← All eventsKielder 101
101km off-road MTB marathon through Kielder and Newcastleton forests (England into Scotland and back), plus a 60km Border Challenge — a remote, fire-road-heavy endurance day. Next date ~2027-10-10 is approximate; confirm on the official site.
101km through Britain's largest working forest, out from Kielder Castle, over the border into Scotland's Newcastleton Forest and back. Two border crossings and long stretches with no way out.
There's no single decisive climb. Kielder is relentless fire-road: rolling gravel drags that reward a steady diesel, not a puncheur. It's closer to a gravel ultra on knobbly tyres than a trail-centre race.
The defining challenge is remoteness. Deep in the forest, a bonk or a slashed tyre means a long, cold self-rescue. Most riders take 5 to 9 hours, and finishing inside the day is an achievement on its own.
Is Kielder 101 for you?
- Diesel engines who pace themselves. With no decisive climb, the rider who rations effort through the aerobic middle beats the one who burns the fast opening fire-road.
- Self-sufficient riders. Long remote stretches with no bail-out suit anyone happy to fix a flat and carry their own kit for hours.
- Endurance riders stepping up in distance. If you're already comfortable on 4-hour off-road rides, Kielder is a realistic next big day.
- Riders who prefer grinding to gnar. This is fire-road and gravel, not technical descending, so climbing legs matter more than nerve.
Training plan for Kielder 101
A training plan for Kielder 101 isn't a generic base build. Beina reads the event's exact demands, looks at your specific profile and the time you actually have, and maps a highly adapted plan to the start line.
- A full day's climbing on forest fire-road and gravel, with no decisive summit to pace to, just relentless rolling drags.
- Sustained fuelling from the first hour. Under-fuel the easy opening and the debt lands at 70km with forest still to ride.
- Real remoteness: long exposed moorland with no bail-out, so a mechanical becomes a self-rescue.
- Northern weather that can swing warm to cold, wet and windy inside a single day.
- Peak endurance ride: 5.5 to 6hr on rough forest terrain, fully fuelled. The single best predictor of your finish.
- Long sweet-spot: 2 to 3 x 20min at 88 to 94% FTP on a climb, building fire-road climbing durability.
- Back-to-back weekend: 4hr Saturday plus 2.5 to 3hr Sunday, teaching the legs to ride on cumulative fatigue.
- Fuelling rehearsal: 60 to 90g carbs an hour on your exact race products until it's automatic.
- Built from your current fitness and the time you actually have
- Adapts every week as Beina learns how you respond
- Syncs your sessions straight to Garmin and Wahoo
- One clear next session, never a wall of spreadsheet
