Fall Epic 8 Hour adapts to bring racing back to Hardwood Ski & Bike

Cross country racing is coming back to Ontario this September with the Fall Epic 8 Hour. With a new race format, Pulse Racing has adapted its epic relay and solo event to conform to health and safety requirements.

Just two days after opening registration, the Fall Epic 8 Hour already has 230 entries. Sign up soon to make sure you don’t miss out on Ontario’s return to racing.

Fall Epic 8 Hour : a new format for the new normal

The Fall Epic 8 Hour is all about completing as many laps as possible in eight hours. That hasn’t changed. Just like in year’s past, there are solo and team categories to contest.

What’s new is that the race will last for 16 days. From September 14 – 29, teams and self-managed solo riders can sign up for their chance to challenge the course. Ride as many laps of the 10km course at Hardwood Ski & Bike as you and your team can on your set start day and time. Then your effort will be compared against all the other riders that complete the race in that time period.

Solo riders and teams will sign up for a start time, between 8AM and 10AM each day, check in with Pulse Racing staff, and then head out on course. A max of 100 riders will be allowed on course on any given day. So if you have a preferred race day, sign up early.

Instead of a set exchange area, relay riders will handoff to teammates in the team’s individual pit areas. Physical distancing still applies, so riders that aren’t part of a family unit or social bubble should still maintain distancing, even if they’re on the same team.

Solo, 2-person and 3-4 person teams will compete against each other. A full breakdown of age and gender categories is listed on Pulse Racing’s event page. A detailed description of Pulse’s extensive safety measures is also outlined there.

Refund Policy

Since these are uncertain times, refund policies are a bigger part of a race than before. If the Fall Epic 8 Hour challenge cannot run for any reason, Pulse Racing will offer a full refund, minus an admin fee. Riders will have the option to change days, provided there are available spots open on that day. If a rider or team needs to cancel completely, there will be a 50% refund if cancelled more than two weeks before their challenge day.