Rat Race – Coast to Coast

No, kayaks are provided for you.

Yes, you must provide your bike. Bikes can be hired British Bike Hire if you do not have your own.

Yes, participants must be at least 18 years old to take part.

The event is the same for solos and pairs but we feel that Scotland Coast to Coast is such a cracking weekend away with a mate that we encourage you to buddy up and earn a discount for making the 2 entries.

Yes, you do need to provide your own bike. You can bring your own, hire one locally to you and bring it along, or arrange hire from our hire provider; British Bike Hire. Give them a call or drop them an email, mention ‘Coast To Coast’ and make your booking: Tel. 0800 689 3527 – email info@britishbikehire.co.

No. We will provide the kayaks which are sit on tops and stable. We also provide water safety from local professionals. Please note that kayaking is done in pairs, though those at the front of the field can go solo if they arrive alone.

You will drop your bike for the final time at the Fort William transition area during the event. From here, we will transport bikes to the finish line at the Isles of Glencoe Hotel, using trucks or trailers. The bikes will then be available for you to pick up at the Isles of Glencoe Hotel after you have finished. Exact times for arrival of the bikes at Glencoe cannot be given. You can also give your bike to a supporter at the Fort William transition area. If you choose to book a bus back to the start in Nairn, we will move your bike directly there from the Fort William transition area.

Whether you are entering the Challenger or the Expert category, you will use the same bike throughout the event. The perfect bike for this event is a cyclocross bike or a gravel bike. You can complete it on a mountain bike and for Challengers this is a viable option, but Experts will struggle to get through the road riding miles within the cut offs. Road bikes are not recommended although they would be possible to use if you add appropriate tyres, good pressures and a dose of skill. The bike choice is a talking point of this event; that’s for sure. We do not allow you to switch types of bike along the route as we want both categories to be as pure as possible; this also helps not to encourage support from others en route, outside of the designed transition areas. It is possible for Challengers to swap tyres at leisure at the Fort Augustus overnight location as you could pack these into your luggage allowance. It is also possible for Experts to swap tyres at Fort Augustus but you would need to carry these tyres in your own pack, and of course the time to swap them would be in your ‘running’ time. Therefore this latter option will have hardly any takers!

Coast to Coast is a tough event. You’ll be taking on a hilly journey that is heavily impacted by weather conditions. You’ll be running, kayaking and more importantly riding into the prevailing wind, so the chances are you’ll find the riding sections tougher than your usual ride out. That being said, when the sun shines you will see the most fantastic views imaginable!The average finishing time for Experts is 12 hours and it’s 14 (over two days) for the Challengers. You need to be fit and you need to be able to keep your energy levels up with a solid nutrition plan to be able to make this journey. If you put in some training time and arrive kitted out and prepared then this challenge is achievable, but it should not be underestimated.

Solo entries are not transferable – you can’t give or sell your entry to anyone else. If you no longer wish to take part you can obtain an event credit to the value of your entry fee paid (terms and a fee apply) which you or another person can use towards next year’s event (or any other Rat Race event). If you have purchased a pairs entry, you can add or change team members up to 10 days before the event.If I am entered into the Challenger class,

You don’t have to camp. We have provided a camping service which will have a great atmosphere with loads of Coast to Coast Challengers bedding down for the night, but should you wish to bag something a bit cosier in Fort Augustus or close by, that is fine. Any arrangement/ booking you make with a local hotel are at your own responsibility.

No, regrettably we are unable to provide refunds once you are registered in the race. We do however offer transfer vouchers to put your credit to a different event if this is of interest. Visit the Rat Race website for more information.

As this is an extremely challenging race,

You'll be using the same bike for the whole event. We recommend using a cyclocross or gravel bike to suit the terrain. You can use a mountain bike, but those participating in the Experts category will find it very difficult to make the cutoffs in time, as you will definitely be slower.