Stanza Stones Ultra
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Stanza Stones 50 mile Ultra
The Stanza Stones 50 mile Ultra is a linear 50 mile route with over 6800 ft of ascent linking Marsden and Ilkley across the South Pennines. The route visits all six Stanza Stones and passes through the historic village of Haworth.
The event runs in summer and winter editions. Minimum age is 20 years. The course starts at Marsden Cricket Club and finishes at Curly Hill Scout Camp in Ilkley. There is an option to camp in the summer and competitors can hire a bed for Friday and or Saturday night. An optional coach transfer from Ilkley to Marsden is offered on race morning. Friday night registration is held at Ben Rhydding Primary School and Saturday registration at Marsden Cricket Club.
Support includes OpenTracking live coverage and six checkpoints providing food and water, with hot food available at three indoor checkpoints in Mytholmroyd, Haworth and Bingley. Finishers receive a memento, may purchase an optional cotton T shirt, and are offered a finishers meal. Changing rooms and showers are available at the finish.
The route covers high moorland and valley sections, follows parts of the Pennine Way and visits Stoodley Pike, Haworth Moor and Ilkley Moor where local stones and circles appear. The Stanza Stones themselves are six poems about water titled Snow, Rain, Mist, Dew, Puddle and Beck carved into stone and placed along the route after a 2010 commission by Ilkley Literature Festival. Visit the organization's website for the most recent information.
