Rat Race Adventure Sports, the UK’s favourite adventure challenge event organiser, are ripping up the adventure travel rulebook in Scotland and the rest of the UK. From June 2018 they are introducing PROJECT: EXPLORE to the outdoor active travel market, fusing small group adventure trips with the audacious multi-sport endurance challenges the business is renowned for.
Project: Explore raises the bar of active adventure travel offering travellers with a truly adventurous spirit an anthology of monthly, small group, guided and supported trips with exploration at their heart. They will be challenged with a mix of mountain biking, road cycling, running, trekking and kayaking, all combined with overnight stays in remote hotels, B & B’s, bothies, tents and mountain caves.
Uniquely British, each of the five star experiences has a clearly defined challenge objective, an incomparable itinerary and their own activity skills and endurance ratings, all specially tailored to their iconic locations and the season.
From a radical mountain bike ride over Ben Lomond; a complete multi-sport traverse of the entire island chain of the Outer Hebrides and a point-to-point crossing of the legendary wild sub-arctic Cairngorm plateau; to a double Ultra trek along Geoffrey Chaucer’s ancient Pilgrim Route; a night time run of a circular route of the summits of three Yorkshire peaks; and a 5km run on Goodwin Sands at low tide, all 12 of these ‘super charged’ micro adventures will be delivered with classic Rat Race flare, audacity, finish and professionalism.
Jim Mee, MD of Rat Race Adventure Sports, said: “The concepts of adventure travel, micro-adventures and a love of the British outdoors are not new. Indeed, the growth in these areas can be seen all over the country as folk take to the hills, wild places and outdoor spaces of the UK in ever increasing numbers. Rat Race’s heritage is firmly entrenched in the belief that you can find adventure anywhere and our fresh new take on adventure travel combines our own love of the outdoors with our skill set in putting audacious and genuinely unique concepts on the ground in an expert manner.
“The key to Project: Explore trips is that they are all very tangible challenges, which are either objective led, or provide a real sense of journey. We believe firmly that this adds to the ‘reason’ to get outside and means that with a Rat Race weekend away, this really isn’t your normal weekend outdoors in the hills.”
Rat Race Adventure Sports are even offering the same bespoke adventures at a time to suit groups of friends, work colleagues and families who are unable to make the monthly scheduled departures.
For more information on The Project: Explore one to four day adventure challenges that cost from £149 / person, go to: http://ratrace.com/projectexplore/.
Five of the Project: Explore packages will be staged in Scotland, focusing on the huge potential the country offers for small group exploration and adventure challenge travel opportunities; with Rat Race Adventure Sports bringing accessibility to the more inaccessible locations, whilst fully immersing adventure travellers into the textures of its great outdoors. These include:
PROJECT: ACROSS KNOYDART – 23-25 June 2018 – An epic, point-to-point, 2.5 day, guided mountain bike crossing of the deserted Knoydart Peninsula, Britain’s last true wilderness, a hidden gem in the truest sense.
PROJECT: TOUR OF 10 MALTS – 13-15 July – A grand distillery tour of the serene Inner Hebridean Isles of Islay and Jura. Join the dots on the World’s most famous whisky islands with a cycle sportive on quiet roads blended with some short trekking stages and sea kayaking.
PROJECT: HEBRIDES TIP-TO-TOE – 21–24 September – A complete multi-sport traverse, north to south, of the entire island chain of the Outer Hebrides – Lewis, North and South Uist, Harris and Barra. This special journey includes miles of road cycling through remote villages, between mountains, past ancient standing stones and broch forts, beside vast fjord-like sea lochs and shimmering (and hard-packed) white sandy beaches. The biking will be interspersed with trail running and trekking together with some of the most stunning sea kayaking in the UK. The trip is finished with a swim (or kayak) to a castle in the middle of the sea.
PROJECT: BIKE MOUNTAIN – Ben Lomond – 19–20 January 2019 – From the shores of Loch Lomond, within easy reach of Glasgow, in the deep freeze of the Scottish winter, mountain bike over Ben Lomond (the most southerly Munro) with an overnight wild camp near the summit (and few treats from the guiding team to make the overnight experience memorable and comfortable).
PROJECT: CAIRNGORM TRAVERSE – 23-24 February 2019 – A point-to-point crossing of the legendary wild sub-arctic Cairngorm plateau in winter with an overnight bivvy at the other-worldly Shelter Stone. A big traverse in this famous National Park is high on many mountain-lover’s bucket list and a winter traverse is the Holy Grail and a seriously committing objective.
For each Project: Explore trip a PDF of trip notes outlining dates, location, cost, challenge highlights, itinerary, kit and equipment, skill levels, food, accommodation, transport and FAQ’s can be downloaded from the website – http://ratrace.com/projectexplore/.
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Notes to Editors:
Rat Race Adventure Sports on Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/ratraceadventuresports
Rat Race Adventure Spots on Twitter – https://twitter.com/RatRaceHQ
Rat Race Adventure Sports (http://ratrace.com/) is a successful Scottish registered company, now based in York, yet with roots still firmly set in the City of Edinburgh. The company’s first ever event, The Edinburgh Rat Race, was staged in the city in 2004. It brought adventure racing into an urban environment and gave spectators a fantastic and thrilling event to watch. The company went on to organise a Rat Race Urban Adventure Series of at least 9 Rat Races in the UK and Ireland.
Rat Race Adventure Sports now offers the largest selection of mass participation, wilderness adventure challenges in Britain, together with a branded range of its own sporting apparel and an online clothing and equipment store.
Their event programme has always been focused on Scotland – urban and wilderness playgrounds of the highest quality. In 2017 Rat Race brought a traditionally wilderness discipline, the ultra run, into an urban environment, making it truly accessible to both runners and spectators.
Rat Race is partnered with Children With Cancer UK (http://www.childrenwithcancer.org.uk), the leading national children’s charity dedicated to the fight against childhood cancer, in a pledge to fight the UK’s biggest child killer. Rat Racers have raised over £1,000,000, across all Rat Race events, since the campaign began in 2015. If runners take part in the Ultra Tour of Arran 2018 and raise £750 through Virgin Money Giving for Children with Cancer UK before race day, Rat Race will return their entry fee. Go to: http://ratrace.com/uta/run-for-charity/
Rat Race Adventure Sports, Scotland’s largest and most established supplier of adventure sports events – 2018 Scottish event programme
In 2018 Rat Race Urban Adventure Sports, who were forged on the streets of Edinburgh in 2004 with the staging of their first event, The Edinburgh Rat Race, will again showcase Scotland as a world-class adventure destination with five achievable multi-sport and endurance challenges on foot, bike and kayak.
These epic journeys and unbeatable adventures, full of camaraderie, fun and good humour, utilise the rugged and varied terrain of the country’s stunning landscapes and historic, iconic and evocative landmarks; urban and wilderness playgrounds of the highest quality. The Scottish events programme includes:
14 – 15 April – Ultra Tour of Arran, Isle of Arran – http://ratrace.com/uta
The Ultra Tour of Arran is new two-day, fully supported and waymarked, off-road adventure run, packing a 100km Ultra distance route and an overall vertical gain of 10,679 feet. Within the fantastically varied and distinct 50km trail running routes on the two days high mountains, deep glens, enchanting forests and stunning coastal scenery all feature.
28 – 29 July – City to Summit, Edinburgh to Ben Nevis – http://ratrace.com/citytosummit
This is City to Summit, an iconic journey between the historic heart of Scotland’s capital city, Edinburgh, and the summit of Britain’s highest peak, Ben Nevis. With a finish line set in spectacular Fort William, you will have 20 hours to tame this Brute. It is no small undertaking and those who do reach the end will have achieved something truly remarkable.
8 – 9 September 2017 – Coast to Coast – http://ratrace.com/coasttocoast/
Rat Race’s original adventure race returns to the wild hills of Scotland. Join 1000 #RatRacers as they run, bike and kayak over 105 miles following the Great Glen from East to West, through one of the most famous mountain landscapes in the world. Awe inspiring views and a stunningly epic course await you in the Scottish Highlands.
21 October – Ultra Tour of Edinburgh – http://ratrace.com/ute/
The Second edition of the 34.2 mile ultra distance tour of the Scottish capital; a tough, fully waymarked, mixed terrain route of tarmac and off-road trail running, with 3000 feet of ascent and descent. From the Braveheart charge down the Royal Mile to the finish at Murrayfield Stadium; with the occasional sojourn totally off road to enjoy the hill top views of the Pentland Hills to the coastal waters and harbours of Newhaven and Leith in the east.
16 March 2019 – The Mighty Deerstalker, Innerleithen –http://ratrace.com/mightydeerstalker
Legend tells of a cult running event deep in the Scottish Borders whose distance is a closely guarded secret, only beknownst to the Laird, his Ghillies and anyone with a GPS watch. The route takes runners across rivers, through forests and over a mountain or two in the pitch dark on a chilly March night. The infamous Mighty Beerstalker Party follows late into the night.
