We’ve always found racing at Newnham Park to be adequately hard. The hills are steep, the descents often sketchy and the river crossings numerous. But for those who find it just not challenge enough, The Stinger is back for 2003.

For those who don’t know, The Stinger is an off-road duathlon. Which means you have to run as well as ride. The first leg is a three mile trail run. Then it’s four laps of the 3.75 mile Newnham MTB circuit which the BIKEmagic abacus tells us is 15 miles in total. And then the sting in the tail – a final two mile run including hills, rivers and marsh.

If you’ve never tried going for a run immediately after riding a bike at race pace, you may not be prepared for how deeply troubling it is. It feels like your legs have got two feet shorter for a start. For some people, though, that’s all part of the attraction. It certainly proved so at last year’s inaugural Stinger outing, and the fact that it’s happening again is testament to the appetite for punishment amongst Britain’s mountain bikers.

The date is Sunday 6 April 2003. The Stinger is open to anyone over 18 but is not suitable for novices, it says here. Entry fee is £16 in advance (£18 on the day if there are spaces left). The event is sponsored by Alltrax Bike Shop and there’ll be prizes for the top four men and top two women plus a souvenir mug for all finishers.

For an entry form send an sae to Stinger, PO Box 11, Plympton, Plymouth, PL7 5XU. Enquiries to [email protected].