The Open24 Heads North to Alnwick

Rob Howard / 13.07.2009

The venue for the Open24, the final event in the 2009 New Balance Endurance Series, has been announced and it's previously been associated with Queen Elizabeth the first, King Arthur, Ivanhoe, Blackadder and more topically, Harry Potter! The venue will be at Alnwick Castle, the home of the Dukes of Northumberland, the most popular visitor attraction in the area, and familiar to many audiences as a film set.

I doubt they've ever hosted an adventure race before, and it's sure to be a venue to remember â€“ the after race food will even be served in the Great Hall. (The only other similarly grand venue I can recall was the BARC finish in Caernarfon Castle.) The surrounding countryside offers ample opportunities for a typically wide-ranging Open24 course with plenty of the race trademark 'trouser filler' special challenges.

These won't be revealed until just before the race start of course, but looking at the map of the region Alnwick lies mid-way between the Cheviot Hills and the coastal AONB which includes The Holy Island of Lindisfarne and the Farne Islands, while to the south is the Forest of Rothbury. The river Aln runs from Alnwick down to the coast at Alnmouth. We'll have to wait to see which of these attractions are on the course, but with a local 'mystery' planner the promise that you "can't squeeze any more adventure into 24 hours" is sure to be kept.

One of the innovations adopted this year is to allow those who wish to bring their own kayaks to do so, provided they have the right qualifications. (Sit on tops can also be rented.) This a bold move, which can only help to develop kayaking skills in AR in the UK.

For 25 pairs, the race is also the last of the Endurance series, following the Open 5+ and Open12, and those at the top of the series leaderboard will be wearing the race leaders yellow bibs for the weekend. The male pairs is the most closely contested category, with any of the top 5 teams in with a chance of claiming the title. Current leaders are Kev Honeysett & Adam Marcinowicz of Team Acclerate, but Ian Hughes and Andy Shorney, and their team mates John Cunningham and Daniel Halliday are close behind. The Accelerate team also lead the mixed pairs,with Julia Baron and David Spence looking for a clean sweep of victories in the Endurance Series.

It's not too late to enter if you want to take part, and you can find out all you need to know at www.openadventure.com