THE RAIDLIGHT ARC50 ROUTE DESCRIPTION IMPORTANT - There have been some route changes. All returning Arc runners and locals need to read pages 2, 3 and 4 as a minimum. The Arc50 is a self navigated run along the Cornish coast path. You are expected to find your own way around with minimal signage supplied by MudCrew. Getting lost is common as is bad weather and bad visibility. This guide gives you an idea as to what to expect on the course but is no substitute for the route finding and map reading skills you will need to get around. Version 0.3 ROUTE RESTRICTIONS The Arc50 runs for 50 miles from The Minack to Porthtowan nominally via the South West Coast Path. DIVERSIONS FROM THE COAST PATH Due to the increased number of runners in the race, the increased stature of the race and a few issues in the past, there are now a few new restrictions on the exact route runners are to take. Please read carefully. Runners are expected to the follow the route specified in this guide and supplied as a GPX file on the Arc website. X We understand and expect that many of you will get lost and Correct Route: Incorrect Route: X not follow the route exactly. This is fine as long as you do X X not gain advantage. To be clear, if you take a short cut or an easier route you may attract a time penalty and potentially face disqualification. If you find yourself off route, either X retrace your steps or take a route back onto the official route X which doesn’t give you an overall advantage. X The route is the South West Coast Path as marked by official signs and waymarkers on the route, apart from short sections at Cape Cornwall and St Ives. Details to the right. Correct Route: The coast path as marked on OS maps differs slightly from Incorrect Route: X that signposted in a few places but not in any significant way. There will be no penalty if you follow the route shown Checkpoint on the OS map rather than the official Arc route. Cape Cornwall It is not necessary to visit the Cape Cornwall monument however you must take the steps to St Ives Head / The Island the west of the car park. You do not need to follow the coast path around the headland at St Ives. Instead cut Click on maps to view on OpenStreetMap directly from Porthmeor Beach to the main harbour. At the south end of the harbour you will be met by Arc Angels who will take you to the checkpoint. SHORT CUTS AND ALTERNATIVE ROUTES TO AVOID Correct Route: Incorrect Route: X X X Cot Valley Change from 2019 / 2020 Correct Route: Incorrect Route: X New for 2021, follow the coast path up X the road before doubling back. Do not Zennor Head take the short cut which was the route in previous years. Don't cut the headland. Correct Route: Incorrect Route: X Hayle Keep to the coast path when coming into Hayle. It is marked but is easy to miss. Don't run down the road. SHORT CUTS AND ALTERNATIVE ROUTES TO AVOID X Click on maps to view on OpenStreetMap X X Correct Route: Incorrect Route: X X Correct Route: Incorrect Route: X Dunes of Doom / Hayle X Keep to the coast path at the start of the X Dunes of Doom (AKA Common X Towans). The short cut will also fill your Correct Route: shoes with sand which nobody wants. Incorrect Route: X Portreath You are almost at the end. Well done! Godrevy Avoid the short cut. As you exit the Dunes of Doom, and reach the first car park, turn left on the boardwalk and don't go up the tarmac road. Do not go through the second or third car parks to reach the seal cove. Follow the coast path around the headland. Make sure to look for seals in the cove! 400 ft Potential Crew Parking 300 ft Zennor Pendeen Cot Valley Land's End 200 ft Minack 100 ft Route Finding Care Needed St Ives Stats 0 ft 10 Miles 20 Miles 28.1 miles 45.2 kilometres 5900 feet 1800 m Cape Cornwall to Pendeen is runable but there are a lot of path options and it is easy to make a mistake here. The next section to St Ives is the hardest of the Arc50. It is 13 miles long, wild and rugged and there is no road access on any part of it. It is possible to meet crew at the half way point at Zennor but there is a half mile walk from the road to the coast path for your crew. Elite runners THE MINACK TO ST IVES may make three miles an hour along this section but two miles an hour is more realistic. You start on stage at The Minack at the very bottom which means that the first 100m of the run is a very steep climb up steps and a good way Expect to be hit by the full force of the wind / rain / hail / to immediately trash your legs. sleet / snow and not to be able to find any shelter at all for the majority of this section. Traverse this section with The first 5 miles to Land's End is on often narrow gravel and dirt paths other runners if at all possible for your own safety. which will have turned into mud in many places. Some parts will be through bushes but the majority is more open. There will be granite It is however, an absolutely stunning section of the coast boulders to climb over and some sections will be very close to the cliff path and it can be fantastically beautiful. edge but the majority is pretty runable. The path is gravel / rock / mud and in sections will look When you reach Land’s End, head towards the First and Last House like a rockery with plenty of water features. This can by keeping relatively close to the cliff edge. Turn sharp right at the make finding the correct route difficult as the path is building and then follow the coast path around the top of the cliff until basically indicated by the more worn rock. Go off route you reach the Coast Guard Lookout as you approach Sennen Cove. and you can end up in bog that you can lose legs in. You Go right up to the lookout before turning right again onto a paved path. will also hit a short section of large boulders that require This is a common area to go wrong. significant scrambling to get over. At the far side of Sennen keep low and take the coast path at the back The path improves as you get closer to St Ives and you of the car park. Do not take any paths that go uphill. can start running sections again. A tarmac path will take you into St Ives, the main road to Porthmeor beach and a Continue on a mixture of path types including sand. You will gradually lot of bemused locals. Don’t get lost as you head towards slow as the path gets harder and you are back to climbing over the harbour, you don’t need to go onto the headland but boulders. Drop down into Cot Valley, turn sharp right and follow the can cut across by the shortest route. tarmac road inland up the hill before doubling back sharp left onto the coast path and an up hill track. An easyish path then takes you to If you are close to the cut off when you make it to the St Cape Cornwall, a good spot to meet crew. Ives checkpoint, don't stay for too long. The cut off at Godrevy is rather tight. Stats ST IVES TO PORTHTOWAN 21.7 miles The worst of the route is now over but this still 35.0 kilometres doesn’t mean that there aren’t difficulties and 3600 feet chances to go wrong. 1100 m Sunset Time: 17:11 Coming out of St Ives, road shoes are an option as most of the route around to Hayle is on tarmac. There are sections on dirt / gravel paths 400 ft but these are in the main flat and runable if you have any energy left in your legs. You could still 300 ft St Ives hit a few patches of mud coming out of Carbis Porthtowan 200 ft Portreath Bay where off road shoes would be better but Godrevy Dunes of Doom there isn’t much. 100 ft Hayle After running through Hayle you leave the tarmac 0 ft behind and enter the Dunes of Doom. This 30 Miles 40 Miles 50 Miles section has been so named by past Arc participants due to how easy it is to get lost in a maze of identical looking sand and gravel paths. Local name is Riviere Towans / Comman Towans / Upton Towans. The entire area is very popular with walkers and The coast takes the steep uphill switch back road the paths go everywhere. A few years back, the out of Portreath. Follow it to the car park at the coast path here was marked with big slate top before turning left onto a gravel path. markers and these help, however on some at the far end, the marker arrows don’t point in the The final leg to Porthtowan is more of the same, correct direction.