Ultra Challenge South Coast Challenge: 100K in a Testicle Costume for Charity
Published: September 2026 | Written by Andy Hood
Taking on an ultra marathon is a bucket-list goal for a lot of runners. Ultra Challenge, who I've written about before, run some of the most inclusive and accessible ultras in the UK, open to speedy runners, joggers, walkers and, as it turns out, a guy in a testicle costume.
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What Is the Ultra Challenge South Coast Challenge?
The Ultra Challenge South Coast Challenge is one of the flagship events in the Ultra Challenge Series, run across the South Downs National Park in southern England. The full continuous route covers 100km, starting in Eastbourne and finishing in Arundel, West Sussex, with roughly 2,100m of climbing along the way.
The route takes on some of the most scenic terrain in the south of England: up Beachy Head, along the iconic Seven Sisters chalk cliffs, down into Cuckmere Haven, through Brighton at the halfway point, over Devil's Dyke, and on along the South Downs Way to the finish, with Arundel Castle coming into view in the final stretch.
It's designed to be accessible as well as brutal. As well as the full continuous 100K, the South Coast Challenge offers two-day options, half challenges (57K and 43K), and a quarter challenge (25K), so runners, joggers and walkers can all take part at a distance that suits them. True to Ultra Challenge form, the route is fully signed and supported, with rest stops roughly every 10 to 15km offering food, drink, medics, massage and toilets. That support is often the difference between surviving an ultra and actually enjoying it.
Typical finish times range from around 9 hours for the fastest runners up to 36 hours for walkers
Typical finish times range from around 9 hours for the fastest runners up to 36 hours for walkers taking the full weekend to complete it. Whichever pace you're going at, you're on your feet for a long time, which is exactly what makes an event like the South Coast Challenge such a powerful platform for raising awareness.
Meet Toby Freeman and The Robin Cancer Trust
Toby Freeman took on the South Coast Challenge on Saturday 5th September, starting in Eastbourne and running the full 100K. I met him at the halfway rest point in Hove to pace him through the night and on to the finish line in Arundel.
Toby lost his brother, Robin, to testicular cancer at just 24 years old. That loss became the catalyst for founding The Robin Cancer Trust in 2012, the UK's only dedicated testicular, ovarian and germ cell cancer charity. Its mission is simple and urgent: stop young adults dying from these cancers, and make sure no other family goes through what the Freeman family did.
Toby lost his brother, Robin, to testicular cancer at just 24 years old.
Testicular cancer needs early detection. It's a cancer that can take hold and spread quickly, something I have first-hand experience of, having been diagnosed myself in 2021. That diagnosis reshaped the road ahead for me, giving me a reason to be open about it, to encourage others to check themselves regularly, and to fundraise for the charities doing this vital work. The Robin Cancer Trust is one of those charities, and that's how I first met Toby.
Since 2012, the Trust has reached millions of people through its awareness campaigns, delivered educational talks to well over 100,000 people, and built a reputation for tackling an uncomfortable subject head-on. Its long-running #TalkingBollocks campaign has become one of the most recognisable testicular cancer awareness efforts in the UK.
The Big Ballsy Challenge
In 2026, Toby set himself the Big Ballsy Challenge, and ballsy it was. He had a costume made: a giant pair of testicles, weighing around 5kg, and set about running some genuinely audacious events in it. Marathons. Half marathons. The Hadrian's Wall Path over five days. And his biggest test of all, a 100K ultra, in a costume that adds 5kg of extra weight to every single step.
A quick bit of maths tells you Toby "lifted" roughly 32,500kg of additional weight over the course of the 100K. No wonder he ate like a dinosaur along the way.
Starting at Halfway: Hove to Arundel
My own surgery in April meant I couldn't take on the full 100K this year. I say couldn't, I probably could have, but my insides are still healing, and there was a real risk I'd have taken a lot of backward steps if I'd pushed it. So instead, I met Toby at halfway.
That turned out to be good for both of us. By the time I joined him, he'd already covered over 50K on a hilly course, on a hot day, and he looked it. I, on the other hand, was fresh, fuelled and full of pre-workout. We headed out for the second half of the Ultra Challenge South Coast Challenge with a spring in our step that Toby, frankly, had earned the right to borrow from me.
Ultra Challenge are known for great routes, brilliant crew, frequent rest stops, and support from fellow participants that's hard to match anywhere else. If the goal for Toby and me was to spark conversation and raise awareness, it worked. Through towns and villages, people cheered and stopped to chat. Some promised to check themselves. Drivers hooted and waved, passengers hung out of windows taking photos of the costume. Every photo shared is another ripple, another chance for the message to reach someone who needs to hear it.
Songs, Sunrise and 100K Down
As night fell, the job was to keep Toby's mind off the distance and just let the miles tick by. Running through the dark with a guy in a testicle costume tends to lead to some fairly unusual ideas. "Let's write a song, Toby." "What genre?" "I like the Beastie Boys." "Great."
"Let's write a song, Toby." "What genre?" "I like the Beastie Boys." "Great."
On the move, I gave ChatGPT a solid brief, plenty of words and phrases to work with, and let it draft some lyrics. Once we had a style prompt, I turned to Suno to actually produce the track. Within minutes we were listening to "Toby's Balls." It was probably for the best that we were on a remote stretch of the Downs with no one else around, just a field of pigs to our left, as we sang along horrifically out of tune. That first track inspired two more over the following couple of hours. An aid station came and went: refuelling, relacing, and balls back on the trail.
At the 99K mark, we caught the first hints of sunrise off to our left, reds and oranges spreading across the sky. Then 100K, then the final kilometre, turning the last corner to cheers of "here he is!" Toby has become something of a minor celebrity on these events. At every aid station, the Ultra Challenge crew welcomed him with open arms, sweat and all, and stopped for photos.
The Finish Line Moment
Together, we'd done it. We'd spoken to dozens of people along the route, inspired plenty of them to go and check themselves, and taken photos that will be shared across social media, carrying the message to thousands more.
At the finish line, Toby had a quiet, private moment. He pulled a photo from his pocket, his brother Robin, standing next to their Mum, who is currently facing her own battle with cancer. Every step of that 100K was taken for others as much as for deeply personal reasons. I was honoured to share those miles with him, and to be there for that moment.
The costume has now been handed over to me. I'll be running the London Marathon in it next year.
Why Testicular Cancer Awareness Matters
Testicular cancer is the most common cancer in men aged 15 to 45, with the highest rates in men aged 30 to 34. Around six men a day are diagnosed with it in the UK, and incidence rates have risen by more than a quarter since the early 1990s. The good news is that, caught early, it's one of the most treatable cancers there is: around 96% of men diagnosed early survive five years or more. That's exactly why the awkward, awkward-in-a-good-way approach of running the Ultra Challenge South Coast Challenge in a testicle costume works. It gets people talking about something they'd otherwise avoid, and talking early can genuinely save lives.
FAQ
What is the Ultra Challenge South Coast Challenge?
It's a fully supported ultra endurance event run through the South Downs National Park in England, with a full continuous distance of 100km from Eastbourne to Arundel, plus shorter half and quarter distance options for runners, joggers and walkers.
How long is the South Coast Challenge route?
The full challenge is 100km with around 2,100m of climbing. There's also a 57km first-half option to Hove and Brighton, a 43km second-half option from Hove to Arundel, and a 25km quarter option finishing at Alfriston.
How long does it take to complete?
Finish times vary widely by pace: roughly 9 to 16 hours for runners, 16 to 20 hours for joggers, and 20 to 36 hours for walkers, with an overnight two-day option available for those who want to split the distance.
What is The Robin Cancer Trust?
The Robin Cancer Trust is the UK's only dedicated testicular, ovarian and germ cell cancer charity. It was founded in 2012 by the Freeman family after losing their son and brother, Robin, to testicular cancer at age 24, and its mission is to stop young adults dying from these cancers through awareness campaigns and educational programmes.
Who is Toby Freeman?
Toby Freeman is the founder of The Robin Cancer Trust. After losing his brother Robin, he set up the charity and has since taken on a series of endurance events, including marathons, the Hadrian's Wall Path, and a 100K ultra, while wearing a 5kg testicle costume, to raise awareness of testicular and ovarian cancer.
What are the signs and symptoms of testicular cancer?
The most common sign is a lump or swelling in part of one testicle, though any change from what's normal for you is worth getting checked, including heaviness, aching, or a change in size or shape. The Robin Cancer Trust recommends checking regularly, ideally during or after a warm bath or shower when everything is more relaxed and easier to feel.
Why does early detection matter so much for testicular cancer?
Testicular cancer can take hold and spread quickly, but it's also one of the most curable cancers when caught early, around 96% of men survive five years or more with an early diagnosis. That gap between quick to spread and highly curable is exactly why regular self-checks and prompt visits to a doctor matter.
How can I support The Robin Cancer Trust?
You can donate, fundraise, or take part in an event like the South Coast Challenge in support of the charity. Details on donating and getting involved are available at therobincancertrust.org.
If anything in this article prompts you to check yourself, or to look up the symptoms of testicular or ovarian cancer, that's the whole point, and exactly what Toby ran 100K in a testicle costume to achieve.
About the Author
Andy Hood is an ultra and endurance runner, testicular cancer survivor and men's wellness advocate based in Devon. Diagnosed with testicular cancer in 2021, he came back to running with a clear mission: to raise awareness of testicular and ovarian cancer, encourage men to check themselves and talk openly about what they find, and support those going through cancer treatment.
He has since raised over £27,000 for cancer and mental health charities, taken on ultras across the UK and Europe including the Tour du Mont Blanc, and founded Check Ya Balls, a range of men's underwear designed to keep the conversation going. Andy will run the London Marathon in the Robin Cancer Trust's testicle costume next year.
Read more of his race reports and cancer awareness writing at runningwestwardho.co.uk.
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