Compiled and fact-checked by Tommo, Verus founder · Last verified August 2026 · Spot an error?
Running · Ultra Marathons
North Downs Way 50 2027
- Race day
- Saturday, 15 May 2027
- Location
- Farnham, Surrey to Knockholt Pound, Kent
- Distance
- 50 mi / 80.5 km
North Downs Way 50: 15 May 2027. Centurion's 50-mile Farnham to Knockholt Pound ultra — date, entry, qualification, aid stations, the 13-hour cut-off.
North Downs Way 50 Race Timeline
247 days to go
More than 126 days out — a good window to build a consistent base before ultra-specific training ramps up.
North Downs Way 50 2027: quick answers
When is North Downs Way 50 2027?
North Downs Way 50 2027 takes place on Saturday, 15 May 2027, starting at 07:45.
What time does North Downs Way 50 start?
North Downs Way 50 starts at 07:45 from Farnham Leisure Centre trailhead, Dogflud Way, Farnham, Surrey GU9 7UD.
Where does North Downs Way 50 start and finish?
North Downs Way 50 starts at Farnham Leisure Centre trailhead, Dogflud Way, Farnham, Surrey GU9 7UD and finishes at Fields behind Knockholt Pound Village Hall, Kent.
How many miles is North Downs Way 50?
North Downs Way 50 is 50 miles (80.5km).
How much elevation gain does North Downs Way 50 have?
North Downs Way 50 has approximately 5600ft of total elevation gain. No — 5,600ft (1,700m) across 50 miles, close to the South Downs Way 50's total but delivered differently. The North Downs Way climbs and drops off the escarpment repeatedly, and the two climbs runners talk about afterwards are Box Hill and Colley Hill. The woodland cover means less wind exposure than the South Downs but slower, rootier, more technical ground underfoot.
How much does North Downs Way 50 cost to enter?
Entry is £118, or £120 for runners unaffiliated to UKA. Entries for 2027 open at 19:00 on 21 June 2026, first come first served, with 40 places held back for 2026 volunteers. There is no waiting list. You must have completed a marathon-distance race within its cut-off between 1 January 2021 and race day.
How can I track a runner at North Downs Way 50?
A GPS tracking unit is issued to every runner at registration, with live tracking and splits published through Centurion's results platform.
Key Race Metrics & Overview
- Date
- Saturday, 15 May 2027
- Distance
- 50 miles / 80.5km
- Location
- Farnham, Surrey to Knockholt Pound, Kent
- Start Point
- Farnham Leisure Centre trailhead, Dogflud Way, Farnham, Surrey GU9 7UD
- Finish Point
- Fields behind Knockholt Pound Village Hall, Kent
- Start time
- 07:45
- Elevation gain
- 5600 ft (1707m)
- Surface
- 80% trail, 20% road — North Downs Way national trail, chalk, woodland singletrack and the odd lane.
- Cut-off time
- 13 hours overall, with intermediate cut-offs at the aid stations.
- Age requirement
- No minimum age is stated on the official race page. The qualification standard effectively rules out most under-18s.
- Tracking app
- A GPS tracking unit is issued to every runner at registration, with live tracking and splits published through Centurion's results platform.
Direct Entry Summary
Entry is £118, or £120 for runners unaffiliated to UKA. Entries for 2027 open at 19:00 on 21 June 2026, first come first served, with 40 places held back for 2026 volunteers. There is no waiting list. You must have completed a marathon-distance race within its cut-off between 1 January 2021 and race day.
Ballot Policy
No ballot — first come, first served, plus 40 reserved places for 2026 volunteers. No waiting list is operated.
North Downs Way 50 Race Day Weather
A real forecast appears here once one exists for race day — usually about a week to ten days out. Nothing is shown until then, because a made-up forecast is worse than none.
North Downs Way 50 Route Map & Elevation Profile
Starting at Farnham Leisure Centre trailhead, Dogflud Way, Farnham, Surrey GU9 7UD and finishing at Fields behind Knockholt Pound Village Hall, Kent. 5600 ft of total elevation gain across 50 miles.
Is North Downs Way 50 flat?
No — 5,600ft (1,700m) across 50 miles, close to the South Downs Way 50's total but delivered differently. The North Downs Way climbs and drops off the escarpment repeatedly, and the two climbs runners talk about afterwards are Box Hill and Colley Hill. The woodland cover means less wind exposure than the South Downs but slower, rootier, more technical ground underfoot.
North Downs Way 50 Course Profile
5600 ft total elevation gain.
Tap a point on the course for details.
Farnham Leisure Centre trailhead, Dogflud Way, Farnham, Surrey GU9 7UD
Start line.
Where North Downs Way 50 starts and finishes
North Downs Way 50 starts at Farnham Leisure Centre trailhead, Dogflud Way, Farnham, Surrey GU9 7UD and finishes at Fields behind Knockholt Pound Village Hall, Kent. We haven't been able to place those on a map accurately enough to show one — a pin in the wrong place is worse than no pin.
These are the start and finish points, not the route. Verus doesn't hold course files for this race, and drawing a line between two pins would be a guess you might end up training on. The official course map is the one to use: view it on the organiser's site .
Full North Downs Way 50 Route Breakdown
The 16th running of a 50-mile point-to-point east along the North Downs Way, from the trailhead at Farnham Leisure Centre to Knockholt Pound. The route runs through Guildford, over Ranmore Common and up Box Hill, then on past Colley Hill and through Merstham and Oxted to the finish. It is a more wooded, more enclosed course than its South Downs sibling — long stretches of chalk singletrack under beech, with the famous Box Hill steps as the marquee climb.
North Downs Way 50 Pace Calculator & Splits
North Downs Way 50 Pace Calculator
Enter a target finish time to see your pace and projected splits.
Average pace / mile
4:48
Average pace / km
2:59
North Downs Way 50 Pace Chart
Split markers calculated for standard checkpoints — no official pacers are confirmed for this event.
| Target | Pace /mi | Pace /km | 5K | 10K | Half Marathon | 30K | Finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3:00 | 3:36 | 2:14 | 11:11 | 22:22 | 47:12 | 1:07:06 | 3:00:00 |
| 3:15 | 3:54 | 2:25 | 12:07 | 24:14 | 51:08 | 1:12:42 | 3:15:00 |
| 3:30 | 4:12 | 2:37 | 13:03 | 26:06 | 55:04 | 1:18:18 | 3:30:00 |
| 3:45 | 4:30 | 2:48 | 13:59 | 27:58 | 59:00 | 1:23:53 | 3:45:00 |
| 4:00 | 4:48 | 2:59 | 14:55 | 29:50 | 1:02:56 | 1:29:29 | 4:00:00 |
| 4:15 | 5:06 | 3:10 | 15:51 | 31:41 | 1:06:51 | 1:35:04 | 4:15:00 |
| 4:30 | 5:24 | 3:21 | 16:47 | 33:33 | 1:10:47 | 1:40:40 | 4:30:00 |
| 4:45 | 5:42 | 3:33 | 17:43 | 35:25 | 1:14:43 | 1:46:15 | 4:45:00 |
| 5:00 | 6:00 | 3:44 | 18:38 | 37:17 | 1:18:39 | 1:51:51 | 5:00:00 |
| 5:30 | 6:36 | 4:06 | 20:30 | 41:01 | 1:26:31 | 2:03:02 | 5:30:00 |
| 6:00 | 7:12 | 4:28 | 22:22 | 44:44 | 1:34:23 | 2:14:13 | 6:00:00 |
| 6:30 | 7:48 | 4:51 | 24:14 | 48:28 | 1:42:15 | 2:25:24 | 6:30:00 |
| 7:00 | 8:24 | 5:13 | 26:06 | 52:12 | 1:50:07 | 2:36:35 | 7:00:00 |
North Downs Way 50 Finish Time Estimator
Enter a recent 5K, 10K or Half Marathon time to estimate your North Downs Way 50 finish time.
Your 5K time
Estimated North Downs Way 50 finish
7:55:19
An estimate only, based on Pete Riegel's race-time prediction formula. Real marathon performance depends on endurance, training specificity, pacing and race-day conditions — not just your speed over a shorter distance.
Training for a different distance? Try the full pace calculator, race time predictor or pace chart.
Got your target time? Save it to your profile.
Tag North Downs Way 50, set your goal pace, and let Verus track your countdown, training and fundraising in one place.
Start Your Verus JourneyNorth Downs Way 50 Race Day Checklist
Tap items to mark off your race-day readiness.
- The full Centurion mandatory kit list: mobile phone, 1 litre water capacity, survival blanket (1.4m x 2m), waterproof jacket rated 10,000mm+ with sealed seams, whistle, headtorch of 100+ lumens, and a cup
- Your own cup — Centurion aid stations are cupless
- Proof of your qualifying marathon, if asked at registration
- Trail shoes with grip for chalk, roots and the Box Hill steps
- Nutrition to supplement six aid stations across 50 miles
- A travel plan back from Knockholt Pound — it is a village finish, not a town
- Warm dry clothes in your finish bag
Training Strategy for North Downs Way 50
20-24 weeks is the realistic window for a first 50-mile ultra, assuming you already have a marathon's worth of base behind you. The block that matters is back-to-back long weekends — a long run on Saturday followed by a second, slower one on Sunday — which builds time on feet and teaches you to run on tired legs without the recovery cost of one enormous day. Practise your race-day nutrition on every one of them; at this distance the stomach fails before the legs do.
This is a largely flat course, so most of your long runs can mirror that — flat and steady, building time on feet rather than hill strength.
Drop volume hard across the final three to four weeks — further out and steeper than a marathon taper, because a 30-mile training day costs weeks of recovery, not days. Keep some easy running and a little terrain-specific work in, but the goal is to reach Farnham Leisure Centre trailhead, Dogflud Way, Farnham, Surrey GU9 7UD with fresh feet and a rested gut rather than one more long run in the bank.
Lock in your target pace using the interactive splits calculator below — no official pacers are confirmed for this event, so a pace band on your watch is the more reliable option.
Test your race-day fuel and hydration plan on your long training runs, not for the first time on race day — check the Race Day Checklist below for what's actually on this course.
50-Mile Ultra Nutrition & Fueling Plan
A modest carbohydrate increase across the last two or three days, and nothing untested.
An 07:45 start means eating early. Have a carbohydrate breakfast around two hours before, and take something to eat at the trailhead if you cannot face it at 05:00.
Six aid stations across 50 miles is a slightly longer gap than the South Downs Way 50 — closer to eight miles between them — so carry a little more than you think you need, and eat at every stop rather than only at the ones you feel like eating at.
Eat at the finish, and keep eating through the evening. A 50-miler with 5,600ft of climb is a genuine recovery cost.
North Downs Way 50 Charity Places 2027
No formal charity-place scheme is published. Runners are free to fundraise on their own entry.
Lead with your personal story — explain why the charity matters to you. Personal connection generates 3x more support than a generic link broadcast.
Share key training milestones on Instagram (first 10-miler, peak week, race week) with your fundraising link in bio. Publicly thanking donors prompts secondary gifts!
Running North Downs Way 50 for charity?
Link your JustGiving page to Verus and show up right here alongside other North Downs Way 50 fundraisers — goal, progress and story, all in one place.
Add Your Fundraiser to VerusWhere to Stay for North Downs Way 50
Farnham
At the start, with a station and a decent choice of places to stay — the sensible option for an 07:45 flag-off.
You finish 50 miles away at a village in Kent and have to get back.
Guildford
The biggest town near the early part of the course, well connected by rail, and a good base for supporters.
Not at the start or the finish, so it involves travel on race morning either way.
Sevenoaks
The nearest town of any size to the Knockholt Pound finish, useful if you want a bed near where you stop.
A long way from the Farnham start, and it means an early journey west on race morning.
Travel & Logistics
Farnham station is a short walk from the Leisure Centre start, on the South Western line from Waterloo. Knockholt station is the nearest to the finish, though not right at it — check the current race information for the shuttle or walking arrangements between the finish field and the station.
No Park & Ride scheme. Because it is point-to-point with no crewing permitted, most runners travel by train or arrange a lift.
None — the route uses the North Downs Way and other rights of way.
Spectator & Cheer Guide
Box Hill is the obvious one: reachable by road, busy, and the place where the race visibly bites. Ranmore Common and the Merstham and Oxted crossings are the other practical points.
Note that crews are not permitted at this race, so supporters should treat it as spectating rather than crewing. The course crosses roads regularly, so two or three stops plus the finish works well.
A GPS tracking unit is issued to every runner at registration, with live tracking and splits published through Centurion's results platform.
North Downs Way 50 Frequently Asked Questions
Everything you need to know for race weekend.
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Race details independently compiled and fact-checked by Tommo against the official North Downs Way 50 site , last verified August 2026. Always confirm official timings and policies directly prior to race day.