Stanza Stones Summer Edition

Stanza Stones 50 mile Ultra Summer Edition

The Stanza Stones Ultra is a 50 mile linear route across the South Pennines with over 6,800 ft of ascent. The route links the towns of Marsden and Ilkley, visits all six Stanza Stones and passes through the village of Haworth.

The event is organised in summer and winter editions. The minimum age for entry is 20 years. The start location is Marsden Cricket Club, HD7 6NN and the finish is at Curly Hill Scout Camp, Ilkley LS29 0DT. Camping is available only for the summer edition, with free camping offered then and bed hire available for the nights before and during both editions. An optional coach transfer runs from Ilkley to Marsden on race morning. There is both Friday evening registration at Ben Rhydding Primary School and morning registration at Marsden Cricket Club.

Support on the route includes OpenTracking live coverage and six checkpoints supplying food and water. Three indoor checkpoints at Mytholmroyd, Haworth and Bingley offer hot food. Finishers receive a memento and may opt for a quality cotton finishers T shirt; a finishers meal, changing rooms and showers are provided at the end.

The Stanza Stones themselves comprise six short poems about forms of water named Snow, Rain, Mist, Dew, Puddle and Beck carved into stones and placed along the route. The course covers high moorland and valley sections and follows parts of the Pennine Way, Stoodley Pike, Haworth Moor and Ilkley Moor where additional stones and circles can be seen. GPX and leg maps are made available. Visit the organization's website for the most recent information.