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A gentle cake themed run at Cyclopark!

Following the huge sucess of our Cakeathon runs we are now having the first one at our Cyclopark location on the May Bank Holiday Monday!

A modest sized bit of cake we are thinking per lap! The event will have a six hour time limit for you to run as many, or as few laps as you wish. With a timed event, as long as you complete one lap, you are an official finisher!

The course is all off road on decent surfaces, bit of a gentle slope up... and then a slope down... and then down... and then up! Not totally flat by any means, but not overly hilly, at least not on the first lap!

There will be cake, and we encourage participants to bring their own cake creations. There will be a prizes for the best cakes of the day!

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!

Cakes and Fancy Dress encouraged!

As usual we'll have a well stocked aid station which you'll pass every 5.25 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 look out tower and all in all a nice place to visit!

It's our aim that this event makes an impactful difference to the Sampire Hoe Nature Reserve 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 courses are all based out of the Gravesend Cyclopark. The Tollgate, Wrotham Rd, Gravesend, Kent DA11 7NP (Map). Please refer to our information page on Cyclopark for directions and where to park.

We have several variants for each course but we may adjust slightly on the day to account for the conditions, especially if its been subject to heavy rain. The loops however will be between 3.74 & 5.25 miles. Our A plan though for this event is the 5.25 mile "177" course.

This route is the flattest of the courses we have mapped out at this location (though not flat, will be about 1000' climb for a marathon) and is mostly on tarmac cycle paths.

View the route here on MapMyRun

The loop is 5.25 miles long, five laps will make up a marathon and five and a hlf or more laps for those wishing to push themselves to a short ultra, this loop is known as the "177" route.

Frequently Asked Questions

What do I get?
You each event will receive
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..
3) A well stocked base camp/aid stations with plenty of nibbles and refreshments for during and post race replenishment, including the legendary Rachel's Rocky Road!

Where do I park? How do I get there?
Please refer to our Cyclopark information page

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 time limit 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 5:59:59 after the start. Any runner completing 26.2 miles will have completed marathon distance and will count as a marathon finish for the purposes of the 100 Marathon Club, if you complete over 27 miles then you've 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 as long as you complete one loop.

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.

Trail shoes? Road Shoes?
Road shoes should be fine in any weather conditions.

Is the course closed to the public?
No. We are using a network of local footpaths and trails and is shared with ramblers, dogwalkers, horseriders and cyclists. Runners do not have the right of way and need to be considerate of other users of the land. Please don't litter, we'll have a bin at the base camp and there are bins at various places along the routes.

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!

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 farm vehicles, cyclists, people, dogs, horseriders, wildlife and so on. On a couple of the routes there are road crossings to be aware of too although there is no actual running along roads involved.

The entry fee is a little more than normal – why is that?
We are holding this event by kind permission of the Cyclopark Trust. We are paying a fee/donation for use of the facilities over the four days. Cyclopark is a charity and parking fees and profits from the cafe etc all go towards the upkeep of this lovely venue so please support them by paying the parking each day (It's only £1) and buying a cake or coffee in the cafe.

Location Information

Can be read here on our Cyclopark page.

General SVN FAQ

Can be read here

 

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