Club Team Events
Chiltern League
Chiltern league is a series of FREE off road cross country races where Bearbrook compete against other clubs from around the local area. The more members we have racing the more points we stand to get and/or take away from other clubs. Whether you consider yourself a speed demon or not doesn’t matter every competitor counts!
It’s FUN!
It’s DIRTY!
It’s HARD WORK!
AND…
There is ALOT of CAKE afterwards!
These races are competitive at all levels, off-road, through fields, up hills, sometimes with a bit of mud. Women run roughly 4 miles and men 6 miles with starting guns at 1:15pm & 2pm.
Chiltern League consists of 5 races between Oct-Feb, they always take place on a Saturday - fixtures below.
On race day you can either meet at the venue or meet at Rivets for a car share with your fellow team mates. We have a gazebo/tent that we take with us for changing, keeping warm/dry and for stuffing our faces with cake afterwards. It's a great day out and a great way to join in the Bearbrook spirit/banter, it is also covered in your membership fees so you have no excuse for not coming along.
For this season we are back in the top tier, division 1 and need a minimum 6 ladies and 10 men for each race to maximise our clubs score.
What do I need for Chiltern League?
- Race Number - You will need a race number and will keep this number for every race in the series. Losing your number will result in a small fee for a new one.
- If you ran Chiltern League last year, then we’ll automatically register you with a number for the following season (provided your still a club member)
- If you’ve never raced before, you will need to contact James Powell James.powell1981@gmail.com asking to be registered for Chiltern League and include your name and date of birth
- Club Vest - You MUST wear a club vest on the day, this is part of the rules of the race. If you want to purchase one please speak to Nicky Pittam, failing that just let us know before the day and we’ll find you a spare to race in. Posting something on facebook will likely get the fastest response to borrow a club vest.
- Shoes - Weather leading up to the first meet (October) you might get away with road shoes, after that you will most certainly need either off-road shoes or spikes. Our advice is to talk with some experienced club members on this, everyone is different and you'll likely get a slightly different opinion on whether to use off-road shoes or spikes, although the majority will say spikes.
- Kit Bag - change of clothes, you might get wet/muddy and a hoodie/coat to keep warm whilst waiting around. It has become tradition for the ladies to show off their baking skills at these events whilst the men show off their cake eating abilities but don't let that stop any guys out there from becoming the next master baker!
2024/25 Fixture List
| Race No. | Date | Race Location | Post Code | Race Start Times |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12 Oct 2024 | Keysoe Equestrian Centre, Bedfordshire | MK44 2JP | Ladies 13:15 Men 14:00 |
| 2 | 9 Nov 2024 | TBC might be Teardrop Lakes, Milton Keynes if same as last year | MK5 8PA | Ladies 13:15 Men 14:00 |
| 3 | 30 Nov 2024 | TBC might be Stopsley Common, Luton if same as last year | TBC | Ladies 13:15 Men 14:00 |
| 4 | 11 Jan 2025 | TBC might be Cassiobury Park, Watford if same as last year | TBC | Ladies 13:15 Men 14:00 |
| 5 | 8 Feb 2025 | Horspath, Oxford | TBC | Ladies 14:35 Men 13:30 |
Ridgeway Relay
The ridgeway relay is a relay race that constists of 10 different stages, each stage is off-road and follows the Ridgeway National Trail with the exception of a few small deviations. The legs vary in length from 5.4 miles to 11.0 miles
If you are interested in taking part in the event in future there will be messages and facebook posts about it early each year with the race taking place in June.
The race itself is a team event, each team has 10 members and you are assigned to a stage/leg. We strongly recommend you recce the route, whether that be on your own, using a gpx on your watch which you can download online or buddy up with someone from the club that's happy to show you your route.
As a club we have 1 team in 2025.
We'll have a couple of cars following the race throughout the day with spaces for runners who want to stay out for the whole day. Alternatively you are free to make your own arrangements to get to the start of your leg and home again afterwards.
Team Name: Bearbrook A
1 Simon Griffiths
2 Kathy Klein
3 Jason Lamont
4 Ruth Dunkin
5 Owen Byrne
6 Justin Harvey
7 Mike Lemon
8 Nicky Pittam
9 Ian Higginson
10 Richard Sullivan
If competing in this event it is mandatory for you to wear a club vest.
Stage Overviews
It's likely there will be a change to leg 2 when leaving Wendover, using the new section of road running parallel with Ellesborough Road to reach the bottom of Coombe Hill. Please note this change isn't currently mentioned in the race details.
| Stage |
Distance |
Start Point | End Point | Route | Approx. Start Time of leg | Mass Start Info |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stage 1 | 11 | start | end | route map | 7:30am | |
| Stage 2 | 6 | start | end | route map | 8:40-8:55am | |
| Stage 3 | 9.4 | start | end | route map | 9:30-9:50am | |
| Stage 4 | 5.4 | start | end | route map | 10:50-11:15am | |
| Stage 5 | 10.1 | start | end | route map | 11:35am-12:05pm | |
| Stage 6 | 10.4 | start | end | route map | 12:50-1:45pm | 1:45pm mass start if your team isn't here yet |
| Stage 7 | 9.1 | start | end | route map | 2pm | 2pm mass start if your team isn't here yet |
| Stage 8 | 7.8 | start | end | route map | 3:05-3:15pm | 3.15pm mass start if your team isn't here yet |
| Stage 9 | 10.7 | start | end | route map | 4:10-4:30pm | 4.30pm mass start if your team isn't here yet |
| Stage 10 | 9.4 | start | end | route map | 5:30pm | 5:30pm mass start if your team isn't here yet |
Start times of legs are harder to predict for the later stages especially if your team misses a mass start. All runners should give themselves plenty of time at the start to collect their race number and use the toilet (nearby bush) as required.