News

With online entries closing this Sunday, once entries are collated we will be sending out final instructions via email. ALL numbers are to be collected on the night so please make plenty of time to arrive and collect your number and drop off your bag if you need to. We are happy to arrange number swaps even on the night, so if you are not running please ensure we have the details if somebody else is taking your place. It is essential we have the correct details of the person actually running on the night.

Prize presentation for the race will take place shortly after the last finisher crosses the line, though the race bib raffle will be done while runners are out on the course to save time at the end. All prizes will be marked up with winning numbers and located upstairs in the bar so finishers will be directed that way to see if they have won once they cross the finish line and have collected their goody bag.

Weather permitting, there will be a BBQ laId on by Westbury cricket club as well as a bar serving alcoholic and soft drinks (and teas and coffees) We appreciate them laying on these services, so please support them if you can. While on the subject of the weather, it’s still looking changeable for the day so bear that in mind when selecting gear for the run. We will advise on the day as to the condition of the course.

Many thanks for your tremendous support once again this year.

 

After applying earlier in the year we were really excited to receive the news that Hilly Helmet on behalf of Brain Tumour Support had been selected for the Waitrose Community Matters shoppers tokens collection in the Warminster store back in June. The campaign runs every month and Waitrose split £1000 between the three charities selected for each month.

On Saturday, Hilly Helmet founder Robin-Mark Schols went along to meet Sarah, the local Community Matters officer for the store.  She presented him with a cheque for £450 for Brain Tumour Support which will be passed on at his visit to the charity headquarters this Tuesday.

“£450 is a lot of money and the charity will put this to good use. It’s a great boost to the events’ fundraise too”, said Robin-Mark. Sarah, whose life has also been touched by the disease with a friend recently going through a brain tumour was also delighted Waitrose were able to help. “We often have one stand out charity from the three chosen”, she said.

Once again, we thank Waitrose for their support for our event and hope we may see a representative from them on the night.

After entry closed for this years event on Friday evening we received a number of enquiries from people  who had planned to enter but didn’t get in before the limit had been reached. We didn’t like the idea of disappointing people and today took the decision to add an extra 25 places, so hopefully you’ll have a chance to get in now if you did miss out. These are now available online until entries close next Sunday or until sold out, whichever of these happens first, after which any remaining places will be available on the night only.  We thank you all once again for your fantastic support.

Pictured is Max Verstappen, (who also wears a helmet!) winner of the F1 German Grand Prix race on Sunday. We’ve pictured Max, because just  like him our event places are going fast.  With less than 14 places remaining, it’s looking likely we’re going to sell out which is fantastic, thanks to everyone for the continued support in our third year.

The Website

If you’d not looked before, we’ve been busy adding content here on our website. In addition to our event partners, we felt it was really important to also recognise others who maybe donate time, services or skills to our big push. We hope we’ve covered everyone but of course we’re adding every day.

This Year

We started Hilly Helmet back in 2017, trialling an entry capacity of 125 to see how it would go. After selling out in year 1 we decided to increase the numbers to 175 for 2018 and have stuck with the same number for 2019. It definitely felt bigger last year and we gave good consideration to not making it too big and not making the course feel too small for the number taking part while also attempting to do as well as we can for the charity. It’s always a nervous time waiting for sign ups, especially as the event draws nearer, but a good mixture of loyal customers returning for the second or third time and a good deal of first timers are getting us closer to the sell out.

We’ve worked hard on this, our hat trick event to keep the personal feel people have said they like about Hilly Helmet, including staying with the pottery finisher mementos and we’ve tried to polish up a few things just a little and hope you’ll approve.

We’ve been generously donated event signage and some selfie frames for photo fun on the evening. The cricket club will be returning with a bbq and the bar will be open before and after the run for drinks, alcoholic and non alcoholic.

Massage

This year you’lll also be able to get a sports massage pre or post event (or both) from Gary Daniell Sports Massage who will there all evening providing the service and dnating all takings to the event fund raise. He’ll be offering 5 minutes for £5 and will include RocTape as required. We’re very grateful to Gary for this gesture, please take advantage of this great offer.

Baggage Drop

Our charity Brain Tumour Support will also be along helping to hand out goody bags on the finish line and helping to take care of your baggage while you run. Just ask for a label when you register and tie it on to your bag.

Race Bib Raffle

The legendary race bib raffle will once again be in force with a good deal of prizes again kindly donated by running clubs and businesses. All finishers will be directed to the raffle to see if they have been a lucky winner when they cross the finish line.

Hydration and the Environment

Once again up on the hill there will be an opportunity for a quick drink of water if you need it and there will be a bottle of water for every finisher at the finish line. This year will be the last year we will be issuing single use bottles of water and the charity have promised they will also be providing paper bags next year instead of the plastic ones you’ll receive this year. Please reuse the bags where you can. Rest assured, all your empty bottles will be recycled, so do let us have them back when you’ve finished with them. Next year we’re planning a more environmentally friendly way of water provision and you’ll also be able to leave your own bottle with us when you register on the night and have it full waiting for you when you finish.

Facilities

Again, the changing and shower facilities at the Leighton Recreation Centre will be available for our entrants to use as in previous years.

Getting here and Parking

Our final plea is for you to consider your method of travelling to us with regard to parking. As stated in the joining instructions, parking is limited at the Recreation Centre and they will have people coming to use the facility who will be expecting to be able to park so we will be marshalling the car park to make life as easy as possible for everyone.  It would help enormously if  the amount of traffic coming in can be kept to a minimum. If you’re local and able to walk, run or bike down, that will also help with this issue. as well as lift sharing where possible. There is also a pay and display car park on Warminster Road just 5 minutes walk away which we would really appreciate you using, especially if you’re arriving 6pm. Generally these days, the whole issue of parking can be an emotive issue, so your consideration is most appreciated.

We look forward to seeing you on the night.

Every picture tells a story and the story here is that there are just over 30 entries left for our event on the 14th of August.

Every year we worry if we’ll get the entries in and we work hard to tempt you to come back. It’s great to see our efforts paying off. If you have been procrastinating, please don’t delay any longer as there’s a real chance you could miss out. We don’t want that and we’d love to have you along, so you know what to do.

Dave and Ian of Frome Running Club had a great evening at the Hazelbury Hurrah! on Friday, seen here enjoying their pie and beer at the end of the run. The guys both picked up free entries for the run via the draw of entrants for our event this year which is happening next month on Wednesday 14th August. The prizes were donated by friends of Hilly Helmet Corsham Running Club and as their event happens before ours, we used the places as an incentive to sign up early for our race.

As our event draws nearer, we’re still accepting entries online until Sunday 11th August. After that it will be entry on the night only which as per all other events will be more expensive, so please get in before the price increase if you’re planning on running (or walk/running) with us.

Once again this year we have a good number of prizes to award randomly on our entrants race numbers as well as spot prizes, so it won’t just be the racing snakes taking all the spoils. All our prize donors will be appearing on our thanks and acknowledgments page once it is set up

It was great to meet up with Hilly Helmet Challenge prize winner Jenna last week at the Chippenham Harriers River Run. “This event and Hilly Helmet are two of my favourites, so I was thrilled to win a place for it from my other favourite race” said Jenna. We’re really pleased she enjoyed herself and are delighted that the Harriers have once again pledged a place to one of our lucky winners again in this years Hilly Helmet Challenge.

Meanwhile, this Friday sees two more of our lucky prize winners taking on the Hazelbury Hurrah, a 10km multi terrain event held near Corsham. Dave and Ian, coincidentally both from Frome Running Club,  were both winners of the donated prizes. We hope to catch up with them on the night and will bring you news of their evening some time next week. Once again, Corsham Running club donated these places and will be donating again for this years’ Hilly Helmet.

Our month as one of three charities to benefit from the Community Matters project offered by Waitrose at their Warminster branch has now come to an end.  In the scheme held in June, shoppers chose to support one of the charities selected by Waitrose with tokens given to them at the check out which they placed in one of the collection boxes in the store. We’re delighted to announce the Hilly Helmet Challenge collection has been awarded £450 which will go to Brain Tumour Support as part of our event fund raise this year.

We’d like to express our gratitude to both Waitrose for giving us this opportunity and everybody who helped raise this sum by giving us their tokens. We really appreciate all your support.

If you’ve not entered yet but are still planning to, the Hilly Helmet Challenge will be run on Wednesday 14th August and we hope to see you there. Entries available online now.

 

Helmeteers of 2018 have an opportunity to run at the Chippenham River Run 5k next Wednesday, 3rd July. We have a prize of an entry for both the 5k run and the kids fun run going on offer, but it’s happening next week so you’ll have to be quick.

If you ran in our 2018 event and you’re interested in this opportunity and can go to the event next Wednesday evening, please email robin@orangehelmetevents.org.uk to register your interest. We’ll pull a winner on Sunday and let you know who’s going to join us there.

We’re delighted to introduce our latest supporter, Plymouth based Beaver Teeth Services who offer plant hire services to deal with tree roots and similar problems and are expanding week by week to offer new services. Owner Darren understands recovery from tumours all too well and is supporting our event as well as taking part. We look forward to welcoming him on the night.

We’ve also taken delivery or our race bibs and signage and expect delivery of our new hi vis waistcoats for our helpers this week too. A trip to the pottery this week also proved to be a positive one with good progress being made on your event mementos and prizes.

Our opportunity for shoppers at Waitrose in Warminster to donate their green tokens to us remains in place until the end of the month, so please keep supporting us as you’ve been great so far. We’re the slot in the middle.

We completed our 4th Helmet themed parkrun at Shepton Mallet last week. It’s been great going on the road at Melksham, Southwick, Chippenham and Shepton Mallet and being able to create awareness of why we’re doing this and our grateful thanks go to everyone who has helped make this possible, including event partner Running Guy who provided the prizes.

Entries are coming in nicely and we’re making space for 175 participants this year. We’ve still got places available for free if you are raising a minimum of £100 plus gift aid for Brain Tumour Support. If you’re interested in this we’ll kit you out with a charity t shirt or vest to keep and you’ll run for free. Please get in touch if you’re interested.

Finally, we’re also working to report some exciting news of another donation, details of which will follow over the next few days.