2024 at 6 hour lapped events
The 6 hour midweek events will be the backbone of Big Bear forever, as far as I can tell. I love this format of event. It’s genuinely inclusive and not at the detriment of anyone else. If you want to run super hard for 6 hours, you can. If you’ve never run more than a parkrun, come and see how you do. If you’re doing Jeffing or want to try some different tactics, you can. But everyone can do this on the same course on the same day and not effect anyone else or feel like they’re being judged. Do what you want to do.
The midweek timing means we often get a very popular large park/forest to ourselves. A lot of the venues wouldn’t even entertain us turning up on a Sunday morning. Or if they did you’d be spending 6 hours tripping over dog leads and dodging toddlers on bikes! It works brilliantly for my personal schedule too – if I had 25 events on weekends I’d never see my kids play sport and, frankly, would be a divorcee! I know for many of the runners it fits around their family and work set up too. I always remember (although not her name!) a women from the East coast nearly in tears tell me how much she loved the midweek events as she worked in retail so worked every weekend and couldn’t put her training efforts into an event until she found Big Bear. That was years ago but it’s still true and I think about it a lot. It’s not for everyone, but it’s for enough people and it works. It’ll continue as long as Big Bear does.
It has been the best year in terms of numbers at the 6 hour events, there have been a few oddities where numbers were unexplainably low but in the main they’ve been solid. Many have sold out which is great, but I’m sure noone believes me which is why I get so many emails asking for a place after I’ve said it’s sold out! I have vowed to never do one in October again though. For the last 3 years the October event has been the least well attended of the year - I know there are some big events on but it really impacts mine.
If you’ve been at one of these events you know I’m never attracting London Marathon numbers of entrants. Or even Rugby Half Marathon numbers (800 this year!). 100 runners is perfect for me. Bluntly, it is good business for me (I’m not a cold-hearted capitalist but this is my job!) but just as importantly I think it’s the perfect number for an enjoyable event too. Enough people on the course you don’t feel lonely and there is some buzz on the start line, but not so many you’re jostling for space or queueing. An extra few handfuls is fine too but I feel that 150+ and the events would feel different and maybe lose something. Maybe one day I’ll be fortunate enough to test that!
Personally, I think part of the beauty of trail running is the solitude and with a bit of effort I think you could probably run a lot of our 6 hour events on your own for big chunks. Equally is true the other way too and you could make sure you’re never alone! I’ve done events myself where I’ve not seen anyone for 15 miles at a time. I preferred that to an ultra I did where I was surrounded be people for an entire 100km, queuing for gates for over 20 miles too. Somewhere in the middle is my preference! Each to their own of course.
The 6 hour events for 2025 are all in my diary, most are live for entries with just autumn/winter to be finalised. We’re not returning to Hartshill Hayes, Sywell Country Park or Canock Chase (Birches Valley) in 2025. Hartshill Hayes is the 1 venue I have signage torn down without fail every time, it’s a hassle and the car park is small so I can’t have more than 75 people there. Frustrating though as the bluebells are a thing of wonder. Sywell we’re just giving a little break to, it’s a venue I like so it’ll return at some point I’m sure. Cannock Chase is that little bit further from Rugby and had low numbers this year. I’m hoping absence will make the heart grow fonder! Of course TrailFest will be there in 2025 though. It’s a route that gets lots of compliments (through tired, gritted teeth!)
Excitingly, we will be returning to the Rugby route for the first time since 2019. Given it’s 5 minutes from my house I’m hoping we can make it work for the next few years as it’s an easy day out for me! Again, in the time since we last held an event there I’ve had numerous requests to use it again. It’s an out and back route on a disused railway but the local who look after it do such a good job it’s a wonderful urban nature reserve. It’ll be the first event I’ve put on where the medals will be different too, all medals will have the Woodland Challenge lanyard but I’m planning on using some of the “odds and sods” I have from other events (with a woodland theme of course!). It’s a great way to keep those medals out of landfill.
I’m moving the evening 6 hour event to Beacon Hill Country Park in May, the Bat Challenge. Beacon Hill is a popular venue and will be perfect for this. Bringing it forward in the year means more people will get to experience darkness too as it’ll come earlier in the event. Of course I’m hoping for lovely clear skies so everyone can plan it well and get sunset at the top of the course, I’d suggest that might be the best view of the year. It won’t rain and be thick cloud… right?!
So, the 6 hour events are going from strength to strength. I don’t plan on changing much at them in 2025. I’m hoping to have the finish arch up at the vast majority of them, the timing mat down and the aid station full of the foods you like. We’ve got patches for those completing 5,10 and 25 Big Bear events and the merch is always growing. With so many people regular and returning I’m confident I’m putting on events people enjoy and want to return too. So I’m not going to make big changes to that! However, if someone had a bit of time out and came back 12 months later I’d like for them to notice a difference. Evolution not revolution. 2025 is going to be a great year for 6 hour events at Big Bear!