Michael from Merida writes…
It’s now less than 5 weeks to go before the series returns to Builth Wells where you can enjoy the new event location and the 3 new courses on offer.
EXPOSURE LIGHTS BIG NIGHT OUT night marathon – 11th April 2009
The first new course on offer is the new EXPOSURE LIGHTS BIG NIGHT OUT night marathon course which will be run on the evening of the 11th April. For years the night marathon has been the official opener to the series and 2009 will be no exception. A 50km course with around 1400meters of climbing will create a fantastic challenge and still leaving some in the tank for the Sunday morning Spring Marathon. The guys from EXPOSURE LIGHTS will be on site showing off their latest lighting developments and offering advice on what to look out for when ‘indulging’ in the fascinating world of night riding. This year’s special finishing present will be the new reflective BUFF which will be handed out to the riders alongside tea, coffee and cake when coming back over the finish line. So don’t miss out on this cracker of an opener and enter the event on our entry page (http://www.mtb-marathon.co.uk/entry_forms/entry_forms.php). You can find further details on the EXPOSURE LIGHTS BIG NIGHT OUT on its event page: http://www.mtb-marathon.co.uk/events/exposure.php
Merida Bikes MTB Spring Marathon – 12th April 2009
Following the night activities will be the Merida Bikes MTB Spring Marathon on the 12th April. Three courses with some never before used sections will offer something for everybody – starting with a 25km course (600m of climbing), followed by the all new 50km course (1,200m of climbing) going all the way to the 70km course with 1,900m of climbing. To find out more about the Spring Marathon please go to http://www.mtb-marathon.co.uk/events/builth_wells_spring.php and don’t forget that there is a special reduced weekend ticket for the event if you are keen to do both events over the weekend.
New location for the April Builth Wells
For 2009 we have moved across the river back to the original event location when we started 10 years ago with the first ‘100’ event – the Royal Welsh Showground. With ample hard standing, tarmac access routes, a superb infrastructure and first class facilities the Royal Welsh Showground is the ideal location to host our 1st event in 2009. And the event is not much further from the shops, pubs, restaurants, hotel and B+Bs in Builth.
Big investment for 2009 events and beyond
The rather harsh summer of 2008 has encouraged us even in these rather uncertain timed to jump into the cold water and invest heavily into our equipment. For the 2009 series and beyond we have invested more than £ 35,000 into our own shower facilities which will allow us to have first class facilities wherever the venue is not able to offer them.
How to enter?
There are two ways to enter the events in 2009. You can either download an entry form and send it to us or you can use the online entry. To enter the Merida Bikes MTB Marathon Series 2009 please go to the entry page on the MTB marathon site – http://www.mtb-marathon.co.uk/entry_forms/entry_forms.php.
Other events in the Merida Bikes MTB Marathon Series 2009.
If you can’t make it to the April round of the Merida Bikes MTB Marathon Series 2009 – don’t worry there is plenty more going on in our 2009 series. Here the other dates and location on offer.
15 – 16th May — Crickhowell (MTB marathon to be run on Sunday)
4 – 5th July — Llanwrtyd Wells (GORE BIKE WEAR Sportive to be run on Saturday and the MTB Marathon on Sunday)
18th July — ‘Merida Marathon on holiday’ Bad Goisern, Austria
1 – 2nd August — Selkirk (GORE BIKE WEAR Sportive to be run on Saturday and the MTB Marathon on Sunday)
19 – 20th September — Ruthin (GORE BIKE WEAR Sportive to be run on Saturday and the MTB Marathon on Sunday)
To find out more about the various locations go to the events page of the MTB-Marathon site (http://www.mtb-marathon.co.uk/events/events.php).
