FAQs

Can I cancel my entry and get a refund?

No. Unfortunately registrations are non-refundable, as stated in the T&Cs at the time of entry.

The Escrick 10k is a charity fund raising event, and whilst we try to be a flexible, many of our costs need to be committed several weeks before the race.  It would not be sustainable if a large number of people cancelled, for example if the weather forecast for the day was poor.

You may however be able to transfer your entry to another runner (see below)

Can I transfer my entry to another runner?

We will at our discretion allow entries to be transferred to another runner, up until 2 weeks prior to the race.  (Thereafter we need to finalise the runner list for posting the race numbers and setting up the timing system). If you wish to transfer a place, please contact us with the name of person no longer running, and the following details for the replacement runner:

  • Name of person no longer running:
  • Email address of person no longer running:

And for the person taking your place:

  • First name: 
  • Surname: 
  • Gender: 
  • Date of Birth: 
  • Postal Address (inc Postcode): 
  • Phone Number: 
  • Running Club (if applicable): 
  • Membership number (If applicable): 
  • Email Address: 

You must not give your entry to another runner without our agreement.

I can't remember if I have entered or not

The easiest way to check if you have entered or not is to login to your BookItZone account and see if the Escrick 10k is listed:

  • Visit www.bookitzone.com
  • Click the red 'Sign In / Register' tab at the top right of the main page.
  • Enter your email address and password.
  • Once signed in the red tab will now display your name.
  • Click on your name to get to the ‘Dashboard’ page.
  • Click 'View/Amend Orders'


Is the course really 10km, my GPS said it was 9.8km / 10.3km / 9.9km?

Yes, the course is 10.0km long when measured with a bicycle wheel. This assumes using the full width of the track, but not cutting across any verge corners.

The topic of course length and measuring multi-terrain courses is a common one for many races.

As is common for multi-terrain races, we do not have a Certificate of Course Accuracy - this is due to the recognised difficulties in accurately measuring a rough, undulating and sometimes muddy surface.

A bicycle wheel is regarded as the best option for such courses, as surveyors wheels suffer more from deflection and undulation - albeit arguably a bicycle wheel will slightly over-read because of rough terrain and associated undulations.

GPS measurements suffer from the limitations of GPS accuracy, and/or the devices' attempts to correct for these limitations. Many GPS devices apply smoothing to the GPS position results to compensate for the 'noise' in the positions, but this has the affect of smoothing tracks around corners, and hence on a course such as ours with many corners, will report a shorter distance. It is also worth noting that GPS works best with a clear line of sight to the satellites, which can be located anywhere between the horizon and directly overhead. In areas of woodland line of sight to the satellites is obstructed by trees limiting the accuracy.

If your GPS has shown a short course, have a close look at your recorded tracks through the woods and see how many times it shows you cutting a corner. Also, you may often see false terrain undulations in the woods - a typical symptom of the GPS not being able to get an accuate signal from multiple satellites.

There is a great (if somewhat long) write up about GPS measurements here: http://fellrnr.com/wiki/GPS_Accuracy and a few others notes here http://coursemeasurement.org.uk/gps.htm

There was a discussion on our facebook page after the 2015 race, and people reported GPS course lengths ranging from 9.85km - 10.3km - with a bias towards shorter lengths.

We will of course measure the course after we lay it out - but we are as confident as we can be from the various measurements over the years that it is 10.0km long.

We measured the 2019 course on 14th June 2019 and 11th August 2019. 

We used a bike with a digital odometer. Firstly we did an approximate calibration of the odometer using the tyre size. We then identified a 1.80km length section of the route 65 cycle path along the former railway line between Escrick and Naburn. We chose this as it is straight, level, tarmac and we can measure a known distance on a map with a good level of precision. We rode it there and back (i.e. 3.6km) and this allowed us to make a further 0.4% calibration to the odometer. 

We then cycled the course, keeping as close as possible to the racing line. 

The measurement on 14th June was 10,030m and the measurement on 11th August was 9990m. Given that the precise racing line around each corned can easily give a variation of 1m we believe this is as accurate as a 10km multi-terrain course can reasonably be.

In 2016, for curiosity purposes, we also tracked the performance of a GPS device. The odometer and GPS were extremely consistent for the first 3km of the race - within about 10m of each other at each 1km point. However, once we got into the woods the GPS started to lag behind the odometer - losing nearly 300m by the 6km stage. Coming back out of the woods, from 7km back to 10km the GPS once again was consistent with the odometer readings.  

What is the timing mechanism?

Since 2017 we are now using chip timing: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transponder_timing

Is water provided?

There is a water station at approximately 5km mark, and bottled water at the finishing line.

Can I wear headphones?

Yes - we allow headphones. We request that you listen to the safety briefing, and use them at a volume that allows you to hear any instructions from marshals along the course, particularly in areas such as the school drive, where vehicles may be present.

Do I get a T-shirt?

No. We know many runners like something to remember a race by. We have considered including T-shirts in the entry fee - but many runners have said that they have little interest in receiving a low cost T-shirt. Equally we do not think we could justify substantially increasing the entry fee to include a high quality T-shirt. As such we have decided to not include T-shirts in the entry fee.

What does the price include?

The price includes:

  • car parking
  • bag drop
  • entry to the race
  • chip timing
  • a medal for all finishers
  • water at the 5km mark
  • water at the finish line
  • chocolate bar/snack at the finish line