Symonds Yat Super Looper 6 Hour Trail Challenge

The Symonds Yat Super Looper is a brand-new six-hour trail running challenge at Symonds Yat Rock, in the heart of the Forest of Dean and the Wye Valley. The idea is simple: run as many laps of a 5.25 km loop as you can between 10 am and 4 pm. The loop is anything but simple.

From the race HQ at the Symonds Yat Rock viewpoint, the route drops down through the woods to the River Wye, follows the flat riverside path, then heads straight back up "the climb" – around 120 metres of ascent in 0.7 km, including more than 100 steps – to touch the trig point on Symonds Yat Rock. A short run along the top brings you back to HQ, where you sign in and go again. Each loop has around 160 metres of climbing.

Six loops (31.5 km) earns the finisher's medal. Nine loops (47.25 km) makes it an ultra, and twelve loops (63 km) earns the Heroes medal, with loop rings to show how far you went. Only loops completed by 4 pm count.

You pass the aid station at HQ on every loop, with food, water, snacks, electrolytes and energy bars, so no support crew is needed. Entry includes a fully marked course, professional electronic timing, a medical and physio team on site all day, free race photos, a unique finisher's medal and event merchandise.

Symonds Yat Rock is a superb place to spend the day for friends and family too, with a café, toilets, woodland walks and one of the best viewpoints in the Wye Valley, looking down on the river and out to the Brecon Beacons.

Race day: car park opens 7:45 am, registration 8 am, race briefing 9:40 am, mass start 10 am, finish 4 pm, prize giving 4:15 pm.

Entry is £66 (£55 + VAT) and places are limited to 100 runners. Minimum age 18. Parking at Symonds Yat Rock is £9 for the day. Please approach from the south, as the road up from the north is steep and narrow.

The Super Looper is organised by Dave Talbot – Adventure Events, the team behind the Forest of Dean Ultra Marathon and the Malvern Hills Trail Half Marathon, in partnership with Forestry England. A percentage of every entry goes to Forestry England to help look after the forest.