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The Cardiac Challenge

We're very fortunate to have been granted permission to hold an event in the lovely Shorne Woods Country Park.in North West Kent (map) (it's just stone's throw from A2). It's really very, very nice here, which is why we're holding a mid-week event in October here as its so popular its about the only time the Parks people are happy with us being here as otherwise its just too full of people! It's all lovely woodland, ponds and hills which will make for a very pleasant, but potentially fairly tough trail run. One of the hills is called "Cardiac Hill" for a reason and there are a couple of them on each loop! It's a tough trail run and depending on what Garmin reading you take a marathon distance run has about 4500' of climb and a LOT of steps! 178 each lap to be precise...

For this Challenge we're going to have different coloured medals depending on what distance you cover!

Gold - 10 or more laps

Silver - 6-9 Laps

Bronze - 1-5 laps

 

The event will be a eight hour timed challenge event. Complete as many loops as you wish within the time limit. Run one lap, a half marathon, a marathon, an ultra!

It's our aim that this event makes an impactful difference to the Shorne Woods Country Park in a positive fashion and as such £5 from each entry fee will be donated directly to the Park to aid them in maintaining this lovely environment.

Please explore the race and consider joining us!

Course Information

The course is around the beautiful Shorne Woods Country Park and offers a whole host of permutations for the route we are able to use. There are going to be some areas where the Park Rangers are going to prefer us not to run (that would be the beautiful wide gravel cycle paths) and other areas which come race day might be a bit challenging ("last year that was under two feet of water!") so we're going to decide the final route literally the day before the event when we mark the course.

We have a broad concept though which is viewable at the link below. It will be a quite a tough route, there will be some steps (about 178 low ones per lap), some hills and depending on the weather, some mud too! But it is very scenic here and always a nice place to run.

The route is viewable on MayMyRun here.

There are some lovely woods to run by, ponds, grasslands, wet lands and some wildlife to spot too as it is on a nature reserve!

It's a 100% trail shoes course, if its dry you'll be able to get away with road shoes, but it's possible to involve some mud in places, so we'd suggest trail.

Frequently Asked Questions

What do I get?
You will receive
1) A bespoke medal which varies according to how many laps you run!
2) A goody bag at the finish, which has goodies in, not a bunch of adverts. There will be nothing healthy in our goody bags, things they contain for example, chocolate, crisps, cider.
3) A well stocked base camp with plenty of nibbles and refreshments for during and post race replenishment, including the legendary Rachel's Rocky Road!

Where do I park?
Parking is available on site a few dozen yards from the start/finish area. You pay for parking at a pay and display machines, at the time of writing it is £2 per day on weekdays. There is plenty of parking available on site.

When do I get my race number?
You'll pick this up on race day morning from the race base camp. This will be at the race start/finish area!

Are there time limits?
Yes, eight hours to run as many laps as you can. You can finish at any time within the 8 hours and your final distance will be recorded along with your finishing time. Only complete laps within the 8 hours will be recorded and for this event it's a simple hard 8 hour cut off (the park closes and we don't us or anyone else to be locked in!)

Any runner completing more than 26.2 miles will have completed an official marathon (by 100 Marathon Club standards) or more than 27 miles will have completed an ultra. As long as you finish one lap then you'll receive an official finish time, medal and goody bag. With timed events there are no DNFs.

How are laps counted?
At race registration you'll be given a lap counting card. Attach this to yourself with a safety pin or cable tie. At the end of each lap get this punched by one of the card punchers, this keeps track of the distance that you've done so keep it safe!. So basically at the end of each lap, either collect a hair band, or ring the bell! Ringing the bell signifies you are "ringing out" and have stopped running for the day.

Do I have to run for the whole time?
No! You can stop at any time you wish, just as long as you complete one lap you are an official finisher, ring the finishers bell and you're done, medal and goody bag will be yours!

Do you have secure baggage facilities
No. But you're free to leave bags at the start/finish. There will always be someone around but we can't guarantee their security, in the event of rain we can't guarantee things won't get wet. You'll be able to park close to the start/finish don't forget.

Can I leave my own drinks/food at the aid station?
Yes no problem at all, we have a dedicated table for runners own supplies if they have anything special that they'd like to bring along..

Trail shoes? Road Shoes?
Trail shoes.

Is the course closed to the public?
No. We are on a public nature reserve. Runners do not have the right of way and need to be considerate of other users of the land, there may be fisherman and dog walkers, ramblers or cyclists on any part of the course. Please don't litter. We'll have a bin at the base camp, please use this and there are several bins on the route too.

What on course facilities do you provide?
Water, squash, nibbles, goodies, starter, timekeeper and encouragement every lap! Base station will be well stocked for all runners. This is a typical example of the picnics, sorry aid station, we have...

Can I leave personal drinks at the drinks station?
Yes, you may want to label it and we will not be responsible for folks drinking the wrong drinks! We'll have a separate table for runners supplies.

Are there any facilities at the start/finish area?
There are toilets, a cafe and a kids playground close to the car parking area about 250 yards from the start/finish/base camp area.

Can I use an ipod or mp3 player on the course?
Yes.

The entry fee is a little more than normal – why is that?
We are holding this event by kind permission of the Shorne Woods Country Park. £5 of every entry fee will be donated to the Park to assist in the maintenance and development of the location.

General SVN FAQ

Can be read here

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