How a place on the start list is actually won.

Four doors, and they do not open the same way

A race page can say “enter now” and mean four different things. You might pay and receive a place. You might need a finish you already have. You might buy a ticket in a draw. Or a charity might pay for the place once you have raised a set amount.

Work out which door you are using before you pay. Each one comes with its own promises, and the fee is often the smallest of them.

Each race sets its own window, fee and target, so use the rule for the event you are entering.
Door	What you are promising	Example from the 2027 pages
Open entry	You pay the published fee, and the organiser accepts the entry while places last.	Hundred Hills 50K opened at a published fee and runs a waiting list once places fill. Check the entry form for current availability.
Qualifier	A previous finish, of a set distance and sometimes a set time, inside a set window.	South Downs Way 50 asks for a marathon inside that event’s cutoff since 1 January 2022. Thames Path 100 asks for a 50-mile finish within 15 hours since the same date. South Downs Way 100 uses 1 January 2020.
Ballot or lottery	You meet the eligibility rules, then a draw decides the place.	CCC entry runs through Running Stones, or a direct place from winning a World Series race. For the Mont-Blanc lottery, UTMB requires at least one Stone and a valid Index.
Charity place	A small registration fee, plus a fundraising target and a deadline. The charity then pays the organiser.	Race to the King’s “from £35” is a charity place. Stones advertises charity places from £50. Thames Path Ultra Challenge publishes a separate self-fund fee and a fundraising option.

A qualifier has a date on it

Two Centurion 100-mile races ask for the same kind of finish, a 50-mile race inside 15 hours, and then count from different dates. Thames Path 100 counts finishes from 1 January 2022. South Downs Way 100 counts them from 1 January 2020. Completing a training plan on this site does not satisfy either rule.

South Downs Way 50 is a shorter race with a different rule: a marathon-distance finish inside that marathon’s own cutoff, from 1 January 2022. The organiser may contact unqualified entrants about eight weeks before the start, so a late marathon is a gamble rather than a plan.

If the race you want is in spring, the qualifying race has to be finished, and recorded, in time. Find the rule when you choose the race, not in the last month.

Read the 100-mile plan, which is not a qualifier

Running Stones and the UTMB Index

You need two things to enter the Mont-Blanc lottery: at least one Running Stone, and a valid UTMB Index in the right category. Stones come only from finishing a UTMB World Series Event or Major. An Index can come from a much wider list of Index races, but those races do not give you a Stone.

One Stone from the past two years is enough to enter the draw. Stones add up, and each one is another chance. Some podium finishers get direct places, but most runners come in through the lottery.

Our CCC profile records the 2026 course and does not cover 2027 bookings. If you want Chamonix, start with the current sports-system page, then the race page for the year you mean.

A charity place is a fundraising contract

On the Thames Path Ultra Challenge, self-funding means you pay for the place online with no fundraising target. The self-fund fees were £199 for the full challenge, about 100 km, £169 for about 75 km, and £139 for about 50 km. A platform booking fee of 4% is added to every registration.

The fundraising option is a smaller registration fee plus a minimum the charity must receive: £50 and at least £575, £45 and at least £475, or £40 and at least £375. At least half the target should be with the charity three weeks before the event, and the rest four weeks after. Miss the first deadline and the charity can cancel your place. Series partners and associate partners can reduce the registration fee, while other listed charities use the standard fee, so tick the box you mean.

Race to the King and Race to the Stones work the same way, but the detail is easier to miss. Their “from £35” and “from £50” headlines are charity prices. A self-funded place costs more, so check the tier you are actually buying.

Some races read your history before they take the money

The Montane Winter Spine organisers describe the full race as not beginner friendly. You must be 21 or over. A mountain, hill or moorland ultra over 100 miles, or a previous Spine Challenger finish, qualifies you. Other experience can be considered, especially mountain marathons, orienteering, fell races and expeditions, and the organisers can reject an order.

The 2027 race was sold out on 3 October 2026, with a waiting list. You only have a place when the organiser offers you one.

Write the door down before you pay

Use this on the entry page, not from memory a week later. The ticks stay in this open page. Print a copy if you want it beside the confirmation email.

Your entry check0 of 8 checked

Name the door: open entry, qualifier, ballot or charity placeSave the qualifying distance, time and the dates that countWrite the fundraising target and both deadlines beside any charity feeNote age limits, documents and when they must be inCheck whether a waiting list is a place or a queueSave the refund, transfer and deferral rules before you payKeep the confirmation email and the rule page togetherRecheck the entry page the week you pay, in case a tier has closed

Sources & further reading

Written by Running for Good Ultra from organiser pages checked on 3 October 2026. Prices, deadlines and qualifying windows belong to those editions, so recheck them before you pay.

Found something that needs correcting? Let us know.

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