Information
What's an Off Road Challenge?
An off road challenge is a mass participation event involving running, walking, crawling and wading through a range of varying terrains, from mud to ponds. This would be tough enough but to make it even tougher, a range of obstacles are put in place to slow down your progress. Here are some sites of other events that are similar to Mud Madness.
www.tjurruset.se
www.toughguy.co.uk
www.grimchallenge.co.uk
www.mudrun.com
Don't want to do it on your own? Do it as a team!
Most things are better when you can share them with people you know and like. Mud Madness is the same. Why not get a group together from work, local gym, sports club, or just a load of your friends or family and come up with a team name. It can be anything (within reason!). You each then need to enter individually but all type in the same team name. If you have at least 4 or more of you, you will be entered into the team prize, which is explained below under prizes. You don't have to do the whole thing together, but it may be loads more fun and it may be easier if you can help each other around the course.
Entries
This event has a limit of 600 so it is crucial that you enter early to avoid disappointment. You will receive a confirmation e-mail when your entry is processed. A further e-mail will be sent out close to the day with the race briefing and last minute details. Limited late entries will be open for the remainder of spaces left at registration from 11am to 1:30pm. These late entries will incur an extra £2.50 surcharge.
Health
If you know of any condition that would be exacerbated by taking part in Mud Madness, or are even just not feeling up to it on the day, you must not take part. It is not worth it and it may mean that other competitors or marshals may be put at risk if your require assistance during the event. Having said that, you can still come down and be part of the event by cheering on the other participants.
Refunds
Like most other sporting events, it is not possible for us to give any refunds. For safety reasons it is not possible to transfer your entry to someone else if you decide not to take part.
Location
Foymore Lodge is a new country sports site set in the heart of the Armagh Countryside. The lodge caters for a range of country pursuits such as Clay Pigeon Shooting and 4x4 driving. Visit www.foymorelodge.com for more information.
Directions
From Belfast – Take the M1 towards Dungannon. Exit at Junction 12 and take the first exit, A4, towards Portadown along the Dungannon Road. Foymore Lodge is 2miles along this road.
From Dublin and the South – Take the M1 to Newry. Continue on the A1 to Banbridge. Then take the A50 and then the A26 to Lurgan. Follow signs for the M1. Travel westbound towards Dungannon and exit at junction 12, as detailed above.
From West and North West – Head for Dungannon and follow signs for the M1. Exit at junction 12 and take the 3rd exit, A4 Dungannon Road towards Portadown.
For a map of the area around Foymore Lodge click here
Public Transport
Train – From Belfast Central alight at Portadown and take a taxi to Foymore Lodge on the Dungannon Road. Train times can be found from www.translink.co.uk. We would advise taking the 9:30 or 10am train.
Parking
This is limited since it is a rural site. You are advised to car share where possible. Parking will be available on the hard shoulder of the main A4 road. Parking assistants will guide you when nearing the site. Please drive carefully as the A4 is a main road with a speed limit of 60mph and there will be other competitors on foot. Always walk along between the parked cars and the verge and never along the edge of the road.
Age Limit
Mud Madness has been specifically designed to be a challenge and it is therefore sensible to have an age limit. To take part, you must be at least 17 on the day of the challenge.
Registration
This will take place at Foymore Lodge from 11am to 1:30pm. Marshals will guide you down to registration. Try and bring all you need before going down to registration as it is over 800m away from the main road. You will receive a race number and 4 pins which should be fixed to your BACK for the whole race. You will be crawling on your belly at various stages so you may lose your number if it is put on you front. You will also have your number written on the back of both your hands in case you lose your number.
Disclaimer
Due to the nature of the event, it is essential that all competitors sign a waiver, prior to collecting your race number. An assessment of risk and the actions the race organisers have taken to minimise risk will be made available to all competitors before the event.
T-Shirt?
Absolutely! We promise to make sure that the Mud Madness 2008 t-shirt looks great so that you will want to wear it and will not be one of those t-shirts that lines the bottom of your drawer for the next few years.
Bags
A small unmanned area will be available in the main lodge for the storage of bags during the challenge. The security of these bags cannot be guaranteed. It is your responsibility to take care of any valuables or car keys.
Toilets and Changing
There will be a number of portaloos at the lodge but there will be no changing or showering facilities. Please do use the portaloos and not the hedge! We would advise that you bring a full change of clothes and a towel that you don't mind getting dirty to rub all the mud and dirt off. A roll of bin bags will also come in very handy!
Clothing
Top tip. Cotton is not a good idea! It holds lots of water and therefore makes you cold and is very heavy. We would advise wearing a thin long sleeve top, a pair of leggings and a hat. A good set of running shoes with good grip are essential. Waterproofs are not a good idea because after 5mins you will be the wettest you have ever been. If you need some gear then you can visit our partners at Up and Running in Belfast.
Start
The race will start up near the main A4 road promptly at 2pm.
Course
This is not a cake walk, and before you ask, it is a wee bit different than a cross country race as well. The course is a 2 lap affair around a 2mile course with a number of interesting and challenging obstacles for you to conquer. The course varies from good ground to ground which is difficult and energy sapping to run through. The finish is back beside the main lodge at the top of the mound. To see the course map click here.
Timing
Your finishing place and time will be recorded as you cross the line. The results will be made available on this site within 24hrs of the end of the race. It is a very difficult job to get precise race results for a race of this type, so we ask for your patience. Please ensure that you have your race number clearly visible at the end of the race. If you lose your number and the one rubs off your hand, then we have no way of knowing who you are, therefore before you start, try and remember your number.
Prizes
The first 3 male and females across the line will be given prizes as soon as they finish. A team prize will also be awarded to the first team of 4. The team prize will be decided on the sum of the finishing positions of the first 4 finishers in each team and will be posted out to the winning team. Both male and female finishers will count for the team prize. Prizes have been kindly provided by Up and Running N.I. which have shops in both Belfast and Newry. There are some excellent prizes up for grabs including some top of the range off road running shoes!
Accommodation
We anticipate a large number of competitors will be travelling to the event from the South of Ireland and mainland Britain. We would suggest visiting www.visitarmagh.com and www.gotobelfast.com.
Safety and Insurance
A full risk assessment has been performed on the course to limit the chance of injury to participants. All main features will have specific marshals on hand to deal with any issues. At the main water obstacles there will be marshals on hand to enter the water if anyone gets into difficulty, along with land based safety equipment. At every main obstacle and at 400m spacing around the course there will be a stake with a whistle attached to it. If you get in any difficulty, find your nearest whistle or get another competitor to do it for you. Make 3 long blasts on the whistle every 30secs until a marshal comes to your aid. All of the marshals will be in constant radio contact with trained First Aid personnel who will be on hand if needed.
We have done all we can to make the event as safe as possible without limiting the challenge, the rest is down to you. We ask that you be courteous to other competitors and if you see someone needing help please lend a hand. A competitor race briefing will be handed to all competitors at registration, which we strongly advise you thoroughly read. A shortened version will be given just before the start of the race to highlight any of the major considerations.
Mud Madness event is covered by public liability insurance. On the advice of our insurers, a full and comprehensive risk assessment and risk minimisation process has taken place. This has not been easy. The nature of the event is a tough off road challenge, which at its core has inherent risks. Rather than remove all the mud, water, ditches and obstacles and ran the event over nice soft grass, we have kept all of the things that make the event great in and done what we can to make them safe for all competitors but at the same time keeping them exciting and scary at times. We are confident that we any competitor who abides by the rules of the event and acts in a responsible and caring manner, should make it around the course in one piece.
We do advise that you consider acquiring your own personal insurance, a bit like the travel insurance you take out before going on holiday. If you do happen to hurt yourself for some reason, personal sports cover will help pay medical costs and help towards any loss of earnings. Visit www.sportscoverdirect.com where you can take out one day cover for less than £10.