Relish Running Races

10th May - postponed to 25th Oct, 12th July - postponed to 8th Nov & 16th August 2020!

Registrations now open!

Two Tunnels

A truly special race that not only takes in many of Bath's beautiful attractions, but also has the longest underground section for each race distance in the UK!

Cutting right under the city of the Bath, the two tunnels offer a truly unique running experience. The Somerset & Dorset Railway closed in 1966 and until April 2013, the tunnels had been sealed and inaccessible. Thanks to the hard work and dedication of the Two Tunnels Group and Sustrans over a period of 7 years, the two tunnels now have a new lease of life as a shared use path. The first tunnel, the Devonshire Tunnel is 408m long and the second tunnel, Combe Down Tunnel is 1672m long. Both tunnels are well lit and well surfaced and have recently been converted into a shared use path for the enjoyment of runners, walkers and cyclists looking to make the most of the city whilst remaining on flatter ground.

With an ultra marathon, 50km relay, marathon, 3 different half marathons, 2 different 10kms, 5km, 2km and 500m Colourburst races there are events for all the family, and if they are not taking part, bring your friends and family to cheer you on. Our start and finish is at Brickfields Park in the middle of the city which also has a children's play ground and is a great spot to sit and enjoy a picnic after the race.

We are very happy to b supporting the ongoing work of Sustrans in maintaining the Two Tunnels by contributing £1 per runner to their charity. Looking to fund raise as part of your run, why not raise money for Sustrans? You will get a lovely free running vest and other goodies. Find our more here. In 2019 we donated £5,254 to Sustrans.

Register

Individual Races: Some distances have multiple route options, known as Tickets, across the year, some repeated on each date, others available only once a year. Please click on the route options off the main Two Tunnels menu for more info on which routes are offered on which dates. You can enter one or more races at any time. 

Series Discount: Sign up for all four 5km or 10km races and get a race for FREE! Please use the series registration option on the form. Series discount only applies when all four races are booked in advance of the first race date. 

Challenge Series: Two Tunnels Mini Challenge = 5km + 10km + Half. Two Tunnels Challenge = 10km + Half + Marathon. The distances can be run in any order over the year. If you run these combination of events over the year, not only will you take home 3 medals, but also a laser engraved glass trophy which is awarded to ALL finishers. If you sign up race by race, please email us at least 4 weeks before your final event so we can order you a trophy. We can not guarantee a trophy after this point as producing one offs, shipped from abroad, would be cost prohibitive.  

You can run the 5km and 10km on one date if you wish, by selecting 5km Wave 1 and 10km Wave 7. If you are feeling adventurous, maybe you are training for a marathon, you can run the 5km, 10km and Half Marathon one one day on the August event by selecting 5km Wave 1, 10km Wave 2 and Half Marathon Wave 6. For more information please see the Two Tunnels Challenge page.

All runners collect one custom medal with each race and there are four medals to collect over the year. Scroll down for a preview of the medals and trophy design for this year.  If you are doing the challenge race, you can enter any distance race as your fourth race to get the fourth medal.

Format

These events are set off in waves of approximately 100 runners every 10mins. This is because of the relatively narrow nature of the route. Each distance (5km, 10km, Half Marathon, Marathon) will have multiple waves to choose from when you register. The waves are organised by predicted finish time, with one wave open to runners for all predicted finish times to make it easier for people who wish to travel together. Please confer with friends and family before you register to ensure you select the wave if you wish to start together. The different start times are fully accounted for in the results so you can pick any wave and get an accurate finish time. 

Notes

Please note there is a cut off of 3hrs for the marathon runners to complete the first lap (approx 13.3 miles). After this time runners will have to complete the half marathon course. They can still collect a half marathon medal but unfortunately we won't be able to provide a finish time. There are no cut offs for the other distances.

Runners with buggies are very welcome for the 5km, Return Ticket 10km and Return Ticket Half Marathon races only. The other routes have gates, steps or stiles which make them unsuitable for buggies. If you are running with a buggy you need to start at the back of your wave as there is some narrow, uneven ground after 150m for which it would be best if you were not in the middle of a group. Unfortunately none of the events are suitable for canicross.

Where two prices are show below this is for affiliated/unaffiliated runners. Where prices are shown as a range this depends on the distances selected as well as the affiliated/unaffiliated status of the runners. There are no hidden booking or processing fees in top.

Please note prices are £2 extra for on the day registrations, £5 extra for Mini Challenge/Challenge on the day registrations. There are great group discount rates for groups of 10 or more runners taking part in races of any distance, on the same date. 10-19 runners save 15%, 20-49 runners save 20%, 50+ runners save 25%. All bookings must be made in advance of race day to qualify for the discounted rate. We ask all groups to be registered at least four weeks in advance of the race date to we have the opportunity to top up our medal order if necessary. 

Medals & Trophies

Build the interlocking medal set across the series, the more races you do the bigger your final medal! If you complete one of our Mini Challenge or Challenge series of events you will be rewarded with a unique glass trophy. This is for everyone who complete the race set, not just the winners!

Please note that runners collect 1 medal per race. Mini Challenge/Challenge runners will collect 3 medals + 1 glass trophy from completing that series. In order to collect the 4th medal a fourth race needs to be completed. This can be of any distance, 5km, 10km, half or marathon

2020 Medals

Each medal is an impressive 10cm x 6cm, giving you a giant 10cm x 24cm medal if you collect the whole set. If you collect all four we will be giving away small medal stands which keep all the medals nicely aligned like in the image below.

Each of our medals has a landmark from the race routes; Midford Castle which is visible at the turnaround of Return Ticket 10km route, the Return Ticket Half and Hilly Ticket Half also run past it on their routes. The third medal shows Bath Abbey which is a highlight of the route on the City Ticket Half and Marathon. And of course, every route has lots of tunnel running as represented by the train images on the second and fourth medals. All brought together with a representation of Tucking Mill viaduct, where you will find the first drinks station on all the 10km, Half and Marathon routes.

If you are entering the Two Tunnels challenge you will get one medal per race.  So if you would like to collect the fourth medal just enter an individual event of any distance.

NB: All adult medals (5km and above) will be the new wooden designs. Colourburst medals may be a mix of designs including existingmetal medals.

Want to complete your 2019 medal set? These medals are now available in our virtual races.

Prizes

All our finishers receive a top of the range custom medal as well as a buffet of fresh fruit and other tasty treats. We also recognise a few of the speedy runners on the following basis.

Prize Categories

• Top 3 male and top 3 female
• First U20 male and female
• First 20-39 male and female
• First 40-49 male and female
• First 50-50 male and female
• First 60-69 male and female
• First 70+ male and female

The final number of prizes awarded is determined by the number of finishers for each gender in a given race distance. If there are more than 50 finishers then the full range range of awards are made as shown above. If there are less than 50 finishers then the top 3 male and top 3 female finishers overall will be awarded a prize. We do not have any winner's prizes for any of the children's events as would like to keep this participation focused.

There is no on the day prize giving because of the multi wave, multi start time format of the events. Prize winners will be contacted mid week via email.