Ruthin event 18th – 19th September 2010

The 5th and final round of the Chain Reaction Cycles MTB Marathon Series will take place on of the 18-19th September 2010. Alongside the Sunday marathon, we are excited to announce the addition of a 2nd EXPOSURE LIGHTS BIG NIGHT OUT night marathon taking place in Ruthin on the 18th September.

Both events are part of the Chain Reaction Cycles MTB Marathon Series 2010. John will be going all out on both courses to provide you with fresh, challenging and different rides so that if you take part in both night ride and marathon, you can expect to experience a different course each time.

Each event will be held once again in Ruthin, North Wales with both events being based at the Rugby Club. The Rugby Club will be signposted from Friday afternoon onwards.

As in the last four years we will be working again with the LPFRA (Llanferres Playing Field and Recreation Association) who did a fantastic job by providing 65 marshals and making all the tweaks to the Ruthin course work. For 2010 the LPFRA are intending to improve the courses still further with polishing off certain sections. They are all well experienced mountain bikers with extensive local knowledge who work in partnership with North Wales Mountain Bike Association (www.nwmba.org.uk/), so it will be once more a great day in Ruthin.

The Ruthin round will offer 4 different courses:

• Mini marathon – approx. 25km which is more aimed at the younger and less experienced rider

• Half marathon – approx. 50km. The Half Marathon is more demanding from a technical riding point of view as well as from a physical point of view

• Middle marathon – approx. 75km

• Full marathon - approx. distance of 100km

The Chain Reaction Cycles MTB Marathon will take place on the Sunday (19th September ‘10). You can find details on registration and start times below.

Camping, registration and start time:
Camping will be available (included in the entry fee) from Friday night through to Monday morning at the Rugby Club in Ruthin. This location is only a few hundred yards away from the town centre in Ruthin, which, has lots of restaurants, pubs and shops and is generally a nice place to go for a stroll. So maybe make a proper weekend break out of it and if you have the time you could go to the trails in Coed Llandegla Forest (www.coedllandegla.com) for a spin before you dive into the marathon bustle.

Start times:
The Chain Reaction Cycles MTB Marathon ride will start at the slightly earlier time than the Spring event of the Chain Reaction Cycles series at 10.00am on Sunday the 19th September ‘10 at the Ruthin Rugby ground (due to shorter day light hours). But, will still give our hardcore nightriders the chance to recuperate!

Registration opening times:
• Saturday from 12pm (noon) - 8pm 
• Sunday from 8 – 9.30am

Entry fees:
• The entry fee for the approx. 50 and 75km Chain Reaction Cycles MTB Marathon rides is £30 per rider and £25 per rider for the approx. 30km Mini Marathon.

• If you are in between 12-15 years old and are taking part in the Mini Marathon then your entry fee is only £20 rather than £25.

• The entry fee for the approx. 45km long ELBNO is £30 per rider.

• Discount: £15 discount if you do the night Enduro (on Saturday night) as well
as the day Enduro (on Sunday morning). The exception to this rule is that you will get a £10 discount if you do the ELBNO followed by the Mini Marathon (only £25 entry fee) on Sunday.

Your entry fee for the Sunday round of Chain Reaction Cycles MTB Marathon (powered by Mercedes-Benz Vito Sport) includes:
• Ride entry
• Free pasta party (held on the Saturday night before the ride on Sunday)
• Free usage of service stations
• Free usage of facilities
• Free skills and riding tuitions (run on Saturday)
• Finishing T-shirt
• Free camping and parking

Your entry fee for the ELBNO* night marathon includes:
• Ride entry
• Free post event food
• Free usage of service stations
• Free usage of facilities
• Free skills and riding tuitions (run on Sunday)
• Finishing present
• Free camping and parking

CycleActive Skills Arena
Due to popular demand in 2009, the Skills Arena brought to you by the UK’s leading mountain bike instructors at CycleActive will continue to be a big part of the event village in 2010. This will be the place to come to on Saturday to learn to hop, drop, manual, corner faster, brake harder and control your bike in testing situations.
“As in 2009, instead of taking groups off-site we’ll be running focused, intensive one hour sessions in a custom built skills arena. We’re building the woodwork this winter, so be prepared for some timber trails and exciting riding,” said CycleActive boss Chris Ford.
Skills sessions will have restricted numbers but you’ll be able to sign up online closer to each event. All the sessions are free as well, so take advantage of this chance to learn from the best in the business, and push your skills up a level before the Sunday event.

Skills on Sundays
The Sunday sessions provided by CycleActive have been incredibly popular with younger riders, but also many adults who are not riding the event.  This year there will be a split of sessions on Sunday, with those for youngsters alternating with adult sessions.  “We’ll use the same course as Saturday, with a few modifications, so youngsters and adults of all abilities can come along and learn something, and have a lot of fun too,” explained Chris.
Teaching great technique to young riders makes a huge difference.  This programme of CycleActive junior training is something we’ve seen at these events for four years now, and many of the youngsters who started with CycleActive back then are now blasting round the 25km or even 50km courses with real confidence.  Again, it’s completely free and you don’t need to sign up for the Sunday sessions – just check times on the board when you arrive.

Location and our man on the ground:
Ruthin is the location for the 5th and final round of the Marathon series (19th September ‘10) and the Exposure Lights Big Night Out - Night Marathon on the 18th September ‘10.
Our man in Ruthin is John Lloyd – I don’t think we have to introduce him at all. John is the main man behind the series and an expert when it comes to the trails around Ruthin.
Give him a ring on 01982 552923 if you have any more specific questions.

RUTHIN
Ruthin lies at the end of the Vale of Clwyd in Denbighshire, North Wales. Ruthin is an attractive market town with a population of about five thousand. It has good examples of Elizabethan, Georgian and Queen Anne styles of architecture, typical of North Wales. There are also Celtic and Roman remains to be found.

Since 1993 Ruthin has been twinned with Canton of Briec in Brittany. The Welsh spelling of Ruthin is Rhuthun, 'Rhudd' means red and 'din' means a city. This reflects the large amount of red sandstone that Ruthin is built upon.

From wherever you park in Ruthin, if you head uphill you find yourself in St. Peter's Square. This hilltop town centre is unique in its rich architectural mix and lofty views of the surrounding countryside.
See http://www.walesdirectory.co.uk/Towns_in_Wales/Ruthin_Town.htm for more details on Ruthin, its history and what you can do while you are there.

Local Information
For information about local services and accommodation please get in touch with the local Tourist Information Centres and check out the local web sites.
RUTHIN
Tel: 01824 703992
Fax: 01824 703992
email: ruthin@nwtic.com
Address: Ruthin Craft Centre
Park Road
Ruthin
Denbighshire
LL15 1BB
Web: www.ruthin-wales.co.uk

For information regarding accommodation, cycle facilities and the area for the Ruthin round of the Chain Reaction MTB Marathon Series, visit www.ridetheclwyds.com.

This website was launched at our first Ruthin event and now offers a wealth of information on mountain biking in the Clwydian Range area, some of the 3D flythroughs on the routes pages will also provide you with an insight into the kind of terrain you will be letting yourself in for.