Ever fancy escaping the 9 – 5 and having fun, too? Spend your weekend at a brand new kind of London Rat Race, as the capital is transformed into a huge urban playground.

Why you should go:
London’s being transformed into a giant obstacle course and you won’t want to miss it. Fresh from races in Bristol and Bath, this is the capital’s very first urban adventure Rat Race and you can expect athletes and London explorers to be out in full force to see another side of the capital.

Imagine abseiling down the walls of the Tower of London, kayaking on the Thames or mountain biking through the cobbled pathways of London’s narrowest streets. The full destination list won’t be announced until just a few hours before the London Rat Race is set to begin, so both the spectators and the competitors will be in for some big surprises. Get ready to see some athletics taking place in London that have never happened before.

Don’t miss:
Want to take part? London Rat Race teams are organised into groups of three, and you can pick who you’d like to be on a team with, or just leave it up to the luck of the draw. The teams are also broken up into three classes, Adventure Class, Mean Streets Class and Business Class.

The adventure class is for the hardcore athletics, who’ll be expected to have a high level of fitness and compete throughout the weekend on a 65km course including biking, kayaking, climbing, abseiling, free running and walking – with surprise challenges along the way sure to shake up even the most seasoned competitor. For those not quite up to marathon standards there’s the Mean Streets class, which is just for one night and you’ll be able to hit all the checkpoints, challenges and activities at your own pace. No pressure. And finally, for those charity minded folk there’s the business class, where you can enter with your company to raise some funds.

Chill out:
Can’t take walk down the street without crashing into something? Have no fear, because even if you’re not athletically inclined there are still plenty of opportunities to cheer on the competitors at the London Rat Race. And even if no one you know has entered, loads of the entrants are competing for charity, so do something worthwhile and make sure they know they have your support.

The London Rat Race takes place from 28th – 29th September 2008. For more information and to register click the link below.

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