|
Pippingford Green Belter: Saturday 15th May
We are just a month away from the first Green Belter where we welcome you into rugged Pippingford Park in Sussex. We have a superb adventure in one of our favourite venues. Think ancient forest, open heathland, hidden trails and military-style obstacles thrown in for good measure! This is one action-packed venue and we will unleash it all for you on the 15th. You will join over 250 participants in this exciting dash around the forest.
Spread the word and let’s get a very excitable crowd of Green Belt adventurers at this inaugural event. We will be closing entries on Wednesday 12th May at 1800 however we will also be taking entries on the day. Please read all the information in this mail-out, as there may be a few things to plan ahead on here. Feel free to email us with any queries at info@ratracegreenbelter.com or call us on 0845 009 4365 and we will help you get to the Start line!
Belter Format
It’s going to be electric out on this course when the race gets going. Challenging ups and down, ruts, banks and some quirky locations, whether you are on the bike or on foot, and with the kayaking taking place on the lakes nested in the wooded valley. Once you arise from these challenges, then there is the Green Machine obstacle to conquer before the finish line. Take a peek here. For those that have plenty of energy all day there will be outlying satellite checkpoints that you can bag too. The core course is fully waymarked, and it’s just ‘point and shoot’ to complete this course. You will have a set of simple instructions to get you round and if you want to refer to it, there will be map on the flipside.
See our Belter Event Info page here, and the Pippingford details to date here. On this page you will see that we have released the Course Map.
You don’t need much kit or any ‘adventure race’ experience to give this course a good hiding. Keep fit, get some biking skills in and make sure your bike is reliable, then it’ll all come together. Get ready!
Venue and Facilities
Pippingford Park is 9 km SE of East Grinstead as the crow flies! It lies just off the A22 which extends between East Grinstead and Uckfield. You will therefore arrive via the A22 either from the north (East Grinstead) or the south (Uckfield). Click here to view on a map.
Parking is easy here, and if you wish, you may camp over on the Friday night from 1800 onwards. Please note that competitors vehicles are not allowed to drive around the estate. The venue will have toilets, drinking water and some marquee shelters, but please note that there are no changing or showering facilities.
For other accommodation possibilities please call Ashdown Forest Tourist Information Centre on 01825 713862 or visit this online resource here.
Bike Hire
New for this year we're offering a no hassle bike hire service through the Store. Available for collection when you arrive on site, our mountain bikes are available in two frame sizes, with a minimum of spec of front suspension, front disc brake, helmet, puncture repair kit and bottle cage - including a complimentary 750ml Rat Race water bottle. Numbers are limited so please book early. Go here to book.
Timings
With the event starting at 1100 as a mass start, then you’ll just need to allow enough time to park, register, fiddle with kit, then we’re off. You probably won’t want to be arriving any later than 1000 though, and we’ll open Registration at 0900. The event does require a short briefing pre-start at 1030, after which you’ll put your bikes into a transition compound.
Rat Race Store
The Rat Race Store will be open for business in our marquee from Friday evening onwards. We will be offering special offers on products such as:
- Limited edition T-shirts, Hoodies and Buffs
- Petzl head torches
- Adidas, Mizuno, inov-8, New Balance trail shoes
- Ron Hill and Montane clothing
- Camelbak, inov8, OMM packs and hydration systems
- Clif Bar and Multi Power sports nutrition
Remember, if you plan to cash in your Rat Race Reward £10 voucher before the event then make sure you leave enough time for postage if it is kit for the race. Every entrant got one of these rat Race Reward vouchers on their event confirmation email. Remember, it is only valid online. See www.ratraceadventure.com/ratracerewards for more details of this great loyalty scheme
Astounding Adventures sponsor the Green Belters
For the Green Belters we have some cracking Skills-Course-in-a-Bottle prizes coming up from our new sponsor Astounding Adventures. Check out their website here: www.AstoundingAdventures.co.uk - Mountain bike, orienteering and adventure race skills courses in The Surrey Hills and beyond.
Whether you are an expert or a newbie, the Astounding Adventure prizes will suit you and your friends throughout 2010. Stay on the for the prizegiving at 1600hrs.
Race and Rewards
It’s £45 a head to enter and you get £50 of gear and rewards with the entry too: Technical T-Shirt, Buff, Rat Race Store Voucher and Rat Race Rewards, for every single entrant. So you’re winning, even if you’re not winning!
Here’s your free Buff folks!
If you are on for the ultimate trophy then that’ll be a Series Prize. We’ll let you know more about this in the next Newsletter.
Crewing
Would you like to be part of this exciting new event. We are looking for more crew. Perhaps forward this newsletter to friend that might like to help. Be entertained and do a sterling chunk of work for us on the course. Pre-event. During event. After event. Please email us at crew@ratraceadventure.com
Green Belters at Bracknell and Hambleden
The Rat Race Green Belter series continues with our Bracknell Challenge on 12th June which promises a healthy dose of biking, courtesy of the South-East’s premier off-road MTB spot and lots of obstacles involving trees, mud, ropes and some whacky kayak based challenges.
Then on 10th July the series comes to the brand-new location of Hambleden in rural Oxfordshire for our Hambleden Challenge. Aside from great running and biking in the woods and fields of the beautiful Hambleden Estate, the River Thames itself will provide the backdrop to much of the action as you find yourself kayaking on (and maybe in) it!
These two events are filling up fast so get your entries in.
See you in a month ...
The Rat Race Crew
|
