The Arc of Attrition, or ‘Arc100’, is a British ultramarathon race in Cornwall, South-west England.
A winter race, it is usually takes place in late January and is renowned for the brutal weather conditions runners are tasked to contend with as they follow the stunning South West Coast Path National Trail.
The gruelling 100-mile race has a strict 36-hour cut-off and is organised by MudCrew, themselves based in Cornwall, who make it clear the race is not for the inexperienced. There is also a smaller, 50-mile race called the ‘Arc50’ organised at the same time.
All 100-mile runners will receive an Arc of Attrition buckle, although they vary depending on the time in which competitors finish. For a sub 24-hour finish a Black Buckle is on offer, with a Gold Buckle for sub 30-hour finishes and a silver buckle for finishing before the 36-hour cut off.
The event has an average DNF rate of over 50%, a stat that reiterates the punishing nature of the race due to the route and weather.
Here is our full guide to learning everything there is to know about the Arc of Attrition, including the route, start time, previous winners and how to follow live…
The 2024 Arc of Attrition is due to start on Friday January 26 at 12:00pm in Coverack, although registration is between 7:00am and 9:30am at the finish line at Eco Park, Porthtowan. Buses will then take runners to the start in Coverack.
There is a 36-hour cut off for completion, meaning runners must have reached the Eco Park in Porthtowan by midnight on January 27.
The Arc50 begins at the Minack Theatre in Porthcurno at 8:30am on Saturday January 27. It has a cut off of 15 hours and 30 minutes, meaning runners also have that midnight deadline to make it back to the Eco Park.
Live tracking for ‘dot watchers’ is now available via this link. There will also be live pictures from certain parts of the course available on the MudCrewTV YouTube channel, which is embedded below.
Arc of Attrition
start list
We’ll have more detail on the start list in the coming days but last year’s overall winner Gavin Dale is back to defend his title.
Last year was a memorable one for him and it all started with that Arc of Attrition triumph.
He went on to land Ring of Steall and was the overall winner of the UK Golden Trail Series.
Notable runners
Route
The Arc of Attrition is a point-to-point race, starting in the Cornish south coast town of Coverack and finishing in Porthtowan on the north coast. It is 100-miles long, almost entirely following the Cornish section of the South West Coast Path as runners complete an ‘Arc’ around the Cornish peninsula.
The route has 4010m of total elevation across its 100 miles. Whilst the route itself is hard, the primary challenge for runners is the weather rather than the land; a winter race on the coast, it is infamously windy, wet and cold.
Almost entirely sticking to trails, there are a few sections where the route does join up with the road, but only where the South West Coast Path itself does the same. There are only two spots at which the race departs from the path, at Cape Cornwall and St Ives Island.
There are four checkpoints in the race, spaced around 20-miles apart, which all have a variety of supplies and food: the first is at Porthleven, 24.5 miles after the start, the second 14 miles later at Penzance, the third a further 16.5 miles along at Land’s End and the fourth in St Ives after another 24 miles.
The Arc50 starts at the unique Minack Theatre in Porthcurno, but also finishes in Porthtowan.
Course record times
Emma Stuart made the headlines in 2023 when she absolutely shattered the women’s course record – knocking nearly four hours off Anna Troup’s previous best time.
Gavin Dale took the overall crown as he clocked a rare sub-20 hour time but still didn’t threaten Mark Darbyshire’s record.
There have been other big-name winners too, not least Nicky Spinks in 2022 and Kim Collison in 2019.
- 2023 – Men: Gavin Dale 19:56:58 / Women: Emma Stuart 21:22:16
- 2022 – Men: Mark Darbyshire 19:12:48 / Women: Nicky Spinks 25:35:52
- 2020 – Men: Steve Wyatt 21:24:31/ Women: Anna Troup 25:21:14
- 2019 – Men: Kim Collison 20:43:46/ Women: Laura Swanton-Rouvelin 26:48:13
- 2018 – Men: Steven Wyatt 23:44:18/ Women: Maryann Devally 32:26:32
- 2017 – Men: Paul Maskell 21:25:01/ Women: Maryann Devally 27:56:12
- 2016 – Men: Pat Robbins 22:44:49/ Women: Natalie Taylor 27:59:50
- 2015 – Men: Duncan Oakes 22:48:43/ Women: Charlie Ramsdale 26:33:54
Past winners
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