EVENTS
The first HOTH event was a 12 hour night race that took place on the third Saturday in August 2011. Following the instant success of the race, the Helloween 6 hour HOTH reload landed just a few months later on the last Saturday of October. To make it more fun, Helloween was designated a 'fancy dress' event, a tradition that has continued ever since. Ho Ho HOTH joined the list of events the following year with a 6 hour day race, and the dressing up theme continued, this time without prompt, and it quickly became the longest Santa race in history! The last event to join the line up was the HOTH Mad Hatter, a 6 & 9 hour day race.
The Mad Hatter
The Mad Hatter is the newest addition to the HOTH Event Series, joining the line up in 2017, and becoming an instant hit with its dual 6 & 9 Hour offer.
Mad Hatter has traditionally taken place on the last Saturday in March, and is a true daytime race. Timed to coincide with the start of Spring, the race brings the traditional weather you'd expect of the season, with torrential showers and summer like sunshine, with everything in between. The daytime format makes it a good step into HOTH racing, with the 6 hour being a very popular start to the year's running for many who use it to either kick start their season, or prepare for marathons and other events. The 9 hour race is a little more challenging. Its still a daylight race, but the more experienced runners struggle with the pacing as its neither a 6 or a 12, which can be difficult to plan for!
We never set a fancy dress theme for the Mad Hatter, or even suggested that people should dress up, not that our lack of encouragement stopped them! Many still turned up in costume, to give the many drivers on the Humber Bridge an unexpected surprise when they see white rabbits and Alice in Wonderland running across the bridge...
As part of HOTH's commitment to supporting the local area, the Mad Hatter race runs an annual raffle to win HOTH related prizes, with the entry fee being a chocolate Easter egg. At the end of the event, the many hundreds of chocolate eggs are then distributed to local children's hospitals and units to try and make things a little better for the children and young people of our area who are in hospital having a difficult time.
The HOTH
The HOTH is the original event in the series, and what started as a 12 hour night endurance race through the night has evolved over the years as the event has become more and more popular.
A 6 hour race was added, finishing at midnight, to allow those with less time or inclination to be part of the fun, and providing a step into the challenge of the night race for those aiming for 12 hours in the future. To keep things interesting, we've also hosted 24 hour and 36 hour events on the bridge as part of The HOTH, just to give that extra level of challenge to those who feel they need more.
In addition to being a physically demanding race, The HOTH is renowned for being a psychological challenge! It gets lonely up on the bridge at 2am, and if you have any demons, that's when they'll come out and suggest you quit. It's hard work in so many ways, and not for the weak minded, but the soreness, pain, and torment are worth it for the sunrise!
Helloween - Ellie On The Humber
Helloween was introduced as a way to bring a bit of fun to HOTH, while giving participants an extra race in the calendar so they didn't have to wait so long to get back on the bridge. At just 6 hours, and taking place at night, it was just what people were looking for.
Keeping in the spirit of the season, we decided in the first year to make it a fancy dress event, and we haven't looked back since! Helloween is the most fun, and most popular event in the HOTH series, and sees hundreds of super heroes, ghouls, and often clowns, doing laps of the bridge right up until midnight on the closest Saturday to Halloween. It's not all about the fun, though. Some pretty impressive course records have been set at the event!
Helloween is dedicated to the youngest person ever to complete the race solo, and HOTH assistant event manager,, Ellie Penrose. We fundraise at the event to help support The Ellie Penrose Fund, with some spectacular prizes being offered in the past, including trips up to the top of the bridge, flights over the bridge, and a range of HOTH event entries and Merch! You can read more about Ellie on the fund page of this site.
HO HO HOTH
Ho Ho HOTH rounds the HOTH year off with a 6 hour Santa run on the world famous Humber Bridge! Nobody suggested costumes, or fancy dress, but many of those who take part decided they were going to do it anyway...
As with Helloween, the fun element of seeing hundreds of Santas, elves, snow people, and all manner of festive characters running across the bridge comes with some pretty impressive performances, and records of over 40 miles have been set!
As part of our social engagement, Ho Ho HOTH hosts a raffle to win some cool HOTH related prizes, with the entry fee being a donation of food or sanitary products which are distributed post event to the local food banks.
Gallery
A selection of HOTH characters past and present
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