Bowland Ultra
- Total distance: 65.39 km
- Location: Ribble Valley
- Race Date: 9 Jan 2027
- Finish rate: 88%
- Entry Cost: £91
- Navigation: Full Self-Navigation
- Nearest Station: Clitheroe (10.7 km)
- Night Running: 32% in darkness
- Pacing Complexity: High (58/100)
Bowland Ultra
- Distance
- 65.39 km
- Total ascent
- 2,167 m
- Cut-off
- 16h
- Town/Village
- Ribble Valley
- Date
- 9 January 2027
- Entry cost
- £91
Overview
No overview text has been written for this race yet.
Quick Facts
- Entrance Cost: £91
- Organiser: Bowland Ultra
- Start Town: Ribble Valley
- Dogs Allowed: Unknown
- Start Date: 9 Jan 2027
- End Date: 9 Jan 2027
- Start Time: 8:00 AM
- Final Cut-off: 16h
Navigation
- Type: Full Self-Navigation
- Closest Train Station: Clitheroe
- Distance from Start Line: 10.7 km
Eligibility
- Minimum Age: 18 years
- Gender Eligibility: All genders
- Minimum Entry Criteria: Unknown
Toilets
- Hand Washing Beyond Sanitiser: Unknown
- Period Products Provided: Unknown
- Female Only Toilets: Unknown
Family & Spectators
- Baby Changing at Start: Unknown
- Family Friendly Spectator Areas: Unknown
- Flexible Deferral or Cancellation: Unknown
Safety
- Marshalls at Isolated Areas: Unknown
- Safeguarding and Reporting Policy: Unknown
- Can Hide Location from Public Tracking: Unknown
Terrain & Elevation
The course covers a genuine mix of surfaces, with trail (37%) and paved road (27%) being the most common and neither clearly dominating. The terrain is highly fragmented, switching roughly every kilometre. This demands constant mental engagement and limits the ability to build a sustained rhythm from surface consistency alone. The longest unbroken stretch is 5.0 km of trail. Climbs are mostly on trail, though the surface varies across the ascents. Downhills are spread across a mix of surfaces, with paved road most common.
Bowland Ultra has 22.5 km of trail / path, this is in the top 47% of all our races.
- Trail / Path37% · 22.5 km
- Paved Road27% · 16.6 km
- Gravel / Track17% · 10.2 km
- Grass15% · 9.3 km
- Rocky4% · 2.6 km
Distance
65.4 km
Ascent
2167 m
Descent
2167 m
High Point
509 m
Compared against 29 other races of a similar distance, Bowland Ultra has more total elevation gain than 66% of them, and more elevation gain per kilometre than 69% of them — hillier than most races of this distance.
Source: GPX Data
Gradient
6.74%
Average climb gradient
Do you have experience of moderate climbs like Bowland Ultra's, which average 6.74%?
Bowland Ultra's climbs average 6.74%. If your training never rehearses sustained climbing at that gradient, race day will be the first time your legs meet it.
5.7%
Average descent gradient
Do you have experience of gentle descents like Bowland Ultra's, which average 5.7%?
Bowland Ultra's descents average 5.7%. If your training never rehearses sustained descending at that gradient, the downhills will empty your quads long before the finish.
Source: GPX Data
Climate
Pacing Complexity
Bowland Ultra scores 58/100 for pacing complexity, rated high.
Similar-distance races score a median of 47/100 (5 races compared).
Bowland Ultra is among the more pacing-complex races at this distance. The challenge is not just the total distance or ascent — it is the repeated need to change effort level. A fixed pace target is unlikely to work here. The dominant source of complexity is terrain type changes, which means preparation should include training runs that deliberately mix different intensities in sequence.
Source: GPX Data
Aid Stations
No aid station data available for this race yet.
Night Running
Bowland Ultra starts at 08:00 local time, with sunset around 16:08. Based on the median finisher time of 11:09:07, a runner at that pace would finish around 19:09 — after dark, spending around 3h 34m (32% of their race) running in darkness and covering roughly 21.6 km of the course after sunset.
Shaded stretches are expected to be run in the dark
Are you ready for Bowland Ultra?
Compare it to a race you've already run, or connect Strava and see the three biggest gaps between your training and what this course will ask of you.
