Rat Race Back On The Tees

29 JUL2011

In just over four weeks time, the River Tees will take centre stage for one of the north-east's top adventure races. The River Rat Race returns on August 28 following a successful first year when almost 800 brave souls tackled the course. The event is hosted by Stockton Council and is part of the Take to the Tees festival designed to encourage people to experience activities in, on and alongside the river.

This year's Rat Race will challenge competitors to run, jump, swim, kayak and climb the 10km course which runs alongside, as well as in, the river. The route connects Stockton Town Centre, Tees Barrage and downstream to Newport Bridge.

To create an even bigger challenge, there are a number of activities for participants to complete along the route, including walking the plank into the River at Captain Cook's replica ship HM Bark Endeavour, short kayaking stretches and plenty of wet dunking episodes.

The River Rats will also be challenged to scale Newport Bridge via a ladder climb, cross the Infinity Bridge the hard way, as well as swim across the River Tees itself.

Event organiser, Jim Mee, of Rat Race Adventure Sports, added: "We always look to take advantage of the location and environment with all our events and Stockton was the first region to host a 'River Rat Race' as it has a great clean water river and surrounding landscape. The area is practically built for this sort of adventure.

"More and more people are switching on to the fun of adventure races. All you need for the Rat Race is a pair of trainers, some old clothes you don't mind getting muddy, a willingness to try something new and a sense of humour."

Anyone wanting to enter the Rat Race needs enough fitness to get around the 10km course and complete the activities but this is an event designed for all abilities. The event base will be at the Riverside Park near Stockton Town Centre and the event village is the best place to watch the action.

Entry is £35, which includes a race T shirt, entertainment on the day, including a pre-race warm-up by former Gladiator Jet (Teesside resident Diane Youdale). The entry fee also includes a chocolate bar at the finish and an electronic chip timer and race number.

You can bag a bargain and get a £6 discount by quoting 'stock6' when entering online at the Rat Race website. Discounts are on a first come first served basis.