At Threshold, we believe in Ultras For All.
Since 2013, we’ve consistently welcomed a higher proportion of female athletes than the industry standard. In 2024, we wanted to go one step further, and inspire more women than ever to take part in ultras.
Our Ultra 50:50 initiative seeks to set new industry standards to inspire, empower and enable women to take part in events at the toughest end of the running distance spectrum.
In order to do this, we’ve partnered with SheRACES, grassroots running groups, female runners, as well as those not already in the running community, to not only understand the challenges that prevent women from taking part in ultras, but to address these challenges head on.
The Challenges
In September 2023 we surveyed more than 500 female ultra runners about the challenges they face.
We asked them about their perception of ultras in general, how the Threshold Trail Series compares to the competition, and about the challenges they face when preparing for and participating in ultra marathons.
The findings highlighted five distinct themes.
Watch the Documentary
As part of our Ultra 50:50 initiative in collaboration with SheRACES, we recruited a team of (extra)ordinary women – our Ultra 50:50 Challengers – and documented the highs and lows of their journey towards Race to the King.
This is the story of Lisa, Romey, Deborah, Nazrin, Hester, and Semeena.
Meet the 2025 Challengers
We’re following nine remarkable women – our Ultra 50:50 Challengers – taking on their first ultra with us at Race to the King next summer.
Coming from a range of backgrounds and experience levels, each has a unique tale to tell about their own journey towards that distant finish line in West Dean Gardens.
Our hope is that by showcasing their stories over the coming months, we can inspire more women than ever to take on the challenge of an ultra in 2025.
Read the Report
Working in collaboration with SheRACES, we’ve put together a report exploring the impact of our Ultra 50:50 initiative in 2024, and setting out our intentions for 2025.
Download the report today to find out more about:
- The barriers to participation for female ultrarunners
- The changes we made to attract and encourage more women
- The impact we had on female participation and representation
2025 Enhancements
In the spirit of our mantra ‘More Is In You’, we recognise that we can always go one step further. In 2025 we will continue the Ultra 50:50 initiative, maintaining all the improvements we have already put in place, but with a focus on four key areas for ongoing improvement.
500 Trailblazers
Empowering first-time female ultrarunners
Our experience of working with female runners has highlighted that taking that leap from shorter distance events such as Park Runs, 10k or half marathon events to ultra events (more than 50km) is one of the most challenging psychological barriers.
Therefore in 2025 our goal is to attract 500+ first-time female ultra-runners to
our Trail Series events. The Threshold 500 Trailblazers campaign will excite, empower and engage female runners to give them the confidence and knowledge to tackle their first ultra.
More information coming soon.
Equal Race to the Stones Record Prize
Rewarding athletic excellence at the front of the pack
Beginning in 2025, ten years since Sarah Morwood set the current women’s course record, Threshold Sports will award £1,000 to any man or woman who breaks their respective gender’s Race to the Stones course record. In the event that neither record is broken, another £1,000 will be added to the fund in 2026, and so on, until the record is broken. The prize fund
will then reset to £1,000 for the following year.
We hope that this cash prize will help nurture the development of trail running as a sport, particularly ultra-distance trail running, and help draw more attention to the incredible athleticism on display at the front-end of an ultra like Race to the Stones.
Building Community Around Our Events
In addition to our established Facebook forums that enable followers to connect, we are investigating a new strategic partnership to list all of our public events on the Heylo platform.
Heylo will help to facilitate the creation of communities around our events, enabling participants to connect with other people in their local area, to chat, share photos, tips and advice.
This peer-to-peer support in the preparation for the events can help to motivate participants and connect people who may not have a training network in their local area.
“Women face many barriers to being on the start line. Some are societal, but some are put in place – often unknowingly – by races themselves. SheRACES conducted in-depth research on women’s experiences in racing and used this insight to develop the first set of guidelines for race organisers.
“Helping them understand how to get more women on the start line, give us a better experience when we race and equally value our competition. These were adopted by Threshold last year and we are delighted that it has now launched the 50:50 campaign to further its commitment to equality.”
Sophie Power, Founder, SheRACES
Follow the Journey
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