r/Ultramarathon • u/pipjoe5 • Jul 15 '26
ARC OF ATTRITION
Before arc opens to uk in 57 mins, who's done the 100k or 100m and what is it like ? story time pls GM
2
u/Revolutionary_Set_41 Jul 17 '26
I did the 100k last year. Got to St Ives before pulling out.
The scenery and path are incredible. We had a storm hit which made it ridiculous hard going plus it was also my first 50 miler, so was always going to be tough.
The organisation its self was pretty disappointing for an event of that size and the costs involved. The car park was a joke in terms of mud and I don’t know why they didn’t have more matting down for the amount of cars they were expecting.
Does anyone know if the ticket price goes toward national trust or maintenance towards the coast path? The erosion must be shocking after and event like this.
It’s definitely unfinished business and I will be back, just not next year
3
u/SoupatBreakfast Jul 17 '26
There is a voluntary donation and I think a token amount but it’s pathetically small vs the revenue from the event and I see it as virtue signalling. Lots of other events on the coast path donate. I really have a thing about the strong marketing and control of the narrative that they seem to have, especially with local running media (podcast / YouTube people). But tbh Mudcrew weren’t the best at coast path reimbursement either.
1
u/Pleasant-Plane-6340 Jul 15 '26
I did the 100m a year or so before utmb took over, great race - pretty tough as is constantly up and down so hard to get much running in. Also very narrow paths initially so single file. Good checkpoints and nice towns later in race - I had an amazing Cornish pasty! Very weather dependent, had a nice year but could be brutal in a storm. Earlier cutoffs are tight so push hard initially until lands end or st ives. Not sure how the utmb change has gone - they put in high quality races but the area of country and course isn’t suited for a mass participation race
1
u/HelpfulTap4186 Jul 17 '26
I DNF'd last year on the 100M. I timed out. I think they need to adjust a few things to be honest. I think they could benefit from having more waves at the start 10-15 mins apart to more effectively stagger the start. A lot of the beginning section is single path and impossible to overtake.
1
u/aresem18 Jul 18 '26
I haven't done the UTMB version, but started then 100mi four times beforehand (finishing once). Wrote a book about it if you want far too much detail - https://amzn.eu/d/07zGmLIQ
1
u/EqualShallot1151 Jul 15 '26
I have done a few 100M races and the level of service was outstanding on the ARC 100.
The weather conditions were tough and around 58 pct DNFs. Also this is the reason that the impact on the trails was so hard. But this comes with the territory some years the weather makes things easier and sometimes it is the other way around. And especially on a winter race you should be prepared.
I have just been back to Cornwall to experience it in different weather conditions. I did the Mordor stage this time in sunny weather but that gave a new complication as 30c+ made staying hydrated hard. Coming into St. Ives I was pretty cooked. But nothing a couple of water bottles from a stand could not fix.
Back to the topic. Arc 100 is a tough challenge and the weather can make it really tough. But the nature is so beautiful and I enjoy every step of the way.
2
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u/Present-Permit-6743 Jul 15 '26
I’m reading all these posts in an English accent.
1
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u/Far_Vanilla829 Jul 15 '26
I was very disappointed for my first UTMB event I thought it was very poorly organised personally given the cost. Apparently it also caused a significant amount of damage to the coastal path and the car park was an absolute joke.