The Black Run Race at Aston Hill

After the huge success of last year's races, the competitive edge returns to Aston Hill this Sunday 27 March with the Black Run Race. "I'm so stoked!" said Pete Way, chairman of Aston Hill Bike Park. "This is the first of at least two races this year, and we're keen to show off all the hard work that's gone into the Hill over the winter. Once again we're aiming to make our races as fun as possible - we've got the infamous Black Run just begging to be ragged, a great list of fantastic sponsors and some of the quickest riders in the south coming over to compete." There are excellent prizes to be won from sponsors Troy Lee Designs, SRAM, Halo, Identiti, Gusset, Madison.co.uk (Shimano, Bell, Thor), Surf Sales (Kali, TrickX, Dakine), Mountain Mania (Balfa, KODEX), Duffbag and Monster Energy, with more to come. Simon Slater of www.simonslaterphotography.co.uk is going to have a team of photographers on the course and will be offering same-day prints of racers at the the end of the event. Great food will once again be served up by Wendover Woods' Café in the Woods, Mikrotime will be splitting the seconds, local sports therapist David Price will be set-up to revive weary limbs and Extreme Medics will also be on hand to patch up any unfortunate tumbles. In total there are nine categories, including Hardtail and Ladies, with each rider getting two timed runs. The event will also be carrying Regional A British Cycling status (as per 2011) for all the point-hungry rag-merchants out there. Pre-entries start at £25.50 for members and all on the day entries are £35.00. Spaces are limited - head on over to www.rideastonhill.co.uk to register!