Relive the best of the South Downs Way 100 2024 with this summary video, the English event of the Gran Canaria World Trail Majors: the bucolic countryside, the good humor of the runners, the special atmosphere, and the excellent weather that made this edition of the race shine even more.
Gran Canaria World Trail Majors has come to the British Isles to stay. The race on the island is the South Downs Way 100 and runs across the south of England following a historic trail for 100 miles (161km) with 12,700 ft (3800m) of elevation and a 30-hour time limit. The locals Dan Lawson and Cat Simpson won in the 2024 edition.
Swiss Canyon Trail 2024, the first time as part of Gran Canaria World Trail Majors, crowns the Portguese Miguel Arsénio and the Canadian Marianne Hogan in a great race that took the best of all. In a busy weekend of trail running with two races for the Gran Canaria World Trail Majors series, the Swiss Canyon Trail in continental Europe and the South Downs Way 100 in the United Kingdom. At Swiss Canyon Trail the 111K, the name that corresponds to its distance, is the queen, but since Friday 7th June there have been races for children, beginners, short and fast, marathon and double marathon, but the 111 km with 5294 m of elevation is the most prestigious of the weekend of events, and the qualifying race for the World Trail Majors series which has already seen races in Hong Kong, Arizona (USA), Gran Canaria (Spain), Madeira (Portugal) and Fuji (Japan).
About 2700 runners will be on the start lines of the different races at Swiss Canyon Trail, part of the Gran Canaria World Trail Majors circuit and a double header weekend with the South Downs Way 100 in the UK. In the 29th edition begins a new era for the Swiss Canyon Trail with its international relaunch and with an edition that aims to be the showcase to help it become the European Trail Running Championships race in 2026.
The South Downs Way 100 returns for its thirteenth edition over the weekend of 8th – 9th June 2024, a weekend which sees 2 races in the Gran Canaria World Trail Majors. 100 miles (161 km) of incredible trails with 13,000 ft (4000 m) elevation, the route follows the South Downs Way National Trail from Winchester in the west to Eastbourne in the east. The race is considered a perfect first 100 mile distance, runners have 30 hours to complete the fully course marked route with 13 aid stations, 2 drop bag points, plus pacers and crew are allowed (all of this is not so common in UK races!), it is also perfect for a fast 100 mile ultra trail. We will tell you in this pre-race report the key data of this edition of South Downs Way 100.
