Entries open today for the second edition of the Five Rivers Ultra on 6th/7th May 2023. The route will be very similar, but not identical, to the 2022 route. There are some slight changes to the checkpoint locations, with the introduction of one additional checkpoint. The 2023 route will reduce the amount of tarmac running by about 2 miles compared to the 2022 route (for all three race distances). Result!

We've been thrilled and a little humbled by all the positive feedback that we've received from competitors in the last few days. Thank you so much, it makes all the hard work putting on an event such as this truly worthwhile! So we will definitely be back, hopefully bigger and better, in 2023! Take a look at our Race Feedback page to see what the 2022 contingent thought about the race.

We've finally gathered up all the photos that we took during the event and loaded them into a Race Gallery.

This year's race results have now been published on the Race Results page.

For anyone that would like to take home a Five Rivers Ultra branded tee-shirt as a memento from the event, these are now available to order online, for collection at Race Registration. These tee-shirts come in a smart navy blue soft cotton, with the 5RU logo printed on the chest.

Less than four weeks to race day!
All competitors have today have received an email from SiEntries, providing final details of this year's event, including "Competitor Notes" and a "Map Book" giving helpful navigation and safety tips for the event. We hope that these are useful as you make your final preparations for the event. We look forward to meeting everyone at Event Registration.

With just three months to go until the event, final preparations are now well underway. Detailed Race notes will be issued to all entrants in the next few weeks, but in the meantime we thought we'd whet your appetite further about the beautiful trail route you'll be exploring in May, by publishing our Top 20 Scenic Highlights to be enjoyed along the race route. Some of them are well worth coming back to for a longer look after race day is over. And some of them may be of more immediate interest to friends & family who've come along to support you on race weekend.

No April Fool - entries are now open for our re-scheduled inaugural event on 14th May 2022!

We have just completed the processing of refunds or rescheduled entries for everyone who entered our May 2021 event.
So from today we are pleased to announce that we can now accept new entries for the 2022 event, via the SiEntries booking platform.

We hope everyone has a good summer season of running and long distance walking this year, and we look forward to seeing you in May 2022 here on the lovely unspoilt Essex and Suffolk coastline.

It is with a heavy heart that we announce that the 2021 Five Rivers Ultra Event must be deferred from its current scheduled date of 15th May 2021.

Cruelly for you as participants and us as organisers, the Government's "COVID-19 Response - Spring 2021" roadmap makes it clear that hotels, B&Bs and other shared accommodation facilities cannot open until May 17th at the earliest this year. For all but our most local participants, this makes it impossible to safely and sensibly take part in a tiring 50 -100 mile endurance event that will require a good night's sleep immediately before and after your participation.

After careful consideration we have decided that a short deferral (say to June 2021) would be problematic, both in terms of continued COVID uncertainties and in terms of the potential adverse impact on entry numbers. Instead, we have decided to make a fresh start with an event held in May 2022 (which remains our favoured month, offering long daylight hours, but with fresh green beauty rather than potentially arid summer heat).

Our new event date will therefore be May 14th/15th 2022.

All signed-up 2021 participants have been sent an explanatory email through the SiEntries event management system, explaining the available options for entry transfer or refund.

When our inaugural event was deferred from September 2020 to May 2021, we were confident that this would remove any risk of the event being impacted by Coronavirus restrictions. Whilst we still remain hopeful of this, we can no longer be totally sure! So with that in mind, we have amended our event T&Cs to reassure potential entrants of the steps that we will take to ensure a COVID-secure event next May, and in the worst case scenario of postponement, our policy regarding deferrals and/or refunds.

We are maintaining a close eye on evolving Government and UK Athletics guidance regarding safe operation of outdoor trail running events. In such a fluid situation, it is obviously impossible to finalise operating protocols for the event at the moment. But in the run-up to the event, we will provide email updates to all competitors setting out appropriate pre-race, race-day and post-race protocols in line with best safe practice at that time. Hopefully we will be back to some sort of normality by May 2021 - but even if there are still some restrictions in place, the relatively small size and outdoor setting of our event should allow the event to go ahead with relatively small adjustments, such as an online pre-race briefing and a staggered start.

In the very worst case scenario of event postponement, we are undertaking to provide a 90% cash refund to any competitors that do not wish to take up a deferred place at the next event in May 2022.