Ring O’ Fire Race Rules – 2027
Ring O’ Fire 130 | Firelighter 50 | Ring O’ Fire Relay

Status of this document
These are the official sporting, safety and conduct rules for the 2027 event. They apply to all participants unless a rule says otherwise. Entry, refunds, deferrals and transfers are governed by the Entry Terms & Conditions. Where a summary elsewhere on the website differs from this document, these Race Rules and the Entry Terms & Conditions take precedence.

Event dates: Friday 3 September to Sunday 5 September 2027. Firelighter 50 takes place on Friday 3 September 2027.

Authority, safety and changes

1. The Race Directors may give instructions, impose time penalties or disqualify a participant where this is necessary to protect safety, fairness, the environment or the integrity of the event.
2. The Race Directors may amend the route, checkpoint locations, cut-off times, rules or event arrangements where reasonably necessary for safety, access, weather or operational reasons.
3. Participants must comply promptly with instructions from Race Directors, marshals, medics, checkpoint staff and other authorised Event Officials.

Eligibility and race identification

4. Participants must be aged 18 or over on race day.
5. Race numbers must be worn clearly on the front of the body at all times so that participants can be identified and logged at checkpoints.
6. Each participant must use the tracker issued by the event as instructed. The SOS function is for genuine emergencies only.

Course, navigation and self-sufficiency

7. Participants must follow the official route as marked in the 2027 Map Pack and any route changes issued by the event. The Map Pack is the definitive route information for the event.
8. If a participant goes off course, they must return to the point at which they left the official route before continuing, unless instructed otherwise by an Event Official.
9. Participants are responsible for their own navigation using the official Map Pack and their own equipment. Race Directors must not be contacted for routine navigation assistance.
10. Checkpoint staff may, if asked, provide route-ahead information, honesty-book information, distances, and checkpoint cut-off information.
11. The course may include road sections. Participants must obey the Highway Code and take particular care around traffic, other path users, livestock, property and protected areas.

Checkpoints and cut-offs

12. Overall time limits: Ring O’ Fire 130 and Ring O’ Fire Relay – 52 hours; Firelighter 50 – 15 hours. A participant who cannot finish within the overall time limit will be withdrawn.
13. Participants must check in and check out at every official checkpoint. Failure to do so may result in disqualification.
14. Checkpoint cut-off times are strict. A participant who has not arrived at, or left, a checkpoint by its published cut-off time will be withdrawn from the race unless the Race Directors decide otherwise for a safety or operational reason.
15. Participants may stay at any official checkpoint for as long as they wish, provided that they leave before its published cut-off time.
16. Facilities vary by checkpoint. Participants must follow checkpoint staff instructions and must not obstruct operational areas or other participants.
17. Full checkpoint locations, facilities, food provision, bag availability and cut-off times are published on the Checkpoints & Cut-offs page and in the final Event Information.

Honesty books

18. Where honesty books are used, participants must collect a page as instructed and hand it in at the next checkpoint.
19. A missing or lost honesty-book page incurs a five-hour time penalty. If that penalty puts a participant outside the overall time limit, the participant will be disqualified.
20. An intentional failure to visit an honesty-book location or to follow the honesty-book procedure will result in disqualification.

Mandatory kit

21. Solo participants must carry the full mandatory kit at all times; relay runners must carry it while active on their leg (see Relay-specific rules). Mandatory kit is as specified on the Kit List page and in final Event Information.
22. Kit checks may take place at registration, checkpoints, on the course or at the finish. Failure to carry required kit may lead to a time penalty or disqualification.

Pacers and support

23. Pacers are not permitted between 06:00 and 20:30.
24. Between 20:30 and 06:00, a runner may be accompanied by a maximum of two pacers. Pacers must follow Event Official instructions, must not interfere with other participants or checkpoint operations, and must not provide an unfair advantage.
25. Support crews are permitted unless instructed otherwise at a particular location. They must park legally, respect residents and landowners, follow marshal instructions, and must not access restricted checkpoints or private land.

Rest, sleep, buildings and vehicles

26. Participants may rest at official checkpoints in accordance with the Checkpoints and cut-offs section and the facilities available there.
27. Resting or sleeping in vehicles, including camper vans and support vehicles, is not permitted during the race.
28. Private residences and non-designated indoor spaces must not be used for sleeping or extended rest during the race.
29. Shops, cafés, pubs and other public buildings may be entered for purchases or toilet use, but must not be used for strategic rest or sleep.
30. Temporary shelter in a stationary vehicle is permitted only in a genuine medical emergency or extreme weather. It must be reported as soon as possible to a Race Director, marshal or medic; used only for essential safety or medical stabilisation; and followed by resuming from the exact point at which the participant left the course, unless instructed otherwise.
31. For relay teams, the vehicle and building restrictions in this section apply to an active runner during their leg only. Team members who are not actively running may use vehicles and buildings normally.

Food, bags and resupply

32. Ring O’ Fire 130 resupply bags are available at Beaumaris and Rhosneigr only. No Ring O’ Fire resupply bags are available at Moelfre.
33. Hot meals are provided at Beaumaris and Rhosneigr. Soup is provided at Moelfre, Sea Zoo and Malltraeth. Other checkpoint refreshments remain as published on the Checkpoints & Cut-offs page.
34. Firelighter bags are transported from the start to the finish at Moelfre. Firelighter participants do not have access to their bag during the race.
35. Relay teams must arrange their own transport, bags and resupply. Event bag transport is not provided for relay teams.

Retirement and emergencies

36. A participant who retires must tell the nearest marshal or Event Official as soon as possible and return their tracker as instructed.
37. A participant who receives an SOS alert, finds another participant in distress, or witnesses an emergency must provide reasonable assistance and alert the event. Time spent helping another participant will be considered by the Race Directors when calculating any time credit.
38. A participant must not leave an injured or distressed participant alone where doing so would create an immediate safety risk, unless leaving is necessary to obtain help.

Conduct and environmental responsibility

39. Littering, damage to property, unreasonable behaviour, abuse, harassment, cheating or conduct that brings the event into disrepute may result in immediate disqualification and exclusion from future events.
40. Participants must respect local communities, landowners, livestock, wildlife, protected areas and other path users.
41. Participants must not accept unauthorised transport, shortcut the course, or otherwise gain an unfair advantage.

Penalties and disqualification

42. The Race Directors may apply a time penalty or disqualify a participant for a breach of these Rules. Serious or deliberate breaches may lead to exclusion from future events.
43. Examples include, but are not limited to: missing checkpoints; ignoring a cut-off; missing mandatory kit; losing honesty-book pages; deliberate course-shortening; unauthorised vehicle rest; unsafe conduct; and failing to follow an Event Official’s reasonable instruction.

Relay-specific rules

44. A relay team consists of 2 to 4 registered runners. A relay team must retain at least two runners and cannot continue as a solo participant.
45. The event GPS tracker is the relay baton. It must be carried by the active runner and handed over only at an official checkpoint.
46. Teams may decide leg assignments dynamically during the event, but only the runners named in the team’s final registered entry may take part.
47. No runner substitutions are permitted once the race has started.
48. Every active relay runner must carry the mandatory kit during their leg.
49. Relay teams have access to official checkpoints, subject to normal checkpoint procedures and facilities. Team time is continuous from start to finish and is verified by tracker and checkpoint records.

Related information

• Entry Terms & Conditions: entry, refunds, deferrals, transfers, charity entries and cancellation policy.
• Checkpoints & Cut-offs: locations, opening and closing times, facilities, food and bag availability.
• Kit List: mandatory and recommended equipment.
• FAQs: practical answers and links to the authoritative documents.