It might have rained, but it didn't dampen the fun riders had (photos © www.rightplacerighttime.co.uk)
Three down, two to go. It almost looked like a mountain-bike-Glastonbury experience but luckily the sun decided to be kind to the riders when they started coming over the line. The third round of the Merida Bikes MTB Marathon went home to Builth Wells.
The weather made this one more of a challenge for everybody but going by the amount of happy riders we had over the line it did not put anybody off from having a great ride. Almost 1,200 riders joined the MTB-Marathon team at the White House Campsite in Builth Wells to either tackle the rather hill enriched course of Saturday's Gore Bike Wear Road Sportive or to get involved in the Merida Bikes MTB Marathon run on Sunday - some brave souls even did both.
After the road event came to an end on Saturday afternoon, the MTBers started to descend onto the event village in Builth. More than 1,000 riders took up the rather daunting challenge of what looked like a rather rainy MTB Marathon when they gathered at the start line. The weather certainly didn't look inviting but luckily that didn't impact on the spirit at the start and throughout the event. The recent course changes made the rather difficult conditions out there quite a bit better while keeping the ride interesting and challenging for everybody.
The first rider over the line managed to finish the 30km course in 1hour in 34 minutes while the last one finishing the long course in 8 hours and 11 minutes.
And onto Selkirk: 2/3 August
Now with Builth being over and done with we are heading up to Scotland to one of the most liked courses of the series - Selkirk. Selkirk was a particular busy location for our events in 2007 with being the start and finish location of the TransScotland event plus having the usual Merida marathon series being based in this lovely Borders town.
Their feedback on both events in 2007 was fantastic which fills us once more with great confidence for the upcoming marathon round in Selkirk. With the recent increase in entries and particularly entries on the day we would like to recommend to everybody to enter in advance. The online entry is getting more and more popular and allows you to pay by credit or debit card. If you haven't done it simply go onto our entry page and follow the on screen instructions. You will also find a downloadable form which will allow you to go the good old postal way.
And don't forget when you come up to Selkirk that it might be a good idea to make a long weekend of it as there is lots and 1st class riding to be had around Selkirk and on your way there. Check out www.7stanes.gov.uk for the nearest 7Stanes trail. We managed to incorporate a big number of the trails into the TransScotland in 2007 and they are superb!! In particular Glentress and Innerleithen are just a very short drive away from Selkirk.
Bad Goisern event
This weekend 12 July will see the 'Merida Marathon on holiday' round in Bad Goisern, Austria. If you are taking part then we would like to wish you a great trip and a fantastic marathon and if you are the very spontaneous kind then why not pack you stuff and go over. You can still enter on the day and flights are not that difficult to find either. Check out the details on the event on our Bad Goisern page.
