Four down one to go. We've just returned from the event in Selkirk and we can only agree with the all comments we've had that it has once again been a superb event. We had perfect trails, great weather and an all around super atmosphere. Selkirk has proven itself as the most popular event so far in the 2006 season: but watch out for Ruthin.
Selkirk Marathon
Almost 1200 riders entered the (so far) only Scottish round of the Merida 100 Mountain Bike Marathon series 2006 - and it was simply great. With a very strong full distance field of almost 700 riders everybody settled in for a long day, and they weren't disappointed.
The Selkirk course is unique in that it uses a fair amount of the regional purpose built trails, combining it beautifully with some of the most demanding tracks traversing the hills around Selkirk. Giving riders breathtaking views of the border region, which was helped by great weather, even a little drizzle Saturday afternoon failed to dampen the spirits - it certainly helped to settle the dust.
At 10am on Sunday morning after everybody had recovered from the long night with live music and the odd 'shandy' in the rugby club bar the riders were sent off into the hills. Roughly two hours later the first rider in the 25km category came over the line. From then onwards a never-ending string of riders kept coming over the line, being welcomed by lots of spot prizes and the never ending cheers of the spectators. It was just after 7pm when we welcomed the last rider back from his adventure.
We have had lots of comments so far about the event with people loving the course and in general the whole event. Also the various messages on the forums have been really positive and we would like to send out a big thank you to everybody for their kind words. We would also like to thank the various sponsors we had on site who offered their services to the riders and to the spectators.
A big thanks goes to our title sponsor Merida, to High5 for supplying all the energy, to the guys from CrankBrothers, to James from Ergon, to the team from RJC Extreme, to Schwalbe tyres, to Dennis our caterer, to the guys from Ziggg, to Pedro's who helped washing all the dust off the bikes, to the crew from CycleActive for running superb skills classes and warm up rides, to the Scottish Border Council, to What Mountain Bike for showing some great MTB movies and to the guys from 'café to you' who helped to get everybody into the mood on Sunday morning with their great coffees.
Next Marathon in Ruthin and TransWales
With Selkirk being 'done and dusted' we are now going to have a short marathon break for the 6 weeks before we head up to Ruthin for the final of the Merida 100 Mountain Bike Marathon Series. We are going to fill our time with running the Merida TransWales which will start on the 12th August at the White House Farm.
The recent opening of the TransWales to solo entries has seen a nice uptake. However there are still places available as the influx of injuries and subsequent late cancellations is still carrying on. We get the feeling that riders are taking their training regime a little bit too seriously. The event is demanding but not to the level most of the riders seem to be training. To enter the Merida TransWales simply go to www.mtbtransuk.co.uk and download an entry form or send an email with your postal address to info@mtbtransuk.co.uk
Besides the TransWales there are also still entries available for the last Merida of this year's season. Simply go to the marathon site www.mtb-marathon.co.uk, have a look at the Ruthin event page and make use of the online entry facility for a quick and easy entry.
The TransWales website has been updated with the route plan and the requirement list. We will also add a few updates on the marathon website in the next few days.
Photos
Jon Brook was once again out on course in Selkirk taking images of pretty much every rider. Check the gallery.
