Elephant Challenge

BFrom Big Bear Events

Tuesday, 24 March 202609:00Salcey Forest, Northampton NN7 2HX, UK

(Canicross) Elephant ChallengeElephant Challenge

Event summary

Get ready for an unforgettable day at the Elephant Challenge, hosted by Big Bear Events! On Tuesday, March 24th, 2026, join us in Northampton, West Northamptonshire, for an exciting 6-hour running extravaganza. This unique event is perfect for runners and walkers of all abilities, allowing participants to complete as many 5k laps as they desire within the time limit. Whether you’re looking to sprint through a single lap in just 20 minutes or tackle an impressive 50 miles over multiple laps, the choice is yours! Experience the thrill of pushing your limits in a friendly and supportive environment, while enjoying the camaraderie of fellow participants. Plus, we’re excited to welcome canicross runners to the challenge, as long as leads are kept short and considerate of others. So, whether you're training for future races or simply looking for a fun day out with friends, the Elephant Challenge promises to be a rewarding and enjoyable experience. Don’t miss out on this fantastic opportunity to run, hike, or walk to your heart’s content!

About this event

What’s a 6 hour event? It is an event that enables all abilities of runner to run together (or hike/walk!). Ultimately you can run as many 5k laps as you wish in the time limit. You can run one lap in 20 minutes, pick up your medal, flapjack and beer and go home! Alternatively you can head out on your 15th lap at 14:55 and finish in 6:30 having covered over 50 miles! It’s completely up to you. There is no pressure from us, but we’ll also see if you want one more lap! The format is great for people looking to run further than they’ve ever done before, do a long training run for future events or to enjoy a sociable event with your friends. We’ve had great success at events with canicross and we’re pleased to add this event too. You must keep your leads short and be considerate of the other runners. We’ll most likely start the canicross runners off with the main field depending on numbers

Distances & Prices

Distance	Price	Status
(Canicross) Elephant Challenge	£44.00	open
Elephant Challenge	£44.00	open

The course

The route is along well maintained pathways. There isn't a meter of asphalt and the pathways are mainly crushed stone or very well trodden open forest floor. Obviously being in the middle of a forest the narrower ones are covered in tree detritus and can become a bit muddy and grimy, especially when wet. On a dry day road shoes will be perfectly acceptable, on a wet day trail shoes may be a better bet as some parts can become a bit slippy.

Getting there

Salcey Forest is a Forestry England site with a café and toilets near Northampton. Use the post code NN7 2HX for Sat Navs The number 33 bus stops inside Salcey Forest (just after 9am) and goes between Northampton and Milton Keynes. It is 18 minutes from Northampton and 9 minutes from Junction 15 of the M1. The closest train station is Northampton.

Parking

You do have to pay to park (we’ve negotiated a special offer of £3.50 for the day! We’ll send emails out to entrants to make this happen). That said, be a hero and car share, save money and the world!