We’re heading back to the home of Cranborne Chase Cider, Myncen Farm, once again next month for the always popular Cider and Piggy Plod races.
We appreciate that these are really late opening, with only 4 weeks to go until race day. This is due to Andy’s retirement (read more about that here) and the formal transition period that we need to go through as a company. Don’t worry, Andy is still around and aiding with that transition, including checking the routes for the Cider weekend to make sure there are enough hills. You’re welcome.
The Cider weekend is traditionally quite a warm one, and the course offers little shade (which is why this event is not dog friendly), but many runners tell us that it’s their favourite event. That could be the glorious countryside views, the fun atmosphere and the great entertainment. Or it could be the copious amounts of cider available.
The 2023 weekend is more or less the same as usual, with one major change. The Cider Sessions have previously been held on the Friday, but this year they will run at the same time as the Cider Frolic on the Saturday. Both of these races will use the same lapped course, have the same aid stations and the same start/finish. The difference is that if you enter the Cider Frolic, your start time is fixed (7:45am for solos, 8am for teams), and you have 12 hours to clock up as many laps as you like until 8pm. You can also run as a solo or as part of a team of 2, 3 or 4 people. You get the Cider Frolic medal (which is the same as last year’s and is a lovely metal design) and a Cider Frolic time.
For the Cider Sessions, you can turn up and run any time you like between 9am and 5pm, giving you 8 hours to do as many laps as you like. If you need a later start, you can pick this race. Also, if you already have the Cider Frolic medal from last year, you could earn yourself the different Cider Sessions metal medal (with spinning cider bottles!) instead. All runners in the Sessions are solo runners, and we have VERY LIMITED spaces in this event – this is because it’s much harder to admin when we have runners turning up to start at different times, so we need to keep the numbers low.
The lap distance for these events will be confirmed very soon – it varies each year slightly as it depends on the fields we can use around harvesting, but it is usually one of our shorter lapped routes of around 5-6km.
Then, on the Sunday we have our Piggy Plods. The kids’ race is first at 8am (before it gets too hot; also we know the kids are up early, especially if they’re camping, and less likely to be hungover – we very much hope) and is around 4km. Then there is the adult Piggy Plod, which is about 10km and a two-lap course, starting at 9:30am. These races will have new piggy themed medals, which will be coloured wood, similar to our dark races medals – design to come soon!
The fancy dress theme for the whole weekend is pigs! As it used to be a pig farm, we reckon that’s the most appropriate.
In true WSR style, there is more to the weekend than just a race. You can book camping for £30 per pitch (yes, we know that’s a slight price increase, but unfortunately the costs of toilets and showers and rubbish sorting, etc, keep rising), and you can arrive from the Friday afternoon. We will have brand-new entertainment for you this year on the Saturday evening – check out Cordelectra on Facebook. Imagine, if you can, Ibiza dance classics accompanied by an electric string trio – quirky, interesting and should make for a great evening to dance those sore legs away.
On-site catering will include the absolutely yummy Dorset Poffertjes Company, serving Dutch pancakes with a variety of toppings, White Star Catering with an array of options throughout the day, and joining us for the first time is Espressoul. to keep you caffeinated!
Entries will be available from 7pm on Friday 23rd June: https://whitestarrunning.clubtrac.co.uk/e/cider-piggy-weekend-7914