The Cheddar Omnium is part of the Cheddar Gorge Challenge event which includes stand alone races from 1km up to marathon, camping, talks, walks and lots of other activities. You can find out more about the Cheddar Challenge here.
We have borrowed the term from track cycling, which see cyclists take on a range of different events, in a best all rounder style competition. We are very excited to be bringing the format into the running world, in a fun and friendly event which is open to everyone, just like all our events.
Runners score points based on their positions in each of the 4 races. 1 point for 1st place, 10 points for 10th place etc. The lowest pointy tally at the end of all four events is the winner.
All Omnium races include a 100m sprint, a 1km, a Hill Climb and an Endurance Run (choose from 6km, 10km or Half Marathon). The length of your Endurance Run determines your Omnium type; 6km = Bronze, 10km = Silver, Half Marathon = Gold.
The beauty of the Omnium is that all events are given equal weight, so it is great leveller between speed and endurance. Regardless of your pace or ability, this really is an event for everyone. Runners who are yet to start or who have finished their shorter runs line the start and finish lines, cheering on all the other runners who are taking part at that moment in time creating a really fun and encouraging atmosphere.
We take pride in providing very well marked routes complete with distance markers so you can relax and enjoy your run, we also publish route maps and make GPX files available so you know what to expect when you are out on the route. Our wonderful marshal team will be out on the course to cheer you on at regular intervals, provide a presence at key points and serve you drinks and food at our amazing feast stations. There is water on the course at all of our races, electrolyte at our warmer and longer races and coke in the later stages of our marathon and ultra events.
At our frequent 5km feed stations on our half marathon or longer events, and at all our finish lines you will find chocolate, sweets, fresh fruits, crisps, haribo, as well as GF and vegan snacks. Our medical team and supporting partners will look after you and bring you you home if you are injured. At the finish line you will be awarded one of our super colourful interlocking medals, along with a feast of treats including a can of energy drink from our official energy drink partner, Acti+, as well as tribe bars and an amazing buffet of other snacks. The race results are posted the evening of the event with race photos available to purchase on the same day as the race with Blowfish Photography.
The Endurance event (6km, 10km or Half) will be a usual wave start with ~100 runner starting at one time.
The shorter events (100m, 1km, Hill Climb) will be work from an individual time trail format, eg two runners at a time setting off at 30 second intervals. We pair runners together who should be of similar speed to help push you along, but your head to head result has no bearing on the overall results.
Bronze (100m + 1km + Hill Climb + 6km) = £55 (min age 12)
Silver (100m + 1km + Hill Climb + 10km) = £60 (min age 14)
Gold (100m + 1km + Hill Climb + Half) = £70 (min age 17)
Registrations on the day are £5 extra.
Endurance (Half Marathon, 10km, 6km) - Race start from 10:00
100m Sprint - Race start from 13:15
1km - Race Start from 14:15
Hill Climb - Race Start from 15:15
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
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 100 finishers then the full range of awards are made as shown above. If there are between50-100 finishers then the top 3 finishers overall will be awarded a prize. If there are less than 50 then only the winner will be awarded a prize. We do not have any winner's prizes for any of the children's events as wewould 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.
Sprint - a flat(ish) run of between 100m and 200m in length
Hill Climb - a vertical height gain of between 30m and 50m, roughly 500m in length
Middle distance - a flat(ish) run of around 1km
Endurance - a trail run between 6km, 10km or Half Marathon. The distance of the Endurance run determines if you the Bronze, Silver or Gold Omnium classification.