Dormouse Challenge

Where is it?

Salcey Forest is a Forestry England site with a café and toilets near Northampton. Use the post code NN7 2HX for Sat Navs . It is here  on What 3 Words.

You do have to pay to park (we’ve negotiated a special offer of £3.50 for the day! We’ll send emails out to entrants to make this happen).  That said, be a hero and car share, save money and the world!

The number 33 bus stops inside Salcey Forest (just after 9am) and goes between Northampton and Milton Keynes.

It is 18 minutes from Northampton and 9 minutes from Junction 15 of the M1. The closest train station is Northampton.

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, flapjack and beer 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

The route is along well maintained pathways. There isn't a meter of asphalt and the pathways are mainly crushed stone or very well trodden open forest floor. Obviously being in the middle of a forest the narrower ones are covered in tree detritus and can become a bit muddy and grimy, especially when wet. On a dry day road shoes will be perfectly acceptable, on a wet day trail shoes may be a better bet as some parts can become a bit slippy.

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 21/10/2025 £37

After 21/10/2025 £42

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 3.5-mile off-road loop means your race can be 5k or even over 80K and anywhere in between. You decide how many laps you're 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 7 laps (+ a little out and back) and a half marathon will be 4 laps (and a little long at 14 miles!).

Do I have to raise money or run for 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.

During the sign up process you can opt to set up a Just Giving page to raise money for Roald Dahl’s Marvellous Children’s Charity or to make a small donation alongside your entry fee - 100% of that goes straight to the charity to help with their amazing work.

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

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

Has the event been run before?

Yes. We’ve run at Salcey Forest many times in the past. You can view previous results and the course records 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! (You’ll love it though!)

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 or visit plotaroute.com 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 really want to take part in the event but the day isn’t convenient for me! What can I do?

We’ve partnered with our friends at Skamper to offer On-demand events! It’s not quite the same as being there on the day but it’s the next best thing! Using the Skamper app you can be directed around the route on a day of your choosing. When you sign up we’ll send you the medal in the post that was given out on the day of the event. This way when you finish you’ll be able to claim the medal you’ve earned for the run straight away! Why not load your car boot with snacks and goodies, get some mates to join you and have your own Big Bear event!

Full details on our Big Bear On-Demand events is 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.