How far is the Dalby Forest 5 Mile Headtorch Challenge?

The Dalby Forest 5 Mile Headtorch Challenge is one distance: 5 Mile (8.0 km).

When is the next Dalby Forest 5 Mile Headtorch Challenge?

Sat, 23 Jan 2027, 18:00. Not open yet.

Trail Blazing Events Dalby Forest 5 Mile Headtorch Challenge

Dalby Forest Visitor Centre, Dalby Forest Drive, Low Dalby, PickeringSat, 23 Jan 2027

5-mile night race on forest singletrack in Dalby Forest, North Yorkshire

5 Mile

8 km

forest

Nobody has reviewed this one yet

No reviews of the Dalby Forest 5 Mile Headtorch Challenge, and nothing on what people wore. Both are things no organiser publishes and every runner wants before they enter — how it actually went, and what was on your feet.

Ran it? Write the first review

Running it soon? Connect Strava and we will ask you about it the day you finish, so you do not have to remember to come back.

The course

What you’re in for

A 5-mile race run in the dark through Dalby Forest near Pickering, starting at 6pm in January. Much of the route uses single track and trails that the public rarely use, some opened only for this event, so expect mud and roots rather than forest roads. A headtorch or hand-held torch is essential and none are sold on the night. Registration opens at the Visitor Centre at 4:45pm with a briefing at 5:50pm. Minimum age is 16, there are no entries on the night, and the field is capped at 650 because of parking at the Visitor Centre. Online entries close a few days before the race.

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Train for it: routes near the start

Routes starting within 20 km of Dalby Forest Visitor Centre, Dalby Forest Drive, Low Dalby, Pickering, nearest first. Each one has a free GPX file and a TRP grade, so you can rehearse the ground before race day.

MODERATE

Hole of Horcum

11.0km · 239m climb · Loop · 6.5km away

A genuinely dramatic piece of landscape - a mile-wide natural amphitheatre - covered properly on foot rather than just glimpsed from the roadside viewpoint everyone else stops at.

MODERATE

North Bay Promenade, Cross Lane and Green Lane

14.6km · 220m climb · Loop · 17km away

It's a genuinely flat, fast loop that mixes proper sea views with quiet countryside lanes minutes from the town centre, so you get variety without needing a car to reach the start.

MODERATE

Red Scar Lane, Station Road and North Bay Promenade

14.9km · 154m climb · Loop · 17km away

This is about as flat as trail running gets in this part of Yorkshire, which makes it the route to reach for on a fast-effort day or when you're carrying a niggle that a hillier route would aggravate.

All North York Moors routes →

How to enter

Sat, 23 Jan 2027 · Not open yet · £19

See the event on their website ↗

Entries are handled by Eventrac (own site, trailblazingevents.co.uk), not by us. We take nothing for sending you there.

Add to your calendar · with the start time

Common questions

: The Dalby Forest 5 Mile Headtorch Challenge is one distance: 5 Mile (8.0 km).
: No course file for the Dalby Forest 5 Mile Headtorch Challenge yet, so there's no measured climb here. When Trail Blazing Events publish one, this fills in.
: Not graded yet. A TRP grade is worked out from distance and climb measured off the course file, and there isn't one for the Dalby Forest 5 Mile Headtorch Challenge yet.
: We haven't confirmed the marking on the Dalby Forest 5 Mile Headtorch Challenge with Trail Blazing Events. Check their race information before you enter rather than assuming it either way.
: We don't hold a compulsory kit list for the Dalby Forest 5 Mile Headtorch Challenge. Trail Blazing Events confirm mandatory kit in their race information, usually in the final instructions.
: We don't hold published time limits for the Dalby Forest 5 Mile Headtorch Challenge. If Trail Blazing Events set cut-offs, they'll be in the race information.
: We don't hold a checkpoint list for the Dalby Forest 5 Mile Headtorch Challenge. What's on the table varies a lot between races, so check the Trail Blazing Events race information rather than turning up expecting food.
: Not yet — we don't hold a course file for the Dalby Forest 5 Mile Headtorch Challenge. Some organisers only send the GPX to entrants. If we get one, it goes up free, with no sign-up.
: Sat, 23 Jan 2027, 18:00. Not open yet.