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The Hereward Relay & Ultra Cross-Country Race

Sunday 26th JANUARY 2025

Sponsored by Knowles arranged by March Athletic Club

40 miles from Peterborough to Ely along the Hereward Way 

Start at Peterborough Embankment Athletics Track (8.30am Ultra & 9am Relay)

Finish at Ely Leisure Complex, Rugby Club CB6 2SH (from 12:30pm approx)

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The folk hero of the Fens Hereward the Wake will be making an appearance at this year’s Hereward Relay and Ultra Cross-Country race along the Hereward Way on  SUNDAY 26th JANUARY 2025 (Rescheduled date after November cancellation due to the stormy weather conditions). 

All latest news and updates are on the Hereward Relay & Ultra Facebook page, click on the link below.

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The Hereward Relay & Ultra is the major cross-country race that takes place in the Fens every year, organised by March Athletics Club. The route stretches almost 40 miles along the Hereward Way Long Distance Footpath from Peterborough to Ely crossing over bridleways, fields, bridges and tracks and passing through villages and towns.

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Local medieval re-enactor Rory Gibson will be appearing throughout the duration of the race as local folk hero Hereward the Wake dressed in full Anglo-Saxon war attire of chain-mail, helmet, sword, axe and spear and will be encouraging all runners on their way for showing the ‘Hereward Spirit’. It is a role that Rory as Hereward has now become recognised for across the Fens over the past two years. He will be making an introduction before the race begins in Peterborough and presenting medals and prizes at the finish in Ely as well as cheering runners on en-route in West End Park in March, where he will arrive at around 10:30am and other locations.

The Hereward Relay & Ultra is two races across the same course.

The Relay consists of 4 runners in a team each runner runs one of the 4 stages along the Hereward Way. The Ultra is not a team event but for individual runners racing the entire length of the course of 39.7 miles, which is just about equivalent to a marathon and a half!

 

The 4 Stages of the Hereward Relay & Ultra are:

Stage 1: Peterborough to Whittlesey (6.9 miles)

Peterborough Embankment Athletics Track, Bishops Road PE1 5BW to Whittlesey Manor Leisure Centre Athletics Track, Station Road PE7 1UA

Stage 2: Whittlesey Manor Leisure Centre to March West End Park, PE15 9LT (10.5 miles)

Stage 3: March West End Park to Welney Village Hall, Bedford Bank, PE14 9RB (11.5 miles)

Stage 4: Welney Village Hall to Ely Leisure Complex, Rugby Club CB6 2SH (10.8 miles)

Total Distance: 39.7 miles.

 

The Start Times for the race from Peterborough Athletics Track:

The Ultra Start time 08:30am 

The Relay Race (team race) begins at 9:00am

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The Projected Times when the runners are expected at the Handover locations based upon last year’s race statistics:

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Peterborough: Start 8.30am Ultra Runners and 9am Relay Runners

Whittlesey: First Ultra Runner 9.45am. First Relay Runner 10:15am. 

March: First Ultra Runner 10.41am. First Relay Runner 110:40am. Slowest 12.25pm.

Welney: First Ultra Runner 12.30pm. First Relay Runner 11.50am. Slowest 14.43pm.

Ely: First Ultra Runner 14.01pm First Relay Runner 12.52pm. Slowest 16.08pm

The Hereward Way Long Distance Path is 110 miles long. It begins in Oakham, Rutland and ends at Knettishall Heath, near Thetford crossing the Fens in between. It is the 39.7 miles Peterborough to Ely section of the Hereward Way that the Hereward Relay & Ultra is run. The Hereward Way was created in 1986 and links the Viking Way at Oakham in the west to Peddars Way near Thetford in the east.

The Hereward Relay was first run along the Hereward Way in 1998 when 14 teams took part and has since grown with as many as 117 teams taking part in 2018.  Teams travel from across East Anglia, Lincolnshire, the Midlands and the South to take part in this annual Autumn Cross-Country Challenge that brings the Hereward legend back into active memory and enriches local understanding of our cultural heritage as Fen folk while staging an outdoor sporting activity of national significance, promoting Health & Wellbeing, along the Hereward Way Long Distance Path, the only national memorial we have of Hereward.

DALL·E 2024-09-13 21.24.06 - A dark and moody scene of the Fenlands with marshes, bogs, re

Hereward is known regionally across the Fens and beyond as the ‘last man standing’ during the Norman Conquest of England, where, after burning down Peterborough and raiding the monastery of all its gold and silver he then set up a base on the Isle of Ely and fought a resistance campaign against the rule of William ‘the Conqueror’. Ultimately Hereward was defeated but the spirit of his resistance was written about by 12th Century monk chroniclers and later embellished into a 19th Century romantic novel, ‘Hereward the Wake’ by Charles Kingsley (Macmillan 1866) which catapulted him to fame as a folklore figure in late Victorian England, where he was held up as ‘England’s Patriot’. Hereward’s legend has undergone a recent revival here in the Fens and Rory G as Hereward will be appearing        at Handover points of the Hereward Relay on the route. If you see him say hello and get a photo with the Folk Hero of the Fens!                             But be careful, he may try and get you to join his band of rebels and go raiding!

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Hereward - approximate times of his appearance:

Peterborough Athletics Track 08:30am

March West End Park 10.30am to 11.30am

Christchurch The Dun Cow brief stop

Welney Lamb and Flag Pub brief stop

Ely Leisure Complex 12.45pm to 4pm Presenting Winners Prizes and Medals.

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Prizes & Medals

All runners receive a medal for competing. There are prizes for first Male and first Female runners in the Ultra. In the Relay there are prizes for the first three teams and the first female team. There are also cash prizes for the winner of each Stage for first male and first veteran male and first female and first veteran female

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Arranger

March Athletic Club

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Sponsorship

The Hereward Relay & Ultra is sponsored by the local haulage and warehouse storage company Knowles Transport who are based in Wimblington and Wisbech.

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Photography

Ina Ivanova - SunShy Photography

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Course Conditions

Certain parts of the course may become flooded and organisers plan an alternative route back to March if floods at Welney prevent runners from progressing on to Ely. Regular updates are made on the Hereward Relay Facebook G.roup.

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Parking

Parking can be difficult, all drivers are asked to be considerate to the surroundings and the locals when parking. There is ample car parking in the towns.

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For all Race Details & Links to Maps and Routes:

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First man home 2022 was Relay Runner Ali Steele of C Squad.  Ryston Leveretts won the 2023 Hereward Relay in

3 hours 52 minutes and 20 seconds.

Peterborough:Whittlesey:Turves:March:Christchurch:Welney:LittleDownham:Ely
 

The gentleman pictured here with Hereward re-enactor Rory G at last year's Hereward Relay & Ultra is Mr Peter Jackman from March.

Peter came up with the idea for the Hereward Relay cross-country race along the Hereward Way National Walking Path between Peterborough and March around thirty years ago. He tested out the Hereward Way by hiking & jogging the forty miles himself, making notes and maps and made contact with the appropriate officer at Camb's County Council and others necessary to make the Hereward Relay a reality. This included members and athletes and volunteers at March Athletic Club, which Peter co-founded and who still organise the annual cross-country event today under the stewardship of race organiser Mark Darlow.

Click on the link to go to the Hereward Relay page on Facebook.

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Alistair Angus (above) won the 2023 Ultra Race covering the 39.7 miles in 5 Hours 18 minutes and 34 seconds with Daniel Yallop pictured with Hereward coming in 2nd.

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