RACE UPDATE: 2021 Chester Ultra 50 Mile
As members living in the U.K. will be aware, England imposed new restrictions on 4th January to help prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus.
Boris Johnson announced on 27th January that lockdown restrictions will come under review again on 15th February and a road map to the easing of restrictions will be announced on 22nd February. The Government have also announced schools will return no earlier than 8th March, this leads us to believe that the road map plan may only come into force from the end of February/Early March.
Current Government documents state that whilst professional sports can continue, amateur sports are prohibited.
In summary, the related restrictions to sport and exercise are as follows:
- Outdoor exercise and recreation is encouraged. This should only be done with members of your own household or one other person.
- Professional sports are allowed due to the stringent testing programmes in place. Amateur sports are prohibited.
- Travel restrictions are in place both within the UK prohibiting travel for non-essential reasons and international travel (apart from certain reasons) is prohibited.
- You should avoid travelling out of your local area and you should look to reduce the number of journeys you make. You may travel to exercise, but only if you need to make a short journey to do so.
- Overnight stays anywhere in the UK are not allowed unless for work reasons.
In turn, this means that the upcoming Chester Ultra 50 mile ultra-marathon that was scheduled to take place on the 27thFebruary is to be postponed. We’ve previously emailed all entrants of the Chester Ultra 50 providing options regarding the event. We thank everyone who has already responded to this email, these replies are currently being processed by the team.
It has been a difficult year for everyone and difficult to be an Event Organiser during this time, having fourteen events cancelled across Great Britain in 2020 and now into 2021, and for GB Ultras at least, with events in Wales and Scotland we have been hit hard. We do however, respect the decisions in the nation countries, and where permissions have been withdrawn, we must respect and take into account the host communities that will inevitably interact with the event and any concerns they may have surrounding Covid-19 transmission when making their decision, regardless of our Covid-19 measures.
However, this in turn means that we have not yet been able to hold an event since February 2020, which is a huge blow as an outdoor running company and one that we are continually trying our very best to manage. Although we are absolutely devastated by this decision, we fully support and accept that the NHS must be protected in the fight against COVID-19 and continue to fundraise to help others affected by COVID-19. A large proporation of our income from virtual events has gone to help others through this time.
In view of the current situation, we are now able to offer the following options for all remaining runners in the 2021 event:
Options for the Chester 50 Ultra 2021 event
In our original email sent out last month, we detailed further options that were available to you and we continue to offer the following options:
Defer to a new edition of the Chester Ultra 50 on 3rd July 2021: The new date for the Chester Ultra 50 mile event in the Summer. By choosing this option, your place will be deferred to the race to be held on Saturday 3rd July 2021 and your place on the start line will be secured.
Deferral to 2022: Defer to the 2022 Chester Ultra 50. The race has a provisional date for Saturday 12th March 2022. This is our recommended option and, by choosing this option, your place is transferred to the new event guaranteeing your place on the start line. We hope that you choose to join us on the revised date and continue to support GB Ultras. You’ll still be able to defer your race entry in the leadup to the new event or transfer to another runner (up to 4 weeks before the event).
Transfer to another race: Transfer your entry to any of our other GB Ultras events scheduled for 2021 where places still remain.
We appreciate that you’ve been gearing up to race this year and may already have plans for the revised date. In this case we’re happy to offer you the option to join us in 2021 on another of our races. If, having looked on our website at the races we offer, you’d like to transfer your place over, just let us know your choice and we’ll organise this for you. Again, this will be done for you free of charge. You’ll still be able to defer your race entry in the new event (up to 8 weeks before the event) or transfer to another runner (up to 3 weeks before the event).
Receive a voucher: Receive a voucher equivalent to the entry fee for the 2021 event. This voucher can be used within 3 years from the original race date and can be used towards the cost of ANY EVENT which we have on our race calendar (where the event has places still available). Having a voucher gives you the ability to take longer to think about which race you’d like to enter and gives you more choice as we look to expand our race series in 2021 and beyond. Your voucher will be valid until 31st December 2023 giving you a substantial amount of time to choose your next goal.
If you wish to take advantage of one of these options, please send an email to events@gbultras.com stating the following. Please do not reply back to this email directly as this email account is not monitored.
Email subject – Chester 50 Ultra Options
Email body:
Your full name:
Your chosen option:
Please send your email back to us by 26th February and we’ll make these arrangements for you. Please allow 14 days to acknowledge and action your reply. In the event that we don’t get a reply from you by this date, we’ll automatically transfer you to the 2022 event and you’ll receive a separate email confirming your place on the start line.
Where none of the above options are suitable, we can offer of a partial refund of your original entry fee as follows:
Partial Refund: An option of a 70% refund of the entry fee paid when you registered. As mentioned above, we’ve been in ongoing discussions with various landowners, communities, venues, suppliers and contractors involved in holding the event and whilst some of the up-front costs we’ve incurred can be deferred, many suppliers aren’t in the position to be able to refund to us the fees that we’ve paid to them. We’d love to see you on the revised date or at another of our events but we also appreciate that many people are experiencing real financial hardship as a result of Covid-19 and are unable to choose one of the original options.
However, before choosing this option, we’d also ask that you consider the effects that Covid-19 has had on the events industry which, ourselves included, has seen a devastating impact on many businesses. We, like many other event organisers are trying to battle through this current situation, adapt to a changed world and come out the other end despite not being able to hold any actual events since February 2020 together with still facing a continuing unknown picture. We are however determined to survive and continue to bring you stunning events in picturesque locations with the same passion and ethos we’ve had since our launch however, as we hope you appreciate, every refund makes that more difficult. If possible, we’d really appreciate it if you could transfer your entry or accept a credit.
If you would like to receive a partial refund, we just need you to email events@gbultras.com with the following by 26thFebruary.
Subject: Chester 50 Refund
Details: please let us have your name and email address that you entered with
Normally, refunds can be credited back quite quickly but in the current situation, banks are applying additional processes. We’re sorry for this but will aim to get your refund back to you as quickly as possible and we’ll make sure that this is no later than 28 days.
In the meantime, thanks once again to everyone who’s continued to support GB Ultras during these difficult times. It’s been great to receive such supportive messages and see the community page continue to flourish with activity whilst we’re prevented from fully enjoying the sport we love.
We’ve really enjoyed seeing everyone enjoying the trails again and hope that one of the options above helps us all return to organising running events and racing soon! We’re really looking forward to bouncing back as soon as we’re allowed to and providing you with great races on the amazing routes that we have in Great Britain.
For more details on how our 2021 events will be COVID secure please visit our website – https://www.gbultras.com/covid-brief/
If you’ve any other questions, feel free to email the team at events@gbultras.com
Best wishes and stay safe.
The GB Ultras Team
