The London 2 Brighton 100K Challenge evokes the great races of yesteryear when classic long-distance footraces were common on our roads. These days there are some great point-to-point endurance challenges that are predominantly off-road for safety reasons and London 2 Brighton is a case in point. The multi-terrain route from Old Deer Park, Richmond to Brighton Racecourse is at least 60% on trails and features 1,348 metres of climbing! 

This ultra-distance run/jog/walk is promoted by Ultra Challenge Series who promote 14 unique, fully-supported events in stunning locations from the Isle of Wight to the Lake District...and Morocco! It is estimated that nearly 100,000 participants have helped raise almost £40 million for charities in the UK's largest series of endurance trail challenges.

This year's London 2 Brighton 100K Challenge was the 10th-anniversary event and there were 606 finishers in the non-stop 100K race in 35 hours 50 minutes. The leading competitors took less than a third of that time and there were less than thirteen minutes covering the top two in a 'sprint' finish!   

First to arrive in Brighton was Daniel Kyne (9:51:40) ahead of Andrew Platt (10:04:35) and Joe Allen (10:33:39). The women's 100K Challenge was more clear-cut as eighth-placed Jessica Johnson (11:13:38) had 71 minutes in hand over Julie Conroy (12:24:43). Amanda Butler (12:50:36) completed the women's podium. The top 15 finished in 12 hours to avoid the darkness over the tricky South Downs climbs.  

There was a 56K First Half Challenge with 104 finishers in 17:56:03 and the winners were Guy Cotter (5:31:39) and Anne Boden (5:49:45) – who occupied the top two places overall. The 44K Second Half Challenge from Tulley's Farm, Turners Hill on day two saw a female winner in Helena Hayes (5:50:02) ahead of Carl Hicks (6:19:35) and 83 more finishers in 26:47:45.

Other options included the First Quarter 25K Challenge and the more leisurely two-day 100K Challenge with overnight camping. There were 1,016 finishers across the full range of events.  

The date has been set for the 2023 London 2 Brighton 100K Challenge (27-28 May) and details of this and the full range of events from 10K to 100K can be viewed at Ultra Challenge Series here

Results of London 2 Brighton 100K Challenge via runABC South race listing here

Image courtesy Ultra Challenge Series on Facebook