30.06.10 News update before the Yorkshire round HERE>>
24.06.10 IMPORTANT NEWS from the Grassington Round HERE>>
25.05.10 News and Photos from the Builth Marathon HERE>>
21.05.10 News from the Builth event showground HERE>>
19.05.10 Only a couple of days before the Builth event, latest HERE>>
26.04.10 Youtube videos and more from the first event HERE>>
19.04.10 News report from the first of this years Marathons HERE>>
09.04.10 News from the Royal Welsh Showground in Builth Wells...HERE>>
06.04.10 Only a couple of days to go before the first event of 2010 - latest event news HERE>>
26.03.10 Only a couple of weeks to go before the 1st event of the 2010 season will kick off at the Royal Welsh Showground in Builth Wells...HERE>>
15.03.10 Temperatures are still low but there is no denying that spring is trying its best to break through. And with spring approaching the 1st round of the Chain Reaction Cycles MTB Marathon Series powered by Mercedes-Benz Vito Sport can’t be far away. In fact we are talking only four weeks from now. HERE>>
10.02.10 For 2010 the Chain Reaction Cycles MTB Marathon Series is being supported by Mercedes-Benz and the Mercedes-Benz Vito Sport van. This versatile vehicle delivers on style without compromising practicality. The Vito Sport will be on site at the event, showing off its assets and why it’s got the mountain bikers’ seal of approval.HERE>>
Dear ‘Marathonists’ and ‘Sportive Riders’,
All done for 2009 – but there is more to come in 2010. The Merida MTB Marathon Series 2009 and the GORE BIKE WEAR Road Sportive Series have come to an end with an sunny and super busy finishing round in Ruthin, Wales. Nearly 1400 riders made their way to the Ruthin Rugby Club located just a few hundred yards from the busy center of the beautiful market town in North Wales. After a season of ups and downs on the weather front the final round was blessed with perfect riding conditions and all round great atmosphere.
GORE BIKE WEAR Road Sportive
The final round of the GORE BIKE WEAR in Ruthin saw almost 250 road enthusiasts sign up for one of the two challenging sportive courses on offer. Both routes took the riders out of historic Ruthin along the pastoral Vale of Clwyd towards the coast. The climbing started as the route went through the centre of Denbigh past its 13th century castle. From there it went up onto the mooreland above the town the route before cutting back to pass Lyn Brenig, famous locally for its fishing and watersports. Next stop Cerrigydrudion where the two routes parted company. The forty five milers headed back to Ruthin through Clawdd- Newydd. The ninety mile route carried on to Bala and its famous lake. Back to Corwen through the town centre and over the river before taking the scenic backroads towards Llangollen. Then came the final challenge, the Horseshoe Pass. Topping the final miles took in a descent of the Nant y Garth Pass before returning to Ruthin.
The first rider over the line managed to finish the 45mile course in 2 hours and 16 minutes while the last one finishing long course in 8 hours and 22 minutes.
Merida Bikes MTB Marathon
After the road event came to an end on Saturday afternoon the mountain bikers started to descend onto the event village at the Ruthin Rugby Club. Almost than 1100 riders picked up on the great weather leading up to the event and the promising weather forecast and made their way to Ruthin to enjoy the challenging courses arund and over the Clwydian Range. The small amount of rain on Saturday night did not affect the amout of fun riders had on the four courses on offer and judging by the amount of mud on peoples bikes the rain only really dampened the dusty course down.
Photos and website updates – different this time
Jon Brooke and his partner Lauris Naglins our long standing event photographers were out on the valleys and hills around Penrith taking pics of everybody. The guys took pictures on Saturday’s road sportive as well as on Sundays’ MTB marathon. Jon has a new website this year - and you can find your photos there to view or buy.
We have made some further updates (results) and on www.gorebikewearsportives.com site so keep an eye on the news in the top left hand corner and the results pages.
Thanks to everyone
With the 2009 season now being over and done with and Merida leaving the series as the long standing title sponsor preparations for the 2010 series are already in full flow. We will have once more 5 events starting in April going all the way through to September. We will hopefully finalize everything in the next few weeks and will let everybody know via our website, the newsletters and announcements in the press. We would like to thank once more our great sponsors in 2009 in particular Merida Bikes and GORE BIKE WEAR for their ongoing support. Further we would like to thank High5, Ergon, Lizard Skins, Schwalbe, MBUK, Exposure lights, the Bike Chain, Squirt, Buff, CrankBrothers, Fibrax, Fizik, USE, Topeak, CTC, PPG and last but not least the great skills coaches from Cycle Active. Above all we would like to thank all the riders who came to the 2009 event and who made them once more a big success. We hope that we can welcome you all again in 2010.
Kona Mash-Up 5th December 2009
With the marathons going into well deserved hibernation for the next few months the event season has not come to a standstill. We still have one more event on our schedule for 2009 and it is going to be a great one. June saw the 1st of the 2 KONA Mash-Up powered by MBUK events taking place at the Glyncorrwg Mountain Bike centre in Afan Forrest. The December round will allow the riders once more to test themselves on the many timed sections set up on the trails of the Glyncorrwg Mountain Bike centre in Afan Forrest. The entry is limited so to secure your place for the 2009 Winter Mash-Ups make sure that you enter as soon as possible on www.konaworld.uk.com/mash-up.
So that’s it for today – we will be back with some exciting 2010 news in the next few weeks.
Mike
MTB-Marathon Team
PS: If you have any comments or would like to be removed from the newsletter list just send us an email to info@mtb-marathon.co.uk. In case you want to be removed please send us all the email addresses you are receiving this newsletter on. Thank you.
It’s only a few days now before the final round of the Merida Bikes MTB Marathons and the GORE BIKE WEAR™ Sportive Series 2009 opens its doors at the Ruthin Rugby Club (19-20th September 2009). As at the last two events we will have again two headliners over the weekend. Saturday will see the GORE BIKE WEAR™ Road Sportive and Sunday the Merida Bikes MTB Marathon.
Entries for both events:
First of all there are still entries for both events and for all distances available. As this event is also fairly far away from home for us please note that we will only be able to receive postal entry forms until Thursday the 17th September. Every entry form arriving at our offices after that cannot be considered for the Ruthin round. So that still leaves a couple of days for postal entries. The online entry is still open and is rather busy. You can enter via the online facilities for the MTB Marathons and for the GORE BIKE WEAR Road Sportives up to Friday lunch time. Please don’t use the online entry after that as it will be impossible for us to incorporate the entries into the signing on lists. If you don’t know if you can make it or not there is also the chance to enter on the day but please be aware of the £ 5 surcharge for day entries. Don’t forget though that there is a special weekend ticket which includes the sportive and the marathon for a reduced price of £ 45.
Final round of the GORE BIKE WEAR™ Road Sportive Series ‘09:
Two challenging sportive courses are up for grabs including some of the most iconic riding spots (Horseshoe Pass) in Wales. Both routes head out of historic Ruthin along the pastoral Vale of Clwyd towards the coast. The climbing starts as the route goes through the centre of Denbigh past its 13th century castle. Moving up onto the mooreland above the town the route cuts back to pass Lyn Brenig, famous locally for its fishing and watersports. Next stop Cerrigydrudion where the two routes part company. The forty five milers heading back to Ruthin through Clawdd- Newydd. The eighty mile route carries on to Bala and its famous lake. Back to Corwen through the town centre and over the river before taking the scenic backroads towards Llangollen. Now comes the final challenge, the Horseshoe Pass. Chris Boardman still holds the record for the ascent here. Topping the final miles take in a descent of the Nant y Garth Pass before the return to Ruthin.
You can find further details on the Ruthin round of the GORE BIKE WEAR™ Road Sportive Series on the events page here: www.gorebikewearsportives.com/ruthin.php. If you haven’t entered the Ruthin round yet make sure you get your entry through to us by going onto the sportive entry page. You can either download an entry form and send that to us by post or enter via the online entry system.
Final round of the Merida Bikes MTB Marathon Series ’09:
The last round of the Merida Bikes MTB Marathon Series will take place the day after the road sportive and will have 4 different courses (approx. 30, 55, 73 and 92km) on offer. The Ruthin round has been traditionally the final round of the series and after last year’s move to the earlier May date has moved back to its September date. The four routes will once more incorporate some of the best trails you can find around the ‘trail spoiled’ area around Ruthin as well as the generous offerings of the near by Clwydian Range.
To find out more about the upcoming round in Ruthin round (19-20th September 2009) please go to the event Ruthin pages on our website or if you haven’t entered yet go directly to the entry page to secure your entry.
Course and weather
As always John has moved the whole event from Builth Wells to the Rugby Club in Ruthin and has been busy working on the course. He has been out there for the last couple of days making last minute adjustments and being busy with putting the way markers up. The courses are in great condition – super fast and bone dry. The weather forecast for the weekend is looking very good for the sportive on Saturday and the MTB marathon on Sunday.
Events starting times / timetable
As mentioned before we will have to main events on over the weekend starting with the open start of the sportive from 8am on Saturday morning onwards. The registration will be open on Friday evening for a couple of hours before opening at 6am on Saturday. The start for the sportive is open from 8 – 9am.
Sunday morning will see the ‘traditional’ start of the off road marathon at the slightly earlier time of 9.30am. Riders can register for the event throughout Saturday or on Sunday morning from 7 – 9am.
Directions / event location
The event village, the camping and the start/finish of the sportive as well as the MTB marathon is based at the Rugby Club in Ruthin. (click here for a map of the location). The event will be signposted from Friday lunchtime onwards. It doesn’t matter where you are coming from as you will easily find your way to the event village. The event will be open from Friday afternoon until Monday morning. For the GPS users out there the postcode is LL15 2AA. If you are still looking for a B+B or a Hotel please find the details for the local Tourist Information on our Local Info page.
Borrow, Test, Return – Some GORE BIKE WEAR™ for free
GORE BIKE WEAR™ are joining once more the final round of the 2009 series to run their ‘Try B4 U Buy’ scheme in which you can test ride their products when you ride the event. Go along to the GORE BIKE WEAR™ tent and experience for yourself what the real difference is!
A sample of our latest and award winning products for men and women will be available to try, with a range of technologies from GORE-TEX® and WINDSTOPPER® jackets right through to baggies and summer jerseys. All they ask is you treat them as your own for the day! Take them, ride them and return them. Bring them back to the Gore tent dirty, sweaty, ridden and rated and then leave the washing to them!
CycleActive Skills Arena
The team from CycleActive will be once more on site offering their fantastic skills courses which will help you to polish off your technical riding skills. If you want to make use of the FOC offer at the 1st round of the series please make sure that you book yourself in in advance as places are limited. To book a space on a skills ride email them at admin@cycleactive.co.uk. To find out more about CycleActive visit them at www.cycleactive.co.uk
5 down, ONLY 1 to go. The Merida MTB Marathon Series 2009 is slowly coming to an end but the events are still going from strength to strength. More than 1000 riders made their way to our sun drenched Selkirk event. After last years rather wet conditions the new superb Selkirk courses enjoyed almost dry conditions giving the Selkirk event a real feeling of summer riding. The weather leading up to the event was mixed but luckily the weather resistant courses put together once more by Pete Laing weren’t affected too badly giving the riders the chance to really enjoy the new sections Pete had added to the already much loved Selkirk courses. Luckily bar a few drops of rain on Saturday the weather stayed fair and sunny making the GORE BIKE WEAR Road Sportive as well as the Merida Bikes MTB Marathon a real success.
GORE BIKE WEAR Road Sportive As at the last event – Saturday was all about riding on skinny tires. More than 250 road enthusiasts turned up to enjoy the fantastic roads around the greater Selkirk area. And this time there were not two but three distances on offer. The route took the riders through the Tweed, Yarrow and Ettrick valleys starting with a long yet gentle climb following the Tweed River upstream. But it wasn’t all easy going. Our course designer Pete Laing had some ‘proper’ climbs up his sleeve to turn what appeared to be a gentle stroll into a real challenge. Each route made the most of the network of narrow hill roads linking the river valleys that the Scottish Borders is so famous for. The climb tot-up for each distance is… 47 mile: 4 climbs, 95 mile: 8 climbs, 120 mile: 10 climbs. None of the climbs are Alpine in scale but only one is less than 100m vertical and if you check the course profiles, there isn’t a flat road in between, so the ascent total soon builds up. The 120 mile route especially was a bit of a beast with 3600m of ascent. After 2hour and 25minutes the first 47 mile rider came into the event village while the last 120 mile rider made the most of the day and took 8 hour and 59 minutes to complete the course.
The next and last 2009 round of the GORE BIKE WEAR Road Sportive Series will take place in Ruthin on the 19th September and will feature two excellent courses including the infamous Horse Shoe Pass. To find out more please go to www.gorebikewearsportives.com/ruthin.php.
Merida Bikes MTB Marathon After the road event came to an end on Saturday afternoon the mountain bikers started to descend onto the event village in Selkirk. More than 900 riders lined up being told by the promising weather forecast that a sunny day would lie ahead. And for once the weather forecast did not disappoint. Following feedback from the last couple of years course designer Pete Laing changed a few of the key sections as well as adding some more fantastic singletrack to the menu. The T-shirt crew at the Rugby Club were greeted with a sheer endless line of big smiles and grins on people’s faces telling us that Pete had once more done a great job. Even with the mixed weather prior to the event the course was in almost perfect condition. The sunshine and the perfect finish line setup encouraged lots of people to stay for a while and to enjoy a cold drink while watching the riders come over the line. The first rider on the Mini Marathon made it over the line in just under 2 hours while the last rider on the 88km long full marathon took 8hours and 41min to complete the challenging course.
The final round of the Merida Bikes MTB Marathon Series 2009 will join the GORE BIKE WEAR Road Sportive once more and head to Ruthin for the 19-20th September. For further details of the last marathon of the 2009 series please head to:www.mtb-marathon.co.uk/events/ruthin.php or go directly to the entry page to secure your entry. Entries for the MTB marathon and the Sportive are still available.
Photos and website updates
Our event photographer Jon Brooke and his colleague Lauris Naglins were again on site as well as on course taking pictures of pretty much everybody. So just go onto Jon’s website - www.rightplacerighttime.co.uk to find your photos there to view or buy. We have also made some further updates to the www.mtb-marathon.co.uk site so keep an eye on the news in the top left hand corner.
Only a few days now before we once again return to Selkirk in the Scottish borders for the Scottish round of the 2009 Merida Bikes MTB Marathon series and the GORE BIKE WEAR™ Road sportive series.
New / updated courses for Selkirk in 2009
As mentioned in the last update we have had a rather substantial overhaul of all 4 courses to add some extra spice to them as well as take some of the ‘less liked’ bits out. Here again a quick summary:
28km: Similar to last year but slightly more climbing and more singletrack. Top quality from start to finish and just right for novices or those on the way back to fitness.
45Km: Mostly new apart from the Yair loop and a big improvement on the previous route. Easy gradients on the way up and some brilliant descending.
70Km: Same as the new 50’ with the addition of a spin out to Elibank Forest and back. Maybe not the classic 70’ of old but includes some great new trail early on, the best of the natural forest singletrack from last years’ route and a tough finish on sheep paths and fast tracks.
85Km: This is a topper. Three new climbs, three new descents, plenty of twin-track in the first hour or so and a choice selection of the Borders’ best natural and purpose-built trails.
Some of the details of the Selkirk event page are not 100% up-to-date any more. We have however adjusted the profiles on the Selkirk page ( HYPERLINK "http://www.mtb-marathon.co.uk/events/selkirk.php" http://www.mtb-marathon.co.uk/events/selkirk.php) so they show the courses we will have over the weekend.
There are still entries left for the Selkirk round. To secure your entry please go to the entry page www.mtb-marathon.co.uk/entry_forms/entry_forms.php to enter the mountain bike and/or road sportive events. Please keep in mind that you are now too late to enter by post but that you can still enter via the online entry up to Friday lunchtime.
We often get asked what tyres we suggest for the next event…
With the varied surfaces from moist forest tracks, rocky purpose build sections, dusty double tracks and the odd little stretch of linking road in the Selkirk round we suggest a real all-rounder like Schwalbe’s Fat Albert. Now available in front and rear specific the Fat Albert will give you safe handling and braking grip as well optimised traction and cornering control. The Fat Albert has tough, resilient tread lugs because durability counts more the saving the last gram! For any further advice and for details where you can get hold of your pair please see Chris Hearn at the Schwalbe tent in the Selkirk event village.
GORE BIKE WEAR Road Sportive on the 1st August
If mountain biking is not really your thing and you are looking for a suitable challenge on your road bike or you are keen to do the double then we have the perfect event for you. The day before the MTB marathon we will have 3 scenic sportive courses for you. You can choose between the 47mile (approx. 1,600m of climbing) standard sportive, the 95mile (approx. 2,700m of climbing) or the Selkirk specific 120mile long (3,600m of climbing) extreme sportive. You don’t need to use the road bike to take part in the sportives. And don’t forget there is a £10 discount to be had if you enter both events of the weekend.
The Selkirk round of the GORE BIKE WEAR Road Sportive Series 2009 will take place on Saturday the 1st August. We have added the route map (just to give you an idea on the course) and the profiles to the website. Please check www.gorebikewearsportives.com/selkirk.php for details go directly to the entry page to enter the mountain bike and/or road sportive events.
Registration and camping location
The registration which is based at Selkirk Rugby Club (signposted from Friday lunchtime onwards) and will open for a couple of hours on Friday evening before it opens on Saturday (1st August) morning at 6am and will stay open till 8pm. On Sunday (2nd August) the registration will re-open at 7am and will stay open till 9am. The GORE BIKE WEAR Road Sportive will have an open start window from 8 – 9am on Saturday morning. We will gather riders in groups of up to 20 riders and send them off together. The Merida Bikes Marathon will start at 10am on Sunday morning. The Rugby Club will be signposted from all directions – so simply make your way into Selkirk and follow the markers.
Depending on the amount of campers we will have at the event we might be forced to also use an overflow campground which is located a few hundred yards away from the start and finish line.
Entries and day entries
There are still places left for the Selkirk marathon and the road sportive in case you haven’t entered yet. To enter go directly to the entry page (for the mountain bike event) and www.gorebikewearsportives.com/entry.php (for the sportive) to secure your entry for these great events. You will also be able to enter on the day subject to a £5 surcharge.
Special offer from our retail partner – the Bike Chain www.thebikechain.co.uk - your new online local bike shop has some pretty impressive special offers on this summer, check out the new Crank Brothers Candy X pedals and the range of Gore clothing on offer, use the voucher code ‘MERSEL’ for even bigger discounts at the checkout!
CTC special offer
The guys from the CTC have been in touch pointing out their great special offer. Simply join the CTC before the 30th September 2009 and you get a set of Knog ‘Frog’ Lights thrown in for free. Check the details of this great off and what the CTC membership entails here.
Only two weeks to go before we once again return to Selkirk in the Scottish borders for the Scottish round of the 2009 Merida Bikes MTB Marathon series and the GORE BIKE WEAR™ Road sportive series.
New / updated courses for Selkirk in 2009
Selkirk’s round of the Merida Bikes MTB Marathon Series has used almost the same routes for three of the standard distance options (50, 75 and 100k) since the first event in 2004. All tough circuits aimed at lovers of endless climbs and proper technical singletrack descents. Classic routes they might be, but there is always room for improvement and regulars taking part in this year’s marathon will notice some major changes.
One problem that has frustrated us and riders from year one is that bottlenecks develop on the singletracks in Yair Forest. To sort this out chief route planner Pete Laing has included two new climbs before the riders reach The Three Bretheren and drop into Yair; The Duchess’s Drive in Bowhill Estate and the Minch Moor drove road from Yarrowford to the summit of Brown Knowe. With 26km of trail that includes some choice singletrack in Yarrow Valley and almost 750m of climbing to be completed before the tricky descents of Yair are reached, the field should be strung out sufficiently for everyone to enjoy the tighter stuff without hold-ups.
The other bugbear and subject of much post ride moaning has been the merciless slog of a climb from Glenbenna up to the Minch Moor crossroads, tackled to date by the 50 and 100km riders. With the inclusion of the new loop in Bowhill, just after the start, this nightmare of a climb is no longer needed (Hurray!).
So what about the new descents?? Well, there is a screaming fast twintrack early on, all the usual suspects in Yair, Elibank and Traquair, then for the 85’rs, a fantastic section on Enduro tracks from high on the Southern Upland Way down to Broadmeadows Farm. Worth the entry fee alone! Also new is a contour climb up towards Tibbie Tamson's grave on the south side of Foulshiels Hill, near the end of the full marathon route. This includes a steep section (60m vertical ascent) which will be a push for everyone apart from maybe Danny McCaskill. Don’t say we didn’t warn you! The final descent through Philiphaugh Estate to the finish is different too and if the weather holds, some of it will be on woodsy trails.
So, to summarise……here the 4 MTB courses on offer
28km: Similar to last year but slightly more climbing and more singletrack. Top quality from start to finish and just right for novices or those on the way back to fitness.
45Km: Mostly new apart from the Yair loop and a big improvement on the previous route. Easy gradients on the way up and some brilliant descending.
70Km: Same as the new 50’ with the addition of a spin out to Elibank Forest and back. Maybe not the classic 70’ of old but includes some great new trail early on, the best of the natural forest singletrack from last years’ route and a tough finish on sheep paths and fast tracks.
85Km: This is a topper. Three new climbs, three new descents, plenty of twin-track in the first hour or so and a choice selection of the Borders’ best natural and purpose-built trails.
There are still entries left for the Selkirk round. To secure your entry please go to the entry page to enter the mountain bike and/or road sportive events.
More than just 1st class single track - GORE BIKE WEAR Road Sportive on the 1st August
The Selkirk round will have once more a great ride for all the sportive fans out there up its sleeve. Peter Laing has put not two but three courses together. The riders can choose between the 47mile (approx. 1,600m of climbing) standard sportive, the 95mile (approx. 2,700m of climbing) or the Selkirk specific 120mile long (3,600m of climbing) extreme sportive.
Each route makes the most of the network of narrow hill roads linking the river valleys that the Scottish Borders is so famous for. The climb tot-up for each distance is… 47 mile: 4 climbs, 95 mile: 8 climbs, 120 mile: 10 climbs. None of the climbs are Alpine in scale but only one is less than 100m vertical and if you check the course profiles, there isn’t a flat road in between, so the ascent total soon builds up. The 120 mile route especially is a bit of a beast with 3600m of ascent.
The Selkirk round of the GORE BIKE WEAR Road Sportive Series 2009 will take place on Saturday the 1st August. We have added the route map (just to give you an idea on the course) and the profiles to the website. Please check www.gorebikewearsportives.com/selkirk.php for details.
To find out more about the details of the GORE BIKE WEAR Road Sportive Series 2009 please go to the Gore Sportive page on our website or go directly to the entry page to enter the mountain bike and/or road sportive events.
Entries still available – enter now
There are still places left for the Selkirk marathon and the road sportive in case you haven’t entered yet. So if you are looking for a technical yet super enjoyable marathon in the beautiful Scottish countryside or a challenging road sportive in the Scottish borders then make sure you get your entry in quickly. To enter go directly to the entry page (for the mountain bike event) and www.gorebikewearsportives.com/entry.php (for the sportive) to secure your entry for these great events. You will be able to enter on the day subject to a £5 surcharge.
Special offer from our retail partner – the Bike Chain www.thebikechain.co.uk - your new online local bike shop has some pretty impressive special offers on this summer, check out the new Crank Brothers Candy X pedals and the range of Gore clothing on offer, use the voucher code ‘MERSEL’ for even bigger discounts at the checkout!
Event setup – extra camping
The event is once more based at the Selkirk Rugby Club where the start finish, the event village and majority of the camping will be. Depending on the amount of campers we will have at the event we might be forced to also use an overflow campground which is located a few hundred yards away from the start and finish line.
Borrow, Test, Return – Some GORE BIKE WEAR™ for free As the official clothing sponsor of the Merida Bikes MTB Marathon Series for the third consecutive year GORE BIKE WEAR™ is giving you the chance to test out some of their gear for free. GORE BIKE WEAR™ and its retail partner WHEELBASE will lend you a jacket, shirt, vest or gilet to test and give the once or twice over during your ride. GORE BIKE WEAR™ products are made from highly durable technical fabrics such as GORE-TEX® and WINSTOPPER® products and designed to enhance your cycling experience whilst allowing you to focus on the adventure ahead of you.
If you aren’t sure what to test out ask the on-site technical team for advice. You simply hand back what you’ve tested at the end of your ride (they will even wash it for you!) and if you like what you’ve tried you can purchase a new one from WHEELBASE in the event retail village. Take a look at the new stock for this season on www.gorebikewear.co.uk.
Make a weekend of it
Selkirk is the ideal Merida Bikes MTB Marathon location as it has lots of riding near by. Check out http://www.7stanes.gov.uk/ for the nearest 7Stanes trail. We managed to incorporate a big number of these trails into the 2007 TransScotland and they are superb!! Glentress and Innerleithen are just short drives away from Selkirk. Besides that you have Edinburgh just an hour away. So if you are coming up why don’t you make a full weekend or even an extended weekend out of it? For local services check out: www.mtb-marathon.co.uk/local_services/local_services.php.
Almost 1,000 rider made their way to Llanwrtyd Wells (the smallest town in Britain) to take part in one of the many rides on offer. The Llanwrtyd Wells event was the first road and off road event in the season and a great start to the GORE BIKE WEAR™ Road sportive series.
After 10 years of running the main summer event in Builth Wells this year saw the move to Llanwrtyd Wells which you could say is the spiritual home of the marathon events as John Lloyd organiser and course designer of the sportive and MTB marathons started his cycling career in Llanwrtyd Wells as well as being the unofficial birthplace of British mountain biking almost 25 years ago.
1st round of the GORE BIKE WEAR™ Road sportive 4th July 2009:
More than 100 sportive enthusiasts took up the two challenging routes on offer. The standard sportive with a length of 50 miles and 1,600m of climbing as well as the 90 mile long classic sportive (with 2,600meters of climbing) were challenging the riders with climbs like the devils staircase and the sugar loaf while offering amazing scenery throughout the day.
After 2hour and 55minutes the first 50 mile rider came into the event village while the last 90 mile rider made the most of the nice day and took 7 hour and 10 minutes to complete the course. Find out how Dave Atkinson from Road.CC got on here.
The next round of the GORE BIKE WEAR™ Road sportive Series will take place in Selkirk (Scotland) on the 1st August and will feature the 130mile long extreme route on top of the standard and classic route. To find out more please click here. To enter the events please click here and either enter via the online entry or via the downloadable entry form.
After Selkirk the series will return to North Wales for the final round of 2009 in Ruthin on the 19th September.
3rd round of the Merida Bikes MTB Powered by MBUK Marathon Series
Llanwrtyd Wells 5th July 2009:
This year John finally managed to take the Merida Bikes MTB Marathon series to the unofficial birthplace of mountain biking Llanwrtyd Wells and going by the feedback managed to impress the majority of riders with the fantastic riding of the area. The weather yet again did not really play ball and the heavy rain on Saturday night turned the up to that point bone dry trails rather muddy in places. However all 4 courses held up well and offered lots of variety and fun sections for the riders to enjoy.
The 10am start on Sunday morning was as always a mass start affair and was blessed with warm sunshine. After a short paced sections the riders pulled away from the road and entered the sheer endless network of single and double tracks which can be found around Llanwrtyd Wells. The 1st rider on the 25km long mini marathon came over the line in a super fast 1hour 38minutes while the last riders on the full (80km) marathon made it back into the event village at 7.02pm after 9 hours and 2 minutes on the trails.
With the 3rd event now being ‘done and dusted’ our attention goes towards the Scottish round in Selkirk which has been one of the favourites since its introduction year. So if you enjoyed the series so far makes sure you make your way to Selkirk. For further details on the Selkirk round. To enter the event please click here and either enter via the online entry or via the downloadable entry form.
Photos and website updates:
Our event photographer Jon Brooke and his colleague Lauris Naglins were again on site as well as on course taking pictures of pretty much everybody. So just go onto Jon’s website and you can find your photos there to view or buy. We have also made some further updates to the www.mtb-marathon.co.uk site so keep an eye on the news in the top left hand corner.
With the trails being super dry and the summer being properly here now the conditions out there for road riders and mountain bikers alike are getting better by the minute. Only a couple of days now before the 3rd round of the Merida Bikes MTB Marathon round and the 1st round of the GORE BIKE WEAR™ Road sportive will kick off at the Show Fields in Llanwrtyd Wells on the 4-5th July 2009 - hope you can make it.
GORE BIKE WEAR™ Road sportive – 4th July: The opening round of the GORE BIKE WEAR™ Road sportive Series is starting out with two fantastic courses which our media partner Road.CC went to check out what the riding around Llanwrtyd Wells is all about. Dave Atkinson from Road.CC joined forces with course designer and local riding legend John Lloyd to recce the 1st round of the GORE BIKE WEAR Road Sportive and has put his finding including a video and some great photos up on their site. Click here to check out the 'live tracking story' and here ( here for the 'recce video'.
Check them out as they give you a great idea what the course of the first round of the GORE BIKE WEAR™ Road sportive will be like. Fur further details on the 1st round go to: www.gorebikewearsportives.com/llanwrtyd_wells.php.
3rd round of the Merida Bikes MTB Marathon Series Llanwrtyd Wells on the 5th July 2009
Preparations are in full flow on the four mountain bike courses on offer on the 5th. As usual we will have the Mini Marathon (approx. 25km with 950m of climbing), Half Marathon (approx. 50km with 1900m of climbing), a Middle Marathon (approx. 69km with 2500m of climbing) and the rather demanding Full Marathon (approx. 76km with 2700m of climbing) course option to choose from.
John has found the perfect combination of fast and swoopy double and single track which run on primarily stony and fast drying tracks. The courses are in superb shape and ride very fast. So don’t miss out!!
If you missed out on the first 2 rounds and you are looking for a great mountain bike challenge than wait no longer and send your entry in now. You can find all the details on the Llanwrtyd Wells round including profiles etc on the event page.
Can I still get in? There are still lots of places available for the two Llanwrtyd Wells events (sportive on Saturday and MTB marathon on Sunday) as well as the other remaining rounds of the GORE BIKE WEAR™ Road sportive series and Merida Bikes MTB Marathon Series 2009. You can still send your entry forms in but please make sure that they arrive at our registration office no later than Friday. Alternatively you can enter via the online entry up to Friday lunchtime. You can find our entry facilities on the entry page.
If you can’t make up your mind then you can also enter on the day. But please be aware that we have a £5 day entry surcharge. So why not enter today – save yourself some money and the hassle! Don’t forget that if you interested in entering both events over the weekend that there is a £ 10 discount to be had.
Where, when, what? The registration will open at 6pm on Friday and will stay open till around 8pm. The registration will open on Saturday morning at 6am and will stay open till 8pm. It will reopen on Sunday morning at 7am and will stay open till 9am. The GORE BIKEWEAR Road Sportive will start 8am onwards on and will stay open till approx. 9am. The start of the Merida Bikes MTB Spring Marathon is at 10.00am on Sunday morning.
The event is located at the Show Fields which is only a few hundred meters away from the centre of LLanwrtyd Wells which makes going out for a post or pre event drink a doddle as well as finding the new location very straight forward. Simply head into Llanwrtyd Wells and follow the markers. If you need a postcode for your GPS please put in LD5 4RB and follow the markers.
Wimbledon on TV For all the sports and in particular tennis enthusiasts out there be assured that we will have the tennis on our big TV in the marquee so that you can follow the action from Wimbledon throughout the weekend.
Win one of five ‘50% off’ vouchers from Merida
Our title sponsor Merida Bikes will again draw 5 riders just before the start of the ride and ‘reward’ them with a ‘50% off any Merida Bike voucher’. The only thing you have to do to be included in the draw is fill in the questionnaire which you can find in your signing on bag and put it the collection box before the registration closes on Sunday morning. Good luck!!
CycleActive Skills Arena The team from CycleActive will be also on site offering their fantastic skills courses. If you want to make use of the FOC offer at the 3rd round of the series please make sure that you book yourself in in advance as places are limited. To book a space on a skills ride email them at admin@cycleactive.co.uk. To find out more about CycleActive visit them at www.cycleactive.co.uk.
Only a little more than two weeks now before the Merida Bikes MTB Marathon (and the GORE BIKE WEAR Road sportive) will descend onto the 2nd new location of the 2009 season. The birthplace of lots of high profile cycling events LLanwrtyd Wells (only 10 minutes from Builth Wells) will be hosting the 3rd round of the marathon series and the opening round of the sportive series.
The summer is finally here and has shown everything you would expect from a UK summer so far but it has hopefully given everyone the chance to ride their bike (road or off road) as often as they wanted.
Merida Bikes MTB Marathon Series – Llanwrtyd Wells 4-5th July 2009
The GORE BIKE WEAR Road Sportive will open the weekend on Saturday morning and the day after the sportive the Merida Bikes MTB Marathon will take place and the riders will set out to conquer one of the 4 distances on offer. John has been planning the courses here for the last few years and will finally get the chance to show off this very special mountain biking region to the riders. Llanwrtyd Wells which also hosts the Man vs. Horse and the Real Ale Wobble event (just to mention a few) is the ideal location for a MTB marathon and will welcome the riders and their entourage with Wales typical hospitality.
The four distances will be heading into the Irfon Forest and the Cambrian Mountains, then heading west to Llyn Brianne, the Towi Valley and the Doethie Valley, the latter has been described by many as the best natural single track in the country.
You can find all the details including further course details on the Llanwrtyd Wells mountain bike rides on our event page. To secure your entry for the mountain bike marathon please go to the entry page.
Enter now!
Entries for the sportive and the mountain bike marathon are still available. To secure an entry for the GORE BIKE WEAR Road Sportive and either download an entry form or enter via the online entry. To enter the Merida Bikes MTB Marathon please go to the entry page and either download an entry form or enter via the online entry. There will be day entry for both available but please note that there is a £ 5 day entry surcharge – so make sure you enter in advance to save yourself some money!
Weekend ticket
Don’t forget that if you interested in entering both events over the weekend that there is a £ 10 discount to be had.
Services and support on site:
MTBWorks will be on site to help the riders to get ready for their ride as well as offer post ride support. The guys from are offering a complete package of pre- and post event physical therapy for optimal performance. So if you are in need for some sounds advice and want to make sure you get your well deserved rub down after the event best to drop the guys a line on mtbworks@gmail.com or visit www.mtbworks.com to book your personal session in.
CycleActive Skills Arena - The team from CycleActive will be also on site offering their fantastic skills courses which will help you to get a good start into the 2009 mountain biking season. If you want to make use of the FOC offer at the 3rd round of the series please make sure that you book yourself in in advance as places are limited. To book a space on a skills ride email them at admin@cycleactive.co.uk. To find out more about CycleActive visit them at www.cycleactive.co.uk
Bad Goisern event (18th July)
With two event over and done with and the 3rd one just around the corner the summer seems to be coming closer and closer. The ‘Merida Marathon on holiday’ event in Bad Goisern, Austria is once more in the offerings with his broad range of courses on offer. Big mountains, clean air and thousands of other likeminded bikers from all over Europe can be found at this super event. Check out the details on the event and on the accommodation deal we have organised for you on the Bad Goisern page. There are some super cheap flights and a very interesting package deal to be had as well. Check the Bad Goisern page for details.
We have just returned from the 2nd round of the Merida Bikes MTB powered by MBUK Marathon Series 2009 which was hosted at the new location of the Glanusk Estate in Crickhowell giving all that took part four never before used courses. The weather turned the already challenging trails into an extra tough ride but that didn’t stop almost 900 riders entering the event.
2nd round of the Merida Bikes MTB Powered by MBUK Marathon Series – Crickhowell on the 17th May 2009
John has been looking at the area surrounding Crickhowell which sits between the softly rounded Black Mountains and the dramatic Brecon Beacons for some time and this year he finally managed to include this fantastic location into the series. With the weather offering everything in between warm sunny spells and rain all day on Saturday and even added hail storms to the line-up on Sunday the riders had a real challenge on their hands.
The 10am start on Sunday morning was as always a mass start affair which took the rider through the beautiful Glanusk estate, followed by promenading through Crickhowell before heading up into the hills. The 1st rider on the 35km long mini marathon came over the line in just over two hours while the last riders on the full (80km) marathon made it back into the event village at 6.14pm after 8 hours and 14 minutes on the trails.
Even with the heavy downpours the courses held up pretty well giving us confidence that Crickhowell is going to stay in the series for years to come.
With the 2nd event now being ‘done and dusted’ our attention goes towards the next new location in the series and the first round of the Gore Bike Wear Powered by Road CC Sportive Series 2009 – Llanwrtyd Wells. So if you enjoyed what John put together in Crickhowell wait till you get to Llanwrtyd Wells…it is amazing!
Watch the action and the scenery on MTB-Marathon.co.uk
For the 1st time we have real ‘moving’ footage from out on the trails. Alan Dupre rode more or less the entire event with a handlebar cam and put a nice 10minute clip together.
The next round of the Merida Bikes MTB Powered by MBUK Marathon Series – Llanwrtyd Wells 5th July 2009
Llanwrtyd Wells is the place where John Lloyd got introduced to mountain biking and where he spend the first few years of his riding career. The area is littered with natural and purpose built trails and will offer something challenging and enjoyable to riders of all abilities. As always we will have four courses on offer starting with the Mini Marathon (approx. 26km with 950m of climbing), followed by the Half Marathon (approx. 50km with 1950m of climbing) and the Middle Marathon (approx. 70km with 2600m of climbing) all the way to Full Marathon (approx. 80km with 2750m of climbing).
You can find all the details including further course details on the Llanwrtyd Wells mountain bike rides on our event page. To secure your entry for the mountain bike marathon please go to the entry page.
But there is more going on at the 3rd round of the Merida Bikes MTB Marathon Series 2009 than just some fantastic mountain biking.
1st round of the Gore Bike Wear Powered by Road.CC Road Sportive Series 2009– Llanwrtyd Wells 4th July 2009
As you probably know following last years introduction the Gore Bike Wear Road Sportive Series will return in 2009 and will kick off on the 4th July in Llanwrtyd Wells. The sportive is based at the same event village and campground as the marathon – the only difference is it takes place on the Saturday. If you haven’t tried a sportive and want to find out more what our take on this growing part of the sport is please go to our sportive website.
The 1st round in Llanwrtyd Wells will have two challenging course on offer. The standard sportive with 50 miles and 1,600 meters of climbing and the classic sportive with 90 miles and 2,600 meters of climbing.
Weekend ticket at next round
Don’t forget that if you interested in entering both events over the weekend that there is a £ 10 discount to be had.
Photos and website updates
Our event photographer Jon Brooke and his colleague Lauris Naglins were again on site as well as on course taking pictures of pretty much everybody. So just go onto Jon’s website and you can find your photos there to view or buy. We have also put the results up on our results page.
With the trails drying out quickly and the vegetation doing overtime the conditions out there getting better by the minute. Only a couple of days now before the 2nd round of the Merida Bikes MTB Marathon round will kick off at the new location in Crickhowell (Wales) on the 16-17th May – hope you can make it.
2nd round of the Merida Bikes MTB Marathon Series – Crickhowell on the 17th May 2009
Preparations are in full flow on the four mountain bike courses on offer on the 17th. As usual we will have the Mini Marathon (approx. 35km with 950m of climbing), Half Marathon (approx. 50km with 1400m of climbing), a Middle Marathon (approx. 70km with 2100m of climbing) and the Full Marathon (approx. 80km with 2400m of climbing) course option to choose from.
John Lloyd has been working hard on the four new courses and is rather pleased with the results. The four loops are a perfect mixture of swoopy double and single track which run primarily on mountain Mooreland and stony tracks. So besides being fast riding and fun packed they are also resistant to a little bit of bad weather and hard wear.
If you missed out on the 1st round in April and you are looking for a great mountain bike challenge than wait no longer and send your entry in now. You can find all the details on the Crickhowell round including profiles etc on the event page.
Can I still get in?
There are still lots of places available for the Crickhowell round as well as the other remaining rounds of the Merida Bikes MTB Marathon Series 2009. You can still send your entry forms in but please make sure that they arrive at our registration office no later than Friday. Alternatively you can enter via the online entry up to Friday lunchtime. You can find our entry facilities on the entry page.
If you can’t make up your mind then you can also enter on the day. But please be aware that we have a £ 5 day entry surcharge. So why not enter today – save yourself some money and the hassle!
The event / time table
The event will be open from Friday afternoon onwards all the way till Monday morning. The event village and the registration will open at 12pm (noon) on Saturday. The registration will close at 8pm and reopen from 7 – 9am on Sunday morning. The rides start at 10am - all categories and courses start together. The pasta party will start around 6pm on Saturday.
The venue
The event is based at the Glanusk Estate just outside Crickhowell. Crickhowell is a thriving market town snuggling between the softly rounded Black Mountains and the dramatic Brecon Beacons, in arguably the most beautiful valley in the National Park. It is a lively, friendly place with excellent individual shops and many superb restaurants. Although in the heart of beautiful countryside, travel to and from Crickhowell is easy. London is 2 hours, Birmingham 1.5 hours, and Cardiff just 40 minutes. The nearest bus and railway station is Abergavenny, (6 miles). To find out more about the Glanusk Estate and for directions please go to:www.glanuskestate.com.
Win one of five ‘50% off’ vouchers from Merida
Our title sponsor Merida Bikes will again draw 5 riders just before the start of the ride and ‘reward’ them with a ‘50% off any Merida Bike voucher’. The only thing you have to do to be included in the draw is fill in the questionnaire which you can find in your signing on bag and put it the collection box before the registration closes on Sunday morning. Good luck!!
Borrow, Test, Return – Some GORE BIKE WEAR™ for free
As the official clothing sponsor of the Merida Bikes MTB Marathon Series for the third consecutive year GORE BIKE WEAR™ is giving you the chance to test out some of their gear for free. GORE BIKE WEAR™ and its retail partner WHEELBASE will lend you a jacket, shirt, vest or gilet to test and give the once or twice over during your ride. GORE BIKE WEAR™ products are made from highly durable technical fabrics such as GORE-TEX® and WINSTOPPER® products and designed to enhance your cycling experience whilst allowing you to focus on the adventure ahead of you.
If you aren’t sure what to test out ask the on-site technical team for advice. You simply hand back what you’ve tested at the end of your ride (they will even wash it for you!) and if you like what you’ve tried you can purchase a new one from WHEELBASE in the event retail village. Take a look at the new stock for this season on www.gorebikewear.co.uk.
Merida Marathons on Holiday 2009 - Bad Goisern event (18th July)
With the summer seems to be coming closer and closer – Merida Marathon on Holiday in Bad Goisern (Austria) is also coming closer. If you haven’t been to the ‘Merida Marathon on holiday’ in your ‘marathon career’ maybe this is the year for you to cross the channel and experience some big mountains, clean air and thousands of other likeminded bikers from all over Europe – what a great combination! Check out the details on the event and on the accommodation deal we have organised for you on the Bad Goisern page. There are some super cheap flights and a very interesting package deal to be had as well. Check the Bad Goisern page for details.
Only two more weeks before series heads to Crickhowell
Only two weeks to go before the 2nd event of Merida Bikes MTB Marathon Series 2009 powered by MBUK will open its doors at the new event location of the Glanusk Estate in Crickhowell. The event will take place on the 16-17th May with the 17th being the marathon day.
Crickhowell - new location for 2009
One of the two new location and course additions of the 2009 series is the new event at the Glanusk Estate in Crickhowell near Abergavenny. After our excursions to Penrith and the Lake District over the last two years and running of the summer event in Builth Wells since the very beginning we figured it is time to look at another of the beautiful areas the UK has to offer – the Black Mountains.
This new venue is based at Glanusk Estate, beautiful parkland which stretches down to the River Usk. Just off the A40.
The totally new course heads out north onto the Black Mountains, past Grwyne Fawr Resevoir, with fabulous views across the Wye Valley. The route crosses the A479 at Pengenffordd, taking you onto Mynydd Troed, overlooking Llangorse Lake and the Usk Valley. You then descend to the village of Bwlch, and then Talybont, then up onto Tor-y-Foel, with more stunning scenery, this time overlooking Talybont reservoir. The route finally descends into Llangynidr and finishes with the trails in the Myarth woods on the Glanusk Estate.
The Crickhowell round will offer 4 different courses. Starting with the approx. 35km Mini Marathon which is more aimed at the younger and less experienced rider, followed by the approx. 50km Half Marathon. The Half Marathon is more demanding from a technical riding point of view as well as from a physical point of view. On top of that we will have the approx. 70km Middle Marathon and the Full Marathon with an approx. distance of 85km. The Merida Bikes MTB Marathon will take place on the Sunday (17th May‘09).
You can find further details including the profiles for the 4 different courses on the Crickhowell event page.
How to enter the Merida Bikes MTB Marathon Series
To secure your entry please go to the entry page on the marathon website and either download an entry form fill it in and send to us together with your entry fee cheque or click through to the online entry and entry via the internet. If there are places left by the time the event kicks off then day entry will be available. Please note that there is a £5 surcharge per day entry.
Services and support on site: MTBWorks will be on site to help the riders to get ready for their ride as well as offer post ride support. The guys from are offering a complete package of pre- and post event physical therapy for optimal performance. So if you are in need for some sounds advice and want to make sure you get your well deserved rub down after the event best to drop the guys a line on mtbworks@gmail.com or visit www.mtbworks.com to book your personal session in.
CycleActive Skills Arena - The team from CycleActive will be also on site offering their fantastic skills courses which will help you to get a good start into the 2009 mountain biking season. If you want to make use of the FOC offer at the 2nd round of the series please make sure that you book yourself in in advance as places are limited. To book a space on a skills ride email them at admin@cycleactive.co.uk. To find out more about CycleActive visit them at www.cycleactive.co.uk
Bad Goisern event (18th July)
With the 1st event over and done with and the 2nd one just around the corner the summer seems to be coming closer and closer. The ‘Merida Marathon on holiday’ event in Bad Goisern, Austria is once more in the offerings with his broad range of courses on offer. Big mountains, clean air and thousands of other likeminded bikers from all over Europe can be found at this super event. Check out the details on the event and on the accommodation deal we have organised for you on the Bad Goisern page. There are some super cheap flights and a very interesting package deal to be had as well. Check the Bad Goisern page for details.
16.04.09 - Builth Wells Spring Marathon report: After the weather spoiled the season opener in 2008 the 1st event of the Merida Bikes MTB Marathon Series 2009 (powered by MBUK) that celebrates its 10th year anniversary this years was rather sun spoiled. The event took place at the new venue of the Royal Welsh Showground in Builth Wells over the Easter weekend. With the weeks leading up to the event been rather blessed with dry conditions the trails were in perfect shape and luckily for everybody the weather didn’t decide to turn against us for once. With almost 1200 starters over the weekend the 1st round was once again a busy start to the season.
The weekend As over the last 5 years the only (as far as we know) night marathon the EXPOSURE LIGHTS BIG NIGHT OUT opened the season with almost 240 riders on the line. The event village opened at the usual time with a broad spread of exhibition and trade stands offering their services to the arriving crowds.
With darkness setting slowly in everybody lined up to get any last minute instructions and crossed their fingers during the draw for the Exposure Lights kindly donated by the event sponsor Exposure Lights presented by Rory Hitchens. With no further ado the EXPOSURE LIGHTS BIG NIGHT OUT finally got on the road at 7.45pm. Almost 240 riders made their way onto the newly designed course in the hills surrounding Builth Wells. The conditions out on course were superb and super fast and after only 1 hour and 57 minutes the first rider came over the line of the almost 50km long course picking up the traditional Night Marathon BUFF (this year an appropriate high viz version of the popular head wear) . Once passed the finish line and rewarded with the special BUFF the riders warmed up in the event hall with tea, coffee and cake and getting themselves ready for Sunday.
The lights in the marquee finally went out at 2am highlighting the clear and eve so cold night. Sunday morning came and the riders (campers and Sunday morning arrives) were greeted with glorious sunshine.
The following morning at the slightly later start time of 10.30am (to give all the night riders who wanted a second ride more recovery time) almost 900 riders lined up to tackle one of the 3 new courses on offer. Rather than giving out one bike the Merida Bike screw gave away five ‘50% off any Merida Bike vouchers’ to five lucky starters which went down rather well. This year the most popular distance was the approx. 68km long ‘middle marathon’ which due to the high calibre field and the super conditions out on course was completed I less than 3 hours.
The 1st event was a great showcase of what is to come in 2009 and with two new locations (Crickhowell and Llanwrtyd Wells) in the upcoming months there lots more new and great stuff up our sleeves. Here a quick reminder when and were the next few events will take place.
Other events in the Merida Bikes MTB Marathon Series 2009.
If you can’t make it to the April round of the Merida Bikes MTB Marathon Series 2009 – don’t worry there is plenty more going on in our 2009 series.
Here the other dates and location on offer.
15-16th May --- Crickhowell (MTB marathon to be run on Sunday)
4-5th July --- Llanwrtyd Wells (GORE BIKE WEAR™ Sportive to be run on Saturday and the MTB Marathon on Sunday)
18th July --- ‘Merida Marathon on holiday’ Bad Goisern, Austria
1-2nd August --- Selkirk (GORE BIKE WEAR™ Sportive to be run on Saturday and the MTB Marathon on Sunday)
19-20th September --- Ruthin (GORE BIKE WEAR™ Sportive to be run on Saturday and the MTB Marathon on Sunday)
To find out more about the various locations go to the events page of the MTB-Marathon site and if you want to find out more about the GORE BIKE WEAR™ Road Sportive Series then please go to our newly created sportive site www.gorebikewearsportives.com.
Event supporters
The event village was nice and busy with the newest and latest from most of our sponsors: Merida Bicycles, High5, USE, Schwalbe, Ergon, CycleActive, Buff, CrankBrothers, MBUK, TheBikeChain.co.uk, Squirt, Neoguard, CTC, Topeak, Fizik, Gore Bike Wear, Fibrax, Phase 9 and last but not least Exposure Lights. Without their help and dedication the 2009 series would not be possible.
Photos and website updates
At this event we had 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. We have also made some further updates to the site so keep an eye on the news in the top left hand corner.
Bad Goisern event (18th July)
With Easter out of the way and the first marathon under our belt the summer seems to be coming closer and closer. And summer means Bad Goisern time. If you haven’t been to the ‘Merida Marathon on holiday’ in your ‘marathon career’ maybe this is the year. Big mountains, clean air and thousands of other likeminded bikers from all over Europe – what a great combination! Check out the details on the event and on the accommodation deal we have organised for you on the Bad Goisern page. There are some super cheap flights and a very interesting package deal to be had as well. Check the Bad Goisern page for details.
Next marathon – Crickhowell on the 15-16th May 2009
Don’t worry if you couldn’t make it to the first round of the Merida Bikes MTB Marathon Series (powered by MBUK) in Builth Wells, as the next one is only a few weeks away. After enjoying perfect conditions and heavily reworked courses as well as some new additions at the 1st round the 2nd round of the series will go to entire new location at the Glanusk Estate in Crickhowell. The event will concentrate entirely on the marathon rides on Sunday before we adding the GORE BIKE WEAR™ Road Sportive to the line-up at the next round in Llanwrtyd Wells (4-5th July). To find out more about the May round (including course description and profiles) please go to the Crickhowell event page. The entry is open and to enter please go directly to the entry page where you can either download an entry form or enter directly through the new online entry service.
08.04.09 - Last update for the East Weekend Marathon
Only a few days to go now before the 1st round of the 2009 series of the Merida Bikes MTB Marathons will get started with the EXPOSURE LIGHTS BIG NIGHT OUT night marathon in Builth Wells on the 11th April.
Where, when, what?
As in the years before the Night Marathon will be run on Saturday evening and will get started at approx. 7.30pm. The registration for the 1st event will open at 12pm (noon) on Saturday and will stay open till after the start of the night marathon. It will reopen on Sunday morning at 7am and will stay open till 9am. The start of the Merida Bikes MTB Spring Marathon is at 10.30am on Sunday morning – giving the night riders who want to go out again an extra half an hour in bed.
The event including the trade village, registration and camping will be based at the Royal Welsh Showground in Builth Wells which will be signposted from Friday afternoon onwards. Simply make your way to Builth Wells and follow the signs to the event village. The event will be open from Friday afternoon all the way to Monday morning – ideal for everyone who wants to make a proper cycling weekend of the 1st round of the series.
Entries and entries on the day
Entries are still coming in. If you have sent your entry form in the post in the last couple of days we might not be able to get you the confirmation back in time. But don’t worry – everybody will get in. You don’t need a confirmation to sign on. The online entry will stay open till Friday lunch time. Please make sure you don’t enter after that as we might not be able to get your entry in time. If you haven’t entered at all but still want to come along and ride the ELBNO night marathon and/or the Spring marathon simply come to the registration in the event village and enter on the line. Please be aware that there is a £5 surcharge for entries on the day. Don’t forget that there is £15 discount if you enter both events. So even if you have entered one event already and decide on the day that you quite fancy the other one as well then the event you enter on the day will have a £15 discount.
Exposure Lights – charging station and competition
The guys from Exposure Lights the 'name provider' and the lighting sponsor of the Exposure Lights Big Night Out (ELBNO), now in it's 5th successful year. They will be on site with the multi award winning range of cable free designed Exposure MaXx lights including the much loved Joystick MaXx head light. So go over and check it all out when you get to the event village. The guys will also have their charging station on site for everyone that needs a quick top up for their lights. Please be aware though that the charging station is only for top ups and that everybody should make sure that they come with their lights fully charged. Riders have to make sure that they carry sufficient lighting (front and back – there are road sections too) for the duration of the event. All finishers this year will receive a limited edition High Viz Exposure Big Night Out BUFF for completing the ride plus the traditional coffee, tea and cake when crossing the finish line.
Exposure's Rory Hitchens will be starting the ELBNO with his usual enthusiasm and another fantastic prize draw on the start line. Normally Exposure give away two of their world famous Joystick helmet lights but this year they are upping the stakes and giving away two custom engraved MaXx-D lights worth £325 each. These cable free units truly are "The Daddy" of all lights and pump out just short of 1000Lumens on MaXx, 3hrs+, setting but are also the perfect light for longer rides with the Ride setting perfect for all but the fastest downhill and burning for 10hrs+. Every year it seems Nick Craig and Stuart Bowers from Scott Racing are the first riders home in the ELBNO. They have been riding with Exposure Lights by choice since 2005. To enter for the prize draw all you have to do is take part in the ELBNO and be on the start line in time for the draw. Good luck.
Gore Bike Wear – Try B4 U Buy
As the official clothing sponsor of the Merida Bikes MTB Marathon Series for the third consecutive year GORE BIKE WEAR™ is giving you the chance to test out some of their gear for free. GORE BIKE WEAR™ and its retail partner WHEELBASE will lend you a jacket, shirt, vest or gilet to test and give the once or twice over during your ride. GORE BIKE WEAR™ products are made from highly durable technical fabrics such as GORE-TEX® and WINSTOPPER® products and designed to enhance your cycling experience whilst allowing you to focus on the adventure ahead of you.
If you aren’t sure what to test out ask the on-site technical team for advice. You simply hand back what you’ve tested at the end of your ride (they will even wash it for you!) and if you like what you’ve tried you can purchase a new one from WHEELBASE in the event retail village. Take a look at the new stock for this season on www.gorebikewear.co.uk
Directions / NEW event location
The event village is based on the Royal Welsh Showground in Builth Wells www.rwas.co.uk/society. The Royal Welsh Showground has lots of hard standing and hard parking for everyone and has plenty of 1st class facilities – simply the ideal location for an Easter weekend MTB Marathon. The camping areas are well drained and there are lots of linking roads all over the showground for easy access. For directions to the event location please go here: HYPERLINK www.rwas.co.uk/en/society/how-to-find-us . The event will be signposted from Friday lunchtime onwards. It doesn’t matter where you are coming from as you will easily find your way to the event village. The event will be open from Friday afternoon until Monday morning. For the GPS users out there the postcode is LD2 3SY. If you are still looking for a B+B or a Hotel please find the details for the local Tourist Information on our Local Info page: www.mtb-marathon.co.uk/local_services/local_services.php.
06.04.09
Just a week now before the doors to the event village at the Merida Bikes MTB Marathon opens at the new location of the Royal Welsh Showground in Builth Wells. The 11th and 12th of April are the two days when the Merida Bikes MTB Marathon Series powered by MBUK will get going with the start of the EXPOSURE LIGHTS BIG NIGHT OUT Night Marathon at 7.30pm on Saturday (11th April) evening.
BIGGER, BETTER, BRIGHTER BIG NIGHT OUT – 11th APRIL 2009
Back by popular demand for it's 4th year the 2009 Exposure Lights Big Night Out will again break records for the largest mass start Mountain Bike Night Ride in the UK. Whilst there are always some racers at the front vying for the honour of first place home and an early night to bed before Sunday's marathon, the big attraction of the ELBNO is the fantastic appeal of riding a challenging single loop course out in the dark over the Welsh Mountains with your fellow bikers for company. The route will be well marked and the ever popular half way tea, coffee and cake stop is a welcome break for those not in a hurry. All finishers this year will receive a limited edition High Viz Exposure Big Night Out BUFF for completing the ride.
The Exposure Lights team will be on hand to support the event and answer any technical queries or provide last minute light charging you might need before the event rolls out to the hills at dusk. If you need your lights charging make sure you bring your charger with you! There will NOT be any lights for hire. You MUST bring sufficient lights with you for this event (front and back - there are road sections too). Whilst Exposure would love to help out with hire, the event is so popular now they regret that it's not practical. If you need to improve your Lumens count on the night then there will be fully charged Exposure Lights available to purchase on the day.
Exposure's Rory Hitchens will be starting the ELBNO with his usual enthusiasm and another fantastic prize draw on the start line. Normally Exposure give away two of their world famous Joystick helmet lights but this year they are upping the stakes and giving away two custom engraved MaXx-D lights worth £325 each. These cable free units truely are "The Daddy" of all lights and pump out just short of 1000Lumens on MaXx, 3hrs+, setting but are also the perfect light for longer rides with the Ride setting perfect for all but the fastest downhill and burning for 10hrs+. Every year it seems Nick Craig and Stuart Bowers from Scott Racing are the first riders home in the ELBNO. They have been riding with Exposure Lights by choice since 2005. To enter for the prize draw all you have to do is take part in the ELBNO and be on the start line in time for the draw. Good luck.
Rory tells us that USE/Exposure's new Events Manager, John Cookson will also be at the Big Night Out and that there is also an exciting new product in the Exposure range that will be unveiled at their stand in the main marquee on Saturday. Make sure you make a visit to John and Rory to find out more (www.exposurelights.com).
SPRING MARATHON – 12th APRIL 2009 But there is more than just ‘the only UK night marathon’. On Sunday the 1st day marathon of the 2009 season will get started at the slightly later time of 10.30am. Three distances will be on offer giving you the chance to pick the right distance for your early season fitness. John has been busy over the winter finding and creating these courses which will be able to deal with pretty much anything you can throw at them. 80% of the course is new, offering even the hardened Builth Wells rider something new to look forward to. The course is in superb condition and John is keen to point out that almost all off road section are on the sweetest single and double track the area has to offer. To find out more on the Spring marathon and in particular about the new course simply go to:http://www.mtb-marathon.co.uk/events/builth_wells_spring.php.
Enter now!
There are still places available for the Exposure Lights Big Night Out Night Marathon and the Spring Marathon. The day entry is always extremely hectic so to save yourself the hassle of entering on the line and more importantly to save the £5 day entry surcharge make sure you enter now at: http://www.mtb-marathon.co.uk/entry_forms/entry_forms.php.
There will be day entry available but there is a £5 surcharge for entering on the day. Please make sure that you arrive early enough to give you plenty of time to park up, sort your equipment out and enter the events.
And don’t forget our special weekend offer where you can save yourself £15 on the combined entry fee if you enter the Exposure Lights Big Night Out and the Merida Bikes Spring Marathon.
High5-Online - the guys from www.high5-online.com will be there with their stand with lots of special offers on High5 Energy Drinks Bars and Gels to keep you going throughout the night and all the next day – don’t forget to bring any old bottles that you want to swap off for new ones – just take them over to the stand and they’ll take it from there – for lots of special deals why not head over www.high5-online.com and pick up a bargain.
Borrow, Test, Return – Some GORE BIKE WEAR™ for free
As the official clothing sponsor of the Merida Bikes MTB Marathon Series for the third consecutive year GORE BIKE WEAR™ is giving you the chance to test out some of their gear for free. GORE BIKE WEAR™ and its retail partner WHEELBASE will lend you a jacket, shirt, vest or gilet to test and give the once or twice over during your ride. GORE BIKE WEAR™ products are made from highly durable technical fabrics such as GORE-TEX® and WINSTOPPER® products and designed to enhance your cycling experience whilst allowing you to focus on the adventure ahead of you.
If you aren’t sure what to test out ask the on-site technical team for advice. You simply hand back what you’ve tested at the end of your ride (they will even wash it for you!) and if you like what you’ve tried you can purchase a new one from WHEELBASE in the event retail village. Take a look at the new stock for this season on www.gorebikewear.co.uk
MTBWorks will be on site - keep yourself fit to ride with a little help
Don't let persistent injury, poor stretching or fatigue ruin your riding this season. MTBWorks will be at every round of the Merida Marathon offering a complete package of pre- and post event physical therapy for optimal performance. Specialist advice on injuries, self care and maintenance routines, plus a wide range of techniques from orthopaedic massage and facilitated stretching to sports acupuncture and cryotherapy. Book your race day massage in advance by emailing mtbworks@gmail.com or visit www.mtbworks.com.
CycleActive Skills Arena
The team from CycleActive will be also on site offering their fantastic skills courses which will help you to get a good start into the 2009 mountain biking season. If you want to make use of the FOC offer at the 1st round of the series please make sure that you book yourself in in advance as places are limited. To book a space on a skills ride email them at admin@cycleactive.co.uk. To find out more about CycleActive visit them at www.cycleactive.co.uk
16.03.09
March is already here and April is hot on it’s heals…and April means that the 1st round of the Merida Bikes MTB Marathon Series powered by MBUK featuring the EXPOSURE LIGHTS BIG NIGHT OUT Night Marathon is fast approaching. It’s now less than 5 weeks to go before the series returns to Builth Wells where you can enjoy the new event location and the 3 new courses on offer.
EXPOSURE LIGHTS BIG NIGHT OUT night marathon – 11th April 2009
The first new course on offer is the new EXPOSURE LIGHTS BIG NIGHT OUT night marathon course which will be run on the evening of the 11th April. For years the night marathon has been the official opener to the series and 2009 will be no exception. A 50km course with around 1400meters of climbing will create a fantastic challenge and still leaving some in the tank for the Sunday morning Spring Marathon. The guys from EXPOSURE LIGHTS will be on site showing off their latest lighting developments and offering advice on what to look out for when ‘indulging’ in the fascinating world of night riding. This year’s special finishing present will be the new reflective BUFF which will be handed out to the riders alongside tea, coffee and cake when coming back over the finish line. So don’t miss out on this cracker of an opener and enter the event on our entry page. You can find further details on the EXPOSURE LIGHTS BIG NIGHT OUT on its event page.
Merida Bikes MTB Spring Marathon – 12th April 2009
Following the night activities will be the Merida Bikes MTB Spring Marathon on the 12th April. Three courses with some never before used sections will offer something for everybody - starting with a 25km course (600m of climbing), followed by the all new 50km course (1,200m of climbing) going all the way to the 70km course with 1,900m of climbing. To find out more about the Spring Marathon Click HERE and don’t forget that there is a special reduced weekend ticket for the event if you are keen to do both events over the weekend.
New location for the April Builth Wells
For 2009 we have moved across the river back to the original event location when we started 10 years ago with the first ‘100’ event – the Royal Welsh Showground. With ample hard standing, tarmac access routes, a superb infrastructure and first class facilities the Royal Welsh Showground is the ideal location to host our 1st event in 2009. And the event is not much further from the shops, pubs, restaurants, hotel and B+Bs in Builth.
How to enter?
There are two ways to enter the events in 2009. You can either download an entry form and send it to us or you can use the online entry. To enter the Merida Bikes MTB Marathon Series 2009 please go to the entry page on the MTB marathon site. To enter the GORE BIKE WEAR™ Road Sportive Series 2009 please go onto the designated sportive site www.gorebikewearsportives.com and click onto the entry page. Please don’t forget that we have a price reduced weekend ticket for all the events which have a ride on Saturday and a ride on Sunday.
Other events in the Merida Bikes MTB Marathon Series 2009.
If you can’t make it to the April round of the Merida Bikes MTB Marathon Series 2009 – don’t worry there is plenty more going on in our 2009 series. Here the other dates and location on offer.
15 - 16th May
Crickhowell
(MTB Marathon to be run on Sunday)
4 - 5th July
Llanwrtyd Wells (GORE BIKE WEAR Sportive to be run on Saturday and the MTB Marathon on Sunday)
18th July
‘Merida Marathon on holiday’ Bad Goisern, Austria
1 - 2nd August
Selkirk (GORE BIKE WEAR Sportive to be run on Saturday and the MTB Marathon on Sunday)
19 - 20th September
Ruthin (GORE BIKE WEAR Sportive to be run on Saturday and the MTB Marathon on Sunday)
To find out more about the various locations go to the events page of the MTB-Marathon site and if you want to find out more about the GORE BIKE WEAR™ Road Sportive Series then please go to our newly created sportive site www.gorebikewearsportives.com.
Guidebook in its way to you as we speak
The last few weeks have been super hectic with putting together the MTB-Marathon and the TransWales ’09 guidebooks. The two booklets are once more packed with information and stories from the world of marathon riding and TransUK racing and will guarantee some fantastic reading. If you are on our database then you will receive them in the next few days. If you aren’t and you are keen to find out more about our events then simply send us your postal address to info@mtb-marathon.co.uk and will post you a copy FOC (UK only). If you prefer the downloadable version then simply download your copy from the magazine box on the right had of the screen.
Big investment for 2009 events and beyond
The rather harsh summer of 2008 has encouraged us even in these rather uncertain times to jump into the cold water and invest heavily into our equipment. For the 2009 series and beyond we have invested more than £ 35,000 into our own shower facilities which will allow us to have first class facilities wherever the venue is not able to offer them.
Merida Bikes MTB Marathon Series 2009 – entry now open
The 2009 Merida Bikes MTB Marathon Series will be once more sported by our long standing and loyal sponsor Merida Bikes. For the 2009 series will again 5 UK events plus one ‘Merida Marathon on Holiday’ round in Austria up for grabs with all together 29 courses to choose from which will allow riders of all ability to find the ideal challenge.
Entry now open
We have now opened the entry by adding the downloadable entry forms and the updated online entry to the site. Riders will be able to enter all Merida bikes MTB marathons (except the Austria round) and Gore Bike Wear Sportives through the entry facilities. Click here to be taken directly to the Merida Bikes MTB marathon Series 2009 entry page.
Unfortunately the planned Barnoldswick round had to be cancelled due to excess issues which could not be overcome but rather than cutting the series down to 4 events John Lloyd managed to find two new locations to fill the Barnoldswick gap as well as replace the Builth Wells summer round. That means that we will add all together 8 completely new and never before used courses to the 2009 line-up. Exciting times in particular for the regular marathons riders we think. Beside the new additions we will see the return two long standing events within the Merida Bikes MTB Marathon Series – the Exposure Lights Bike Night Out (sponsored by Exposure Lights) night marathon and the ‘on holiday’ round in Bad Goisern, Austria.
You can find all the details on the new rounds as well as the old face full once on the event pages.
Gore Bike Wear Road Sportive Series 2009
The Gore Bike Wear Road Sportive Series will return with three rounds in 2009.
Dates (sportive to be run on the Saturday of the event weekend):
• 4th July --- Llanwrtyd Wells
• 1st August --- Selkirk
• 19th September --- Ruthin
As in the launch years each round will have two different courses (classic with 80-100mile and standard with 40-50mile) with the Selkirk round making the exception by hosting three. Selkirk will have the classic and standard sportive but also the newly introduced ‘extreme’ sportive with a course length of 130-140miles. So with three locations to choose from and with all together 7 course on offer sportive riders off all abilities should be able to find a suitable challenge.
We are currently in the last few stages on the new sportive website which similarly to the marathon website will have all the event and location details, course distributions and course maps as well as downloadable entry forms and online entry. If you can’t wait till the new site is up and running please be aware that you can enter the sportives also through the marathon entry page.
TransWales 2009 – online entry now open
The entry to the 4th TransUK - the TransWales 2009 (15-22nd of August 2009) is open and we have already received lots of entries from all over the world. But no worry there are still lots of places available.
Our website has all the event details and entry facilities including the new online entry. The online entry makes payment from abroad a doddle as well as it allows participants to pay for the event via credit or debit cards. If you have already paid your deposit by cheque then you an still pay the remaining entry fee through the online entry (meaning via credit or debit cards). Please click here to be taken directly to the entry page on the TransWales 2009 website.
Final round of the GORE BIKE WEAR™ Road Sportive Series ‘09:
Borrow, Test, Return – Some GORE BIKE WEAR™ for free
As at the last event – Saturday was all about riding on skinny tires. More than 250 road enthusiasts turned up to enjoy the fantastic roads around the greater Selkirk area. And this time there were not two but three distances on offer. The route took the riders through the Tweed, Yarrow and Ettrick valleys starting with a long yet gentle climb following the Tweed River upstream. But it wasn’t all easy going. Our course designer Pete Laing had some ‘proper’ climbs up his sleeve to turn what appeared to be a gentle stroll into a real challenge. Each route made the most of the network of narrow hill roads linking the river valleys that the Scottish Borders is so famous for. The climb tot-up for each distance is… 47 mile: 4 climbs, 95 mile: 8 climbs, 120 mile: 10 climbs. None of the climbs are Alpine in scale but only one is less than 100m vertical and if you check the course profiles, there isn’t a flat road in between, so the ascent total soon builds up. The 120 mile route especially was a bit of a beast with 3600m of ascent. After 2hour and 25minutes the first 47 mile rider came into the event village while the last 120 mile rider made the most of the day and took 8 hour and 59 minutes to complete the course.
After the road event came to an end on Saturday afternoon the mountain bikers started to descend onto the event village in Selkirk. More than 900 riders lined up being told by the promising weather forecast that a sunny day would lie ahead. And for once the weather forecast did not disappoint. Following feedback from the last couple of years course designer Pete Laing changed a few of the key sections as well as adding some more fantastic singletrack to the menu. The T-shirt crew at the Rugby Club were greeted with a sheer endless line of big smiles and grins on people’s faces telling us that Pete had once more done a great job. Even with the mixed weather prior to the event the course was in almost perfect condition. The sunshine and the perfect finish line setup encouraged lots of people to stay for a while and to enjoy a cold drink while watching the riders come over the line. The first rider on the Mini Marathon made it over the line in just under 2 hours while the last rider on the 88km long full marathon took 8hours and 41min to complete the challenging course.
New / updated courses for Selkirk in 2009
More than just 1st class single track
3rd round of the Merida Bikes MTB Powered by MBUK Marathon Series
Merida Bikes MTB Marathon Series – Llanwrtyd Wells 4-5th July 2009
We have just returned from the 2nd round of the Merida Bikes MTB powered by MBUK Marathon Series 2009 which was hosted at the new location of the Glanusk Estate in Crickhowell giving all that took part four never before used courses. The weather turned the already challenging trails into an extra tough ride but that didn’t stop almost 900 riders entering the event. 
The 10am start on Sunday morning was as always a mass start affair which took the rider through the beautiful Glanusk estate, followed by promenading through Crickhowell before heading up into the hills. The 1st rider on the 35km long mini marathon came over the line in just over two hours while the last riders on the full (80km) marathon made it back into the event village at 6.14pm after 8 hours and 14 minutes on the trails. 
John Lloyd has been working hard on the four new courses and is rather pleased with the results. The four loops are a perfect mixture of swoopy double and single track which run primarily on mountain Mooreland and stony tracks. So besides being fast riding and fun packed they are also resistant to a little bit of bad weather and hard wear. 
Where, when, what?
Exposure Lights – charging station and competition
New location for the April Builth Wells
Guidebook in its way to you as we speak
