Chester Ultra 50

Event overview

The Chester Ultra 50 is a trail ultra-marathon of 50 miles held on Saturday 28 February 2026 around Chester with start and finish at Ellesmere Port Sports Village. The route has about 849 m of ascent and 7 checkpoints along the course. The event is held under a UKA permit and a Trail Running Association permit and is eligible for ITRA and UTMB mountain performance index points (allocation tbc). Entry for 2026 is listed as full; the published entry fee is £119 and the event capacity is 500 places. There is a 17 hour overall cut-off for the race.

Course, support and rules

The route follows canal towpaths, Delamere Forest and the Sandstone Trail and passes Helsby Hill and Frodsham. Checkpoint 1 (about 4 miles) is water only; other checkpoints provide drinks and food and have medical or first responder cover. Certain checkpoints have no support-crew access and no dropbags are permitted. Mandatory kit must be carried during the race; required items include a waterproof coat with sealed seams (min 10,000 mm), a long-sleeved base layer in a dry bag, a water container (min 1 litre), a fully charged mobile phone in a waterproof covering, a foil blanket, a headtorch (min 75 lumens), a secondary headtorch and a whistle. Pacers and support runners are not permitted. Qualifying criteria include being at least 20 years old and having previously completed an organised marathon. A GPX file of the route is available. Visit the organization's website for the most recent information.