Events/Salisbury Plain Easter Epic

Salisbury Plain Easter Epic

Gravel

Date

Sat, 3 Apr 2027

Venue

Thruxton/Andover, Hampshire, England

Countdown

April

Distance

100km

Total climb

1,050m

One hundred kilometres of open gravel across Salisbury Plain, the largest chalk grassland and military training area in Britain. Wide, hard-packed military roads and chalk byways, utterly treeless, utterly exposed.

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The course

The route

A single route from the Thruxton and Andover edge of Salisbury Plain, looping across the open plain on fast military-road gravel and chalk byways, with around 1,050m of climbing in long rolling swells. Reckon on 4.5 to 6.5 hours for the 100km.

Weather

Early-April, Thruxton/Andover

12°CTypical high

4°CTypical low

-3°CColdest in 20 years

38%Days with rain

Highs around 12°C and lows around 4°C, but it has dropped to -3°C. Rain on 38% of days. Pack for the cold end, not the average.

NASA POWER data, 2006-2025, the week either side of race day

Training

Training for the Salisbury Plain Easter Epic

We don't do generic plans. We combine deep knowledge of this race's demands with your recent training, then build a plan with you that progresses as you do.

Beina integrates directly with your existing tools to understand your current fitness, and synchronise your planned sessions.

Intervals.icu

What the plain throws at you

Typical sessions

Relentless wind: the treeless plain gives zero shelter for long stretches, and a headwind is the single biggest energy drain out here.

Long rolling swells: climbing arrives as gradual, sustained chalk drags, a steady tempo grind rather than sharp, punchy climbs.

Exposure and cold: an early-April Easter day on an open plain can throw wind, rain and wind-chill at you with nowhere to hide.

Fuelling gaps: support is spread thin across the open plain, so you carry your own and eat to schedule, not on feel.

What your weeks look like

Typical sessions

Progressive long ride: build the long gravel ride from 2.5 hours out toward 5.5, mostly Z2, on rolling terrain where you can find it.

Rolling tempo: 2 to 3 x 20 to 30 minutes at sweet spot on rolling gravel, training durability for the long chalk swells.

Into-wind exposure rides plus group draft practice: deliberately ride exposed, windy routes and take turns, rehearsing the plain's defining difficulty.

Event-pace long with full fuelling: a 4.5 to 5.5 hour ride at target effort, practising 60 to 90g of carbs an hour.

Not a generic schedule

Typical sessions

Built from your current fitness and the time you actually have

Adapts every week as Beina learns how you respond

Syncs your sessions straight to Garmin and Wahoo

One clear next session, never a wall of spreadsheet

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