Welcome to the NIGHT!
– A self-navigated ultra-marathon race for survival –
Basic Info
You will receive a grid reference of a checkpoint and be expected to
plot your route and cover the distance in the time given.
When you arrive at your checkpoint within the allocated time, you will be given a survival-based challenge to complete.
Only when you have completed the challenge will you be issued with your next grid reference.
It may be simple, but it’s NOT easy…
You have 24 hours to cover around 50 miles and complete 20 challenges.
You will be unaided. You will be unsupported. You will be 100% self-sufficient.
| Event: | 24hour Adventure Race |
| Date: | 25th – 27th October 2019 |
| Location: | FINGASK CASTLE |
| Registration: | £200 |
Failure is optional.
Growth is mandatory.
– Matt Talbot | Chief Marshall
– Wild-Card entries are limited to 10 –
We will then process your application and inform you whether you have been successful.
Successful applicants will be sent confirmation and a payment link.
If you are selected to take on the NIGHT, you will need to travel to Perth, Scotland, on Friday 25th October 2019. You must be free to arrive on Friday evening in time to sign your event documentation and have your emergency kit check by us. Sign-in closes at 22:00 Friday.
The adventure begins at 05:00 on Saturday. There will be no time to process your documentation or check your safety kit on Saturday. You will have failed even to start the race.
For a Seed to reach its greatest expression, It must come completely undone. The shell cracks, its insides come out, and everything changes. For someone who doesn’t understand growth, it would look like complete destruction
– Cynthia Occelli
How It works
Arrival Night
HQ is a fully furnished guest house with hot water, a modern kitchen and comfortable beds. Meet your fellow racers and settle in. Cook food, talk tactics and relax.
The good news is that you will NOT be woken up beforehand for a surprise work out. NIGHT is NOT that kind of event. However, you will need to be ready for PT at 05.00 (see below)
Race Morning
All Seeds (you) and Marshalls (us) will meet at 05:00 for an early morning workout. This work out will be a team effort, and you will be required to work alongside your competitors to achieve a common goal. Giving us all a chance to see who has come to race.
Following this team challenge, all Seeds will get the opportunity to wash and eat before the race starts at 08:00. The longer it takes to complete the team challenge the less time you will have to recover and prep for the race.
Time: 08:00
All Seeds will report for full kit inspection.
NOTE: From this point on, you will not be allowed to return inside until you finish your race for any reason.
If you do not have all of your kits with you at this point, you will have failed.
The kit list for the NIGHT is fundamental except for a few event-specific items. These items, along with the essential kit list, will be issued to you should you be selected to enter the race.
It will be a hard kit list, and you are expected to follow it to the letter. Feel free to ask for advice and support leading up to the race.
But do NOT expect any when you arrive. If you do not have it, you better hope another Seeds has one for you or you will have failed.
After the kit inspection, there will be a static map stance.
A static map stance is a navigation exam that will require you to answer several questions about the local terrain using the OS map and compass that is on the official ROOTS kit list. If you can not navigate using an OS map and compass, you will have failed.
When, and only when, you have answered all the questions correctly will you be issued with your first checkpoint grid reference.
From this moment on, you will be on your own as you have 24 hours to defeat the ROOTS NIGHT course or fail.
KIT LIST
When registered for the race you will receive a full checklist that includes all items needed for the weekend away as well as kit necessary for the race.
Here we are just looking at the race kit list. There will be a full and thorough kit check and search before the race begins. Take note of the contraband / forbidden items list that follows below.
Where an item from your kit includes specifics instructions, they must be followed to the letter. If an item does not contain specific instructions, you are free to interpret it as you see fit.
Required Kit
- A rucksack. All of your kit must be kept inside your bag so make sure it’s big enough.
- Means to carry 4l of water. Bottle/bladder any combination.
- Purification tablets. Enough to filter 10 liters of water
- FOOD. Enough for the race, there is no food on course
- OS map Land ranger 53, 1:50,000
- Map case to protect your means of navigation from the elements
- Waterproof notepad
- Sharpie permanent marker pen and pencil – Both are needed
- Compass. In degrees and with scale markings
- Broom handle
- SOS BOX. This is a waterproof box that will contain vital items for your safety:
a. 2x BLUE cylumes / Chem lights
b. 2x Cable ties
c. Emergency whistle
d. Foil blanket
e. FULLY charged mobile phone
- Parra Cord 20meters
- Knife with lockable blade and sheath
- Axe with sheath
- Saw with sheath
- Flint striker
- First Aid Kit, personal sized containing foot care and all personal medication. Medication can not be kept anywhere else
- Head torch that is water resistant (IPX 7 Recommended)
- Spare batteries for your head torch
- Tin of soup in a standard sized tin
Race RULES
If you chose to remove yourself from the race, then let a Marshall know, and they will escort you back to the warm, dry sanctuary of ROOTS HQ.
If a Marshall informs you that you have failed, then their word is final.
Any discussion on the legitimacy of your removal from the race will have already taken place. You will then removed back to the sanctuary of ROOTS HQ. No exceptions.
A Marshall may remove you from the race if you are no longer safe to continue. Have failed a mandatory challenge. Fallen sufficiently behind
schedule to complete the entire course within the 24 hours.
Reminder:
A Marshall’s word is final, and their primary concern is the safety of those Seeds racing. If you are no longer in the race, do not consume their time unnecessarily.
If you fail to make it to the finish line and are escorted back to HQ you are now free to explore the local area or volunteer your services to the Marshalls.
Contraband
At ROOTS events “Contraband” is anything listed that we consider may give an unfair advantage to racers, against either other racers or the race itself. If an item is found in possession or use of a racer once the event has started, they will be disqualified with immediate effect.
Contraband list for this event includes but is not exclusive to:
- Gaffa / Duck tape
- Cable ties (apart from the one’s in your emergency box)
- Velcro straps
- GPS
Additonal Information
We kindly request that all seeds remain local to the race so to show support for those still racing and welcome home any Seeds managing to cross the finish line.
2019 will be our 4th NIGHT race, and there are still only two souls in the NIGHT hall of fame. NIGHT is not a race for beginners.
ROOTS sets a standard for the NIGHT race, and we do not accept anything less than that standard. NIGHT is a race where you can be sure you can expel every last drop of energy, self-motivation and determination without ever coming close to the finish line. It is in this moment of complete exhaustion you will start to learn things about who you are.
Are you thinking of excuses, reasons to stop? Or finding ways to carry on.
Sometimes having someone that stands over you, compelling you to move quicker or work harder is a sure-fire way to change what you know to be possible. That ever-present menacing figure will shout and scream you to achieve more than you thought was possible. We don’t have anyone like that at ROOTS. Not at any of our events!
This race is an opportunity for you to grow and nurture that character within your self. A chance to dive deep inside your mind and conjure up a relentlessly motivational beast. An unstoppable hungry monster with a terrifyingly calm determination to reach the next checkpoint.
Popular Questions
Feel free to contact us if your query isn’t answered below
Q: Do I need to have taken part in a roots event before?
strict about the standard. A working knowledge of navigation and survival skills will be expected.
Q: Do I need to read a map?
These are all very basic navigation techniques and are taught to Seeds during our DAY and LOST adventure races.
Q. What time does the race start and finish?
There will be a warm-up, a race packet pick-up, kit check and a static map stance before racers are allowed out on course. The quicker you do these the more time you have to complete the course.
The course will close at 09:00 on Sunday morning. This gives you time to grab a shower and a nap before Sunday lunch. We think all our adventures should end with a feast!
Q. Do I need to arrange accommodation for the Saturday night?
Q. What do I need to bring?
Q. Why is it so expensive?
You’re paying us to provide you with a safe environment where you will push yourself to the edge of your current mental and physical threshold. And, you’re paying so that should you fail, we’re there pick you up and take you back to HQ.