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Just thumbing through an older copy of ST and was reading about the Iditarod Trail race which sounded pretty hellish and it got me wondering what is the toughest offroad event here in the UK and globally?
Swinley for the Uk and South Downs Way globally.
Of events you pay to enter, Strathpuffer as a solo and Kielder 100 have to be high up on the endurance side of things in the UK.
There's challenges like the south downs double, that are probably harder, but not really events.
Great Divide Race - > 2500 miles in 18 days?
Like doing the South Downs Way 25 times in a row...
I'd say the Iditarod Trail beats GDR. Alaska in Winter.
Hells Gate
Invitation only too, avoiding dead chippers in the Alaskan wilderness!
Too many too mention.. Cape Epic? 8 days riding & 700ks in stfling heat? Or perhaps Crocodile Trophy - 10 days & 1200ks acros the Oz outback. YakAttack? Only 400ks but with most of the riding being done at an altitude over 2500m peaking at nearly 5500m..
I guess a lot of it has to do with what you find "tough". I actually was more broken after Strathpuffer solo than Iditarod. Carl Hutchings said he found GDR tougher than ITI but I can't help but think he's a bit desensitised to the Alaskan wilderness:-)
Montezuma's Revenge always looks super brutal. Iron bike sounds tough as well.
Uk - 3 peaks cyclo cross is pretty tough. Not a great distance but a lot of up and down all with a time limit on.
[i]Swinley for the Uk and South Downs Way globally.[/i]
Wow, I am indeed blessed to live close to the toughest riding in the world 😉
[i]I guess a lot of it has to do with what you find "tough"[/i]
Yeah, conditions/distances/rules vary a lot...I just wondered if there was one event/race that consistently stood out as being the toughest
Just reading back through the responses, Strathpuffer looks to be potential the UK's one then Iditarod for the global one.
Shaggy
Serves you right for winning the puffer then 😀
It's an interesting question how you define "toughest".
You could argue that depends on how seriously you are competing, as well as the nature of the event itself.
For example, there will be riders who can ride steadily through a 24 hour event and finish with a good result, but would be left in bits if they tried to ride an XC race competitively.
So the way you approach things could make a "tough" event relatively easy, or a less epic event seriously tough.
UK, Strathpuffer probably. But potentially any 24hr event.
Globally, so many to pick from. Tour divide, Iditarod, Simpson desert challenge, La Ruta, Ironbike, Yak Attack. Then you have the killer one day races, Salzgammerkut trophy, Cristalp.
Everyone is different, so the toughest for one person might not be so tough for another.
kcr - Member
It's an interesting question how you define "toughest".
One where the external conditions of the event can kill you as opposed to you killing yourself with effort?
I suspect Shaggy is an authority on both 🙂