Third Time Lucky
100 km along the South Downs Way, Queen Elizabeth Country Park to Brighton Racecourse, in one push and inside 30 hours. Every step raises money for retired Gurkhas and their families in Nepal.
Live trackerQueen Elizabeth Country Park to Brighton Racecourse
Nine checkpoints, ten stages, one Gurkha curry at the end. Updated by the support crew at every checkpoint.
Carbs per hour estimated · optimal range
Estimates: PF 30 gel 30 g (from the pack), Tailwind 25 g per scoop (about 19 g per 500 ml at 1 scoop per 650 ml), sandwich 40 g, biscuit 8 g, shortbread 10 g, gyoza 6 g each, onion bhaji 15 g, coke or Sprite 35 g a can, scone 30 g, Pot Noodle 45 g, cracker 5 g, McDonald's medium fries 42 g, half a cheeseburger 15 g, malt loaf 25 g, muffin 25 g, brioche and cheese 30 g, salted pancake 15 g. Tell Claude if a product is different.
The day in photos start line to finish line
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05:30Saturday · before the start
On the hill at Queen Elizabeth Country Park, an hour before the off. Headbands on, nobody tired yet.
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06:00Saturday · the whole squad
Four walkers and the support crew who fed them, drove between checkpoints and kept this tracker updated all day and all night. Race number 105-1.
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08:30Saturday · the tracker goes live
This website being built at the side of the course on an iPad, while the team were already two checkpoints up the trail. Every gel, bottle and sandwich on the Raw data tab was typed in here.
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11:00Saturday · restocking the boot
Refilling water carriers and handing out gels from the back of the car. Four and a half hours in, about 30 km down, still cheerful.
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15:00Saturday · legs getting heavy
Sitting on the grass working out where everyone was and what they still needed. This was the point the tracking actually earned its keep.
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After midnightSunday · Brighton Racecourse
100 km done, in the dark, under the Trailwalker finish gantry with the medals and scarves on. Third time lucky.
100 km along the South Downs Way, from Queen Elizabeth Country Park to Brighton Racecourse, for the Gurkha Welfare Trust.
Raw data one row per walker per stage
Stage log team split per stage
Fuel & fluids running totals
Live tracking Team 105 · Third time lucky
Times, fuel and food are updated by the support crew via Claude between checkpoints.
Route map checkpoints, updated as they come through
About the route and the event
Trailwalker started in 1981 as a training exercise for the Queen's Gurkha Signals on the MacLehose Trail in Hong Kong, opened to civilians in 1986, and moved to the South Downs when the Brigade moved to the UK. It is now run by The Gurkha Welfare Trust with the Queen's Gurkha Signals.
Teams of four start in waves from 6am at Queen Elizabeth Country Park and follow the South Downs Way east over the chalk to Brighton Racecourse, meeting their support crew at nine manned checkpoints spaced roughly 6 to 13 km apart. A hot meal waits at Checkpoint 7 for the night section. The team record is 9 hours 23 minutes, set in 2024.
Checkpoint names and distances here are approximate, based on the usual Trailwalker course.