Wasn’t it a bit of a disaster this year though. Too many people not enough resources?
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From a trail preservation POV it was a nightmare, absolutely destroyed it by the reports I saw.
I hadn’t heard about any resource issue, at least not at aid stations. I know resources at the Eco Park were outstripped, both in parking areas and just general amenities. They had to outsource parking mgt to get the cars off the local roads, which by all accounts, was a bit of a cluster.
IMO, since the UTMB takeover, they’ve just worn out their welcome, both at the park and in some communities. It’s probably for a couple of reasons.
The massive increase in numbers and now the race is across effectively, 3 days.
The locals probably no longer see it as a Cornish race, run and vollied by locals that know and care for the area. It’s just a corporate giant coming, changing everything and taking away whatever elements made it the ‘Arc’.
It’s a race in Cornwall, in winter, but it’s no longer the Arc. Ferg and Jane can make all the ‘woe is us’ BS statements they like, but they took the money and need to own that decision.
They kept saying ‘without UTMB the Arc would have not continued’, maybe they should have let it die?
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Even though I do occasionally enter UTMB races , they are just a money making machine. So I think you have to either not enter or just expect that it will be really busy. Chiang Mai was heaving for the whole race and then the last few miles when several races entered the same part of the trail , it was a nightmare .
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I don’t know many of the UTMB courses, or areas. Whilst UTMB week at Chamonix gets a crazy amount of people on the trails, it’s in summer when they are firm and from what I could tell from my short time there, those trails look like they can take a lot of volume.
Compare that to the SWCP, which is effectively single-track or bog, in the middle of winter, with some very real cliff-edge erosion issues, and you can see how the two worlds don’t align at all.
I’m not even sure there is such a thing as a ‘quieter’ UTMB race these days? I reckon they’ll go full send on the Ironman philosophy of ‘milk it or kill it’.
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If you look at the history, there have been a number of years when those trails are more bog like in many parts following thunderstorms and with diversions to avoid the worst. But, yes, generally the mountain trails are firm in summer.
Whereas the SWCP in winter is always is, it’s a given. Which is why it’s absolute madness to put that many people on such terrain at that time of year.
What’s the Skyline trail like?
no such trail in Cham.
He means this new Scottish one they’ve taken over. (I assume)
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Yes this. The point I’m making is that the trails around Cham are like hard packed motorways, most of the time compared to SWCP. There are simply more suited to volumes of feet that UTMB likes to put on a course, and the trails in the UK for their existing and proposed races, are anything but.
I know what the UTS trail is like but don’t know Skyline at all. (they are summer races of course).
You can’t simply roll out the cookie cutter UTMB model on any course, any time of year and expect the trails to cope (let alone the locals).
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I think some of the original organisers that are still involved do have some genuinely good intentions despite being taken over by UTMB, but their model like Ironman is more people racing. I’ve done a few of their races and the ones in Italy had reasonable fields but probably didn’t do much damage.
I’m guessing where the skyline is will be a bit like Snowdonia and mostly quite craggy but with some open fell type areas. I can vaguely recall the fell race at Ben Nevis was a bit like the tourist path up Snowdon.
Not done the Arc but from comments above I have a pretty good idea that it is similar to a lot of the coast all round the UK so would definitely churn up over the course of a weekend, but it’s possibly down to whether the local villages want people running through all weekend.
They are good events with that polished feel like Ironman but I’ve only done about 4. I still like the local Hardmoors\Punk Panther events, pretty small fields and cheap prices.
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I did the last Arc before UTMB. (let me clarify, I started it 
). There were already more and more restrictions on where crew could go, mainly due to complaints from locals about parking and noise in the night.
I did another Mud Crew race a few years back called The Plague, that race starts at 12.05am in Cornwall. Ferg gave us the third degree about not making noise and locals had the complaints line on speed dial.
It was an out and back and without a hint of irony he said, ‘on the way back, the shops will be open, so make sure you spend some money on re-fuelling’ 
It’s not an issue unique to UTMB, but the bigger the circus…
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Listened to the Centurion podcast on my way to Newport this morning.
I thought it strange that Arc had not extended the cut off for the extra 5 miles. Turns out they are changing the start location as well.
100 mile starts at Lizard and 50mile starts at Lands End. According to James Ellson at least.
Still starts at Coverack according to the website.
Looks like it still finishes on a Bastard hill!
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I know it does, but thinking about it, another 6miles on the ass end of that course has to be 2hrs plus for those that would be worried about cut offs on the original course.
That would create a massive spike in the DNF rate and Ma’n’Pa Polletti don’t want a race that might stem the flow of $$ through the door.
It would make sense to move the start. (Coverack can’t handle the coaches anyway). James E did say ‘I’m not sure how much of this I should be revealing’. It could be completely bad intel, but 36hrs cut-off with an extra 6miles is crazy on that course, IMO.
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Agree, it would make sense.
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The Spine has acquired the Cape Wrath ultra
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Did Ultra X pick it up and re-sell or did they just not touch that one?
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Interesting. So they never acquired CWU but offered credits to the entrants? That was generous.
Now Spine have presumably bought it from the administrators of Ourea without any ongoing liability?
I’m curious what there actually is to buy though 
Surely anybody could just put on their own Cape Wrath race 