12 weird and wacky races to challenge yourself in off-season

Unless you live in the Southern Hemisphere or somewhere with a tropical climate, the early days of October have long marked the end of the triathlon season.

Farewell open water and energy gels, hello hours spent with the turbo, treadmill and television. But a winter spent indoors avoiding that daily dose of vitamin D doesn’t have to be on the sporting menu, as there are a host of furiously fun and filthy endurance adventures for you to tackle over the winter and early spring across the UK and beyond.

• How much should I reduce my training by during the triathlon off-season?
• Essential off-season bike and run sessions for triathlon
• 10 off-season triathlon swim sessions

From dirty duathlons to epic coast runs, wince-inducing swims to gravel adventures and, yep, real ale wobbles, here is our pick of the epic events taking place in the next six months to blow away the off-season cobwebs.

They’ll also leave you fitter, sharper and race-readier when triathlon racing returns, honing your open-water prowess, bike-handling skills and run tekkers to make 2025 your best season yet. Just don’t forget the flask of tea and a change of clothes…

Best winter races to do in 2024

1. Maverick Jurassic Coast

• Date: 19 October 2024
• Location: Corfe Castle, Dorset, UK
• Distance(s): 12/22/54/101km trail runs

This multi-distance event takes place on the Isle of Purbeck, the spiritual home of top trail running organisers Maverick, and offers four routes for athletes to sink their treads into. The 12, 22 and 54km routes start at Burnbake Campsite near the village of Corfe Castle, home of the spectacular hilltop ruin, and head via Marshland to the Studland and Old Harry Rocks.

The 54 and 101km routes sound brutal, but they do take in the world’s greatest pub, the Square and Compass, at Worth Matravers, where the lure of a warm pasty and pint of cider would be too much for us.

Further off-season Maverick races include night runs in Hampshire (2 Nov), Dorset (16 Nov) and Oxfordshire (30 Nov). maverick-race.com

2. Eden Marathon

• Date: 20 October 2024
• Location: St Austell, Cornwall, UK
• Distance(s): 21.1/42.2km multi-terrain runs

We raced the Eden Marathon in 2023 and didn’t check the total elevation gain… until after we’d entered. Big mistake, as the mighty 1,000m over the 42.2km (a 21.1km option is also available) puts it at the top end of the UK’s major marathons and left us a crumbled heap by the 30km mark.

It was worth it, though, with the relentlessly rolling route taking in Cornish clay country, an epic climb to Helman Tor and the Eden Project’s famous biodomes at the finale (you and your supporters get free entry on the day).

The multi-terrain course takes place on country lanes and trails; we’d advise road shoes with decent grip or light trail shoes if the weather has been largely dry before the race. And did we mention that you get a free Cornish pasty and a can of Doom Bar at the finish? edenproject.com

3. Challenge Co Winter Swim Challenges

• Date: 1 November until 31 March
• Location: Anywhere!
• Distance(s): 50m and up

With a backlog of The Boys to watch and the settee giving flirty glances, motivation to train may prove tricky this winter, especially when it comes to swimming in the increasingly chilly open waters.

Which is where Challenge Co’s virtual Winter Swim Challenges come in. Head to their website and you’ll be presented with a variety of aquatic challenges – including distances and numbers of swims – that you must complete by the end of March.

You’re able to log your swims, see leaderboards and how close you’re getting to the target, before receiving a badge and certificate when you complete the challenge. The minimum distance is 50m per swim, while Challenge Co also offer pool swim challenges. challengeco.co.uk

4. Real Ale Wobble

• Date: 16 November 2024
• Location: Llanwrtyd Wells, Powys, Wales
• Distance(s): 15/28-mile MTB

The World Bog Snorkelling Champs! Man vs Horse! Mountain Bike Chariot Racing! Welsh event organiser Green Events specialises in the weird and wacky.

For your off-season fix, the Real Ale Wobble is a non-competitive ride that signals the beginning of the Mid Wales Beer Festival, which itself lasts for an endurance-testing 10 days in the mighty Cambrian hills.

The waymarked off-road routes of 15- and 28-miles have technical sections, including a trail through the local Cerdin river, but are suitable for all abilities.

The ride sees beer tokens exchanged at checkpoints along the way for locally brewed glasses of the brown stuff (other drinks are also available). green-events.co.uk

5. Full Winter MacTuff

• Date: 4 January 2025
• Location: Knockhill Racing Circuit Ltd, Fife, Scotland
• Distance(s): 8/15/21km obstacle race

Are you tuff enough? I’m sure you are, but this new year obstacle race sounds like a cobweb-blowing blast, with 8, 15 and 21km distances to pick from.

All come loaded with sludge, slime and squelchy bogs. Given its proximity to the Firth of Forth (try saying that after a can of Tennent’s Super), we’re also guessing that Fife in early January isn’t the toastiest, throwing another layer of difficulty into the mix.

MacTuff events now offer qualifying slots for the (obstacle course) OCR World Championships and the organisers also have a Really Muddy North West edition on 13 April in Bradford, Yorkshire, and a London South option north of Uckfield, West Sussex, in April (date TBC). mactuffevents.com

6. EnduranceLife South Devon

• Date: 25 January 2025
• Location: Kingsbridge, Devon, UK
• Distance(s): 10/21.4/44.4/54.4km trail runs

Endurance Life have been offering hugely testing coastal trail runs for years, but this is where the Coastal Trail Series was created.

A mix of 10k, half, full and ultra marathon races are available, with the latter two totalling a beastly 44.4km or 54.4km and offering qualifying slots for the major UTMB ultra-running champs.

The route starts at Beesands in South Devon before heading south on the SW Coast Path to Start Point and then west to the Kingsbridge Estuary on the longer options. Sandy coves, rugged peaks and midwinter weather will all have to be negotiated, as will 1,400m of climbing on the marathon route.

There are also coastal Endurance Life events in Gower (9 Nov), Dorset (7 Dec), North Cornwall (11 Jan) and Northumberland (22 Feb) before the UK multisport season begins. endurancelife.com

7. The Dirty Devil Duathlon

• Date: 26 January 2025
• Location: Bovington, Wareham, UK
• Distance(s): 5km run/20km bike/5km run

Bustinskin have been a firm fixture on the Dorset multisport and running scenes for years, including the Osprey Triathlon and Weymouth Tri.

This duathlon looks set to be a new year corker, hosted in the army training ground in Bovington and tasking devilish duathletes with a 5km run, 20km mountain bike and final 5km run full of muddy, squelchy and filthy fun.

There’s also the Dirty Devil Stampede held on the same day, with 5, 10 and 15km run-alone options available. Once you’ve had your post-race hose-down, those with a military or simian bent can also hit up Bovington’s famous tank museum or nearby Monkey World…. bustinskin.com

8. Barry Mile 40

• Date: 2 March 2025
• Location: Jenner Park Stadium, Barry, Wales
• Distance(s): 26.2/40-mile runs

Fancy running 40-miles/64,374 metres on a running track? Then your knees and mindset are made of sterner stuff than ours. The physical and mental demands haven’t stopped runners from entering this unique event since 1986, however, with 2025 seeing the 39^th edition of the annual Barry 40-mile Track Race (also incorporating the 34th Welsh Ultra Distance Championships).

The event is held at Barry’s Jenner Park Stadium in South Wales, with the format seeing 40 athletes facing 161 laps of the 400m track before the six-hour cut-off (around 75% of entrants finish each year).

There’s also a marathon, which also sounds to us like the running equivalent of watching The Rings of Power on a loop, but it’ll at least prepare triathletes for any Deca Iron challenges in 2025. cardiffrunningevents.org

9. Battle on the Beach

• Date: 29 & 30 March 2025
• Location: Pembrey Country Park, Carmarthenshire, Wales
• Distance(s): 45km off-road bike

From Croyde to Perranporth and, yep, the Sandman, UK triathletes have long been well-versed in running on sand. Less so, cycling over it on beaches. Seeking to remedy that is Britain’s self-styled ‘most unique cycling event’, which boasts three laps racking up 45km that’s divided between sand (5km), singletrack (5km), and doubletrack and forest roads (5km).

The sand is firmly compacted, so a gravel or cyclo-cross bike will suffice (or you could party like it’s 2014 and ride a fat bike). The setting is the blue flag Cefn Sidan Beach in South Wales’ Pembrey Country Park, which served as a munitions factory until 1963, the remnants of which – hello tunnels, bunkers, train depots and defence towers – are still visible on the Battle on the Beach’s course. battleonthebeach.co.uk

10. World Coal Carrying Championship

• Date: 21 April 2025
• Location: Gawthorpe, near Wakefield, Yorkshire
• Distance(s): 1.1km run

In the thick of rugby league country near Wakefield, Yorkshire, comes the World Coal Carrying Championship held on Easter Monday every (non-Covid) year since 1964.

The series of races for adults and now kids (since 2024) witnesses runners carry coal sacks over a distance of 1.1km, with the sack weight ranging from 20-50kg for adult competitors.

The world record currently stands at 4:06mins for the men’s 50kg race, but you’ll win a £1,000 if you create a new record time. Spots sell out nearly as fast, so keep an eye on the website. Races start at Gawthorpe’s Royal Oak pub which, our Just Eat app informs us, does a steak meatball pizza. We’ll see you there. gawthorpemaypole.org

11. Rat Race: Croatia Multisport

• Date: 23-28 April 2025
• Location: Dubrovnik, Croatia
• Distance(s): 63km run/walk/3km SUP/ 35km kayak/ 66km bike

Rat Race Events host some of the most epic events the globe has to offer. Of their collection during the triathlon off-season, the Patagonia Glacier to Glacier (15-23 Nov 2024) in Argentina is top of our bucket list, but we’ll go for the more accessible Croatia Multisport (23-28 April 2025) adventure that takes athletes from the beautiful island of Korcula to Dubrovnik via the idyllic Orebic peninsula and Sipan island.

To do so, entrants must complete 63km on foot, 3km on a standup paddleboard, 35km on kayak and 66km aboard a bike over six days and five nights, before acting out their best Game of Thrones reenactments in the walled gem of Dubrovnik. ratrace.com

12. Dirty Reiver

• Date: 25-27 April 2025
• Location: Kielder Forest, Northumberland, England
• Distance(s): 65/130/200km gravel bike

Taking inspiration from the likes of Unbound in the spiritual home of gravel in America’s Midwest, the Dirty Reiver takes riders on an adventure on some of the UK’s greatest and widest fire roads (practise your puncture repair/tubeless plugging skills before the race!) in Kielder Forest.

Now in its ninth year, the Dirty Reiver become one of the UK’s largest gravel events, regularly attracting over 1,600 riders to the English/Scottish border region in Northumberland (hence that reiver title).

There are three distances – 65, 130 and the full-fat 200km – for riders to tackle, as well as a host of fun (often involving craft beer) built into the race weekend. Race spots sell out swiftly, with entry for 2025 opening on 1 December 2024. dirtyreiver.co.uk

Start planning your next triathlon season

• 11 of the toughest middle-distance triathlons on the planet
• Best Ironman-distance triathlons for beginners in Europe