Course Spec

The event is once again held at the world class facilities of Walters Arena. Here you’ll experience a world of terrains that an average riding experience cannot deliver. The event will range from a 6-15 mile (approx) loop over various challenging terrains. Some easy and some very hard. All will depend on whether you choose the easy routes or the more challenging short cuts.
Working in teams or solo, you’ll have this once in a year opportunity to stretch you and your bike to the limit.

Don’t hesitate, sign-up today and be assured of an awesome Bank Holiday Weekend to remember.

Set on a 1150 acre former opencast coal mine, the course is 15 miles (approx) in length, with the initial night time stage for the 24 hour race being cut to about 7 miles of unlit course. Good lights, whether bike or helmet mounted are the key to fast progress. Going is primarily on hard shale/loose surfaces are common, it’s working history means the site generally drains well, though there are a number of wet, muddy and boggy sections, as well as streams to ride through!

The Youth race on the Saturday uses a specifically designed 5-8 mile “short” course with many of the more extreme sections omitted for obvious safety reasons.

MARKERS
Our course will be signed with numerical mile markers to indicate each mile approximately from the start line and will be numbered from one to fifteen accordingly (dependent on course length). This will aide you whilst riding for notifying marshals of breakdowns or accidents / injuries. Please remember to help your fellow riders should you see an incident and need to report it.

During the night course and the youth race the mile markers will not be sequential due to the course being shorter for health and safety purposes. Please be aware of the mile markers only for incidents and not for riding progression.

RACE CONTROL
Next to the Marshal's marquee you will find the Information Point. During the course of the weekend there will be an information point which will operate as a central communications point. If you have any queries about any aspect of the event this will be the place to direct your question or query.

Some of the obvious questions we get asked cover the following:

1. Missing Riders
2. Injuries
3. Bikes stuck on the course
4. Results queries
5. Protests
6. Safety issues
7. Parking issues
8. Lost and found or injured rider equipment
9. Damages
10. Missing children

MISSING CHILDREN
Whilst every care is taken in fencing off the pits and riding areas, the use of bikes and equipment is constant on the site. Every care should be taken to look after your children. However should you lose a child or find a child that is lost, please go directly to the Information Point which is next to the Marshal's marquee. Here they will radio all officials and inform them of the missing child. Parents of the missing child please go directly to the Information Point to raise the issue or collect your child. Safety is always paramount. Please be aware that parents / guardians are solely responsible for their children's safety, supervision and behaviour at all times.

LITTER
We provide several skips spaced around the site, but we respectfully ask you to leave your rubbish in the skips provided and should they become full, please take it home. This necessitates a quicker cleanup on the Bank Holiday Monday for the team and helps keep costs down. We appreciate your understanding.