Salmon Run

Why is Salmon Run important?

It is an epic species and a part of our culture: the subject of much folklore (e.g. Finn and the Salmon of Knowledge). Down by 75% since the 70s, it is now on the critically endangered list (as of 2023) and therefore potentially set to disappear from the Exe, as it has on quite a few European rivers already.

The salmon is a keystone species and a representative of all the diversity in the catchment. And its plight is, most importantly, a warning of ours. Salmon are us, we are salmon. Their story is our story. And their story helps us to talk about climate change and other challenges. The list of challenges for the salmon is long: rising sea temperature, rising river temperature,  huge fluctuations in river flow rates, invasive species (crayfish), pollution, run-off, human waste, over-fishing, fish farms (weakening through interbreeding) and weirs to mention a few.

To deal with the tragic depletion of numbers, we bring people's attention to this species to marvel at its story. We celebrate the incredible life cycle of the salmon, we respect it's massive part of our history and culture, partly by bringing it to light, taking it out of the water and travelling with it to understand its struggle upriver. When we run, we empathise through journeying alongside, upriver.

We connect runners to Friends of the River Exe's teams of volunteers who care for the river, Riverfly Survey and the Westcountry Rivers Trust, who are doing vital work to restore the river to health, removing weirs or freeing up movement for fish as well as highlighting individual actions we can take to reduce harm.

What's new this year

• Changeover points for the relay in more towns, city and villages to connect with more communities along the river.
• The first leg of the Salmon Run relay is a new collaboration with Exmouth Parkrun along the shoreline (Parkrun is the first 5k starting at 9am).
• Transport: There will be two taxis for ultra runners which will leave from outside The Bridge Pub in Dulverton at 5pm and 7.30pm. He will take people on a first come first served basis, as soon according to finishing times (as long as you have booked transport). We should be able to offer a couple of spaces after this time back to Exmouth with our crew, once the final ceremony has taken place, but please don't bank on this. 

Event HQ

Sideshore
Exmouth
Devon
EX8 2GD
UK

Parking

 Parking at the Maer (6 mins walk) or Camperdown (also about 6 mins walk).

By rail

Trains every half hour from Exeter to Exmouth then 8 mins walk to start.

By bus

57 bus from central Exeter.

Really nice event with friendly folk, no bossiness and lots of creative and kindly touches. Really liked the reusable and natural materials used. Mark L

Everyone who was involved was very friendly! It was a very well organised event family friendly and the animation in between the relays was fabulous! Severine S

Overall, it was a great event. The route was ace... but the support of the staff, volunteers and supporters really was second to none. Lee D

Unfortunately, I DNF'd, but many thanks to Richard for staying with me at the back and sorting out admin etc. Likely t try again next year. Paul H

Enjoyable race with a great atmosphere and decent organisation. The rain, muddy fields and cloudy weather contributed to the overall experience. Raghav M

Reviews thanks to RaceCheck