Newsletter – Might Contain Nuts

Round 1 – The Welsh Ultra Running and Trail Marathon Series

23^rd March saw both the The Welsh Ultra Running and Trail Marathon Series kick off with what should have been a 33 mile Ultra and Half Marathon respectively. The weather had different ideas and with heavy snow, gale force winds and conditions on the high ground providing an interesting challenge the decision was taken to move to a contingency route.

Any initial disappointment was replaced with understanding once the athletes had experienced the conditions on the first climb. Despite the shorter course the 128 athletes who started will testify to the size of the challenge. This will be one of those 'remember when' events.

Results can be viewed here.
Photos from the event can be viewed here.
Places and accommodation are available for Round 2 which takes place on the 11^th May, the event website can be viewed here.

Round 1 – The Welsh Adventure Racing Series

13^th April saw athletes from all over the UK gather at Talybont on Usk for Round 1 of The Welsh Adventure Racing Series. The event consists of up to 12 hours of racing, involving Mountain Biking, Trail Running / Trekking, Kayaking and Navigation in the beautiful Brecon Beacons National Park.

The series aims to use the fantastic terrain available within the local area and with the weather adding it's own challenge it certainly qualified as a big day out!

Well done to everyone who took on the challenge, results can be viewed here.
Photos from the event can be viewed here.
Entries are now open for Round 2 which takes place on the 27^th July, with a 6 hour option added for those of you who want to experience the fantastic terrain but are not quite ready for the full 12 hours. Early bird discounts are available for both formats, the event website can be viewed here and you can enter here.

Just to confirm rounds 2, 3 and 4 all qualify for 2 UTMB points. Confirmation can be seen here.

Rounds 2 and 3 also form part of the UK Run Further UltraRunning Championships.

Lastly we have decided to extend our charity support, previously we would donate £1 for every starter of the The Welsh Ultra Running Series to a nominated charity. This approach is obviously limited by the number of starters. With most rounds now selling out early we have decided to offer free charity places for either The Welsh Ultra Running or Trail Marathon Series. We have decided to support three fantastic causes;

1. Welsh Air Ambulance
2. Brecon Mountain Rescue
3. Jon and Otto

There will be 5 charity places available for each cause. Simply enter in the normal way here (free entry) and choose your method of fund raising.

For the Welsh Air Ambulance and Brecon Mountain Rescue

1. Use our central JustGiving page (make sure donations state your name so we can track your fund raising total).
2. Set up your own fund raising page and send us the link.
3. Bring a single cheque for the total amount raised to event registration.

For Jon and Otto

1. Once you have claimed your place we will put you in touch with Jon and Otto.

A minimum of £100 must be raised per entry. The individual who raises the most will receive a prize to recognise their efforts. If you already have a paid entry and would like to swap to a charity place, please contact us at events@mightcontainnuts.com

Hope to see you at one of the events this year.

The Might Contain Nuts Team.

Newsletter - Round 1, The Welsh Adventure Racing Series

Hi Adventurers,

The snow is melting – well most of it! The Might Night Contain Nuts Team is starting to put those tempting check points out already! Now that the snow is finally starting to ease, conditions underfoot are currently dry. The weather is looking likely to get milder but perhaps a little wetter though the long range prediction is anything but. Keep an eye on the mountain weather forecast here particularly closer to the weekend.

Have a look at the essential and recommended kit list here. Please bear in mind that this is the minimum kit list and you may well want to add to it particularly if the conditions are testing. This course features some exposed sections of hill both on bike and run (and kayak for that mater!) particularly for the more adventurous amongst you keen to push the boundaries.

Mountain Biking

Make sure that your bike is in good working order, particularly brakes and tyres - this isn’t a namby pamby tarmac excursion. You may want to consider taking chain oil and spare pads with you (or possibly fitting new ones before you start) as well as compulsory inner tubes, pump etc to mend a puncture should it / they occur.

A map board will make things a dam site easier to fathom out where you are going rather than keep stopping to check all the time – at worst you can make one out of old bits of cardboard – at best you can purchase specialist bits of kit like the ones we stock here.

Depending on your route choice there are some challenging and technical sections in places. Please walk around them if you don’t feel confident of attempting them – in truth you may find it quicker than riding them.

Hiking / Hill Walking / Trail Running

You will need appropriate kit for running in. Some folk favour bike shorts which they don’t have to change to run in (though some do – no dodgy indecency at transitions though please!) You can obviously run in run kit but cycling in run kit is not recommended – if you do we suggest vast quantities of Vaseline or similar! Our preference is triathlon shorts which you can do everything in but again you decide.

Kayaking

All of the boats used are Sit on Top style kayak’s. Everything is provided. I’m sure you will be delighted to know that they are all unsinkable! Despite this you will be kayaking on open water and so should be prepared for the worst! Even if you don’t fall in then expect some dampness and spray from the paddles and wind so should dress accordingly. Think about expensive phones etc (You can leave bags, packs at the kayak transition if you want to). Don’t forget your map and compass though!

Some boats are doubles and some are singles – you boat allocation and wave will be added to the start list in the coming days. There will be a friendly chap in an open canoe – he is there to keep an eye on you.

Event Aim

The aim is to collect as many points as possible in the 12 hours allocated. After the 12 hours is up the highest score wins. The more difficult the checkpoint is deemed to be in attaining then the more points it will be worth. It is compulsory to collect at least one checkpoint from each of the main stages. (Apart from the optional run stage). Failure to register at least one checkpoint in any stage will result in a 200 point penalty. 

In addition to the location of the checkpoints on the maps there will be separate score sheets to determine the value of the checkpoint. When you find a checkpoint you need to register this by stamping your score card with the stamp at the Check Point (CP) CP 02 for example will go in the second box. Each stamp has its own unique code so please be sure to stamp the correct box on the card! Equally don’t think you can stamp any old box in an attempt to say you’ve been there as we know the correct code for that location!

Event Format

Start: Talybont Outdoor Centre

Registration: Opens at 7:00 am - Maps for stages 1, 2 and 3 will be issued

Start: 8:00 am Stage 1: Bike (Optional run stage - This challenge can be attempted either before the kayak stage or after it but not both times!)

Stage 2. Kayak (There will 2 Waves, your wave will be confirmed in the next few days - check the start sheet later this week)

• Wave 1: Start: 9:30am Finish: 10:20am (5 points per minute late penalty applies) 
• Wave 2: Start: 10:40am Finish: 11:30am (5 points per minute late penalty applies) 

Stage 3a: Bike (Optional run stage - This challenge can be attempted either before the kayak stage or after it but not both times!)

Half Way Clock in: Talybont Outdoor Centre. Clock in must be between 1:00 pm and 2.00 pm (Penalty Points applied for being late 5 points per minute!). Please hand in your score sheet from Stages 1, 2 & 3a, collect maps for stages 3b, 4 and 5 and your second score sheet. Please note that you may leave a transition box here to replenish your supplies.

Stage 3b: Bike Stage 4: Hiking / Hill Walking / Trail Running

Stage 5: Bike

Finish: 8:00pm (12 hours after start) - Penalty Points applied for being late 5 points per minute!

Points and Prizes as soon as we can.

There will be penalties and disqualifications issued for:

Kayak: Returning outside allocated time slot. Penalty: 5 points per minute.

Late arrival (After 2pm) at the “Half way Clock in”. Penalty: 5 points per minute.

Late arrival to the finish (After 12 hours has expired) Penalty: 5 points per minute.

Failure to collect at least one CP per stage (Optional Stage excluded) Penalty: 200 point penalty.

Entering “Out of Bounds Areas”. These are for your own safety particularly in forestry areas. The penalty is Disqualification.

Cycling on Footpaths. The penalty is Disqualification.

Splitting up groups / ditching members to gather more checkpoints to gain an unfair advantage. The penalty is Disqualification.

You will need to have all your compulsory kit on you at all times apart from the following exceptions: Bike kit is not required on your run legs (i.e. You can leave helmets and bike shoes and other bike related kit with the marshals at the bike transitions). Might Contain Nuts will not be carrying kit for you between stages!

Some folk have asked if it they can collect their run shoes during the “Half way clock In” It is be possible for stages 1, 2, 3 to get away without running footwear particularly if you did not attempt the optional run challenge. However it would be impossible to attempt Stage 4!

There will be fantastic GU Energy Gels at some of the transitions provided by our lovely sponsor GU and also plain bottled water. These little ‘helpers’ aside you will need to take enough food to sustain yourself for 12 hours (even though you can access your transition box at the “Half way clock in”. Particularly for the second half you may find yourself in remote locations and it won’t be much fun if you “bonk”.

Teams / Pairs must stay within shouting distance of all members (e.g. 50 meters) No funny business of splitting up teams / pairs to get different check points. There will be roaming marshals, anyone caught doing this will be disqualified.

Outside of the above, if you have any further queries or questions then please don’t hesitate to ask and we’ll do our best to help, but it makes things easier if you can do this sooner rather than later at events@mightcontainnuts.com or 01874 770079.

Thanks again for entering and look forward to seeing you next weekend.

The Might Contain Nuts Team.