CARDIFF MH SURVIVAL 2009 PROVISIONAL RESULTS ARE AVAILABLE HERE.

CLICK HERE FOR CARDIFF RACE REPORT

CARDIFF EVENT VILLAGE LOCATION

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The Wales Event – Cardiff 4th October 2009

2009 will see the MH Survival Series travel to 3 UK cities. National pride is at stake as we invite Survivors from Wales, Scotland and England to front up to the challenge. The Welsh Capital is the host location for the first event of this year’s Tri Nations Series. So get down to Cardiff on 4th October 2009 and prepare to survive in style…


About the City

Croeso i Gaerdydd, y Porth i Cymru. Boasting a gigantic stadium, an enormous castle, an even bigger Bay and more leeks, daffodils, and dragons than you can shake a stick at, this is Cardiff. The home of Charlotte Church and the only non-English club to win the FA Cup (a fair while back granted, in 1927) and voted by Men’s Health as best UK city in 2004, this is a seriously fun place. We invite you to get into Survival mode on the streets of the Welsh capital for our first event of the season on 4th October 2009 and what promises to be our wettest event of the year!
 
Event Location

The event village for the 2009 event will be located at the spectacular Roald Dahl Plas in the “Oval Basin” events arena, next to the gleaming new Wales Millennium Centre and the Welsh Assembly, right on the waterfront of Cardiff Bay. Those of you closet sci-fi fans will be in your element (or Tardis, maybe!?) as the event village site IS the Torchwood HQ, from BBC’s Torchwood series. With a Doctor Who exhibition across the road too in the adjacent Red Dragon centre, you may well have some close encounters of an altogether more surreal kind than the ones we throw at you! With a route taking in both the city centre and the water-side elements of the City, the Survival route will be sensationally urban and quite “watery” too. Do not expect to stay dry. Pre-event or post, our base in the re-generated Bay area is home to the many bars, shops and restaurants of Mermaid Quay and there is a real buzz around this smart new bit of the city.


Cardiff Course

Ok here’s some info to whet your whistle on the 2009 Cardiff event. Think about those things that are synonymous with Cardiff and it’s not long before your thoughts turn to the Bay, the Barrage and the Millennium Stadium. Our course connects these monsters of modern engineering via an exciting run through the waterfront area of the city and along the pretty Taff Embankment, following the river upstream to the Millennium Stadium and back down to the sea again. From our base at the Oval Basin, you will be striking out in waved mass starts towards Cardiff Docks first, before swinging south and running along the awesome Cardiff Bay Barrage. Your first obstacles are bound to be wet ones, with the waters of the Bay on one side and the open expanse of the Bristol Channel on the other. Coming inland again, you will pass the hustle and bustle of the event village and Mermaid Quay and make your way towards Hamadryad Park and the banks of the Taff. Using our “unconventional” road crossing methods, you won’t actually be going over the main roads that cross the river – you will be going under them! This is Survival after all and we welcome the road less traveled for this event. Soon, the colossal form of the home of Welsh Rugby will hove into view and that is your destination. With some obstacles en route, when you reach the Millennium Stadium you are roughly half way around the course and after winding up to a kilometre all over it, plus some obstacles in there to boot, you’ll be homeward bound back towards the Bay. Re-tracing the Taff, it’s time for one or two more obstacles on the way back, including a surreal interlude on one of the old graving docks adjacent to Mermaid Quay. From there, you are truly on the homeward stretch and the final obstacle looms large ahead of you as you re-enter the Oval Basin to the cheers of your supporters and the public-at-large. The MH Wall of Fame is famous in its infamy and before crossing that sweet sweet finish line, you must conquer its 2.5m high sheer sides. Once down the other side, relish in your victory over the first ever Cardiff Survival of the Fittest by enjoying our post-race entertainments, a free massage courtesy of For Goodness Shakes or something to eat from one of our delicious catering stalls or something tasty from one of the many nearby restaurants. That is some event. Welcome to Cardiff and to Survival of the Fittest 2009.

Getting There

Road
Cardiff is on the M4 and a wee hop, skip and a jump across the Severn bridges for those travelling from Southern England. For those coming from the north, the M50 can bring you pretty quickly (and down a very very pretty road indeed) towards Cardiff via the Wye valley from Brum and beyond.

Rail
Rail connections put you within a short taxi ride of the event village and and direct trains run between London Paddington and Cardiff on the Great Western mainline. Connections between the city and the South West are also strong via Bristol. To the north, cross country routes take you to and from the Midlands and beyond with ease.

Air
Cardiff International airport is a 45 minute train or bus ride away from the city centre.


Accommodation

There is plenty to choose from in Cardiff. From super stylish options in the city centre, to budget accommodation and magnificent out-of-town country house hotels, there is a good deal of choice. Try www.visitcardiff.com for a full run-down of options, plus superb info on what's on around town and in the surrounding valleys and mountains of the stunning Welsh countryside.


We'll see you there for the inaugural Cardiff SOTF 2009!