Crocodile Challenge

Ryton Pools Country Park (Nr. Coventry) is run and managed by Warwickshire County Council. The W3W for the location is here

Parking costs up to £5 depending on how long you stay. There is a cafe and toilet block next to the HQ on site.

Ryton Pools Country Park (CV8 3BH) is 15 minutes south of Coventry and 15 minutes from Junction 16 of the M1. The closest train stations are Rugby and Coventry.

There aren’t any crocodiles at Ryton Pools are there?

Well…!! We’ll be joined on the day by our friends at Roald Dhal’s Marvellous Children’s Charity, and Marvin the Marvelous Crocodile is their mascot. We have donated a limited number of places to them for people who may wish to raise funds for them. Click here for information regarding these limited fundraising places.

We will also be donating 7.5% of the entry fees to the Crocodile Challenge to Roald Dahl’s Marvellous Children’s Charity (Registered Charity No. 1137409). As is the case with all of our events you are able to make a one-off donation on sign up if you wish to contribute to fund their amazing work too.

What’s a 6 hour event?

It is an event that enables all abilities of runner to run together (or hike/walk!). Ultimately you can run as many 5k laps as you wish in the time limit. You can run one lap in 20 minutes, pick up your medal and Big Bear drink and go home! Alternatively you can head out on your 15th lap at 14:55 and finish in 6:30 having covered over 50 miles! It’s completely up to you.

There is no pressure from us, but we’ll also see if you want one more lap! The format is great for people looking to run further than they’ve ever done before, do a long training run for future events or to enjoy a sociable event with your friends.

Can I run with my dog?

Yes!!

We’ve had great success at events with canicross and we’re pleased to add this event too. You must keep your leads short and be considerate of the other runners. We’ll start the canicross runners off with the main field. If your dog won’t respond well to this consider starting a few minutes later or don’t bring your dog. It’s important that the dogs, you and the other runners have a pleasent day! Please read our general canicross rules here.

Please make sure you enter the canicross specific race when you click on the enter button above.

Course description

Ryton Pools is relatively flat with a few little rises that you might not notice much on the first lap, but you might do at the end of 6 hours! Underfoot is crushed stone with a very small section of single track and a few areas that are a little looser than others. It is a very runnable course set around pools and open pasture. It’s a bit of a favorite which is why we’re returning for the 6th year in a row!

 

What does it cost?

We operate a tiered pricing approach. The earlier you enter, the cheaper the event but never ever will you pay a booking fee!

Before 21/12/2026 £38

From 21/12/2026 £43

Unaffiliated entrants pay £2 extra. Why not join your local running club or sign up the Big Bear Brigade and save 10% off entries for ever!

How far is the race?

You decide! The 3.3-mile out and back loop at Ryton Pools Country Park means your race can be just over 5k or, given the relatively flat nature of the course, potentially 50+ miles! You decide how many laps you are going to do on the day within the 6-hour time limit. If you're looking to cover a marathon distance you'll need to complete 8 laps and a half marathon will be 4 laps.

Do I have to raise money for Roald Dahl’s Marvellous Children’s Charity or run for a charity?

No… BUT!

We have a great partnership with Roald Dahl’s Marvellous Children’s Charity. They provide specialist nurses and support for seriously ill children. There are currently over 200 Roald Dahl Nurses caring for more than 40,000 seriously ill children.

This is our big annual fundraising event for the charity, we’re donating 7.5% of your entry fee straight to the charity, we’ve donated free places to them and we’re encouraging you to donate directly to them when you sign up.

We want to help them towards making sure every seriously ill child has a Roald Dahl Nurse.

Of course there is no obligation to do any of this, this is still a Big Bear Event and we’ll look after you like a hero as always.

If you want to find out a little more about our partnership click here.

Has the event been run before?

Yes! It’s been our traditional “season opener” since 2018. You can find the previous results here.

I’m unsure what to expect at a 6 hour event?

We’ve made some videos to try and help newcomers understand Big Bear Events and 6 hour events a little more here. We’ve got lots of videos on our You Tube channel that might help you see what we’re all about!

I’ve heard you do nice medals. What will it look like?

Once it’s in our hands we’ll share the design with you!

I’m not that fussed by a medal…

In that case our partnership with Earth Runs will be perfect! Rather than give you a medal you don’t really want (and to help reduce waste) we’ll give you a Big Bear Tree Token. Not only will a tree be planted for each token given out but the token is also full of wildflower seeds for you to grow at home!

Is there a gpx of the route?

The route gpx can be found here. The route may be subject to last minute changes and there will be plenty of markings up on race day so you do not need to have this - but I know some of you like to anyway!

Is this event suitable for Rucking?

Definitely! Read all about how we do rucking here (or if you’ve no idea what rucking is find out here too!)

I still have questions…

Then why not join our Big Bear Events Facebook group and ask our ever so experienced runners in there or email us directly here. We want you to enter with the confidence you’ll have a great (if not tiring!) day so are happy to answer any question we’ve not covered off here.

I still have questions…

Then why not join our Big Bear Events Facebook group and ask our ever so experienced runners in there or email us directly here. We want you to enter with the confidence you’ll have a great (if not tiring!) day so are happy to answer any question we’ve not covered off here.

Where is it?

Ryton Pools Country Park (Nr. Coventry) is run and managed by Warwickshire County Council. The W3W for the location is here

Here is a short video of the venue

Parking costs up to £5 depending on how long you stay. There is a cafe and toilet block next to the HQ on site.

Ryton Pools Country Park (CV8 3BH) is 15 minutes south of Coventry and 15 minutes from Junction 16 of the M1. The closest train stations are Rugby and Coventry.

There aren’t any crocodiles at Ryton Pools are there?

Well…!! We’ll be joined on the day by our friends at Roald Dhal’s Marvellous Children’s Charity, and Marvin the Marvelous Crocodile is their mascot. We have donated a limited number of places to them for people who may wish to raise funds for them. Click here for information regarding these limited fundraising places.

We will also be donating 7.5% of the entry fees to the Crocodile Challenge to Roald Dahl’s Marvellous Children’s Charity (Registered Charity No. 1137409). As is the case with all of our events you are able to make a one-off donation on sign up if you wish to contribute to fund their amazing work too.

What’s a 6 hour event?

I’ve made a short video here to try to explain a little.

It is an event that enables all abilities of runner to run together (or hike/walk!). Ultimately you can run as many 5k laps as you wish in the time limit. You can run one lap in 20 minutes, pick up your medal and Big Bear drink and go home! Alternatively you can head out on your 15th lap at 14:55 and finish in 6:30 having covered over 50 miles! It’s completely up to you.

There is no pressure from us, but we’ll also see if you want one more lap! The format is great for people looking to run further than they’ve ever done before, do a long training run for future events or to enjoy a sociable event with your friends.

Can I run with my dog?

Yes!!

We’ve had great success at events with canicross and we’re pleased to add this event too. You must keep your leads short and be considerate of the other runners. We’ll start the canicross runners off with the main field. If your dog won’t respond well to this consider starting a few minutes later or don’t bring your dog. It’s important that the dogs, you and the other runners have a pleasent day! Please read our general canicross rules here.

Please make sure you enter the canicross specific race when you click on the enter button above.

Course description

Ryton Pools is relatively flat with a few little rises that you might not notice much on the first lap, but you might do at the end of 6 hours! Underfoot is crushed stone with a very small section of single track and a few areas that are a little looser than others. It is a very runnable course set around pools and open pasture. It’s a bit of a favorite which is why we’re returning for the 6th year in a row!

What does it cost?

We operate a tiered pricing approach. The earlier you enter, the cheaper the event but never ever will you pay a booking fee!

Before 21/12/2026 £38

From 21/12/2026 £43

Unaffiliated entrants pay £2 extra. Why not join your local running club or sign up the Big Bear Brigade and save 10% off entries for ever!

How far is the race?

You decide! The 3.3-mile out and back loop at Ryton Pools Country Park means your race can be just over 5k or, given the relatively flat nature of the course, potentially 50+ miles! You decide how many laps you are going to do on the day within the 6-hour time limit. If you're looking to cover a marathon distance you'll need to complete 8 laps and a half marathon will be 4 laps.

Do I have to raise money for Roald Dahl’s Marvellous Children’s Charity or run for a charity?

No… BUT!

We have a great partnership with Roald Dahl’s Marvellous Children’s Charity. They provide specialist nurses and support for seriously ill children. There are currently over 200 Roald Dahl Nurses caring for more than 40,000 seriously ill children.

This is our big annual fundraising event for the charity, we’re donating 7.5% of your entry fee straight to the charity, we’ve donated free places to them and we’re encouraging you to donate directly to them when you sign up.

We want to help them towards making sure every seriously ill child has a Roald Dahl Nurse.

Of course there is no obligation to do any of this, this is still a Big Bear Event and we’ll look after you like a hero as always.

If you want to find out a little more about our partnership click here.

Has the event been run before?

Yes! It’s been our traditional “season opener” since 2018. You can find the previous results here.

I’m unsure what to expect at a 6 hour event?

We’ve made some videos to try and help newcomers understand Big Bear Events and 6 hour events a little more here. We’ve got lots of videos on our You Tube channel that might help you see what we’re all about!

I’ve heard you do nice medals. What will it look like?

Once it’s in our hands we’ll share the design with you!

I’m not that fussed by a medal…

In that case our partnership with Earth Runs will be perfect! Rather than give you a medal you don’t really want (and to help reduce waste) we’ll give you a Big Bear Tree Token. Not only will a tree be planted for each token given out but the token is also full of wildflower seeds for you to grow at home!

Is there a gpx of the route?

The route gpx can be found here. The route may be subject to last minute changes and there will be plenty of markings up on race day so you do not need to have this - but I know some of you like to anyway!

Is this event suitable for Rucking?

Definitely! Read all about how we do rucking here (or if you’ve no idea what rucking is find out here too!)

I still have questions…

Then why not join our Big Bear Events Facebook group and ask our ever so experienced runners in there or email us directly here. We want you to enter with the confidence you’ll have a great (if not tiring!) day so are happy to answer any question we’ve not covered off here.

I still have questions…

Then why not join our Big Bear Events Facebook group and ask our ever so experienced runners in there or email us directly here. We want you to enter with the confidence you’ll have a great (if not tiring!) day so are happy to answer any question we’ve not covered off here.