ARC, TRA and all the abbreviations…
You may have noticed entries for 2024 events are priced a bit differently. Firstly, there has been a slight price increase on some events. For 6-hour events early entry is £35 and then in the month before an event it’s £40. It will always be cheaper to enter earlier!!!
There is then an additional £2 for those “unaffiliated” entrants which is starting immediately. This is for people who are not part of a running club. At most events 75%+ of our entrants are part of a club so it won’t effect the majority of you. If you plan on entering a handful of events a year (not just with Big Bear) join a club! There are plenty of amazing clubs that are ever present at our events. It would be unfair to only list a few and to list them all, well…! There are even “virtual clubs” you can join too. Lots of options!
The majority of organisers add the £2 fee as it’s part of the permit process for UK Athletics (Trail Running Association) or the Association of Running Clubs (ARC) who permit and insure the vast majority of events in the UK. The majority of our events will be permitted through ARC going forward. The ARC insurance/permit allows canicross entrants which has proven really popular so I’m keen to keep it. The TRA have given me lots of support as well over the years so I’ll keep using them too.
We all hate price increases, but I doubt the wider increase in costs has passed you by! 2 years of inflation and Covid price increased mean everything I need to purchase to put on events has increased in price – some of it by huge margins. I’m not trying to put on “cheap and cheerful” events. As much as I’m also not getting aid station food from M&S I do want you walking away feeling like you’ve been looked after and corners weren’t cut. The medals, beer, flapjack and everything else you see at the events is meant to be quality, not cheap. Most people don’t come back to Big Bear only because they think it’s cheap (although it is good value!!). They come back because they love the course, community and camaraderie (and jaffa cakes!).
Of course if you want to save money on your entries (10% off every entry for ever!), get your own personalised Big Bear top and your personal event number, and other treats, you could always sign up to the Big Bear Brigade. Also, sign up to the Very Important Bear (VIB) email list and get a whopping 20% off entry for all events before they’re launched publicly. If you are part of the Brigade and on the mailing list you’re getting major discounts.
Mix all those discounts together with the deferral/transfer policy that lets you defer up to 7 days before the event (some exceptions with TrailFest) and I feel like I’m trying to do my best to not take advantage while ensure Big Bear is around for many years to come.