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Run through the beautiful areas of Rudry Common, Cefn On Ridge, Cefn Onn Country Park, Coed Craig Ruperra and, if you enter the marathon, to the top of Machen Mountain.
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The half marathon starts in Machen, with the route winding its way through some beautiful single track trails to Rudry Common. Once over the common, you'll run into Caerphilly Forest, over the hill and a glorious downhill belt to the Cefn Onn
checkpoint. A long climb takes you back to the top of the ridgeway passing the Lisvane / Llysfaen trig point. You'll hit the woodlands next which will leads you to Ruperra Castle before heading down into Draethen (where sadly the pub is shut!) before a final climb up into Machen Woods followed by a downhill trail to the finish line.
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A full description of the route can be found here.
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*ROUTE CHANGE FOR MARATHON* The marathon will now complete the half marathon loop first. A GPX and updated map can be found here.
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The marathon has a tough start to the Rhymney Valley Ridgeway. Once at the top there is good track running for several miles, which should warm you up! You'll then head downhill toward Wyllie, and onto the Sirhowy Valley Walk. There's plenty of downhill single track to enjoy in this section! After a few tricky turns and a steep ascent back onto the ridgeway, good running again takes you to the highest point of your day, and the Machen Mountain / Mynydd Machen trig point. A quad bashing decent will take you back to Machen where you'll pick up the fully marked half marathon route for almost all of the second half.
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There is a sting in the tail for our marathoners! Immediately after Ruperra Castle, the half marathoners head for home, however, marathoners take a two mile detour via Craig Ruperra to bring your race distance nicely up to a marathon - we wouldn't want to short change you!
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A full description of the route can be found here.
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What you get
Professionally run event, with full medical support. A fully signed route, with helpful marshals to support you on your way.
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Every finisher will receive a 'Finishers Medal'. There will be a prize for
1st, 2nd, 3rd Male
1st, 2nd, 3rd Female
1st Male Veteran (over 45)
1st Female Veteran (over 45)
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Race details
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Date: Saturday 25 November 2023
Marathon race start: 8.00
Registration opens: 7.10
Registration closes: 7.40
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Half marathon race start: 9:00,
Registration reopens: 7:45
Registration closes: 8:30
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There will be a kit check at registration – no kit, no entry. Full kit list information can be found here.
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The venue for the race is:
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Machen Village Hall
The Crescent
Machen
CF83 8ND
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Costs
Half marathon: Early bird £32, £35 after 30 September
Marathon: Early bird £42, £45 after 30 September
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Cut offs
For the half marathon, cut offs are generous and allow for approximately 2.5 m.p.h progress – which is fast walking. Remember there are some hills, so this is quite a challenge if you are considering walking the whole route.
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Race Start: 9:00
CP1 cut Off: 12:00 (6.8 Miles) [3 hours]
CP2 cut Off: 13:30 (10.5 Miles) [4.5 hours]
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Race finish: 14:30 (14ish Miles)
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For the marathon, since we see this as a race for the more experienced runner, there will be an overall time limit of 8 hours for the full marathon route. This equates to about 3.25 miles per hour.
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Race start: 8:00
CP1 (no cut off) : 1.5 Miles
CP2 cut Off: 10:45 (9.1 Miles) (2hr 45 minutes)
CP3 cut Off: 11:40 (12.2 Miles) (3hr 40 minutes)
CP4 cut Off: 13:45 (19 Miles) (5hr 45 minutes)
CP5 cut Off: 14:50 (22.7 Miles) (6hr 50 minutes)
Race finish: 16:00 (26ish Miles) (8 hours)
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Final race cut off: 16:00
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Travel
Unfortunately there are no trains directly to Machen - Please car share if you can to reduce your carbon footprint.
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There is parking at the venue and plenty of parking in Machen.
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Facilities
There are toilets at the event venue.
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