2024 Race Information
Date: The 2024 race took place on Sunday 12th May. The 2025 race will be on the second Sunday in May as usual.
Venue: Portslade Sports Centre, Chalky Road, Portslade, Brighton, BN41 2WS
Course: Approx 5 mile course on undulating chalky paths over the South Downs, starting and finishing ½ mile from the Sports Centre. See route map and GPX file below. For safety reasons, dogs and headphones are not permitted.
Facilities
- Changing, showers and toilets available at the Sports Centre
- First Aid in attendance
- Please do not leave any belongings at the Sports Centre
- There will be water available near the finish area, but please bring your own cup or reusable bottle
Car Parking
- Please only park in the lower car park at Portslade Aldridge Community Academy and allow a 5 minute walk to the Sports Centre
- Do not park on grass verge outside the Sports Centre
- No parking is available at the start / finish
- Allow 20 minutes to reach the start area from the Sports Centre
- Please be aware space is limited at the start/finish area
Entry Fees
All WSFRL club runners: Please enter and pay via your club rep only, £5. On the day entry will be available for £8 if entry limit of 400 not reached.
WSFRL reps: Please enter your club’s runners direct on the new SmartRs system. Please send your BACS payment by 10 May 2024 to: Portslade Hedgehoppers, Account number 11389939, Sort code 40-47-23.
Non-WSFRL-club runners who are EA-affiliated-club members and/or TRA members: Entry is welcomed from runners who are not in a WSFRL club, but who are in an EA-affiliated club or are TRA members, for £5: enter here. On the day entry will be available for £8 if entry limit of 400 not reached – cash only please.
Non-WSFRL/non-EA-affiliated-club/non-TRA-member runners: Entry is welcome for all other runners for £7: enter here. On the day entry will be available for £10 if entry limit of 400 not reached. Cash only please.
Disabled athletes: Please contact the Race Director on 07710 678693 to discuss the event or email nick_parsons1963@yahoo.co.uk to discuss the suitability of the course. It is not suitable for wheelchair athletes.
Entries limited to 400. Minimum age is 16. The race is held under UKA rules.
Race Numbers
All race numbers will be available for club reps to pick up on the day from the Sports Centre.
Numbers are sponsored by The Jog Shop, BN2 1RJ. Bring your number to the shop for 20% discount on all running shoes till 31 July 2024.
By entering this race, all participants agree that:
- The organisers of this event shall not be liable for any accident, injury, loss or damage arising from my participation in this event.
- Portslade Hedgehoppers will publish my Personal Information as part of the results of this event and may pass such information to the administrators of the West Sussex Fun Run League, to athletics governing bodies or to any affiliated organisation for the purpose of insurance, licensing, or for publishing results (either for the event alone or combined with or compared to other events). Results may include (but not be limited to) name, gender, any club affiliation and race times, and these details will be passed on to other clubs in the West Sussex Fun Run League and be published on websites (including, without limitation, West Sussex Fun Run League and Sussex Races).
Route
History
The Hedgehopper 5 was first staged in May 1983 in the first year of the West Sussex Fun Run League. It has taken place almost every year since then. The exceptions are in 2001 when the foot and mouth epidemic caused a cancellation, and more recently in 2020 and 2021, when the Covid-19 pandemic put paid to the event.
The race is still held in May, normally on the second Sunday of the month.
In its early days the run started just north of the Foredown Tower, and the final stages came straight off the hills and through the back gate of the sports centre to the finish.
The Fox Way development eventually necessitated a relocation of the finish to an area just above the farm, and more recently the start and finish have moved to a point on the Foredown Track just north of the bridge over the A27.
The race route is just over 5 miles, and takes you up the track on to the South Downs Way, almost as far as Devil’s Dyke, before turning back on itself to head for a long downhill section on the track to the finish.
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