Chiltern Wonderland 50^®

Entries

Entries for 2023 will open at 1000 on Saturday 22nd October 2022. Places are open on a first come, first served basis. Entrants must meet the minimum qualification standard below in order to apply. There will be no waiting list for this event.

Entry fee is £105

Qualification Standard

In order to enter you must have completed a minimum of a marathon distance race within the cut off time of that event between 1st January 2019 and race day. As organisers, we reserve the right to refuse anybody entry who does not meet this standard. Unqualified runners may enter but will be contacted approximately 8 weeks prior to race to verify qualification plans - if they have not updated their online information by this time.

Click here to read more about what counts as a qualifier

Cut Offs

Runners must finish the course within a 13 hour time limit. There are additional cut offs on route which can be found in the aid station table. 

Start/ Finish Location

Registration, Race Start, Race Finish and Race HQ are at Goring Village Hall, High Street, Goring-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, RG8 9AG.

Route

The race route consists of a single 50 mile loop through the Chiltern Hills. Starting and finishing in the riverside village of Goring On Thames, It begins by heading down the 'hilliest' section of the Thames Path National Trail to Whitchurch, before joining the Chiltern Way to Mapledurham. From there it is a short 4 mile section through to Sonning Common, before runners get in to some of the best climbs, descents, valleys and villages that the Chilterns have to offer. Travelling first through Bix, runners then pay a visit to Stonor Deer Park and at Turville and climb steeply out of the village directly past Cobstone Windmill. It's on and down through rolling countryside from there to the Ibstone check point. Runners then continue on the Chiltern Way to the highest point on the course at Christmas Common (800ft), before a fast descent underneath Watlington Hill, to join the Ridgeway as far as Swyncombe Farm aid station. Runners then take the Chiltern Way extension first east, then west to rejoin the Ridgeway at Nuffield. From there it's Grim's Ditch until the final aid station and the turn for home on one of the fastest sections of the course.

A map of the route and a downloadable GPX file can be found at the bottom of this page. The route has 5600 feet of climb, and 5600 feet of descent.

Awards

Medal & T-Shirt to Finishers only. Runners can refuse a tee shirt during registration, and have a tree planted instead.

Additional prizes will be awarded to First/ Second/ Third place Male and Female. 

Winners of each age category will also be awarded prizes: M40, M50, M60, M70 and F40, F50, F60, F70. 

Aid Stations

A full list of the aid stations including the relative cut off times can be found here. Aid stations will carry as a minimum: Water, Coke, Tailwind, Gu Gels, chocolate, sweets, sandwiches, nuts, lots of fruit, wraps and other sweet and savoury snacks. There will be hot food and drink available at the finish, including vegetarian and vegan options, which is free to all runners.

Drop Bags/ Finish Line Bags

Finish Line Bags may be deposited at registration, whereupon they will be stored in number order and accessible to runners at the end of the race. Bags should be clearly labelled with runners name and bib number. Drop Bags for other aid stations are not permitted. 

Course Markings

The course will be fully marked with Centurion Ribbons and Centurion marker arrows. No navigation is required.

Pacers

No pacers are permitted at any point on the route. 

Crew

No crews are permitted at any point on the route.

Medical

There will be a dedicated team of race medics available throughout the race including a static first aid team at the finish line and a minimum of one roving team out on course at all times. If you suffer an injury or accident that warrants direct medical attention, the medics will be on hand to provide you with exactly that. Contact numbers and full details of what to do in an emergency will be given to you in the pre race information packs and again at race registration. Due to the nature of the course ie. some remote and far from roads, the medics may take some time to reach you, or potentially be out of contact tending to other runners. In those instances you should contact the emergency services on 999 AS WELL AS the race medics. Full instructions on what to do in an emergency can be found in the infopacks. 

Kit

80% of the course is on trail. Trail shoes are advised. 

There will be kit checks prior to the race as well as potientially during and at the finish. Runners must carry the following mandatory equipment at all times. A time penalty of one hour will be imposed for any item found to be missing at any point on course. Please refer to this page for explanations on the inclusion of the below items. 

There are many options regards kit for fulfilling these requirements and those of other events. We stock what we believe to be the best options at our online store available by clicking here under the Mandatory Gear Section. Please ask us if you have any questions.

• Fully Charged Mobile Phone including the numbers for the Race Medic and Race Director (on the number you have given at registration)
• Water Bottles/Bladder capable of carrying a minimum of 1 litre.
• Survival Blanket: 1.4m x 2m minimum
• Waterproof Jacket: Gore-tex or similar, minimum 10000mm+ & must have sealed seams. 
• Whistle
• Headtorch or Primary Light Source (Minimum 75 lumens)
• Back Up Light Source (Minimum 25 lumens)
• Long sleeved base layer or fleece top - This must be carried separately from the start and kept dry, for use only in an emergency. Starting in 2 layers is not a substitute.
• The race is cupless which means you must bring a cup with you. Soft cups are available at the store here.