Event details and information

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Overview

The Kong Lakes Ultra courses visit a predetermined list of peaks in a set order in the Lake District, Cumbria. The courses are marked but you will have to navigate yourself and be confident doing so day or night. The courses include many of the highest peaks in the Lake District.

Friday 23rd June 2023

• 18:00 to 22:30 Registration Open - Keswick Football Club
• 23:00 Event Centre closed to participants

Saturday 24th June 2023

• 06:00 Long Course starts from Keswick Football Club
• 07:00 Short Course starts from Keswick Football Club
• 15:15 Anticipated first Short Course finishers
• 17:15 Anticipated first Long Course finishers

Sunday 25th June 2023

• 03:00 Long Course closes
• 04:00 Short Course closes
• 09:00 Event Centre closes

The Event Centre is located at Keswick Football Club. The Event Centre is Race HQ and this is where you need to go to register. The location of Keswick Football Club is Main Street, Keswick, CA12 4.
View  Map

The start and finish is located at Keswick Football Club. The long course event will start at 6am and the short course will start at 7am.

The finish for all competitors is at  Keswick Football Club. There will be someone at the Football club throughout the event to give you your finisher's medal... However, you must complete your course in full to get a medal. If you are muddy on your return please remove your footwear before entering the building! 

Parking is available at Keswick Football club. Please book your place via SI Entries.

Registration, Kit Check (IMPORTANT: bring your running bag packed with the mandatory kit to present at registration) and Briefing will be at the Event Centre. At Registration, you will be issued with the following –

• Two race numbers and safety pins (the smaller race number must be placed on your rucksack, and the larger one on your vest/t-shirt/tights [forward facing]. Race Numbers must not be folded)
• Race map with route and checkpoints pre-marked.
• A GPS tracker (to be returned)
• SI Timing Dibber (to be returned)
• Kong Lakes Ultra event T-shirt (if ordered)

IMPORTANT: Participants can only register with photographic ID. The person at registration, the photographic ID and the online entry credentials must all match. Even if you think someone at registration will know you, you still require photographic ID. We are happy to accept a photocopy of your photographic ID if the photocopy is sufficiently high enough in quality that someone who doesn't know you can identify you from it. A driving license, passport, or military ID are acceptable. A credit/debit card is NOT acceptable. We need to ensure that the person entered is the person standing in front of us at registration.

Every competitor will be required to carry (or wear) the following items for the duration of the race. Registration includes a kit check, and random kit inspections may be carried out at the finish. Competitors found not carrying the full mandatory kit may be disqualified. This is for your safety and we will not compromise on this list –

• Map (issued at registration)
• Cup for use for water at support points 
• Compass suitable for mountain navigation
• Water Bottle / Bladder
• Waterproof Jacket with a hood and taped seams
• Waterproof trousers
• Spare warm top (spare means unworn at the start)
• Hat or buff
• Gloves
• Headtorch (with spare batteries or an entire spare unit e.g. Petzl e-Lite) - with sufficient light to be able to navigate in the darkness
• Survival bag* (NOT A BLANKET)
• Mobile phone - fully charged
• Whistle
• Food to eat on the move
• Suitable footwear for mountain use (no road running shoes)
• Plasters and blister kit

The following additional items are recommended -

• Money for food, taxi etc
• Watch
• Altimeter
• Purification tablets
• Walking poles
• Sun cream
• Waterproof rucksack liner

Checkpoints will NOT necessarily be manned. The peaks that each course visits are the Checkpoints, clearly identified on the race map. Your race tracker will track you through each checkpoint and will keep the live stream updated so that supporters can follow your progress throughout the race.  The checkpoints will trigger when you on on the summit.

There will be hill marshalls at Esk Hause and Sticks Pass. These marshalls will have small first aid kits, a shelter, spare clothing and emergency food.

For safety reasons there will be cut-off times at the 4 Support Points. These are strictly enforced. Those competitors that are competing in the long course race but fail to meet the cut-off time at Honister or Threlkeld checkpoint will be required to switch to the short course. All long course competitors that switch to the short course during the race (either voluntarily or by missing the cut-off time) will become non-competitive in the results because of the different start time and different sequence of checkpoints compared to the short course participants. The cut-off times are, provisionally:

Long Course

• Honister Support Point: Participants must have left by 9:00. Failure to depart by 9:00 will result in a mandatory switch to the short course or the participant being withdrawn from the event.
• Wasdale Support point: Participants arriving after 13:30 (7 and a half hours running) will be withdrawn from the event.
• Thirlmere Support Point: Participants arriving after 20:00 (14h running) will be switched to the bad weather route. Participants arriving after 21:00 will be withdrawn from the event.
• Threlkeld Support Point: Participants arriving after 01:00 (19h running) will be switched to the short course.

Short Course

• Honister Support Point: Participants must have left by 10:30. Failure to depart by 10:30 will result in the participant being withdrawn from the event.
• Thirlmere Support Point: Participants arriving after 20:00 (13h running) will be switched to the bad weather route. Participants arriving after 21:00 will be withdrawn from the event.
• Threlkeld Support Point: Participants arriving after 02:00 (18h running) will be withdrawn from the event.

Short and Long Course – Bad Weather Route

There is now a ‘Bad Weather’ route marked on the map. This may be authorised by the Race Director in exceptionally poor weather conditions. The Bad Weather route is clearly marked on the map, and participants are advised to download the Bad Weather route file in addition to the standard course.

We have made these changes to the course for several reasons, but most importantly it is about participant safety, fairness, and ensuring we have a sustainable route that the various landowners are happy with.

The map will be 1:40,000 scale provided by Harvey Maps. The 1:40,000 scale makes the map much more legible. Both the Short and Long Courses are marked on the map, as is the Bad Weather Route, and the Checkpoints and Support Points for each course.

IMPORTANT: Please read this information thoroughly and ask any questions you may have before registration finishes 

What to expect from your GPS Tracker?

• Trackers will be taped to the shoulder strap of your rucksack at registration, as far back as possible. They cannot be put in top pockets, or hip pockets.
• Trackers are left on until the end of the event. Do not try to turn the tracker off.
• Take care when picking up your rucksack so as not to grab the tracker and accidentally initiate the SOS button.
• The tracker only sends updates when it is moving. Please don’t use your rucksack as a pillow on Friday night – it will think it is moving as you stir in your sleep, and thus run the battery down!
• If for whatever reason you retire please do not under any circumstances leave the event without passing your tracker to event staff.
• Please don’t take the tracker off (unless to push the SOS button)

GPS Tracker SOS Button

This should only be pressed in an emergency when there is an immediate risk to life or a serious injury AND if you have failed to receive a response from Race Control. Follow the instructions on your race map to do this.

The SOS Button sends a message with your location to the Race Control via the GSM network*. In an emergency, it is worth attempting an SOS button press even if no mobile phone signal is available (according to your own mobile phone).

• Due to a history of accidental presses, we will ignore SOS button presses from a GPS tracker which continues to move.
• You will not know if Race Control has successfully received an SOS alert. Please continue to consult the Emergency Protocol printed on the race map for further instructions.

As we will be using a GPS tracking system for all competitors we will not have a sweeper on the courses.

*The GPS trackers record their location via GPS but only send out their location via the GSM network (the same network that is used to support mobile phone coverage). As such, there are black spots along the route where there is no network coverage for the trackers. At these locations, the trackers record their location, buffering the data, and then send it out once back in network coverage. In these black spots, it is not possible to send an SOS message.

In the event of an emergency please contact the Race Director in the first instance on the number printed on the map. It is often best to send a text message but please only assume this has been received if you receive a response back. Alternatively, phone 112 and ask for the Police and then Mountain Rescue.

There will be a vehicle available at the Thirlmere and Threlkeld Support Points to transport participants back to the Event Centre for those who are unable to continue (please note that this option is only available at Thirlmere and Threlkeld and not at any other support point).

Please note that we are unable to collect retiring participants from other locations on the course; you will need to organise your own transport back to the Event Centre if you abandon the race at any other location. Crucially, we must receive your SI dibber and GPS tracker back at the Event Centre before you leave.

You will be given your race numbers at registration and these must be pinned to your vest/t-shirt (larger number) and rucksack (smaller number) so that it is visible at all times. You won’t be able to get any assistance at support points without one. Race Numbers must not be folded.

Competitors are asked to assist another competitor that is in distress. The assisting competitor will be credited for time lost.
 All competitors are required to carry a mobile phone. In the event of getting lost or injured, where there is no assistance on hand, use your phone to contact race HQ where you will receive advice on what to do. If you are in a life threatening emergency dial 999.

If you are lost (and all attempts to confirm your whereabouts have failed) and you have no mobile phone reception, head downhill, following a track, stream or road until you have phone reception or obtain outside assistance. Inform race HQ as soon as possible.

Race HQ will attempt to monitor all competitors’ whereabouts by GPS tracking and regular contact with checkpoints on the course. Missing competitors will be searched for, so to avoid unnecessary work for emergency services, please contact race HQ as soon as you have realised that you have made a big navigation error that will result in you falling behind on schedule.

We recommend downloading OS mapping software onto your phone and the OS locate app which can be used to identify your precise location to another person. See here

Please give all marshals the respect that they deserve. They are all volunteers and without them the race could not go ahead. Marshals will have been issued instructions on what to do in certain events. Please adhere to their requests at all times. Please get in touch via the home page messaging service if you wish to volunteer in 2023.

Both courses are open to solo competitors only however we do encourage competitors to join up with others, especially for the night sections and during bad weather. Results will have full age category listings.

Inov8 prizes will be given out to the first 3  in the V40, V50 and V60 male and female categories in both courses and Inov8 will also give out substantial prizes to first, second and third male and female overall .

This is a navigational event and all competitors must be experienced at navigating in the mountains using a map and compass, in darkness and bad weather. Competitors may use GPS devices for navigation but must still carry a map and compass (and know how to use them!).

Waterproof Harvey maps will be provided and will have the full route marked on them, showing the peaks, mandatory checkpoints and feed stations. The route will have already been plotted on the map for you and we ask you to follow it and to stick to footpaths where possible. We have permission for the route from National Trust and National Park and need to stick to the route to ensure the future of our event.  Any areas marked out of bounds must be avoided and uncrossable boundaries must not crossed. Failure to comply will result in disqualification.

Competitors may carry their own maps in addition to (not instead of!) the issued one.

These events are very demanding! The short course is not as easy as the name would suggest and we will only allow those with relevant skill and experience to take part. The long course is only for those competitors that have competed in similar challenges, are very experienced in navigation in mountainous environments, in all weathers (and in the dark), and are fit.

Conditions in the Lake District can change very quickly. You will need to be prepared for conditions ranging from 30°C and clear skies, to high winds and driving rain and visibility down to less than 10 metres. Please consider that Honister is the wettest place in England! Please see the following links nearer the time for weather forecasts:
MWIS
Met Office

If you would like to leave a drop/food bag at registration on Friday evening we will ensure that it is forwarded to Thirlmere Support Point for you to access during the event. It is up to you to label it clearly (we will provide you a tag with your race number) and ensure that it is waterproof. We will do our best to keep an eye on your bag, but any bags are left at your risk and we will not be held responsible for any losses. We will transport your bag back to the base in Keswick as soon as possible. Kit bags must not exceed 40cm on their longest side or 3kg in weight.

It is the participant's responsibility to know and follow these rules:

1. Participants must follow the Universal event rules applicable to all events organised by Kong Adventure.
2. Any Participant who fails to visit all the checkpoints, in the correct order, will be automatically ranked below another competitor who has, regardless of their overall time.