Bat Challenge

Name: Bat Challenge
Start: 2026-05-08T18:00:00+01:00
Location: Beacon Hill Country Park

Schedule

Fri, 08 May, 2026 at 06:00 pm

UTC+01:00

Location

Beacon Hill Country Park | Loughborough, EN

Where is it?
Lower Car Park, Beacon Hill Country Park, Leicestershire (LE12 8TA. It is managed by Leicestershire County Council.
Parking is £3 for less than 3 hours and £4 for the day. You can pay by card or coin.
What 3 Words location is here
The nearest train station is Loughborough and is 6 miles away
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 and Big Bear drink 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.
It the start time a type? It says 6pm…
Cool ey?! You’ll start in the late spring sun and if you decide to keep going you can get a dusk lap and many in complete darkness. Of course you could always run a lap or 2 in daylight, take a long break, get a “golden hour” lap in and then head out for a another in the dark. You don’t need to keep running or moving for the whole event, much like our day time ones. You do you!
It’s a great format for anyone who wants to try night trail running, you’ll have run the route for up to 3 hours in daylight, so you’ll know it a bit and we’re on hand to look after you every 5k. It worked brilliantly in 2023.
Anyone starting a lap after 7pm will need to carry a head torch. Even if you’re a 20 minute 5k runner - you won’t be with a broken leg and light fades very quickly in the woods. It’s for worst case scenario stuff, not to increase your performance.
Can I run with my dog?
No. Although the temperatures are likely to be lower on a May evening our canicross season finishes in March so there will be no canicross entry for this event.
Course description
What a fantastic location. The views at the top are breath taking, although you might not have much breath to take by the time you’ve got there!!
The course is distinctly up for the first half and down for the second. You climb from the lower car park start point along well maintained crushed stone pathways towards the trig point. The Trig point isn’t actually on the route (it’s additional distance if you want to visit it for the photo opportunity!) you then glide down the other side of the park and back to the start.
Underfoot will be decent but likely “mucky” dependent on weather. It’s a tough route but not technical underfoot.

What does it cost?
We operate a tiered pricing approach, the earlier you enter, the cheaper the event!
Before 08/04/2026 £37
After 08/04/2026 £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 3.3 mile off-road loop means your race can be 5k or well over 50k 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 8 laps and a half marathon will be 4 laps.
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 150 Roald Dahl Nurses caring for more than 36,000 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 held before?
Yes! We held the inaugural Bat Challenge in 2025 and have held numerous night time events at other parks. It was a great success, hence us returning! You can view the results here.
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 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!)
Is there a gpx of the route?
The route gpx can be found 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!
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 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.
I hear you do nice medals?
We like to think so! Once we have the 2025 medal we’ll post it here..