Recap & Review 2024 – SUPBIKERUN
As we bring the 2024 event season to a close, we wanted to look back at what has been an amazing adventure and quite the ride!
The weather is always a contentious subject when it comes to our events. Is it going to be too hot, too windy, are the ground conditions suitable, do we need to change routes. It’s always a huge juggling act and this year was no different.
Severe rainfall and flooding meant our first event of the year in South Wales had to be cancelled. Every aspect of the event from parking to registration, the mountain bike route, the trail run route all failed our risk assessments. Cancelling an event is never an easy option but, in this case, it was the most sensible and safe thing to do.
As we moved into summer months, our Dorset venue shone, literally, and participants enjoyed stable conditions for the weekend. Yet another setback for the SUPBIKERUN team as our main event trailer was broken into on the first night and thousands of pounds of kit stolen. It didn’t stop us, and we could continue with the event, but it really slowed down our setup.
Despite the rocky start, the participants were amazing, and we had an absolute blast on the Isle of Purbeck. In total, 237 paddle boarders hit the water, with an equal split between mountain bike and road cyclists.
Skip forward two months and SUPBIKERUN made its way north to the mighty Ullswater in The Lake District. The weather was incredible hitting 26 degrees on the Friday, clear blue skies, the team were boiling as we headed out onto the fells to lay the run route signage. Fortunately, the weather cooled a little for the Saturday paddle board training and the Sunday saw near perfect race conditions with little to no wind and cloud keeping the participants cool. In total, 270 paddle boarders hit the water with our youngest participant aged just 13 and the oldest at 78 having an absolute blast.
The SUPBIKERUN participants never cease to amaze us. Such incredibly supportive people, it seems no matter what your ability, our participants truly look after each other. Then there’s our volunteers. Without these fabulous people we simply couldn’t stage our events. Our volunteers always go that extra mile to help and support the participants, something that is clear by the wonderful comments and feedback we receive.
Finally, we would like to thank our brilliant sponsors and partners. Athletic Brewing Company ensured we had plenty of chilled beer at the finish line, ddipp® kept our crew snug and warm on the chilly early starts and late-night finishes, Spinlock with the awesome ALTO pack ensured we could quickly get our participants safely out on the water, and finally Bike Van Co made it possible for some of you to travel and sleep in style.
Thank you for all your kind words and comments, we’ve selected a few of our favourites:
“Thank you SUPBIKERUN people! A great event, well organized, enjoyed it even more for the second year knowing what was coming! Amazing the weather was so kind, we were very lucky! Hoping to venture to another location next year so on waiting lists .”
“Thoroughly enjoyed SUPBIKERUN in the Lake District at the weekend! Thanks again to all your team for creating such a fab event. Can’t wait for the 2025 series!!”
“Another amazing event – thank you so much for all your hard work and see you again next year!”
“Thank you to the organisers and marshals, & paddleboard instructors from yesterday, we had a great fun event ”
“Another great event guys! So well run. Have thoroughly enjoyed myself again this year. Keep up the good work! Legends all of you!”
“Loved the event. Thank you. Hubby and I did it together celebrating our 24th Wedding anniversary.”
