100 mile endurance races are popular over in the US but there hasn’t been anything like them in Britain, but that is about to change with the launch of the brand new Montane Kielder 100, which takes to Kielder Forest on Saturday 5 September.

The newest event on the mountain bike calendar is a 100 mile single lap endurance race, based in the stunning surrounds of the Kielder Water and Forest Park in Northumberland. It will make use of all the best trails on offer, with a large amount of technical singletrack sprinkled with a smattering of fire roads, grass tracks and just one road crossing.

Alex MacLennan, Recreation, Tourism and Communities Manager with Forestry Commission said: “Since 2005 Forestry Commission England has worked with local MTB riders and partners to put Kielder back onto the national mtb scene. Since then the Deadwater trail (15km Red, 2.5km Black) has been built.”

“Supporting this is the new Lakeside Way, 26 miles of Green/Blue grade trail and one new red route has opened. More trails, a bike park and MTB hire centre are all opening in the coming months so we are delighted to be able to provide suitable trails on the epic scale required for this important event. By helping this event we are delighted to be able to showcase all our hard work and believe Kielder Water & Forest Park will soon be one of the top UK destinations for the dedicated MTB rider.”

The event is sponsored by outdoor clothing specialist Montane with additional support from Kielder Water & Forest Park, 7Stanes, Buff, Saddle Skedaddle, USE, Purple Mountain Bike Hire, Newcastle Business Group, XCRacer, Accelerade and Joolze Dymond Photography.

Event organiser Sara Randle (SIP Events) added: “100 mile ultra endurance racing is really popular in other parts of the world but we only ever do 65 [miles] in this country. With the race calendar full of the same old events I wanted to do something different and this was the race that was missing. It’s an idea I’ve been working on for a few years, I just needed to find somewhere big enough and Kielder had always been on my short list.

“When I found out the new Forestry Commission Recreation Manager based at Kielder was a keen mountain biker it was the perfect choice. And with the support of a great company like Montane in the first year, it means we can concentrate on making it a great event for the riders. It’s going to be a very hard race, but hopefully it will be top of their list to train for and come back and have another go at next year.”

Interested? We know we are. Find out more and enter online at www.Kielder100.co.uk. Entry costs £50 and includes energy drink at feed stations, water, fruit and snacks, one hot food station at halfway, goody bag and race momento for finishers. You’ve got until 30 August to get your entry in.

There are just two categories, Open and Veteran, and there’ll be prizes for the top three finishers in each class, plus spot prizes too.