Race rule book

1. START AND FINISH

Full Route

  • Even years:
    • The mass start is in the Eastern-most suitable place in Slovakia.
    • The finish is in the Western-most suitable place in the Czech Republic.
      • We will announce well ahead of the start how the finish will be organized.
      • There is no time limit for the race.
  • Uneven years:
    • The mass start is in the Western-most suitable place in the Czech Republic.
    • The finish is in the Eastern-most suitable place in Slovakia.
      • We will announce well ahead of the start how the finish will be organized.
      • There is no time limit for the race.

Short Route

  • There will be a Short Finish in approximately the middle of the race route. Participants can decide if they want to take the short or the long routes during the race according to their current mood, condition and general state.

2. LENGTH OF THE RACE

The precise length of the race will be announced after the precise route has been planned. The approximate length is 1,000 miles (about 1,600 km).

3. PARTICIPANTS

  • The race is open for mountain bikers, runners, hikers, kick-scooter riders and all other athletes who are willing to conquer the route under their own steam.
  • We will always announce in time on the race website when registrations open.
  • Participants must be at least 18 years of age on the day of the race start.

4. PICKING UP YOUR RACE NUMBER

Before the start, every participant has to complete the sign-on process (“race-day registration”):

  • Uneven years 
    • In the Sokolovna building in Hranice u Aše (CZ); it includes:
      • picking up your race number and the contact details card,
      • picking up your tracker,
      • taking your picture,
      • weighing and body fat measurement.
  • Even years
    • In the Sokolovna building in Nová Sedlice (SK); it includes:
      • picking up your race number and the contact details card,
      • picking up your tracker,
      • taking your picture,
      • weighing and body fat measurement.

The race day registration opens Saturday evening and closes one hour before the start.

At the latest one hour before the start, under the start arch, there will be race talks and we will check the mandatory equipment. 

5. RACE ROUTE

  • Northern Route
    • The route will take you through the interior of Slovakia and in the Czech Republic through the mountain ranges along the Northern border with Poland and Germany; you will rider on forest tracks and trails, gravel paths, forest roadways, dirt tracks and tarmac country lanes and roads according to the conditions, regulations, laws and geographical possibilities.
  • Southern Route
    • The route will take you through the interior of Slovakia and in the Czech Republic through the mountain ranges along the Southern border with Austria and Germany; you will ride on forest tracks and trails, gravel paths, forest roadways, dirt tracks and tarmac country lanes and roads according to the conditions, regulations, laws and geographical possibilities.
  • Exception for the Hikers/Runners category: There are fixed points on the official race route that hikers and runners have to pass through. They can choose their own route between those points.
  • The approximate route will be published at the latest on the day the registration opens. It’s still possible that it will change. At the latest one week before the start, the precise route will be ready and sent out (only to registered participants). The precise route is not public.

6. MARKING OR OTHER ROUTE IDENTIFICATIONS

  • The route is fixed, but not marked. You can find the approximate route on the internet; the precise route will be sent electronically to the athletes in .gpx format (for GPS devices) at the latest one week before the start.

7. MANDATORY EQUIPMENT

Athletes have to carry a “last aid” package containing:

  • a fully-fledged compass – mechanical and in working order;
  • a whistle;
  • a knife;
  • a mirror (for sun-flash signaling), with a diameter of at least 8 cm (or the shorter side min. 8 cm);
  • high-strength cord (e.g. to pull up your bike on a steep hillside, to secure yourself during river crossings etc.), min. length 3 m;
  • a gasoline-soaked piece of cloth in a sealed container (to rapidly make a fire in case of need) or another aggressive water-resistant igniter (in a water-tight packaging);
  • matches and friction surface, or lighter (in a water-tight packaging);
  • disinfectant for wounds;
  • pepper spray against animals;
  • headlamp;
  • sleeping bag;
  • isothermal foil;
  • cycling helmet (mandatory for cyclists and scooter riders);
  • GPS device (navigation)
  • TRACKER (the organizer will provide trackers to the participants; the participants have to keep them running during the whole course of the race).
  • working, charged and constantly switched-on mobile phone

Note: All items in the “Last Aid Package” must be in full working order!

We recommend to take a map.

The participants have to have the mandatory equipment with them for the whole race, and it can be checked anytime at the start, during the race and at the finish. If the mandatory equipment is not present, the participant either receives a time penalty or will be disqualified (depending on the severity of the rule violation).

Participants must have the helmet on their head and fastened at all times whilst riding. Otherwise, they will be disqualified.

There are not rules for any other equipment – all participants can decide themselves what they need to “survive” the race. The participants should be equipped in a way that they can endure all kinds of weather without aid, can anywhere and anytime in case of need sleep, can perform basic bike repairs etc., and can get to the race finish or inhabited places.
During the race, any optional equipment can be replenished or extended (shopping, sending parcels beforehand either to the official restock places, i.e. the checkpoints listed below, or to post offices en route) or, on the contrary, gotten rid of. It is not allowed to place or hide any kind of stashes or parcels onto the route beforehand!

8. MOVING ON THE ROUTE

Participants must adhere to the following rules:

  • They have to complete the full defined route from start to finish line under their own steam. In all cases, they have to complete the full route and are not allowed to take shortcuts anywhere.
  • They are not allowed to leave any litter behind, nor to bury it, and have to take all items back to civilization with them.
  • In case of bivouacking, they have to return everything to its original state. In the following areas, it is strictly forbidden to put up a tent or light a fire outside the designated areas (official campsites): national parks (“NP”), nature conservation areas (“CHKO”), and wildlife sanctuaries (“NPR”). It is also forbidden to put up tents and light fires in forested areas outside of designated campsites, and to light fires within 50m of the edges of woods.
  • It is not allowed to endanger or harass others on the route (both participants and other users), e.g. by ruthless riding (esp. in descents), inappropriate behavior or otherwise.
  • They must follow the rules and regulations of the regions they are crossing, and must follow traffic laws and regulations; they are not allowed to bivouac and ride/hike in certain mountain areas in Slovakia (will be specified in the race instructions before the race) in the time from one hour before sunset to one hour after sunrise.
  • They should behave like a gentle(wo)man, i.e. help every participant or other user of the route who is in need of help or is encountering problems in any way possible.

If these rules are not followed, the participant may receive a time penalty, be disqualified and/or receive a financial penalty if the authorities impose a fine upon the organizer.

9. LEAVING THE ROUTE

You are allowed to leave the route. “Leaving the route” means:

  • Deviating from the route for any reason, either intentional (buying food, sleeping off-route, seeking mechanical or other help etc.) or unintentional (getting lost).
  • Staying on the route, but not moving under your own steam (e.g. when someone gives you a lift due to some problem and follows the official race route).

After leaving the route, the participant does not need to follow the rule “moving under your own steam” anymore and can use other means of transportation.

Whenever they leave the route (intentionally, out of necessity, or unintentionally), participants have to return to the point where they left the route or did not move along the route under their own steam, and continue from this point.

If these rules are broken, the participant may be disqualified.

10. CHECK POINTS – HELP AND SUPPORT BY THE ORGANIZER

The race organizer can, but is not obliged to create spaces with primitive sanitary facilities (approx. 3 on the whole route) for the participants – the so-called checkpoints (CP 1, CP 2, and CP 3). They are open non-stop and located at the assigned place in a cottage, tent, simple shelter or similar. They are open for a limited amount of time. If the checkpoint is closed when participants arrive, this does not mean they have to withdraw from the race. They just won’t receive any help, but they can proceed if they proceed to follow the rules. If the checkpoint is already closed, the participant has to send the organizer an SMS that they are at the CP with their position, information on if they are proceeding with the race, and a short message about their state.

Each checkpoint will provide the following services:

  • Participants can usually rest and sleep here,
  • The organizer may exceptionally provide food and drinks as refreshments for the participants. However, you cannot rely on it.
  • There may be basic tools to repair your bike. Again: You cannot rely on it.
  • Participants can prepare small parcels (max. 20 x 20 x 20 cm) with batteries and/or power banks which will be sent to the checkpoints in advance.
  • The facilities available at the checkpoints may differ.
  • The precise position of the checkpoints (CP) will be part of the .gpx route files that race participants receive.

At each checkpoint, the race participants have to enter their arrival at the prepared blackboard. After that, they can accept help from the organizers – during the operation of the CP, it will be granted to all. When leaving the CP, the participants have to sign out and can proceed in the race. 

For athletes on the short route (500 miles finish), the same rules apply. If the participant decides not to proceed with the race, the arrival time will be counted as the finish time for the participant. As soon as the participant signs out to proceed with the race, they cannot return and end the race as a 500 Miles Finisher.

11. ADVANCE SELF-SUPPORT FOR PARTICIPANTS

  • Support at Checkpoints
    • Participants can prepare their own support parcels for the checkpoints: For all checkpoints, small parcels with batteries/power banks are allowed. These parcels will be sent by the organizers directly from the start to the checkpoints. The parcels must have the name of the participant and the target checkpoint written on them. If the parcel is not picked up, the organizer does not send these parcels back. These parcels must be max. 20 x 20 x 20 cm and must only contain batteries (power banks).
  • Support at the FINISH 500, FINISH 1000
    • Participants can send their own parcels with spare clothes, spare parts for their bikes, food etc. to the FINISH 500 and FINISH 1000 checkpoints. The addresses for both finish checkpoints will be published in time before the start. The parcel must have a return address written on them. The organizers cannot be held liable if the parcel does not arrive or is not returned.

Participants can also send parcels to the post offices along the route and pick them up when they pass by.

The participants are not obliged to prepare any parcels ahead of time.

12. SUPPORT AND AID BY THIRD PARTIES

The participants are not allowed to have a support team or support person; all planned aid and support during the race on-route and off-route is forbidden. If there are problems or issues, the participants have to help themselves, or they can accept any random help from bystanders. (“Random help” is defined as help that has not been agreed in advance; participants can make use of means, possibilities and people who happen to be at the place where the participant encountered the problem.)

Organizers, photographers and cameramen of the race are not considered “random people” on the route and are not allowed to help the participants in any way. An exemption are the checkpoints, where the organizers provide the same help to all participants. This rule does not apply in case of injuries or situations where the life or health of the participant might be in danger.

If anyone would like to provide any of the participants with planned help and support, this may only happen with the approval of the organizer; they must officially offer the same help and support to all other participants as well. All participants have to be informed on time and in advance that this help is available.

Calling friends for help: If a participant encounters a problem, they are not allowed to call a friend or family member by phone or otherwise for help, to avoid disadvantaging others who would not have this option in a similar situation. This rule does not apply in case of injuries or situations where the life or health of the participant might be in danger.

Calling strangers for help: The participants can use their mobile phone or other communication channels (local phone box, e-mail, internet etc.) to resolve their problem and get external help from “strangers” using their organizational skills (call a taxi, call a local bike shop and have the shop’s mechanic come to help etc.). However, the third and fourth paragraph of this article must not be broken.

Contacting family and friends: The participant can contact their friends and family anytime during the race to inform them about their state, the race etc.; however, they are not allowed to gain information from them that would help in the course of the race (finding the closest bike shop, getting phone numbers, weather forecasts, finding/booking hotels etc.).

13. HOW TO RIDE

During the whole race, the participants determine themselves how long they will ride/walk, when to rest and sleep, when to stock up on food and other necessities. There are no rules regarding breaks etc.

14. SLEEPING, BREAKS, FOOD DURING THE RACE

The organizers do not provide accommodation or rest areas or refreshments, with the exception of the official facilities at the checkpoints. The participants decide themselves where and when to sleep and to rest; they can make use of any and all available options on-route and off-route – from sleeping “under the open sky” to sleeping in hotels. The same rules apply to eating.

15. PARTICIPANT CHECKS 

At the official checkpoint facilities, there are fixed checkpoints. There, participants will enter the date and time of their arrival and the date and time of their leaving the checkpoints themselves on paper.

There can be random and moving checks and controls at any time to ensure that participants will follow rules and regulations during the race.

There are electronic controls (tracker, GPS devices) to make sure the participants were and are following the route and to make sure they did not use other means of transport. At the finish, the participant must provide the record of his route for download and control by the organizer. If the .gpx record is not provided or found on the device, the participant will be disqualified. If part of the route is missing or the participant did not follow the route exactly, they will also be disqualified. If the GPS device breaks/stops working, the participant can join another participant and use their record. In this case, they need to inform the organizer that they are moving together.

Each participant receives a GPS tracker at the race start; they have to keep them charged and switched on for the whole race. The GPS trackers will be used to monitor the movements of the participants during the race – to check that they follow the route and the race rules (e.g. that they are not in forbidden zones at night) as well as for safety reasons in case the connection is lost, for rescue missions in difficult terrain etc. For a small fee, participants can get a link before the start so that their family etc. can follow their position during the race.

16. STATUS MESSAGES

The participants have to send an SMS text message (or in exceptional circumstances, via phone) in a pre-defined form once a day (in the evening between 6 PM and 8 PM, otherwise according to their possibilities); this message must contain the following data: name, race number, the participant’s position and a very short description of mental and physical state, e.g. also state of the bike, how they are doing, what happened during the day (if something extraordinary happened in the last 24 hours) and plans for the immediate future (e.g. “I’ll ride through the night”, or “I will sleep for 4 hours in this little shelter and will then proceed” etc.).

These status messages will be used to check on the participants, and to determine and publish the current ranking of participants live on the race website.
If the participant repeatedly fails to send their status in the given time window, they may receive a time penalty.

17. WITHDRAWAL FROM THE RACE

If the participant decides to give up and withdraw from the race, they must inform the organizer where and when they are leaving or have left the route; they may state a reason for giving up. They can also send a message for other participants or fans. This message will be published on the race website on the SMS messages page.

18. PENALTIES, DISQUALIFICATION

If race rules and regulations are broken, the participant can be penalized or disqualified, depending on the severity of the offence. If the organizer receives a fine by state or other authorities because the participant broke the rules, the participant has to reimburse the fine to the organizer.

Some reasons for immediate disqualification:

  • no helmet, or not properly attached/closed helmet during riding;
  • littering and leaving of rubbish;
  • missing items in the mandatory equipment;
  • using not allowed (targeted/planned) help;
  • intentional repeated shortcuts on the route.

19. RESULTS OF PARTICIPANTS AND RANKING

The race is non-stop, without breaks or stages. Therefore, for the ranking and the finish time, the total time spent between start and finish will be considered, regardless of moving time, how long athletes slept and rested, repaired their bikes etc. The participant ranking will be determined according to the arrival time at the finish line.

20. PRIZES AND CATEGORIES

There are no prizes. Every participant who completes the short or long routes will receive a free T-shirt saying “Finisher 500” or “Finisher 1000” respectively. If you decide at the Finish 500 to proceed with the longer route and do not finish, you will not receive a “Finisher 500” T-shirt either.

The race is for anybody who will complete the respective route under their own steam. We have the following official categories: mountain bike, tandem bike, kick-scooter, hiker/runner.

Sub-categories for each category consider age and gender. The age categories are “< 50” and “> 50”. For the ranking in the individual categories, the age at the day of the race start is considered.

The winners of the categories and age categories on the 1000 miles route will receive a “Winner 1000” T-shirt. The over-all winner of the 1000 miles route will receive a “Absolute Winner 1000” T-shirt.

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