Just worry about moving your legs!
I like to think I put events on that everyone can enjoy. However, I’d imagine every organiser thinks that - few set out to put on events people don’t enjoy! However, it is clear that people are apprehensive/ anxious/ worried about all manner of things so I’ve tried to come up with a list of things we do at Big Bear. The hope is it will remove some worries and anxieties. Some are specific to certain demographics but most are relevant to anyone who may be anxious, inexperienced or just a bit confused by it all! Most points are relevant to all of our events but some are specific to the 6hr events or the weekend ultra events.
Before event day (general points)
Trail runners support each other. I don’t vet entries for nice people obviously but 30+ events in and all I’ve ever seen is good people who support each other. Especially people new to the sport or trying to push themselves a bit further. No one is going to try to upset you. We’re all here to look out for each other and to get more people on the trails. No-one cares what you look like, how big you are, how small you are how old or young you are. For that day at least, you’re a Bear on the trail above all else.
You can walk whenever you want and for as long as you want. If you’re not familiar with the world of trail or ultra running and you’ve only ever seen road running then walking might seem like it’s for failures. It isn’t. Ever. When people “run” 100 miles only the absolute elite actually run it all. Most people spend a good chunk walking it, or sitting crying at an aid station for 20 minutes! There is no shame or stigma attached to walking at any Big Bear Event (we often have Nordic walkers turn up boots and big back packs and walk the whole thing!). Walking during a longer event is often a sensible tactic, we have quite a few “jeffers” too (explained a bit here). Better to take a little walking break than blow up completely by running.
You are not too slow. Linked to the above, it doesn’t matter to anyone if you take a 20 minute break between laps and then 90 minutes to walk 5k. The beauty of lapped events is there is no real way to work out who is winning or losing after the first 10 minutes! There is no course sweeper poking you with a stick to go quicker! I won’t be packed up tapping my watch if you’re the last over the line. Your event, your speed. More often than not the person in the lead isn’t even 100% sure due to the lapped nature. Yes, result are published in distance then time order, and there is a winner. However, on the day you can run with absolute freedom to go as fast or slow as you wish (and actually see the other runners if your used to being alone at the back of a traditional race).
It bears repeating - in a 6 hour event you can never be too slow. As long as you can cover 5k in 6 hours you are doing fine! If you’ve never run further than a parkrun then why not see what you can do. You’ll likely surprise yourself! In our 10K’s we have a 2 hour cut off, that is simply due to our medics being with us for that long. In the weekend ultras there are cut offs, they could be challenging for some but generally at about 4mph (15min/mile).
If you’ve entered an event and you realise you aren’t ready you can always transfer to another event but you must do so at least 7 days before a 6 hour/10k or 1 month before a weekend ultra. No “excuses” needed at all, just send an email. It’s easier for me to just transfer you to a different event but a voucher to be used at a later date is fine too.
If you aren’t able to visit the venue to see the route before event day we have short (badly edited!) videos of most of our routes on our YouTube channel here. You can also view some of the 30k+ images we’ve taken over the years here. If you do manage to get to the venue you can download the gpx file of the route on the event page by clicking on the map. The route is very unlikely to change from this as this will be the route agreed with the landowner who granted permission.
I will send lots of emails in the lead up to the event, more general reminder type emails further out form the event but in the last 6 weeks or so they’ll have specific event day info in them. The final emails will be sent out around 24-48 hours before the event once entries have closed. If you’re not receiving them when you think you should, let me know.
Event morning
Parking won’t be an issue. Even before finding a good route I’ll find the car park. If I can’t park 100 cars I can’t hold an event. Most of our venues are based at country parks or forests with visitor centres that are heaving at weekends or during the school holidays. On a Wednesday in November there are 3 dog walkers and some parents with young children. Perfect for us! This is why the parks love having us as you all pay for parking while no-one else is there!
When I arrive, often an hour before anyone else, the first thing I do is put a “Race Today” sign up on the road outside the venue. You’ll be given the postcode (and What 3 Words) location but it’s always reassuring to see some branding!
You will need to pay to park. Each park is different, most accept cards and coins, some only cards. I do put this information in the emails to you from about 5 weeks out and also this information is on the event page. I cannot however be held responsible if the parks change their machines! Some car parks are very cheap (£2.20 at Daventry!) and some not so (£8 at Cannock Chase). We all hate paying for parking but do not park outside the venues or we wont be allowed back. Why not car share? Reduce your emissions, pay less to park and give yourself an excuse to stay and have a coffee in the cafe while you wait for your buddy!
If there is anything resembling a walk from the car park to the HQ it will be mentioned in the pre-event emails. None of our 6 hour events have a walk. The HQ is positioned next to the car park. The Warwickshire Bear Ultra and the Cannock 50 have walks of less than a mile and are signposted but parking is plentiful for both.
If you are late you can still run. The clock has started though and we use “gun time” at our events. So in a 6 hour event your time limit is the same as everyone else’s, and in a 10k or weekend ultra your official finish time will be effected too. But please don’t turn around if you get caught in traffic, or you’ve had issues getting out of work or dropping the kids off etc.
If you plan on starting late for a 6 hour event (to fit around the school run etc.) that’s fine. Again, the above applies. You don’t need to let me know beforehand, we don’t burn all the bibs that are left uncollected at 9:01! For the 10K and weekend ultras planning on starting late isn’t really appropriate to be honest.
There will be a drop bag area. This will consist of 1 3x3m tarpaulin on the ground under a gazebo at HQ. We don’t look after keys, wallets or phones. I’d suggest getting a running bag/belt to carry valuables in. Your bags are left unsecure, but with volunteers near by at all times. This is where people tend to leave their extra nutrition or anything they may need during the event. Anything bigger you can leave in your car boot as you’ll be close to the car park (as above).
Registration is simple. You’ll normally be given a small timing tag and a race bib/number. The tag is about 7cm x 2cm and you use a safety pin to attach it to your outer layer of clothing (you’ll be told which side of your body when you’re given it). You race number needs to be on your front (leg or torso) so it is clearly readable for me while timing. We’ll have ample safety pins if you need them. Nothing is sent out before event day.
During the Event
We start with a “mass start” and use “gun time” (everyone has the same start time, regardless of when you actually cross the start line). We’re not London Marathon though. 100 people in a forest is technically “mass start” but if your hesitant about being in big crowds hang back 20 seconds and you’ll be on your own. After 20 minutes of running you’ll very likely be running in a very small group or pairs. You won’t be surrounded by 100’s of people fighting for position.
We always have toilets. Although this is often seen as a women’s issue there are plenty of active men who also need access to toilets. All of our 6hour/10k events have toilets at the HQ (or within 300m) and all of our ultras have toilet stops no more than 10 miles apart (often more frequent).
Female hygiene products are at every aid station. We always have a pack of pads and tampons at the aid stations. Just ask.
You’re probably safer at one of our events than you are at almost every other time you’re running. We always have a specific, fully trained medic (not a volunteer or a first aid trained team member). I pay a lot for the medic who 99% of the time doesn’t need to be there. But if they’re needed they’re there. On a 6 hour event on a 5k lap if, for example, there are about 50 people left, half way through an event, that means there is probably someone every 100m or so. If you have a fall or incident someone will be near you in no time. Every arrow has the Race number on it. you should have emergency details written on the back of your bib. We can get you medical treatment quickly. What if you were running alone? Or had to rely on 999 in a wood? I can’t stop all medical emergencies but I can do my best to look after you if one occurs.
Don’t expect there to be marshals on every corner clapping you on and barriers holding back the crowds. The idea of Big Bear Events has always been to bring the best of the ultra running world to the shorter distances. If you’re in a forest on a Tuesday during the day there is a good chance you might only see 1 person not in the event! That’s why we’re there, some peace and quiet! On a Sunday our venues are heaving with kids, bikes, dogs and all manor of distractions. As per the above though, you get the quiet forest but with about 100 people doing the same route as you all day, you are not alone out there. We also get the marshals out wandering the route during the day so you might see some hi-vis every now and then. Some of them clock up over half marathon just volunteering! On a “normal” ultra you wouldn’t expect to see any marshals between checkpoints which are generally every 8-15 miles.
The events are trail events in the woods but you do not need to have a map or any experience of the route beforehand. Zero navigation is needed. Although you do need to concentrate and look for arrows! Most people who get lost are just nattering and miss and arrow to be honest!
I mark the course the day before (and check the route in the morning). On a 3.3 mile loop there will often be over 50+ markers on the route. That is an arrow more than every 100m. The weekend ultras and 10k’s are marked in a similar fashion. Of course, if someone tampers with the arrows (it happens and is normally not kids!) that is an issue somewhat out of my hands. However, you should turn around back to the last arrow you saw and see if the course has been corrected or if you know the next turning. If it all goes wrong you can ring the Race HQ phone number (printed on every arrow) or in an absolute disaster follow the arrows back to HQ (but you’ll likely run in to someone who knows the route before you get all the way back).
If you want to eat it, we’ll have it at the aid station! This is part of the ultra running experience. Eating and running is an odd concept until you try it and get used to it. Think slightly middle class kids party food from Aldi! We’ve got jelly babies and sausage rolls but also falafel! I’m hesitant to put a list of food as it does vary. I would like to think at any stage of the event you will be able to have something sweet or savoury whether you’re vegan, GF, DF or none of these. Obviously as the event goes on some of the fresh items may run out. 1 week we’ll get through 2 packets of satsumas in 3 hours. The next week I go home with 2 packets as no-one had any! It’s very difficult to judge without having loads of waste. Normally the last runner is sent home with some doggy bags! We have lots of comments on the quality and variety of our aid stations though, hopefully it won’t disappoint.
The only thing you may want that we wont have are gels. They are really expensive, very personal and generally disgusting (in my opinion!). If you want to have gels bring them yourself and leave them in your drop bag.
We will always have electrolyte (currently SIS), water, coca cola (the real stuff!), squash and hot water for tea, coffee and hot chocolate.
How does a 6 hour event work?
Yes it’s a bit different but it’s simple really. Run, hike or walk as many laps as you wish in the time limit. The 6 hour limit is for you leaving HQ on your last lap, not finishing. You don’t need to do complex maths or rush back worrying you’re going to get timed out. Your finishing time could be 6:20:30 etc if you want to keep running all day, or it could be 25 minutes. No pressure either way. This means if you’re looking to do a marathon you’d need to be doing around 15 min/mile pace to be back in time to then go out on your last lap on most of our laps (they’re mostly 3.3 mile laps).
You can take a break between each lap. Any length break really. The 6 hour time keeps going but it’s up to you if you want to stop for 5s to fill water and run out, 5 minutes for a mini-break, 30 minutes for lunch from the cafe or an hour to take a work call (that’s not a witticism it’s something that happens!). You just need to stay on site.
When you decide you’ve had enough let me know. I’ll ring the bell and your time is done! Once you’ve collected your thought’s we’ll take your timing chip and exchange it for your finish line goodies!
The format is superb for those wanting to push themselves a bit more than they’ve done before. If you’ve only ever run 10K and fancy trying a half marathon you can enter our event knowing if it’s your day you can hit your goal. If it’s not stop before and still go home with a medal having enjoyed yourself. Or walk a lap knowing there isn’t a medic on their bike wishing you’d hurry up. Or worry about missing the cut off.
The number of people who run further than they ever have before at our events is genuinely amazing. Breaking a big number like 20 miles in to small 3.3 mile chunks makes it seem so much easier. Getting back to HQ and contemplating just “one more parkrun” is a great way to overcome any mental barriers.
After the event
When the last person starts their last lap I’ll send a volunteer out to start taking the arrows and signage down. We’ll also start packing away a few bits, things that aren’t needed at this point. This is not meant to rush you. I’d hope a difference between packing away some boxes and dismantling a finishing arch (for example) can be seen. I never want someone to feel “rushed” to finish at all. However, I’m also not going to have volunteers standing around while we can start the process of getting them home a bit quicker by beginning loading bits - they’ve had a long day too!
I’ve heard (and had) some shocking experiences of finishing towards the back of events. Our last finisher normally has to go away with extra food and half a bottle of coke!
Once you’ve decided you’d like to finish, or you’re past the 6 hour cut off time, you need to give back your timing chip and “exchange” it for your finish line goodies. We use these and our check out list to make sure we account for everyone going home.
If you want to stand and have a cup of tea or a mini roll from the aid station that’s fine! We don’t turn our backs on you as soon as you’ve got your medal. sit around, clap a few people in and enjoy the day. If you’d like us to take a photo of you and your medal just ask! Of course you’ve got to get our flags in and tag us on social media though!!
If you want to wander around the forest that’s fine too - we don’t have sole access so I couldn’t stop you if I wanted to, and I don’t want to anyway! Cheer the runners on who are still there and be a hero.
At this point normally the café onsite (there are cafes at most of our venues) will likely still be open. Grab a coffee or cake, take it easy and then set off home. None of our venues will require you to leave immediately, the toilets will be open until at least we leave (about 30 mins after the last runner) and you can effectively go at your pace.
Once I’ve got home - and normally put the kids to bed - I’ll start to process the results and aim to get them out to you on event night via email. Sometimes I’ll have had “teething problems” which might delay the results until the next day but I’ll keep you updated.
Nick has taken photos at our events since 2019 and his hundreds (normally 300+) will be online usually within 24hours. These are free for personal use (social media etc) but please credit/tag @nickphotogallery and @bigbearevents. If for any reason you don’t want your photos online just ask myself or Nick beforehand and he’ll make sure to not take photos of you (you might have told the boss you were sick!).
That’s about it. I’m hoping that his will help alleviate any fears or worries you might have. I’d like to think once you’ve been to one of our events you’ll understand the level of professionalism and care taken at each event. None of them are thrown together last minute, every event has at least 12 months planning and I try to cover every eventuality to ensure you have a good day. My words are relatively empty but trust the independent reviews on Racecheck. I punch well above my weight in picking up awards and 2 years in a row a Big Bear event has been the highest scoring event on their platform. I’m now pretty experienced in what works and what doesn’t so even at a new venue 90% of the set up is the same.
If you ever do a Big Bear event and I haven’t lived up to the above call me out (privately ideally!). I’m not going to argue and I’ll be grateful that you’ve given me the opportunity to do better next time. If there are parts you think we can do to improve, tell me. It’s easy to get in to a grove when you do something lots of times. I’d hate to keep repeating the same errors though!.