New Race Series Opens up the North

Rob Howard / 03.01.2005

New for 2005 is the Open5 Series and Open24 Adventure Race, to be run in the North of England by Open Adventure. Open Adventure is a new company set up by the UK adventure Racer and outdoor instructor James Thurlow. He’ll be familiar to anyone who’s been on a Dynamic Adventure Racing Training course and organised the ropes stages at the recent ACE Race Xtra. (You might also know him as the ‘front man’ on the Mtb tandem seen at many races.)

Now living in the Lakes, he’s bringing one day racing to the North, with the Open5 series, which will be 5 hour score events, and for the more adventurous is offering the Open24, a non-stop 24hr event at the end of July.

The Open5 Series will consist of four events for solos and pairs will use the score orienteering format of visiting as many points as possible in the 5 hour time limit by mountain bike and foot.

The series will use areas new to adventure races such as the north Pennines and the Yorkshire Dales, with all locations selected primarily for their ability to offer superb mountain biking and running with challenging navigation. The style of the events will be slightly different to many races with checkpoints ready marked on maps, yet all at a low price of £15 per person.

In the midst of summer there is the more ambitious 24hr continuous event (no support crew required), which will also be held in the North West. Although the event is only open to pairs, it will provide a great opportunity for those teams preparing for the Wilderness ARC. The Open24 will not only use MTB and trekking, but rope sections, canoeing and a few other ‘surprises’ to make the most seasoned racer smile.

Details of the Open5 series and Open24 events are available on the new website at www.openadventure.com.

Open5 Series

Yorkshire Dales 13th March
South Lakes 22nd May
North Pennines 16th October
Central Lakes 4th December

Open24
North West England 30-31 July