Firstly, I apologise for all the posts recently. Lots to tell you, so if I’m doing your head in, hold in there I’ll pipe down for a bit after this one. 😂
I ran a poll on my Gravelton Events page this week asking members if I should look at some road-based events in addition to the gravel stuff. Honestly, given most gravel riders probably ride road, I thought the result would have been a close split one way or the other but the message was very clear. No thanks, stick to gravel.
And I will. We’ve got a good thing going there so the last thing I want to do is rock that boat, so rest assured gravel-only it is.
There was a reason for asking the question though. Back in 2008 I organised the first of seven editions of The Mad March Hare Sportive. The first edition was a bit of a protest event. Sportives were gaining popularity and I thought organisers were jumping on the bandwagon to earn a quick buck so I organised one and made it cheap to enter to prove my point. And I did.
The first event hosted 150 riders and sold out and it quickly grew to 400+ riders within 4 years. It’s biggest year saw 1200+ riders take part. I deliberately kept entry fees low, it was always no frills and donated money to charity and it was well respected locally. When I closed my cycle shop and sold the event to some friends, I was really pleased it’s legacy was carried on. The new owners professionalised it, tried a new route and date and even consulted me about the route and occasionally I’d get a free entry too. Loved it. Then they passed it on to a new owner and things, in my opinion, seemed to take a dip. COVID didn’t help and post-COVID, the demand for road-based sportives has collapsed. I rode my last MMH in 2022 and thought the event was average at best.
Since then there have been on and off attempts to ressurect it properly but 2024 was the last one. 2025 was cancelled with a hint it may return but 2026 looks like no MMH again with no prospect of anymore. For me, that’s a tragedy. It was such a well-known local event. I fully understand the economics of these types of events and the time, money and energy you need to organise them but that doesnt mean you can’t do something to keep it ticking over.
My idea was to simply resurrect the event in the same way I do the Gravelton Events. Pick a date, plot a route, advertise it and whoever turns up, we ride our own, self-supported ride and that was my thinking behind the poll this week.
So if I did do something to bring it back it raises a couple of questions
Firstly, the name, The Mad March Hare. The event is ‘owned’ in loosest possible terms by someone but I’m pretty confident the name isn’t so if I wanted to be a dick, I could just use, borrow or steal it but out of courtesy I wouldn’t directly but I am entitled to make reference to March and Hare in it. Other events do so the precedent is set.
Secondly, given the Gravelton Events crew are not interested in road, I’d have to organise it under a different umbrella which is fine. I just come up with another entity so I can run more road-based events or I just use a new MMH tag for now.
I hate the thought of losing The Mad March Hare. So much effort went into creating it, to see it all go to waste just doesn’t sit right with me.
What do you think? Do I ressurrect it for 2026?
I regularly rode the MMH, loved it and have missed it lately! There was a gravel one if I recall which I did!
I’ve heard of it, my cycling friends have ridden it but I haven’t and would love to! I had no idea of it’s origin so even more reason for the man from Del Monte to say yessss to the MMH goes Gravelling 💪🏼
I have actually got a gravel version ready to go 🤩
I love the idea of the MMH being resurrected.
As a long time participant it’s very much missed on mine and many others calendar
Thanks mate. The only date I have free is Sunday 8 March which is the day after The Spring Fling
I’d do it. Use it or lose it applies. It’s not a thing you can sell, it’s a concept. A 2 year break and they can’t claim the date or route or anything either. Saying that my concern would be about insurance especially with the potential numbers involved. In Ireland all events most are submitted under the Cycling Ireland umbrella and all attendees need to be members. This means they’re covered. Even Audax Ireland runs their events that way. Is there a UK equivalent you could take advantage of?
I could run it officially as an Audax event I guess but I used to use the old CTC insurance for my events. They’re now called Cycling UK. Much cheaper than British Cycling. It’s probably too late for this year, maybe next year which gives me time to mull it over properly