If you want verifiable facts, just as many people sacked it before practice as after ! Full field of 330 entrants on Friday. 292 signed on, 255 went up the hill, 242 finished the whole race.

Race report here looks good. Sad to have missed it 🙁

Race Report: POC Scottish Enduro Series RND#5: There will be mud!

love that shot of alistair lees trail in full pinball mode

And when I get the list back (if there is anything left after the rain) will be interesting to see how many riders left at their allocated start time. There is a discrepancy between how many riders selected a time, and how many signed on. As much as it would be a vibe kill to start policing that, people lining up in the cold and rain also kinda spoils the mood.

hels, genuine question here and not a dig. I know you have to get permission from the forestry commission to run these events and part of that process is having routes authorised.

Was the general thinking on the run up that stages 1 and 2 would be ok in the wet after 300 people had practiced it or was it too late to put alternates in. I know in Scotland in October its in the hands of the weather gods so thats out your control.

Oh and hats off to the marshalls and organisers, as much as this round was not for me it is very much appreciated all the hard work that goes into these events.

Hi mactheknife – I was on light duties for this event, just over-organising the entries and registration.

I will pass your question along to the course guys – but please post on the SES FB page as all feedback is appreciated I am sure.

I was just curious buddy, in all honesty i love these events and all the conditions that come with them. I don’t have any complaints in the slightest in how it was run or trail choices. I was just wondering how decisions like that were made really. My wimp-o-meter was in the red this weekend so take what i say in that light. 😀

No worries. There are hundreds of variables, and a need to keep it fresh and challenging is up there !

hels – Member

255 went up the hill, 242 finished the whole race.

The folks who don’t do the race or pull out after a stage get on here first and moan, the folks who do the whole thing were too busy racing 😉

As far as being negative… For me, these things can only be as good as they are because they push the limits a bit. Most times it works out brilliantly. This time, the weather didn’t cooperate but that’s part of the deal. On another weekend I’d have loved the stages, and the price of weatherproof events would be rubbish stages. So yeah, I decided not to race but I don’t see that as a criticism, it just ended up looking like not my idea of fun. I bet some folks loved the battling, on another day I might have too.

(looking forward to riding kinlochleven trails-indistinguishable-from-rivers in the snow again though, that’s more my sort of adversity)

mac – I would imagine that its also to do with the weekends tracks being at the easier end of whats on the caberston hill. Some other trails get way harder in the mud.

mactheknife…RE stages 1 and 2…General feeling was that S1 would rut up a little at the top but the middle and bottom would be fine and S2 is mostly a 20yr old DH track so would hold up. I swept on race day so was last down and had the stickiest conditions. Whilst the top of S1 rutted up more than I thought for the most it was perfectly rideable with the correct tyres (ie mud). Fitness and energy levels exposed lots of people here. No issues with S2 although it was quite slippy! Stu.

how did it compare to the tweedlove scottish enduro trails ?

i managed to ride the scottish open blind (due to childcare on the sat)i was out my depth often so chickened out of this and now regretting it.
passed through innerleithen and seen the state of the riders ! i did have a wee laugh to y self and thought thank fek .. well done to all

stuartanicholson – yep my tyre choice was not the best 🙂 cheers for the info. As Northwind said the day was not for me but in no way was it a criticism of the event or trail choices. I am maybe a bit annoyed with myself for a few reasons. Nobody likes their weaknesses exposed for all to see 🙂

how did it compare to the tweedlove scottish enduro trails

More technical, certainly at Cademuir. Nothing overly technical at the weekend, the conditions made up the challenge.

S2 is mostly a 20yr old DH track so would hold up.

Why not just run the “Old School DH” track from top to bottom? It started on that then veered off. The main track would have stood up better in the weather and it’s a good challenge with some bonkers fast bits.

BoardinBob…It was an ‘Enduro’ race so we felt it needed some physical sections. Plus variety is the spice of life…

anyone know if there will be a day/night enduro at inners this year? just thinking about one more event before engaging slob mode for the winter.

bigjim…no day/night this year. One more event…www.vimeo.com/109442500

Awesome weekend, big thanks to event organisers. It was a tough challenge but course was a real good mix. Weather just added the final spice to it all…. Got to expect no less from Scotland in October.

No matter what one thought of the tracks at the weekend, the mountain bike community should be hugely grateful to Rich and Hels (and all at IMTBR) for what they have done for racing in the Tweed Valley.

My first introduction to racing at Inners was an IMBTR day/night enduro several years ago. Since then I have moved to the Valley because of the quality of riding around and the great, relaxed vibe that surrounds riding in the Tweed Valley.

I for one cannot thank them enough, and the help Hels has given me along the way when it came to running the marshalling the EWS last year was invaluable. I hope that their ‘retirement’ allows them to enjoy riding their bikes more 😀

Three cheers for Rich, Hels and IMTBR 😆