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NEWS... |
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03.08.10 Selkirk event report HERE>> |
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28.07.10 Selkirk Event News HERE>> |
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06.07.10 Grassington event report HERE>> |
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30.06.10 News update before the Yorkshire round HERE>> |
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24.06.10 IMPORTANT NEWS from the Grassington Round HERE>> |
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25.05.10 News and Photos from the Builth Marathon HERE>> |
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21.05.10 News from the Builth event showground HERE>> |
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19.05.10 Only a couple of days before the Builth event, latest HERE>> |
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26.04.10 Youtube videos and more from the first event HERE>> |
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19.04.10 News report from the first of this years Marathons HERE>> |
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09.04.10 News from the Royal Welsh Showground in Builth Wells...HERE>> |
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06.04.10 Only a couple of days to go before the first event of 2010 - latest event news HERE>> |
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26.03.10 Only a couple of weeks to go before the 1st event of the 2010 season will kick off at the Royal Welsh Showground in Builth Wells...HERE>> |
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15.03.10 Temperatures are still low but there is no denying that spring is trying its best to break through. And with spring approaching the 1st round of the Chain Reaction Cycles MTB Marathon Series powered by Mercedes-Benz Vito Sport can’t be far away. In fact we are talking only four weeks from now. HERE>> |
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10.02.10 For 2010 the Chain Reaction Cycles MTB Marathon Series is being supported by Mercedes-Benz and the Mercedes-Benz Vito Sport van. This versatile vehicle delivers on style without compromising practicality. The Vito Sport will be on site at the event, showing off its assets and why it’s got the mountain bikers’ seal of approval.HERE>> |
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2009 News HERE>> |
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2008 News HERE>> |
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2006 |
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2006 Review: ELBNO/Builth Wells Spring
Marathon
Springing Into Being
Night-time marathon riding on first-rate terrain rubs shoulders with
four-seasons-in-one-day weather as the Merida Bikes MTB Marathon Series
blazes its way into 2006
Three years on from the birth of the original Exposure Lights Big
Night Out (ELBNO) and six years after the first ever MTB-Marathon
– then the Schwinn 100 – broke into being at Builth Wells,
the 2006 season opened with a volley of double-header night and spring
marathon action at its spiritual home.
For the second year running, Exposure Lights brought the UK’s
only night time marathon to the Merida Bikes MTB Marathon masses on
the evening of Saturday 8th April 2006; born originally as the brainchild
of long-time mountain bike personality and Exposure Light and USE’s
main man, Rory Hitchens, the format was resolutely simple: take a
blanket of darkness, mix in with 50km of heady and epic trails that
include the cream of the National Points Series XC course and its
carving singletrack, open moor land, lung bursting climbs, and the
best that Builth Wells has to offer without once going over the Summer
Marathon’s course; add 200 willing and grinning night time marathoners,
and unleash onto the hills with as much wattage, lumens and candle
power you can cram into an Exposure Light and other HID, S-LED and
halogen systems; then simmer as folk’s get their nocturnal kicks
with a dash of tea and cake.
With hundreds of riders hitting the black top east of Builth Wells
to warm their legs up after the final briefing and the prize draw
for a Merida Matts Sport 100 bike, the trail then kicked up and onto
the 2005 NPS XC course, taking in the sustained climb that curved
along the contours grabbing skywards before throwing the riders atop
of the moor land at around 400m, and eventually down the sinuous forested
singletrack descents employed by the 2000 National Downhill Championships.
It was 50km of riding that, despite the low temperatures, kept riders
cockles warm, helped not insignificantly by the ELBNO’s trademark
tea and cake checkpoints that also kept both riders and their morale
fuelled.
“The event was wicked,” said Rory afterwards. “Great
numbers of riders again and confirmation that night riding really
is a sport and not just a hobby now: the spirit is alive and kicking
in the night event scene. Races like the Strathpuffer mean there is
no ‘end of season’ any more and the Exposure Lights Big
Night Out marathon is a great way to welcome the springtime spirit.
Speaking of which,” he continued, “if the ELBNO adventurous
spirit was akin to a sherry in 2005 then it was a hearty port in 2006.
I predict that in 2007 it will be nothing short of a fine Malt Whisky.”
But the opening gambit of the 2006 Merida Bikes MTB Marathon Series
was not just spent in a volley of nighttime crank turning, the Sunday
morning saw the Spring Marathon emerge from its year-long slumber
too.
For 2006 the Spring Marathon was the first event of the 2006 series
to see the all-new ‘for all the family’ 25km Mini-Marathon
distance unveiled to 100 keen riders, alongside the long established
50km and the ‘step up’ 75km distances; all of which saw
brand new, never before used for the Merida Bikes MTB Marathons courses.
Due to many riders doing both the ELBNO and the Spring Marathon, the
full 100km distance kept its tracksuit on until the second round at
Rhayader.
Just under a thousand riders – almost double that of the first
Spring Marathon back in 2005 – signed up and lined up at 10.30am,
following a well-earned lie in for the hardy few doing both the ELBNO
and the Spring Marathons. The riders shook the tiredness out of their
legs and out and over the hills that are so intimately known by Builth
Wells local, course maestro and co-organiser of the series John Lloyd
to tackle the all-new courses, and to usher in the Merida Bikes MTB-Marathon
Series in fine, indomitable style.
But the schizophrenic weather added a little spice and extra adventure
to the mix by producing four seasons in one day with a strange blend
of warm sunshine, hail, snow, rain, and wind. Yet despite its best
efforts, it failed to unseat the good-time attitude of many of the
Merida Bikes MTB Marathon riders. “The 50km course was tough,”
said one of the finishers afterwards, “and the headwind and
driving snow after the last feed station made it feel a real epic
but added to the sense of achievement in finishing.” And even
first time marathoners were stoked on the experience: “Thank
you for an amazing weekend – it was my first mountain biking
event and I wasn't sure what to expect,” said Claire Sutcliffe.
“The organisation was just brilliant and all the team were really
friendly: a big thank you to the CycleActive guy who took me out on
the 1pm ride on Saturday as his advice made getting up those hills
a breeze – well, not quite but it was easier! It also boosted
my confidence for the following day! My first Merida100 experience
was just fantastic!”
And the good news is that the night-time action and springtime singletracking
will be back for the 2007 season, unadulterated, un-diluted and unequalled.
Go to http://www.mtb-marathon.co.uk/events/exposure.php
and http://www.mtb-marathon.co.uk/events/builth_wells_spring.php
for the inside line on the ELBNO/Spring Marathon for 2007. And don’t
forget your hip flask…
“The schizophrenic weather
added a little spice and extra adventure to the mix by producing four
seasons in one day with a strange blend of warm sunshine, hail, snow,
rain, and wind.” |
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2006 |
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