iRoc Gets Geared up for Debut Event

Press Release / 28.03.2009

With less than three weeks to go before first iROCâ„¢ Adventure Race Weekend on the 18th and 19th April, the organisers report that the event is nearly 80% full and potential competitors are being urged to get their entries in.

There have been lots of exciting developments taking place at the race venue as the planning team of Shane Ohly, Heather Dawe and Steve Birkinshaw prepare for the event. We caught up with Race Director Shane Ohly who explained more:

“Last weekend a team of volunteers prepared 1.8km of brand new MTB single track through the forest plantation. We have also taken delivery of 10km of reflective tape that will be used for marking section of the course for the night races. I believe that both the night fell race and MTB time trial will be visually spectacular experience for the competitors not to mentioned challenging!

We have also arrange for a local scaffolding company to reconstitute a derelict railway bridge so that we have a weatherproof crossing option of the River Wear between the event centre and upper areas of the site. All six races will race across this bridge but it’s going to require 25 tonnes of scaffolding!

I am particularly pleased with how the first race of iROC is shaping up. The weekend kicks of with a hilly, 8 mile fell race. The race route covers a contrasting mix of the former quarry site (think: tough running up and down grassed over slag heaps) and some truly beautiful fell that is part of the North Pennine Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It’s pretty awesome running and has taken a lot of effort to get the necessary permissions.

To add to the excitement, we have produced a brand new orienteering map for this area and the proofs arrived from the printers yesterday… they look great!”

The iROC™ Adventure Race uses a new format that combines a series of different races across three different disciplines that includes fell running, mountain biking and orienteering. Each individual race is being designed as though it were a standalone race; the idea being that if you turned up and competed in just one race, you’d be impressed with the format, organisation and experience of that race.

Between each race there will be varying periods of down time (hours or minutes). It’s the close succession of each of these six individual races that makes iROC™ an adventure racing weekend. Also, the different skills sets required by the competitors for each iROC™ discipline mean that only a true all-rounder will be capable of winning outright.