Last Call for Rat Fans to Race to Bristol

Ratty Ruth / 09.06.2005

The weather is looking good for the first Rat Race of the year at Bristol. The city is pricking its ears as giant rats prowl the pavements spreading the wiff of the big event this coming weekend.

12 teams will be battling it out in the elite category, including The North Face, SleepMonsters and Aberdeen Asset Management, as well as two all-girls teams, BUFF Endure and the SALTy ladies, who should have a good contest.

This leaves the rest of the field to enjoy a calmer pace in the Adventure Category, while a bunch of Rookie Teams will put in all their efforts for the three hour “Mean Streets” checkpoint hunt on Saturday night. As usual there’s foreboding of Gary Tompsett’s wacky secret challenges, with the added value of pro-racer, Pete James’ local knowledge which will produce an exciting and innovative course-design.

However, the race is still set-up so everyone can “finish” – where slower teams will be sent on shorter routes back, after a certain cut-off point.

THE ROOKIE CHALLENGE – Still Time to Enter

Anyone who wants to give it a go, without the full commitment of a 60-80km multi-disciplined course of physical and mental endurance, might be tempted by the Saturday night “Mean Streets” Rookie challenge which starts at 7pm.

There is a set time of three hours to reach as many checkpoints as possible and some of these locations involve a secret activity. Competitors might be asked to jump, climb, ride, scoot, slide, board, skate or swim. Entries can be made up until 4pm on race day and can be made via the Rat Race website.