Maybe im being daft but i thought it was 10 miles round for 10 hrs. Hence the 10 part of the name.

I might be tempted to enter too.

Stevemtb, it dried out a treat throughout the day, you should have been there in 2009, now that was wet……..very wet.
Rob, the Kirroughtree course is fantastic, it may not seem too technical at first but after 8 hours riding solo it will be very tough…..but still fun 🙂 As for tips on training, depends where your fitness is at currently. Get some longer rides in then do a bit more intensity the closer to the event you get, take it easy for 7-10 before the race.

rock_hopper – it certainly did dry out a treat, should have mentioned that but was just pointing out it was more slippy than a slippy thing in the wet! Amazing it did dry out considering the thunder storms I drove through on the Friday and the battering the East took that day. Was a few surprised people when I came back with a bit of sun burn!

Completely agree with the training tips. You can go into these events however you want. It is easy to take breaks between laps or if you do enough training to try and get as many in as possible. If you want to be up with the front runners you’ll need to be able to cycle nearly continuously for 11 hours (if you’ve crossed the finish line before 10 hours you’ve got another hour to cross the line again).

done it 4 times – great event even if you have to pay for a tee (if you really want one) – you could always try the 10@ LLandegla if you’re a southerner too. a “10” for me involves 2 4 hour boat trips + 4 hour van drives. Great atmosphere and a fairly chilled crowd racing.

oh, and my mate has done it solo 2 or 3 times and been really pleased. our other mate Kale is a classy racer and was 4th 2 years ago, and managed 7th last year on his Remedy since his race bike had self destructed the day before. Race as much as you like, at whatever pace takes your fancy. You won’t be the only solo having a go by any means…

Anyone on here done it as a team?

Done it the last two years – great course, nice atmosphere – highly recommended.

2011 Gallery

2010 Gallery

NB 2010 was very muddy!

DSC_3086 by brf, on Flickr

Fortunatly its only about 30 mins away for me to get to. And 2 laps is probably about enought for me anyway so teaming up with 3 others is a nice intorduction.

done it twice, 1st year and again in 09. Work & holidays getting in the way on the others. Team both times and managed a podium in09 😆 None of us trained for the event, just our normal riding as were just there for fun. Being only an 1hr away it is a “local” trail but it is just good fun to meet and chat with people not seen for a while. It and the Dalbeattie Hardrock Challenge are the only events I do(note not using the word race)
Road biking is good for stamina, lots of mags do training plans at this time of year so browse the paper shop isles
Davy-g from here, mtbe forum and trailscotland is a local and could show you round the course from previous years to give you an idea where it goes and what you are letting yourself in for. Think I could find my way round to.
You also need to find out what food, gels, energy bars and supplements work for you over that length of time, some can cause stomach issues 🙄

The technical bit all depends on your ability and experience and the more laps you do the more tired you get therefore the more difficult it becomes
“train less but train smart” is a saying a friend coined after she found herslef burnt out after overtraining using old fashioned “if it doesnt hurt it doesnt work” techniques her old man maintained was the way to do it 🙄
Joining a club and getting out with others or the roadies at weekends/nights will certainly drag your speed/endurance up and give you a measure against others. Did that myself for a while but I don`t take my biking serious enough to do it now. eg 10mins slower at Dalbeattie this year due partly to not riding with others who “challenge” me speed wise,tend to be very social rides these days