erected the day before, and a great deal of time and effort had gone in to putting up barriers and marking out areas to safely queue for, and move through the race registration process.  There was hand sanitising stations a plenty, clear signage with regards to when and where to put on face masks, and with patience and grace runners moved through the registration process safely.  The Freedom Racing team were on hand to ensure social distancing and face mask wearing was implemented but ‘policing’ wasn’t necessary at all as everyone seemed to willingly embraced the ‘new normal’.

As an all-inclusive race company, Freedom Racing pride themselves in hosting events that are open to all levels of participant, from the gazelle like GB runner to those more attuned to a hearty stomp in the English countryside.  This all-inclusive approach to racing meant there was a 10 hour window for participants to complete the 50km route and, with no mass starts, tough organisational decisions had been made in advance of race day to allocate starting time slots for runners of differing speeds.  Whilst being new to us all, this staggered registration and start process worked with great efficiency and, as runners lined up (2 meters apart!) and patiently waited for their turn to dib-in and pass over the starting line, moods were high and everyone seemed perfectly at ease with the new COVID secure arrangements.

Starting on the edge of Dorking the Hurtwood 50 race route follows the Greensand Way into the beautiful forested Surry Hills, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.  An out and back race that takes in 4350 ft of ascent as runners climb the local landmarks of Leith Hill, Holmbury Hill and Pitch Hill, twice!  Usually a winter race, the move to mid April this year made for longer daylight hours and extremely dry runnable conditions underfoot as runners made their way along easy to follow trails through the woodlands, ridge lines and valleys of The Hurtwood.  

Once out on the course the same level of COVID safe organisation and efficiency was applied to aid stations along the route.  Clear signage, ample hand sanitisation, and plenty of helpful Freedom Racing crew were on hand to ensure runners moved through aid stations with ease and speed, whilst ensuring hand hygiene, mask wearing, and social distancing took place.  The staggered start helped to limit any waiting time at aid stations and enabled runners to spread out across the entire length of the course without bunching up and creating bottlenecks.  And, whilst behind the scenes an awful lot of preparation had taken place, all these extra safety procedures really didn’t seem to impact at all on the overall enjoyment of the race for all taking part. 

As seasoned trail runners ourselves, we were a little apprehensive as to what the ‘new normal’ would look and feel like for runners.  Would it dampen the race atmosphere?   Would it take away the joy of taking part in an event with other people?  After all, we all know the trail running community are a friendly bunch and camaraderie among fellow runners is one of the main reasons we all take part in such events!  Despite the social distancing, hand sanitising, and mask wearing at aid stations and race HQ, a great day was most definitely had, and all within the governments current guidelines of “Hands, Face, Space, Fresh Air”!  

Well done Freedom Racing!