Event Format

The Birmingham Rat Race will run on the new “Nine 2 Five” One Day event format. This exciting new format compresses everything you know about the famous Rat Race into a full 8 hours of challenge and adventure on ONE DAY. You can race at the intensity that suits you to beat the clock and the judges on this one. The final result is based on your physical prowess and team tactics! Let us explain....

The day starts with a Prologue, just like in the existing Rat Race 2 day events. On this section, you collect checkpoints and clues on foot for up to one hour, before returning to the event centre to present your scores, and get access to your bikes. Once on the bikes, you have a choice of which order to complete a number of Adventure Destination Stages, taking you to fantastic parts of the City for Ropes, Boats and other Special Activities. After completing these stages it's back to base once again to complete a few surprise challenges here during your “Working Lunch”. Then it's off on the final whirlwind foot-based stage. By this time, the City will have changed since you left it in the morning; you will be amongst shoppers and tourists as you navigate the intricate streets to locate a multitude of hidden checkpoints and more Special Activities on a Saturday afternoon, until the 8th hour looms. The later you are back to base after 8 hours, the more penalty points you start to accrue, but you can finish well before 8 hours if you wish and take these closing stages at a more leisurely pace! It’s up to you. As you can see, this is a format that will have you guessing where you are going and working the tactics until the end; have you done enough to bag a good performance?

(You might have already noted that the Birmingham event re-orders some of these format elements in order to connect the NEC and the City Centre, and there's a fair adventure in connecting them as we've already found out!)

After a day like that you'll want to compare routes, maps and scores with other teams and unwind at the themed Rat Race Prize-giving Party. For Birmingham, perhaps the City's famous Rock Legends will come to the fore, and we are looking forward to seeing you looking good in lycra on and off the stage, in 2008.

Nine 2 Five Format stages;

 
First Stage: Prologue. Up to one hour of navigation running and mini-challenges. Score based checkpoints.

Middle Stages: Adventure Destination Stages. Two or Three 'loop' stages. Time based endurance on the bike, with Special Adventure Activities on route

Last Stage: Epilogue. Mopping up time and checkpoint activities until the 8th hour bell tolls!

Your final performance is based on the aggregate times for the Adventure Stages together with scores from the points based Prologue and Epilogue. It's a stiff cocktail.