The Great Herts AONB Event

Runners & Riders, get ready for The Great Herts AONB Event on Sunday, 6th June 2027.

The Great Herts AONB Event truly is like no other.

The courses are flat, undulating, and hilly in places, that take you out from your event HQ in Gosmore, near Hitchin, to the AONB countryside tracks and trails near many surrounding villages and back.

The event has multiple options for you to choose from, based on what floats your boat!

For the Runners…

The Tough Ten: A 10km run that will be perfect for those that are either beginners, want to take things a little easier distance wise, or run with older children (Aged 16 and above).

The Hard Half: 13.1 miles (21.1km in new money) of glorious trails that will challenge you but your eyes will distract you from the challenge as you stride past scene after scene of beautiful countryside.

The Mighty Marathon: 26.2 miles (42.2km in new money) of some of the UK’s most beautiful, breathtaking views and scenery, this is one for the memory treasure trove.

For the Riders…

You will use the same routes as the runners, but all riders will set off for each distance first, so the Mighty Marathon Riders will be the first for the Grand Depart, followed by the Hard Half Marathon Riders, then the Tough Ten km Riders.
The Runners will depart in the same order as above.

To summarise in order of events:

Riders of the Mighty Marathon go first – 8:30am
Riders of the Hard Half Marathon are next – 8:40am
Riders of the Tough Ten km – 8:50am
Runners of the Mighty Marathon – 9am
Runners of the Hard Half Marathon- 9:15am
Runners of the Tough Ten km go last – 9:30am

With free parking very close to the event village in Gosmore (2-3 minutes’ walk), you will be treated to some of the most scenic tracks and trails in the Hertfordshire area, that include the AONB of the Chilterns.

We will be including a children’s Runners & Riders event on the village green too, with a specific GP style course that they will find great fun! All proceeds of the children’s event and percentages of the adult’s entry fees will go to our chosen charities. This will take place whilst everyone else is out on their respective routes.

The following elements are included in 2027 (subject to change):

Race bib (with integrated timing chip). This will be allocated to you at the registration desk.
Electronic timing and online live results
Race village – with food, drink and merchandise stalls
Child and Dog friendly routes
Music at the start and finish
Baggage drop
Bespoke Race medal
Optional T-Shirt purchase for £15 (Marathon runners is free)
Awards ceremonies for all events
Downloadable finisher certificate
Drink stations on course and at the finish
Water stations on the courses (Half and Marathon routes for the runners will have snacks too)
Medical provision at start, finish and on course
Fully signed course
Marshals at all key points
Printed route maps available from HQ
Downloadable GPX Files
Toilets at Race HQ at the Bird in Hand Pub
More additions to be added to enhance your experience

ENTER THE RACE

The event is on Sunday June 6th June 2027. This is a timed event and you'll get an entry number, timing chip and a bespoke medal at the end of the run.

PRE-RACE

We will contact you via email to confirm details, typically you can pick up your race number the day before the race from The Cycle Agents in Hitchin or on the day at the event HQ in Gosmore on the village green from 7:30am

EVENT DAY

The first event starts promptly at 8:30am. Make sure you are early enough to collect your event number and warm up in preparation.

Riders Marathon
Riders Half Marathon
Riders 10km
Runners Marathon
Runners Half Marathon
Runners 10km
Children’s Runners & Riders (Village green)

RESULTS

You'll be able to see your race results almost immediately on this website.

COURSE DESCRIPTIONS

All races will start and finish on the Gosmore Village green, with Maydencroft Lane serving as the actual start line for all distances, to allow for a mass start for all.

Each route map will be made available upon request, as can a GPX file closer to the time too.

REGISTRATION

You can sign up online on the registration page.

Those that sign up will be able to collect their race bibs the day before or on the day itself. All details on how to do this will be emailed out and posted on our social media pages prior to the event.

RULES

Headphones are fine as the course is almost all tracks and trails.

Strictly no littering, keep our beautiful countryside clean! If you have rubbish to discard, you give it to a marshal.

If you are running with a 4 legged friend then we encourage you to keep them on the lead!

PRIZES

Prizes will be given to the overall podium placed male and female winners, plus age group winners too, entrants dependent.

GETTING HERE

Exact instructions will be sent out in the Race Pack but the picture will show you where parking is compared to the event HQ.