Won’t it be dark?
We hope so! You need a head or chest to torch to run in this event. No torch no run.
Who are Gato Sports?
They are our event partners. They've kindly donated some excellent prizes. They are a sportswear company that specialise in great kit and accessories, especially night time running with lots of excellent reflective and lit items. Coventry Runner are our local stockist.
Can I run with my dog?
Yes!!
We had canicross at our series last year and it was a great success. We request that your dog be lit up (lights on it’s harness rather than wrapping the dog in Christmas lights!), you keep your leads short and be considerate of the other runners. We’ll start the canicross runners off a couple of minutes before the main field. Please read our general canicross rules here.
We’ll confirm the exact timings for this closer to the event but it is likely the canicross start time will be around 18:50.
Please make sure you enter the Canicross race when you click on the enter button above.
What is the series?
This is the second event of our Gato Sports Head Torch 10K Series. Both events are midweek evenings and at Salcey Forest, bookending the winter. If you enter both there is a discounted entry.
Course description
Ground conditions will depend very much on the weather closer to the event. It is fundamentally on crushed stone however with tree detritus the ground can become a bit slippy and mucky. The route is fully marked and essentially a 2 lap course. Salcey Forest is flat,
What does it cost?
We operate a tiered pricing approach. The earlier you enter, the cheaper the event but never ever will you pay a booking fee!
Before 08/02/2024 £19
After 28/01/2023 £24
Unaffiliated entrants pay £2 extra. Why not join your local running club or sign up the Big Bear Brigade and save 10% off entries for ever!
Series entry only £34 (you must enter before 21/11/23)
Where is it?
Salcey Forest is a Forestry Commission site with a cafe and toilets near Northampton. Use the post code NN7 2HX for Sat Navs.
You do have to pay to park (£2 for the evening at the time of writing). That said, be a hero and car share, save money and the world!
It is 18 minutes from Northampton and 9 minutes from Junction 15 of the M1. The closest train station is Northampton
If you want to see what the venue is like watch the venue preview here.
How far is the race?
10k! This might seem a bit pointless to mention given the name but this is different to a normal Big Bear Event. You'll get the same love, a medal and some goodies but you can't run all night!
I’ve heard you do cupless events?
Yes, but not for this event. Unlike our other events we will have some biodegradable cups with water/electrolyte available on the course and we will have hot drinks available before and after too. If you have a foldable cup you can bring, even better but we don't insist on it for our short races.
Has the event been run before?
Yes! We won multiple Racecheck Gold Awards for these events and have over 150 reviews scoring us at 4.8 out of 5! You’ll love it!
I’m not that fussed by a medal..
In that case our partnership with Trees Not Tees may be of interest! When you sign up to this event you can select to have no finish line swag and instead we’ll donate the cost of this to Trees Not Tees who will plant a tree in their Scottish woodland on your behalf! You can find more info about this initiative here.
