Green Belters Bring Adventure Racing to the 'Shires'
Press Release / 03.05.2011
Rat Race Adventure Sports has confirmed a five-race programme for the 2011 Green Belter Series, sponsored by premium Californian wine brand, Redwood Creek. The calendar features races in Yorkshire, Sussex, Oxfordshire, Kent and Scotland.The multi-sport Green Belters – triathlon with a difference - feature running, biking and kayaking through dense ancient forests, spectacular country estates, rolling hills, farmland and bubbling rivers and lakes before the final, fiendish ‘Green Machine’ obstacle. Competitors take part individually or as a pair in a relay format that’s anything but traditional.
Rat Racers’ and spectators will be able to toast their efforts with a great glass of Redwood Creek wine. As headline sponsor of the five Green Belters, Redwood Creek will be sampling, selling and pairing each of its wines to some more unusual foods available at the events, such as pheasant with Pinot Noir and venison with Merlot.
The season kicks off on 28th May with the ‘Thames Challenge’ in Hambleden. The peace and tranquillity of this quintessentially English country idyll is shattered as the ‘Belters’ descend. Bridleways and horse jumps, usually frequented by region’s equine population, are commandeered to create a natural and varied course.
The Series moves on to South Coast on 4th June and while the format remains the same, the environment is different. The Pippingford Estate hosts the ‘Sussex Challenge’, with the estate – and the event village - planted firmly at the heart of the mighty and ancient Ashdown Forest. Challenging off road riding inextricably linked with a network of criss-crossing running paths through the forest lead competitors unsuspectingly to the area’s obstacles – a military training area with all the fun that that entails.
Bedgebury Forest, within the ancient Weald of Kent, hosts the next race on 2nd July. The Bedgebury National Pinetum, hosting the most complete collection of temperate conifers in the world, is widely recognised as the South-East’s premier outdoor site with 10,000 trees and endless forests.
The Series moves North of the Border for the penultimate race on the 18th July and takes in the splendour of theCarron Valley Forest, near Denny, Stirlingshire, giving the ‘Belters’ a taste of the Highlands in the Carron Valley Forest on the shores of the Carron Valley reservoir. Nestled in the heart of Scotland’s central belt, this fantastic venue is dominated by the distinctive peak of the Meikle Bin offering panoramic view across the whole of central Scotland.
Competitors will witness the monumental Dun Carron Medieval Fort that is being built by the Clanranald Clan while Running and Mountain Biking on the awesome built MTB trails, including new trails they are constructing over the winter. The area provides a great mix of great water access and serene waterside paths, with testing hills and rugged trails expected to provide the most challenging Green Belter of the year.
The Yorkshire region will herald the culmination of the 2011 Green Belters on 30th July and the magnificent Newburgh Priory, a family house and estate set within the picturesque Howardian Hills near Coxwold, North Yorkshire, plays host. Charming gardens, hills, farmland and the ubiquitous forest frame this designated ‘Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty’ for the last event in the Series.
For full information on the series and to make an entry see <a href="#" onClick="javascript:newsitewindow('http://www.ratracegreenbelter.com/')" class="main">www.ratracegreenbelter.com/</a>.
