Nine 2 Five Format

London Rat Race urban Adventure - Nine to Five Map Rat Race navigation Rat Race St Pauls Steps Descent Rat Race HMS Belfast Rat Race orienteering in Hyde Park Rat Race - bikes in Holland Park Rat Race - Westway Centre climbing challenge Rat Race Wormwood Prison Break Rat Race BMX skills Rat Race Viaduct Assault Course Rat Race Putney kayaking Rat Race Twickenham Monster Abseil Rat Race - A-mazing teamwork challenge

•    Nine 2 Five - What is it all about?
•    Scoring
•    Skills & Preparation
•    Ropes Refresher Sessions
•    Registration
•    The Briefing
•    Nine 2 Five Timeline
•    Team Composition & Age Limits
•    Prize Categories

Nine 2 Five - What is it all about?

The Nine 2 Five sees you take on a multi-sport adventure challenge course lasting up to 8 hours around the city. You choose how much you will do, but unlike the Mean Streets there is more of a guided route which you follow. This route will have short cuts and options devised to have you exploring the city and sometimes beyond.


When you register at the Event Village on Sunday morning, you will be provided with details of this guided route via 'Nine 2 Five Routebook'. This will include all the info you need to mark a route on your A-Z Map which you will also receive when you register.

After a quick briefing, you will be lined up and at 0900 away you go on an urban adventure through the streets & lanes of the city. Along your journey there will be several Checkpoints to stop off at, most of which will involve an activity. We'll keep the action a secret almost until you arrive but expect physical, mental & comedy capers in weird and wonderful locations throughout your day. Included in all our courses will be some kayaking, an awesome abseil or similar ropes-based adventure and a fair portion of navigation. Don't worry you don't need to be Bear Grylls to get around but some experience and a sense of direction is required. Check out the Skill & Preparation section for more info on how to maximise your Nine 2 Five experience. Each checkpoint you bag will gain you points which will be totted up at the end.

As your day of adventure comes to a close the end of your course will guide you back to the event village where you'll drop your bikes for the final time. It's not far to the finish line but before you cross it you'll take on our final hurdle! Then it's across the line & download your scores for the day.

Scoring

We work the winner in the following way: We order all the teams by their points total from the Nine 2 Five with the highest score 1st. In the event of a tie we 2nd sort them by time with the quickest 1st. We then use the time from the 1st placed team as 'Zero' time. We then subtract 2 points for every minute your team are slower than 'Zero' time from your total. The team with the highest score wins!

Skills & Preparation

We've made this event accessible to all whether you're a highly tuned athlete, a group of friends with a basic level of fitness and sense of adventure. Here is a some info on skills and discipline to help you prepare for such an event.

Biking: There will be around 50-60km between all adventure “loops”; on-road and off-road. This is the main discipline that will “link” the various components of the course within the Nine 2 Five so make sure you are comfortable with your bike. You don't need anything flash for a Rat Race Urban Adventure just one that it is in good working order. we'll give you some hints nearer the time of how much on/off-road will be in the course to help you decide.

Ropework: Some people think this is what really sets the Rat Race apart from other adventure challenges – the ability to clamber all over buildings and structures with ropes. It’s exciting, exhilarating and gives great views of the city you are travelling around. We will always give you at least one section and sometimes more but we do require that you have had some previous experience. Get yourself to a local climbing centre pre-event or keep an eye out for our refresher courses for those who those want to blow out the cobwebs.

Kayaking: We use our own fleet of boats which are robust, safe and easy to paddle. They are sit-on-top style and are ideal boats for various types of water. You will always be under the watchful eyes of our safety crews and you will have all the equipment provided. We tend to set fairly basic kayak challenges as the standards of paddling generally are fairly (ahem) mixed! For this we recommend gaining some experience pre-event so get yourself along to a local water sports centre for a splash around.

Navigation: Not to be feared! Suffice to say that most is done on A-Z maps. We might give you some other navigation challenges along the route, such as orienteering with special maps in city parks, or navigation with aerial photos. These will vary from event to event. You CAN practice navigation.
 
Approximate distances
For the full Nine 2 Five you should plan for the following distances, as a guide (if you complete the full course):

• Biking - 50-60km approx. depending on city layout and gradients.
• Foot - (walking or running) 5 km (not all in one go) and to a certain degree up to you
• Kayaking - 1.5 km approx


Ropes Refresher Sessions

We will be running ropes refresher courses for all those who want them. Remember, these sessions are NOT A TOTAL SUBSTITUTE for prior experience; we ask that you have at least been on a rope in advance of the event. But you can pick up these skills from any good climbing wall in your area. These sessions are run on the Saturday morning (i.e. the day before the Nine 2 Five) so if you want in on the action and you are a Nine 2 Five competitor only, you must turn up on the Saturday morning.

Registration

This will be well run and highly organised, but it will be very busy, so GET THERE EARLY! Registration will start at 0700 Sunday OR you can register on Saturday. On the day, you will:

1) sign your acceptance of our standard terms and conditions
2) collect your SportIdent Timing Chip
3) receive your Rat Race T-shirt
4) receive your Race number
5) receive a map

The mandatory kit might be checked at Registration, or it might be checked at a random kit check out on the course. So do not cut corners with what you bring. Bring it all.

The Briefing

The Race Director will address the whole event field at this time and it’s important that everyone participating in the Nine 2 Five MUST ATTEND. There will be some safety information and there might be some special instructions that relate directly to that city or the way the race will be run that weekend. Make sure someone brings a notebook and pen, but don’t worry about taking reams of cryptic notes from clues given by the Race Director; this is NOT part of the event and is purely a welcome and safety briefing. It will take place immediately before the start of the event on the start line at 0845.

Nine 2 Five timeline*

Sunday:
• 0700 Registration opens
• 0730 Nine 2 Five Routebook available
• 0830 Registration closes
• 0845 Mass briefing to all participants
• 0900 Start
• 1200 Public entertainments commence in the event village
• 1700 Course cut off time – all teams finished
• 1800 Prize-giving at the event village
• 2100 Secure bike compound to be cleared

*Timeline is TBC. Confirmation will be provided in the weeks nearer the event weekend

Team composition & Age limits

The is event is open to all from the age of 16 and above. You can take part in teams of 3 or pairs which can be made up of all male, all female or mixed. Those aged 16 and 17 must provide written parental/ guardian consent of their participation. Consent form is available for download here.

Prize categories

• Best mixed team
• Best male team
• Best female team