Welcome to the 2008 season of the Merida Bikes MTB Marathon Series.

A year of MTB marathon and (newly added) road sportives is waiting for you. Following the successful of the 2007 addition to the series we will have 5 rounds of the Merida Bikes MTB Marathons covering almost the entire UK mainland. New for 2008 and BIG NEWS is the addition of the GORE BIKE WEAR Road Sportive Series to four of the five rounds. Read all about the road events here. 

Dates and venues 2008
Builth Wells (Wales) 12 - 13th April 2008
=> Exposure Lights Big Night Out Night Marathon (Saturday) and Spring Marathon (Sunday)
Read the Report HERE

Ruthin (Wales) 24 - 25th May 2008
=>GORE BIKE WEAR Road Sportive (Saturday) and Merida Bikes MTB Marathon (Sunday)
Read the Report HERE

Builth Wells (Wales): 5 - 6th July 2008
=>GORE BIKE WEAR Road Sportive (Saturday) and Merida Bikes MTB Marathon (Sunday)
Read the Report HERE

Bad Goisern (Austria) 12th July 2008
=> Merida Bikes MTB Marathon Series ‘on holiday’

Selkirk (Scotland) 2 - 3rd August 2008
=> GORE BIKE WEAR Road Sportive (Saturday) and Merida Bikes MTB Marathon (Sunday)
Read the Report HERE

Penrith (Cumbria) 13 - 14th September 2008
=>GORE BIKE WEAR Road Sportive (Saturday) and Merida Bikes MTB Marathon (Sunday)

As it looks at the moment the Merida Bikes MTB Marathon Series will not be returning to Aviemore in 2008 but we are looking into bring the Aviemore location back in 2009.

2008 setup
The MTB marathon will be run in its usual format with signing on, skills classes, pasta party and event village on the Saturday with the ride following on the Sunday morning. As part of the entry fee riders will have free parking and free usage of the facilities and camping. So rather than doing a quick stop over to take part in the marathon we believe it will be well worth coming over for a few days and making a proper little holiday of it. You can find some more details on all our events on the events pages.

The new big addition to the 2008 series are the GORE BIKEWEAR Road Sportives. The events will feature two different courses and will be run on the Saturday of four of the event weekends (see dates above). The sportive riders will enjoy the same entry package as the marathon riders do and are invited to make a proper cycling weekend out of the event. The entry fee for the sportives includes ride entry, free camping and parking, free ‘after ride’ food, free usage of service stations, finishing present for everyone and a good chance to win one of the many spot prizes given out at the finish line. Read all the details here.

The 2008 series (except the Builth Wells April round – here 30, 45 and 65km) will feature the 4 popular route lengths of 25km (Mini marathon), 50km, 75km and the classic 100km course so that everyone can find the right course length. John has been spending pretty much the whole winter finding new trails and will try to improve the courses where they need to be improved.

Photos and website updates
At all the 2008 event we will have 2 photographers out on the course; our regular photographer, Jon Brooke and his colleague Lauris Naglins - the idea being to give you an even greater selection of images to choose from. Jon has a new website this year - www.rightplacerighttime.co.uk and you can find your photos there to view or buy. Normally it takes around 2-3 days to process the images.

Cycle Active Skills Classes…and more
CycleActive, the UK’s leading mountain bike instruction and holiday company, will be working their magic at the MTB marathons again in 2008.

Saturday will be a day of skills coaching rides, all free, headed by some of the most experienced and highly qualified tutors around.  There are two levels of ride – one focussing on core biking skills while the other looks at more advanced techniques for the experienced rider.  Each ride will last for about 1.5 hours and will get you warmed up and skilled up for the following day.

On Sunday their guides will provide active support during the 25km Marathon, while their much loved and appreciated kids skills course, now sponsored by Buff Headwear, will be running in the main arena throughout the day. Besides that they will also be on site answering all sorts of questions about their broad range of UK and international holidays and nation-wide skills weekends. 

If you want to improve your skills before the event then check out the new range of trail centre courses run by CycleActive all over Britain, as well as their weekend courses in The Lake District.

To find out more about CycleActive visit them at www.cycleactive.co.uk
To book a space on a skills ride email them at admin@cycleactive.co.uk

New for 08 – CycleActive TT for young bikers
With so many young riders now riding the 25km Marathon we’ve brought in the experts from CycleActive to run a Total Training, or TT, programme.  Before each event you can sign up any young rider to the TT course and know they’ll benefit from the best tuition on Saturday, then join the instructor for the 25km marathon on Sunday.

The 2-hour training session on Saturday is all about total event preparation.  There’ll be plenty of skills coaching, a bike setup clinic, informal talks about nutrition and hydration as well as plenty of practical advice on surviving and enjoying a marathon ride.

On Sunday the small group of riders who were trained on Saturday will ride the 25km marathon with their instructor.  This will be a group ride so parents can feel confident that their aspiring young bikers are in safe, qualified hands.

The cost for the TT course is £30, plus £20 marathon entry fee.  We expect demand to be high and spaces are strictly limited to 8 per instructor, so book your TT course by emailing admin@cycleactive.co.uk as soon as you know which events you’ll be attending.

Entry and event details
Entry forms are available to download from our entry page. Alternatively you can enter the event online. Please make sure you read the instructions and event specific comments before you go through with the ordering process. If you haven’t yet subscribed to the newsletter then please go onto the website (www.mtb-marathon.co.uk) and send us your email details. This way you will be informed about all activities first hand.