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An autumnal cake themed run at Jeskyns Woodland!


Pre-Event Email can be read here


We had originally planned for the Cakeathon to just be a one off event to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Women' Instutute but its proved so popular that we're now having five of them a year to try and cope with the demand! The Women's Institute amongst other things is famed for cake and it just so happens that the Race Director of the Saxons, Vikings and Normans events shares a similar love.

So what better to do on an Autumnal Weekend than with a run with a cake theme? So the Cakeathon Challenge at the lovely Jeskyns Community Woodland is the answer for those who share a love of running and eating cake! Jeskyns was until recently a farm which was purchased by the Forestry Commission in 2005 with the purpose of returning the land to its original environment including traditional orchards of apples, cherries and cobnuts, open parkland, grass, wildflower meadows, and native woodlands. In recent years over 150,000 trees have been planted, along with orchards, ponds and meadows. The area is classified as both a "Special Landscape Area" and "North Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty."

The route is all on good surfaces, a mixture of high quality trail (about 95% of the route) and the rest of the trail is pretty decent too! In early Autumn should be a really nice run, weather permitting and we'll start off nice and early on what is hopefully a lovely crisp bright October morning..

The event will be a six 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 not a flat course by any means but shouldn't be super tough, each loop has about 160' of climb so about 1000' for a marathon distance run.

There will be cake, and we encourage participants to bring their own cake creations. There will be a trophies for the best cakes of the day. (We're going to have three per category!)

These will be

1) Best cake

2) Best cake featuring marzipan

3) Best marzipan creation

4) Best cookie/brownie

5) Best vegan cake/creation

The RD is the sole judge and arbitor, just as a hint, I like marzipan and fruit in cakes is just wrong! Or anything green. Or French (unless you know what the almond croissants taste like from the bakery near Utah Beach in Normandy, they were nice!) Except for the vegan cakes, I'll have a vegan chap or girl test those out!


The Cakeathon Medal (we have a different colour theme for each event)

Cakes and Fancy Dress encouraged!

As usual we'll have a well stocked aid station which you'll pass every 3.28 miles, which will have more cakes than usual, a unique custom made medal and a goody bag that actually contains goodies which will make the undulations and any mud more than worth it. There is also an on site cafe, a playground for kids and all in all is a nice place to host a run!

It's our aim that this event makes an impactful difference to Jeskyns 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

We'll start the route right by the parking area and Plan A is to have a 3.28 mile route, the majority of which will be on very high quality "bike path" type trails and a little bit of semi decent trail.

You can view the route here... http://www.mapmyrun.com/routes/fullscreen/1591986856/

As long as its not monsoon type conditions (in which case we'd almost certainly re-route to a shorter 100% bike path route) you'd be fine in road shoes on this course. We do reserve the right to alter the course for this one as the final route will only be set upon a final recce/consultation with the Head Ranger a few days before the event.

Frequently Asked Questions

What do I get?
You will receive each day...
1) A really special finishers medal, custom made and designed, not a generic one.
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 post race replenishment. Again there is nothing healthy here, no isotonic drinks or fruit. But cookies, crisps, nuts, pringles, M&Ms and those sorts of things!

Where do I park?
There is a Pay and Display car park very close to the start/finish as indicated below, at the time of writing the cost is £1.50 per day, there are 80+ spaces though we're using the overflow car park as below which can house maybe 200 cars so should be plenty of parking. Post code for Sat Navs is DA12 3AN (Google Map) - Please be aware that the postcode takes you to the "general area" so well worth a 10 second study of the Google Map if driving - it's really close to the A2 but if get off at the wrong exit at a roundabout will be a struggle to find!

When do I get my race number?
You'll pick this up on race day morning from the race base camp.

Are there time limits?
Yes, six hours to run as many laps as you can. You can finish at any time within the 6 hours and your final distance will be recorded along with your finishing time. Only complete laps within the 6 hours will be recorded or you must have left the aid station for your last lap by 6.00 after race start (even if you finish that final lap after the six hours it'll count, you just have to have left for the final lap 6:00 after the start, and these time limits are hard, 6:00:01 and that's too late as is the custom with ultra endurance events (which this technically is, though there is absolutely no requirement to run an ultra!)).

Any runner completing 8 laps will have completed an official marathon (by 100 Marathon Club standards) of about 26.2 miles, 9 laps or more 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 handed a small laminated lap counting card, attach this to yourself with a safety pin or cable tie. At the end of each loop get this punched through by one of the hole puncher chaps or chappesses. So basically at the end of each lap, get your card punched, or ring the bell!

You'll have to tell us when you're finished, not the other way around. As it's a timed event, if you wish you can stop, have a rest and continue, eat cake, go have a cup of tea in the cafe or you can just stop!

We'll have an “official finishers bell” for this purpose, (Rachel will be the keeper!) when you're done for the day, ring the bell and the goodies will be yours!

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!

Can I stop at marathon distance?
Yes. If you complete 8 laps it will count as a marathon finish by 100 Marathon Club standards and we'll even give you a little badge to pin to your medal ribbon to signify the distance you ran! (There is an ultra badge too if you complete 9 or more laps)

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.

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?
Road shoes. Its 50% on decent "bike path" surfaces, 50% on decent trail.

Is the course closed to the public?
No. We are using the Jeskyns Community Woodland which is open to the public though hopefully will be fairly quiet. Runners do not have the right of way and need to be considerate of other users of the land, especially near the start/finish area which is a popular area for people walking their dogs, so beware of animals and leads. Please don't litter. We'll have a bin at the base camp.

What on course facilities do you provide?
Water, squash, nibbles, 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...

Are there any facilities at the start/finish area?
Aside from base camp, no. There is a cafe and toilets on the site however.

Can I use an ipod or mp3 player on the course?
Yes. Though please be aware that you are running on public footpaths with the general public so make sure that you pay attention to cyclists, people, children on bikes, wildlife and so on.

Public Transport?
Gravesend is the nearest train station which is about 3 miles away.

General SVN FAQ

Can be read here

 

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