North Yorkshire Council advertised it as a major sports tourism event – but what do we actually know about the Long Course Weekend?

It is the first time the three-day event is headed for Masham, but it is set to run annually over the next three years following a £75,000 deal with the council.

The Long Course Weekend, which originated in Wales in 2010, follows a similar structure to a triathlon. There will be events in running, swimming and cycling, but people can choose how many disciplines they enter.

The council announced the event last September and said it could generate up to £2 million for the local economy. However, media information on the Long Course Weekend has since been scarce and few people seem to know about it.

The Stray Ferret has collated a guide on what we know about the event, which will take place from Friday, September 6, to Sunday, September 8.

Swimming

Swimming is the first sport of the weekend-long event and will take place on Friday.

All swimming rounds will be held at Grimwith Reservoir, with the first races starting at 2pm.

Registration opens at 9am until 5pm in Masham Market Place.

The 1.2-mile swim, as well as the half Long Course Weekend and junior swim event will take place at 2pm.

The 2.4-mile swim, plus the full Long Course Weekend and VIP swims will begin at 5pm.

According to documents seen by the Stray Ferret, organisers are expecting around 400 swimmers to take part.

No roads will close as part of this event. 

Cycling

Organisers anticipate more than 600 cyclists will take part in Saturday’s bike rides, which will take place on open roads.

Registration will open at 5am in Masham Market Place and will close at 5pm.

The 112-mile and 56-mile rides, as well as the full Long Course Weekend cycling event, will all begin between 7am and 7.30am.

Organisers expect the first cyclist to return to the Market Square by 10.30am, while the cut-off time for the second lap will be midday.

The overall cut off for the bike event will be at 5pm. 

Running

Donned the blue-ribboned day by the organisers, the four running events will bring the weekend to a close on Sunday.

An estimated 750 runners will take part across all events, which will bring with them 26.2 miles of road closures across the Harrogate district.

Registration will again operate from Masham Market Place between 7am and 10am.

The marathon will start at 9.30am, while the 5k and 10k races begin at 10am.

The half marathon will kick off at 11.30am, but documents say participants will be taken to "Fountains" by coach to start the race there. 

The first marathon runner is expected to return to the Market Place by midday.

The event will end at 3.30pm and a trophy presentation will be held at 4pm.

The Stray Ferret last week reported on a Galphay pub owner’s fears the road closures could heavily impact trading.

You can find a full list of road closures here. 

Further information

An athlete’s village will be set up in the town’s Market Place, which documents say will “represent various business and organisations over the weekend”, as well as a bar and red carpet.

Vehicle access to the Market Place, the Little Market Place and Millgate will be restricted between 8am and 6pm from Friday to Sunday.

Black Sheep Brewery will be hosting a three-day event to mark the occasion, which will include music, activities and food at the brewery.

Masham residents and employees, who usually park in the Market Place, are advised to park elsewhere over the weekend.

Masham Parish Council is providing permits for residents, which will entitle them to park on the Shooting Holme for free, documents say. They can be collected from Mashamshire Community Office.

Masham Market is also set to go ahead on Saturday (September 7). However, stalls will be held at the opposite end of the square to normal by the flagpole.