Home | Events | Gore Sportives | Entry | Training | Diet | Tech | Offers | Local Info | Results | 17 Commandments & FAQ's | History | Contact

2007   > REVIEW   2006   > REVIEW   > ELBNO - SM   > RHAYADER   > BUILTH WELLS   > BAD GOISERN   > SELKIRK   > RUTHIN   2005   > REVIEW   > ELBNO - SM   > RHAYADER   > BUILTH WELLS   > BAD GOISERN   > SELKIRK   > RUTHIN   2004   > REVIEW   > RHAYADER   > BUILTH WELLS   > BAD GOISERN   > SELKIRK   > RUTHIN   2003   > REVIEW   > RHAYADER   > BUILTH WELLS   > RUTHIN   NEWS...   16.05.08 NEWS before the Ruthin Round HERE>>   25.04.08 Latest News from the first round.HERE>>   17.04.08 Report from the first round HERE>>   10.04.08 Latest News before the first event of 2008.HERE>>   29.03.08 Website updated - New Season is HERE>>   31.01.08 Online Entry now OPEN. MORE>>   28.12.07 Website updated - Entry facilities coming soon.   19.09.07 7 down, NONE to go….at least not this year. MORE>>   Foot-And-Mouth - Please clean your gear: MORE>>   04.09.07 Ruthin News. MORE>>   Merida on holiday 2008 – win a mountain bike trip in Austria MORE>>   12.08.07 6 down, ONLY 1 to go. MORE>>   20.07.07 Selkirk here we come MORE>>   12.07.07 4 down, 2 to go (3 including the Austria round) MORE>>   06.07.07 Latest Builth Wells Summer Marathon update MORE>>   27.06.07 Latest News... MORE>>   16.06.07 MERIDA OUTSIDER UPDATES WITH COURSE PROFILES. MORE>>   07.06.07 Latest News... MORE>>   17.05.07 …2 down 5 to go. After last year’s rather muddy May event in Rhayader the first dip into English marathon territory was another one to remember. MORE>>   08.05.07 It is only a few days now before the 1st ever English round MORE>>   01.05.07 It feels that the season is truly here MORE>>   17.04.07 ELBNO and SPRING MARATHON MORE>>   10.04.07 ELBNO / Spring Marathon – LAST UPDATE MORE>>   23.03.07 ELBNO . MORE>>   23.03.07 Chain Reaction Cycles voucher - make sure you enter early! MORE>>   23.03.07 Aviemore round – the Outsider. MORE>>   23.03.07 Penrith round – Cumbria Bikefest MORE>>   23.03.07 Salzkammergut Trophy 2007. MORE>>   13.03.07 The Outsider event and line-up ... MORE>>   22.02.07 Latest NEWS. MORE>>   19.12.06 NEWS 2007 Entry form available to download….... MORE>>   'CycleActive price draw - winner revealed!.... MORE>>   23.10.06 NEWS The Outsider - New Event….... MORE>>   The 2006 mountain bike season is heading towards its deserved winter break which inevitably means that the 2007 season is creeping up on us. .... MORE>>   26.09.06 We have just got back from our 2007 planning excursion to Scotland . .... MORE>>   14.09.06 NEWS Update: Merida Ruthin…only a couple of days to go….... MORE>>   25.08.06 Well done everybody who took part in the first ever Merida TransWales ’06. What a week! I am sure it will take us all a while to recover from this adventure. .... MORE>>   09.08.06 NEWS Update:Merida TransWales ’06…only a couple of days to go….... MORE>>   02.08.06 NEWS Four down one to go! We have just returned from the event in Selkirk and we can only agree with the all comments we have had that it has once again been a superb event for everybody.... MORE>>   26.07.06 NEWS Update: It’s the last week before the Scottish round of the Merida 100 MTB Marathon in Selkirk opens its doors.... MORE>>   11.07.06 NEWS Update:…was it hot or what? This year seams to be the year of extremes... MORE>>   22.06.06 NEWS Update: The last weekend before this year’s summer marathon in Builth Wells is upon us.... MORE>>   News update 15.06.06 Less than three weeks to go before we will welcome everybody at the ‘summer’ event of the Merida 100 Series... MORE>>   01.06.06 2nd Round Rhayader Event... MORE>>   1st Round of the Merida 100 MTB Marathon Series 2006 in Builth Wells 8-9th April... MORE>>   20 Reasons why you... should ride a Mreida 100 1 No faffing with maps: just point and play... MORE>>   Vertebrate Graphics, MTB Guidebooks...MORE>>   MTB-Marathon Jersey NOW IN STOCK..MORE>>	2003           Ruthin Event Review Originally the third and final round of the 2003 Marathon series was scheduled to be held in Corwen, but some unforeseen complications with the course put a hefty tree trunk into the spokes of the event and forced a last minute change. Being the resourceful chaps the Marathon team is, the alternative venue of Ruthin was quickly secured and a cracker of a course over the Cwydian Range of hills became the payoff for all the hard work.The Clwydian Range of hills is one of five designated Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty in Wales, and is definitely one of the UK’s best-kept secrets. The riding here is simply fantastic, with oodles of curvaceously gorgeous singletrack lacing the length and breadth of the hills, providing literally hundreds of kilometres of trails, the hills proved like a sweet shop overloading the sense of the inner child of the marathon team who were literally spoilt for choice as where to run the course over this fantastic terrain. The Clwydians are a 35km long chain of hills running from Prestatyn to Llandegla, rising to 554 metres above sea level at its highest point. Comprised of a surprisingly varied landscape, the Clwydians boast open heather moor land on their higher ridges, contrasting markedly to the patchwork of small hedged fields and coppices of the lower slopes. In places, limestone rock split through the turf into the daylight framed in attractive wooded escarpments and river valleys, making the flavour of the Clwydians truly diverse and a truly fitting venue for the climax of the UK’s inaugural mountain bike marathon series. Preliminary reports of the Ruthin course were that it was by far and away the best course out of the entire series - with almost 40% singletrack making up the course, an enthusiastic John Lloyd reported back to marathon HQ that, “It’s the best course out of the three events this year.” With this going out on press releases it was a rather enticing proposition for many, and fair to say that the carrot was well and truly dangled. It proved so effective that for the first time pre-entries for the event had to be closed early as they filled up thick and fast, with a total of 1,000 pre-entries filled, prompting co-organiser Mike Wilkens to say, “We expected around 500 people for the last event in the series and were gob smacked that three weeks before the event we reached the 1,000 person mark and with more entries coming in.” The addition of Saturday night entertainments in the form of Clocktower Circus group helped create a great, informal atmosphere with a good laugh and a slice of healthy entertainment, magic and comedy. The younger non-biking nippers were also catered for with the addition of a circus skills school on hand to keep both the young and young at heart from getting bored as they pitted themselves against the force of gravity to master unicycling, juggling, acrobatics and the art of general clowning about (although many parents were adamant that they were all masters already). By the time the event village was up and running with riders rolling off the road and into the town, the rains had taken their toll and made the taxing course that little bit harder. But what the hey, this is mountain bike marathon riding after all, and riders bitted their teeth and honked, hauled ass, and doggedly hammered their way around the 90km and 50km routes. The star celebrity rider who braved the hard course alongside both veteran and virgin marathonists alike was none other than the Guru, Keith Bontrager himself. Keith had flown in all the way from the States early to catch a round of the marathon on his Cross bike before going for broke in the classic Three Peaks cyclo-cross event. He got round the course all in one piece astride his own Bontrager Cross bike, a little beat up but holding it all together: “I could ride almost all of it but it beat me up as it’s a rigid bike: and trying to ride fast over bumps I’m just not in condition for that, and as it was about 65 miles I don’t think I could’ve taken much more!” And after seven hours, forty-three minutes and thirty-six minutes riding time the last rider completed the Ruthin course to bring the first full MTB Marathon series in the UK to a successful close. There’d been plenty of huffing and puffing, some gorgeous riding in the fantastic Welsh countryside and some very good people to share it all with. And according to Mike Forey, “Ruthin was a great ride! The toughest, most enjoyable I’ve ever done.” This year tho’, it’s all set to get even better...   2003		Merida Bikes TransWales '08 The 7 day MTB stage challenge. Check the full story and the results on www.mtbtransuk.co.uk Join our Mailing List: Enter your email address:   Confirm your email address: Privacy Statement Request the 2008 season Merida Marathon Guide Book (available early Spring): Please Email us your FULL POSTAL ADDRESS and POSTCODE. CLICK HERE Merida Bikes MTB Marathon Series will go abroad: Read MORE>>
	Back to Top^

Home | Events | Entry | Training | Diet | Tech | Offers | Local Services | Results | 15 Commandments | History | Stories | Girls | Contact