Tuesday 11 November 2008

Kilbroney Challenge 2009 - Provisional Date

The date for the 2009 Kilbroney Challenge has been provisionally set for Saturday 20th June 2008.

After the deluge of 2008 we hope everyone will be back for another go at the event.

Sunday 22 June 2008

RACE RESULTS

Race Results

Male –
1st – Don Travers & Martin O’Hagan
2nd – Rick McKee & Davy Creighton
3rd – Billy Reed & Gerry Kingston

Female –
1st – Kate Cronin & Anna Cronin
2nd – Jennifer Watson & Andrea Harrower
3rd – Kate Hebblethwaite & Sadhbh NiHoGaln

Mixed –
1st – Melanie Earwaker & Niall Donovan
2nd – Phil & Valerie O’Neill
3rd – Simon Keating & Julie Murphy

I’ll get a race report and photos up later in the week after I have dried out!
Well done to all competitors – a tough day made tougher by the worst weather conditions on the mountain probably since the beginning of the year.

Wednesday 18 June 2008

KILBRONEY CHALLENGE - FINAL UPDATE

The entries are closed and on Saturday 21 June forty two teams from across Ireland are set to pit themselves against the course we have set for the 2008 Kilbroney Challenge. It is a great course (we would say that as we have designed and planned it for the last six months) with amazing views all along the route and we hope each and every one of you enjoy it!

Ok, we have some questions that need answered
1) Are you a vegetarian? We have salads with Spicy Chicken at the finish for everyone and if you have an aversion to the feathered bird please let us know ASAP so we can make some up without chicken. The salads will be ordered on Thursday so we need to know before then. If you don’t let us know the chicken can be removed by you on the day. Also - does anyone have any food allergies?
2) Are you camping? If so please let us know how many of you are camping and for one night or two nights ASAP. NO CAMP FIRES OR LOUD MUSIC

Other details
1) Start Finish Location - http://www.clyc.org/dynamicdata/Directions.aspx
2) Bike Drop Details http://kilbroneychallenge.blogspot.com/2008/06/start-finish-area-bike-drop-off.html
3) Transitions on the Day http://kilbroneychallenge.blogspot.com/2008/06/transitions-kit.html

Race Registration and Briefing
Race registration will be from 8.00am and briefing will be at 10.00am.
The race will start at 10.30am.
There will be one time out during the race where you are off race time for a special task – more on the day. Apart from this time out there will be no other mandatory rest stops until the finish.
We will be using SportIdent timing system and if you lose the dibber allocated to the team you will have pay for a new one.

PLEASE MAKE SURE YOUR TEAM MATE KNOWS THE DETAILS CONTAINED IN THIS E MAIL AS WE DO NOT HAVE E MAIL ADDRESSES FOR SOME COMPETITORS

If you have any queries just reply to this e mail or ring Rowan on 0044 777 584 6097.

Thanks for your entry, see you all on Saturday morning.

Rowan McMahon & Henry McLaughlin

Wednesday 11 June 2008

EVENT CENTRE DIRECTIONS

The event centre this year is located at Carlingford Lough Yacht Club (http://www.clyc.org/).
Coming from Dublin / Dundalk / Belfast
Take the following route Newry – Warrenpoint – Rostrevor. Once in Rostrevor take the roundabout at the bottom of the town and follow the Kilkeel Road for approx 2 miles where you will see a signpost for Killowen (we will also have an NTSR arrow here). Turn right into this small road and follow it to the end where the yacht club is located. For those who have sat nav or who want to pre print directions using route planner the postcode of the yacht club is BT34 3AN.

More Directions here http://www.clyc.org/dynamicdata/Directions.aspx

PLEASE DRIVE VERY SLOWLY THROUGH KILLOWEN VILLAGE AND WATCH OUT FOR CHILDREN PLAYING ON THE ROAD. KEEP YOUR SPEED FOR DURING THE RACE!

START / FINISH AREA & BIKE DROP OFF

Upon arriving at the start / finish area you will be required to sign an entry form, have your SportIdent Dibber allocated to the team and then proceed to the collection of your goodie bag. Once you get your goodie bag you MUST IMMEDIATELY place the bike numbers (which will be located in the goodie bag) on each bike and then leave the bike to the lorry which will transport them to the bike drop location. Only bikes will be transported to the bike drop location – no rucksacks, cycling shoes etc will be transported. You may however leave water bottles, pump, tubes, and food etc on the bike as long as they are securely fastened.

As we will have up to 100 bikes to move we would ask that you arrive early as we may have to make several trips to and from the drop off location to ensure all bikes are transported in time for the race start.

If you feel that your bike is too valuable to be transported by us and would prefer to leave it to the bike drop off point yourself - that is fine. You WILL have to come to the event centre firstly to get the bike numbers placed on it and then travel back to the drop off point (approx 2 miles). You must also notify us that you have done so as we don't want any team arriving at the transition area and their bike still sitting at the Start / Finish Area.

TRANSITIONS & KIT

There will be three transitions on the day. These will not be located at the yacht club and when you leave there in the morning you will not be returning until the race finish.

The first transition is at the 1st paddle finish. Your bike will be here and when you drop your boat, paddle and buoyancy aid you will proceed on bike. No kit can be left behind at this transition.

The second transition will be the Bike / Run transition. You can leave your bike, helmet and SPD shoes (if wearing them) here. All other mandatory kit MUST be carried with you and there may be kit checks along the run section. Anyone found not having the mandatory kit with them will receive a substantial time penalty.

The final transition is the Bike / 2nd Paddle transition. The only thing you can leave at this transition area is your bike before paddling back to the Finish. Your bike will then be brought back when each lorry is full. If you need your bike in a hurry it can be collected at the transition by you. In the interests of bike security the marshal at this transition will have to confirm with Race HQ that he bikes can be released so if there is a delay we would ask that you be patient with the marshal.

RACE ETIQUETTE

We have secured permissions from the Forest Service, Newry & Mourne District Council and local Landowners for this race and we would ask that all racers show respect to anyone they meet on the trail (Forest Service / Council representatives, walkers etc). All teams must take all rubbish (sweet bags, gel / bar wrappers) back to the start finish area and if we find any team littering along the route they will incur a time penalty.

All our marshals are there on a voluntary basis; many of them will be on the mountain all day and will be looking forward to a pint or two as much as many of the racers will be. Show them plenty of respect – they might let your tyres down or drill a hole in your boat! If you have any problems about any aspects of the race save the comments for the end of the race and direct them towards the race organisers. We welcome your comments and they will all be taken on board when planning next year’s race.

CAMPING FACILITIES & POST RACE PARTY

As we have previously outlined there will be camping available at the event Start / Finish both on the night prior to the event and the night of the event. We would like to see a lot of people staying on after the race for he prize giving and light headed banter. There will be full bar facilities available. We may arrange a heli-drop (!!) of Chinese food as the night progresses but this would be at the expense of each and every person who is ordering it. NO CAMP FIRES ARE ALLOWED.

ENTRY FEE REFUNDS

As we have already incurred considerable expense to date on the race any team who withdraws from the race one week before the event date (14th June 2008) will not be entitled to a refund. We will endeavour to have the teams goodie bags forwarded to the team members.

Thursday 5 June 2008

COTSWOLD OUTDOOR



After many journeys to Belfast to meet with the representatives of Cotswold Outdoor (http://www.cotswoldoutdoor.com/) we are pleased to announce that Cotswold Outdoor have agreed to sponsor some prizes for the race and goodie bags for the Kilbroney Challenge. They have a great shop on the Boucher Road in Belfast and if you are in the vicinity call in and have a look around – you’ll more than likely leave with some kit.

Not The Sunday Run will also be making a donation to Cotswold Outdoors’ nominated Charity – Action Mental Health – there will be representatives from both Cotswold Outdoor and Action Mental Health at the race and we would ask that if any competitors have a few spare Pounds or Euro floating around in their pockets to send it in the direction of the Charity.

TORQ FITNESS


We are please to announce that you will be fuelled on the day by Torq Fitness Energy Products. They have agreed to send some product our way and we hope to have an energy bar and an energy gel or two for all competitors in your goodie bags. You should note that you should also bring along your own source of energy food and drink as one bar and one gel may not see you around the whole course! Their products have been getting rave reviews and it is great that they have agreed to support the Kilbroney Challenge.

Further information on Torq Fitness and their products can be found at http://www.torq.ltd.uk/ – you can also order online from their website. As in previous years we would ask that you support our sponsors – they might come back next year with more stuff!

Monday 2 June 2008

Looking for a Team Mate??

I have had quite a few people looking for team mates to race with. If you are one of those people please reply in this thread and hopefully you can hook up with someone to race with.

Please use spaces and "at" instead of @ in your e mail address to avoid the spammers getting hold of it!

Monday 19 May 2008

Kit List - Kilbroney Challenge 2008

MANDATORY EQUIPMENT LIST

Team Kit
1 X Map & Control Card (supplied)
1 X Indelible felt tip pen
1 X Mobile phone in a dry bag
1 X Space blanket/bag
1 X First aid kit (1 crepe bandage, 1 triangle bandage, 2 safety pins, 1 wound dressing & 6 adhesive dressings as a minimum)
1 X Bike repair kit (at least sufficient to repair puncture and broken chain)
1 X Compass (Recommended not Mandatory)

Individual Kit
1 X Mountain bike
1 X Cycle helmet
1 X Whistle
1 X Waterproof Coat.*
1 X Waterproof Leggings.*
1 X Small Rucksac (recommended not mandatory)**
1 X Full change of clothes for after the event (Recommended not Mandatory). Showers will be available after the event.
Drink (Recommended to bring enough to last 5 - 8 hours)
Suitable food / energy source (Recommended to bring enough to last 5 - 8 hours)

Unless it is otherwise stated all the above kit is Mandatory. Mandatory means you must come to the race with it and carry it at all times.

*Depending on the weather conditions we may ask everyone to wear waterproof coat & leggings for the kayak stage. Make sure you don't forget them.

** You will have to carry your runners with you for the duration of the race and it would be advisable to have a rucksac to carry these.

Thursday 15 May 2008

Kilbroney Challenge 2008 Final Route Details

The elevation of the route of the Kilbroney Challenge 2008 is shown above.
We have finally got a chance to do the full course of the 2008 Kilbroney Challenge. It will be approximately 40km in length and will be of the following format

Paddle – 2km
Bike – 17km. There will be two small foot sections during this stage.
Run – 10km. This will be on open mountain trails.
Bike – 9km. Through some of the best trails Rostrevor has to offer. Make sure your brakes are in good working order!!
Optional foot section – 3km – 4km. Competitors will gain a generous time bonus if they complete this section correctly.
Paddle – 2km
There will also be a couple of special tasks on the day – you have been warned!

The total bike section will have approximately 1,000 meters of climbing and the run will have approximately 500 meters of climbing. The race will cover some very interesting sections of the forest and mountains around Rostrevor and if we get weather like we did last year it is set to be a cracking day.

Tuesday 13 May 2008

New NTSR E mail address

We have had to change our e mail address last week after getting massive amounts of spam.

The new address, if anyone has any queries, is as follows:

hello (at) notthesundayrun.com - replace the (at) with @ and remove the spaces before and after the (at).

Monday 14 April 2008

Gaelforce West Partnership


After some discussions with representatives of Detail Events (http://www.allinthedetail.com/) we are now in a position to announce that we have secured some entries into the Gaelforce West Adventure Race (http://www.gaelforcewest.ie/) as prizes for participants in the Kilbroney Challenge. The race which takes place on the weekend 23 – 24 August in Westport attracts large numbers of competitors and promises to be a great event once again in 2008. In addition to the Gaelforce West Race Detail Events have just announced that the Rat Race (Urban based adventure racing) is coming to Belfast and Galway later this year. For more details on this see the Rat Race Website: http://www.ratraceadventure.com/

We are currently in talks with some other potential sponsors and further announcements are expected shortly.

Saturday 8 March 2008

Bike Loop

We have had a run over the cycle leg of the race and it promises to be a good one! It covers just over 25km with 1000 meters of climbing and will be spit into three different sections. Expect other race disciplines and special tasks in between the cycle sections.

It is about 70% on forest tracks with the remainder being on open mountain trails and tracks. There are some great views along the way – stopping to appreciate them is not mandatory but highly recommended!!



Tuesday 29 January 2008

Online Entries Now Open

Entry for the Kilbroney Challenge has now opened. You can register online here
https://www.sportident.co.uk/entries/event.php?event_id=124

Alternatively if you are having difficulty registering online please send an e mail to info@notthesundayrun.com and we'll send you a paper entry form.

Friday 25 January 2008

Race and Entry Details

After some negotiations we have been given permission to use the facilities of Carlingford Lough Yacht Club, Killowen Point for our race and we will have camping and showering facilities at the Start / Finish area this year. We will also have bar and food facilities (at competitors own expense) after the race.

Location - Carlingford Lough Yacht Club, Killowen Point, Rostrevor, Co Down, BT34 3AN – http://www.multimap.com/maps/?hloc=GBBT34%203AN#t=l&map=54.07505,-6.18362164&loc=GB:54.07505:-6.18362:16bt343anBT343AN

Event Date - Saturday 21 June 2008
Registration on site Starts - 8.00am – Saturday 21 June 2008
Race starts - 10.00am – Saturday 21 June 2008
Entries Cease - Saturday 31 May 2008 or when 50 teams limit is reached
Cost of the Event - £60.00 per team of two
Categories - Male, Female, Mixed

Wednesday 9 January 2008

2008 Race Details

The date for the 2008 Kilbroney Challenge has been set for Saturday 21st June 2008. The route will be somewhat different to last year’s event and will see competitors spending more time on the mountains around Rostrevor as opposed to the forest trails in and around Kilbroney Park. The 2007 (Review of 2007 Kilbroney Challenge) race proved to be a great success and we hope to see all of last years competitors back for another crack at the event.

We are currently in negotiations for a new Start / Finish / Transition area and if we obtain permission to use the facility we will have camping facilities, showers, food and most importantly a bar for post race light headed banter. For those who are wishing to stay, the camping facilities should be available for the entire weekend. More to follow on this at a later date when we have an agreement reached with the facility in question. Another new aspect which we hope to have in place for the 2008 race is online entry using the SportIdent system.

The exact format of the race is yet to be decided but it will involve the same disciplines as the 2007 race – mountain biking, running (probably a bit more fell / hill running than in the 2007 race), kayaking on Carlingford Lough and of course some “special tasks” which will be kept secret until the day of the race. If you have any queries regarding the Kilbroney Challenge 2008 please contact us at hello (at) notthesundayrun (dot) com

For this year the Kilbroney Challenge is to be included in the Causeway Coast Adventure Race series (http://www.causewaycoastar.co.uk/). This is a great series of races aimed at all adventure racers and I would suggest that anyone wishing to take part in one get their entry in early as places for these races fill up very fast. If anyone has any queries regarding the races organised by Causeway Coast AR please feel free to contact Ivan Park at ivan@causewaycoastar.co.uk

More updates will follow as we progress with route planning and other organisational matters.

Thanks

All the crew at NTSR