There is a non-competitive race (I know :roll:) local to me this weekend and it’s impossible to find information. I emailed the organisation a few weeks ago, the response was, that a couple of weeks before the event they didn’t know the route. They need full police authority if the route crosses the road and premission from local councils, in less than two weeks?? The organisation told me to wait until October for the route to appear on the website. The only way you can access the website is by using a code, the code is activated when you sign up for the race and pay the 35€!!!!
Unless you’re competing it’s a complete secret… Why the **** would an organisation do that? Surely sponsors want people to watch the event? If the public can’t access the info, they can’t go. I’ve got friends who’d like to watch, but I don’t know where to send them.
I was going to return to racing this autumn in another event which was cancelled and this fitted the bill as I know most of the area, but not the exact route!!! Their loss. 🙄

Where is this?
I’ve got a suspicion that, if it’s in the UK, your question is answered by the term “non-competitive race”…

Racing, when it uses public roads is very tightly regulated (be it for bikes or anything else), however anyone can come along and set up a non-competitive event, you only have to look at the massive rise in the number of Sportives to see that. There are no real regulations for that, you don’t need police permission or anything (although it’s common courtesy and good sense to advise them that there will be such an event), you can charge what you want etc but unfortunately there are a few organisers who basically run them as unauthorised races, hence the secrecy. 🙁

The insurance implications for if (when) something goes wrong don’t bear thinking about.

Got any details of the event? Even just the name/date/location?

It’s an offroad, fully publicised event in Spain. There is publicity, just the route and I guess other info.
I know the road races in the UK used codes for the roads being used and things like that.
I know what the event is. I know where the start is. I do know the route, only because I know all the trails within the area of the race, I just don’t know the exact route, if that makes sense!!! ❓

I probably could find the route as I know people who are probably competing, it’s the village I used to live in.
I am just wondering why the actual route, not the event is secret. It seems strange and a bit stupid to me.

maybe they don’t want people practtising in advance – to avoid annoying locals, cutting up the track, getting advantage, summatelse

As scaredy says, it’s to stop people practising on the course.

They do it in the UK too, usually with Polaris/Trailquest/OMM events – even up to a week beforehand competitors only know the rough region/county, it’s to stop them recce-ing the routes or cache-ing food/supplies in the wilderness.

But it’s not a race. And if it were, it’s not an important event.
The competitors do, however, have the route.

Maybe ‘them’ dont want you to race. They’ve been watching youuuu hahahahahahahahahahahaha

The SPAM (Salisbury Plain) guys always put a note about “unexploded bombs” etc. that usually stops people practising on their courses 🙂

Quiet a few events like chainreaction marathons, some sportives don’t give routes out so people don’t “tag along”