That was tough…

Pretty high attrition rate by all accounts.

stu, was i today, and how long did it take you..

What were the trails like?

I've heard the organisational side of things was a bit lacking… start times, food stations etc.

Started at 6:30 this morning Ton. My time was about 11.5 hours though I've not seen the results yet since I drove home after it, craving a night in my own bed.

I've got a very sore arse now (but not the kind you get in prison)

What were the trails like?

Hmmmm. Some nice stuff but a LOT of fire road (which I guess they had to do to make up the mileage). The Old Testament-style rain that has fallen for the last 40 days and 40 nights made things a bit soggy. Some of the puddles could swallow a horse and cart.

I thought it was ace, not that I finished due to mechanicals and back problems. A wide variety of trails from fire roads to bog to technical twisty singletrack. Couldn't fault the start times or food stations. I think the only small area for concern was having to bring the proof of checklist of kit the previous night rather than on the day.

Some of the puddles could swallow a horse and cart.

Especially after the 49 mile feed station where, i kid you not, 2 successful 'puddles' were headtube deep

It was a well organised event i thought considering it was the first although we did start 5 minutes late. Course was well marked, marshalls done a great job, the 'hot' feed station was well equipt. The trail conditions were tough. Going over the border was harsh and because of the amount of water, surfaces were very tough going. The wind was also quite bad in places. Still, i'm glad i done it (and completed it ) although not sure i'm tempted to do it again (just now). By sounds of it half the field pulled out

Dont think i've ever done a race/event where i felt nausea, bad bout of feeling sick, seen double, became extremely hungry, started to cramp and lost all energy during 1 days riding. Think i bonked big time.

The only negative side of the event was there distance covered boards that the hung up. Boy were they away out and very demotivating

Any results ????

I thought it was really well organised. I particularly appreciated the motorcross bikes that followed my down the last singletrack with their headlights on as it was pitch black in there at 8:30!

I came DFL in 14 hours. I bonked just after the first border crossing and struggled even on the blue grade singletrack before the hot food stop. Felt loads better after a long food stop (best lentil soup ever) but that wore off just after the last food stop, which meant the last 22 miles took me 3.5 hours.

A big thankyou to the organisers and marshals, who were all really friendly and full of encouragement.

tough event! the organisation was good, imo, especially for the first running of a new event.

food stops, bag drops, marshalling all good. it's a long way – of course there's going to be a lot a fire road. plus the only reason we started late was because riders turned up late and didn't register at the start. the organisers were understandably keen to make sure they knew who was riding, so limited faff ensued.

i got round, in a little over 12 and half hours.

all credit to the organisers – good show.

Crashed and trashed my front brake after 50 miles, while going just fine. Gutted. Good catching up with folk though and, for a new event, I thought it was relatively glitch free and generally well run, especially given that they expected 80-90 entries and ended up with 230-odd riders.

Was at the finish for a while and everyone who came in, including the winner and other top placed riders, was commenting on just how tough it was. Lots of dragginess plus the elevation profile looked like a saw blade.

Good, but gutted not to finish, though to be fair, it was my own fault for riding like a muppet, but there you go 🙂

I heard a rumour that only half the starters finished. Anyone heard similar?

Have to agree about the marshalls – all really encouraging and friendly. It makes a HUGE difference when you're feeling low and someone says "well done!". I think it's a measure of the organisation that not once in 100 miles did you have to worry about missing a turn off.
You have so many highs and lows in a race like this. I was feeling pretty ropey after the 49mile feed but the lovely girl on the pink singlespeed got me through it and back into my zen-like trance.

Think you are all nutters/heros for even entering. If you are a singlespeeder then more the former. Would have loved to do it, but realistically out of my league right now, struggle enough with a 100k merida let alone 100 miles.
Nice one fellas, and keep the stories coming, those of us who didn't go this year are probably thinking about next year (I know I am).

Well done to those that gave it a shot was going to come over and watch as it's just over the hills, well sort of, but stuck at work. Current state no I wouldn't enter as my fitness is far from good enough for that sort of miles and knowing the hills around here they're good going hills.

Especially after the 49 mile feed station where, i kid you not, 2 successful 'puddles' were headtube deep

that was the most mental puddle I've ever seen.

great event, I pulled out after 65 miles, I knew I wasn't going to make the final CP so decided a lift back was better! (my average speed at that point was 5 mph and had been for 3 hours)

Yeah it was tough, but personally I think thats a good thing, it means all those people sitting at home today will be feeling pretty special! and hopefully it will get a bit of a reputation for being tough

well organised too, I'll definitely be back next year hopefully I'll finish!

and as others have mentioned anyone who finished on a SS deserves superhuman status on these pages!

I bailed at the 50 mile mark as the be able to get home to my own bed tonight or another 7 hours in the saddle maths wasn't that hard to do. If the conditions/weather had been better I might well have stuck at it, although realistically I wasn't where I needed to be fitness wise. Bit gutted to only have got half way but it was definitely the right decisions as it wasn't being fun.

Seemed like a pretty well run event though and the fact that all the marshals were really friendly and encouraging was great.

Definitely up for another go next year.

Did anyone get an accurate measurement of the course length and elevation gain?

I just had a simple bike computer which was set to metric and weighed in with 169.9km which is 105.6 miles. Not sure if I set the wheel size correctly though, so this may be a bit out.

Anyone get a GPS trace? I'd be intrigued to see the elevation profile as well – "sawtooth" describes it pretty well.

my computer came in at 108 something, although, like you say, not sure if I set the tyre size correctly.
Had a brillian time. no qualms with any organisation issues. thought it was faultless for a first time. I'll definitely be back next year! 🙂

Well organised event, especially considering it was the first one. Really friendly atmosphere out on the course with the helpful marshalls and other riders. The course was marked out really well. The conditions were pretty bad with the wind/mist when you went over the border but at least there was no heavy rain. Defintely be back next year.

Got a 9 hrs 40 time which with a 32lb full susser and a puncture was not bad. Aimed for the 10 hour mark so happy to beat it. Think if i do it again next year an extremely light full susser or carbon hardtail is required and maybe a top 5 finish.

I never stayed to the presentation side of things but does anyone know if anything else was handed out??
Also big up to the accelerate guy who i managed to blag one of his towels of which he also kindly wrapped up a tub of his sport drink with. Hopefully results will be out soon

I won an Exposure Joystick for being DFL!

You lucky bugger, could be me next year, will have to bear it in mind 😉

really Mike? nice one!! always persevere kids, look at the rewards you get!

I agree with the above- a very well organised event. No let downs in directions, start was only 5 mins late, prize giving was very good humoured.

I pulled out at 55 miles, and am very disappointed with myself- first race I've ever pulled out of. My legs were fine, my bike was fine but I was mentally done in. We emerged from the woods on a climb before the 2nd feed station and the wind was in my face and the climb just kept coming and I thought "i'm not enjoying this". Decided the race I'm doing next weekend wasn't worth sacrificing for "just a finish" here.

Personally, it didn't suit me- think I prefer the mental boost of laps and the opportunity they allow for constantly interesting trails rather than linking things with lots of fireroad, but there's definite appeal in this sort of "super endurance" event for a lot of people and I look forward to seeing more of them.

A massive well done to the organisers, and every single finisher- you've all done something quite amazing.

I have it GPS'ed and post the details once I'm home. Fairly certain it was more than 100 miles.

if anyone reading this can get a message to all of the marshals-thank you! you guys were brilliant, waiting around in a combination of wind, rain and midges for a bunch of people to ride past 🙂

well done Mike for finishing last. In some ways that's harder than doing it quickly, or something.

What an experience, brutally hard and a great introduction for me to some ace trails at Kielder and Newcastleton. (Too much fireroad..!.. any less and we'd still be out there)

It's obvious an unbelievable amount of work went into this event, and for a first attempt on this scale it all worked well. The amount of local interest showed how much they were behind it too. Finishing prize of a beer and a burger added to the satisfaction of just finishing.

Not sure how many finally finished but I got in at 10.5 hours and heard that only about 40 had completed by then.

GPS stats of flag to flag ride time 10hr07 for 102.6 miles 11429 ft ascent.
Must have done 40 miles with brakes metal on metal, amazingly still slowed me enough for the final descent chase.

And for those that didn't hang around you got a thermal finishers mug and the winners/podium trophies were superb polished oak blocks.

The deep puddle after the food stop was indeed mental, hitting some of the others at speed and having the wave wash over my head was great fun.

Wow, sound tough. I'm even more impressed by one of the guys in our team who finished 5th at Kielder and then did a 1:22 half marathon today 😯

Well done all that finished. I was a tough event but a good one. Hard course due to conditions.

Think I was around 9 hours 40 but not entirely sure.

Had to change brake pads, but the ones that were in when I started had been in for about a year!!

This event was harder than 10 more at moray where I did 12 laps which was around 120 miles. The single lap meant you did not know what was coming next. Good in some ways, but then again you did not want to push to hard to start with.

I thought it was brilliant and really enjoyed it. I thought the course designer had done a marvellous job finding a very varied course through the forest with an excellent mix of fireroad, manmade and natural trails. There were plenty of places where I thought it would have been much easier if there hadn't been 100+ mountainbikers there before me!

The organisation seemed spot on – my only slight gripe was a shortage of food at the second feed place but I probably should have got there sooner.

It was good to meet a few people off here too, miketually, richpips, Ti29er, martinh and probably some others I didn't realise.

I'm chuffed to have done it, 12hr 45 or so and I rode it all!

I spoke to Sara, one of the main organisers, and she said that they wanted it to be a hard course. If it was too easy and everybody completed then it wouldn't be 'special'. I think this will go down as a 'big' event in British mountain bike racing.
I am pleased to say that I completed (about 11hrs 30) but I was wrecked at the end having bonked with about 10 miles to go. Memo to self: 32×16 and Kielder do not mix.
Well done to everybody who took part and big up to the organisers.

I wholeheartedly agree that it was a great event. The conditions were testing, and I think if there's a dry course in years to come sub8hrs, and even 7.5hrs won't be a problem.

That 49mile mark wasn't a whole lot of fun. At times I did think there were a couple of short sections like that which could have been culled due to the conditions.

Some of the feeds/distances did seem a bit off, but not too drastically, and personally it didn't leave me in a precarious position. Having feedzones is invaluable in a race like this.

If they wanted to make a hard race – job done! More singletrack would be good. but long events like this need firetrail. More people would have DNF'ed or finished in the dark if there was less of it – gradient dependant I guess.

And my figures? I clocked 172km and 3500m. That's a day of ouch.

I echo everyone else's appreciation of the organisation – best marked course i've ever been on- was impressed with the way they'd marked loads of the potential danger points with orange paint (big rocks, roots etc) – some might say that's over the top but after 13 hours riding I needed all the help i could get!

Came in just before 8pm giving me a time of around 13.5 hours – well happy with that considering the amount of time i spent thinking there was no way i was going to finish – particularly between the 25 and 50 mile stops.

Mr Sparkle, we finished in a 11.5 hours? That's good news, my fatigue addled brain thought it was 12.5 !

Anybody know if theres any photos online yet? or if not, what site they will be appearing on?! Seemed to be plenty of photographers around the course…..

dot – my mind was fairly fatigued too but I thought the guy at registration said it was about 6.10 when I went to sign off so subtracting the time it took to drag my battered body from the finish to the Castle and given we started at 6.30 ish… I might well be completely wrong though! It was good to have a chat with you after. Now get out on that 'cross bike, asap!

dickydutch – I think Jooz Dymond will have some available sooner or later.

just to add my thoughts, excellent event and worth a 600 mile round trip. Course was very well marked and had a bit of everything. A lot of fireroad but as people have mentioned you can't do 100 miles of singletrack. The key point was that it was an all weather course – struggling to think of many other races that would have gone so well after a week of rain.

Highlights
– riding up some manmade trail to the border in the cloud when the piper kicked in, completely surreal!
– finding a limitless supply of tea and cake at Newcastleton (after another piper experience) with a feast of singletrack to follow
– hops based recovery drink at the finish

Lowlights
– my sugar & tea buzz from Newcastleton switching off just as I started that long gradual drag up the side of the river after the newcastleton.

Got round in 10hrs bang on I think, be interesting to see the results and timegaps to the fast chaps. I had 105 miles on the speedo and 11600 ft of climbing, a big day out and no mistake!

Matthew

AS for number of finishers- the rumour was that there were only 100 made the first cut off, then the drop out rate after that. Word was 68% dropout rate.