Where is it?

Pooley Country Park, Tamworth, B789 1JA is run and managed by Warwickshire County Council. The What 3 Words location is here.

Parking costs up to £3.50 depending on how long you stay. There is a cafe and toilet block next to the HQ on site.

Pooley country Park is on the outskirts of Tamworth and 10 minutes from Junction 10 of the M42. The closest train station is Polesworth.

What’s a 6 hour event?

I’ve made a short video here to try to explain a little.

It is an event that enables all abilities of runner to run together (or hike/walk!). Ultimately you can run as many 5k laps as you wish in the time limit. You can run one lap in 20 minutes, pick up your medal and Big Bear drink and go home! Alternatively you can head out on your 15th lap at 14:55 and finish in 6:30 having covered over 50 miles! It’s completely up to you.

There is no pressure from us, but we’ll also see if you want one more lap! The format is great for people looking to run further than they’ve ever done before, do a long training run for future events or to enjoy a sociable event with your friends.

Course description

The course at Pooley Country Park is a mixture of open grassland and parkland pathways. It’s not technical at any point but the climb up to the Golden Tower of Leaves won’t go unnoticed! The majority of the course is flat except this climb to the impressive statue (where you’ll all want to stop for a picture!). The site is a former coal mine and as such there are numerous ponds and pooled dotted around.

(New video coming soon)

What does it cost?

We operate a tiered pricing approach. The earlier you enter, the cheaper the event but never ever will you pay a booking fee!

Before 28/03/2026 £37

After 28/03/2026 £42

Unaffiliated entrants pay £2 extra. Why not join your local running club or sign up the Big Bear Brigade and save 10% off entries for ever!

How far is the race?

You decide! The 3.3-mile lap means your race can be just over 5k or, given the relatively flat nature of the course, potentially 50+ miles! You decide how many laps you are going to do on the day within the 6-hour time limit. If you're looking to cover a marathon distance you'll need to complete 8 laps and a half marathon will be 4 laps.

Do I have to raise money or run for charity?

No… BUT!

We have a great partnership with Roald Dahl’s Marvellous Children’s Charity. They provide specialist nurses and support for seriously ill children. There are currently over 200 Roald Dahl Nurses caring for more than 40,000 seriously ill children.

During the sign up process you can opt to set up a Just Giving page to raise money for Roald Dahl’s Marvellous Children’s Charity or to make a small donation alongside your entry fee - 100% of that goes straight to the charity to help with their amazing work.

We want to help them towards making sure every seriously ill child has a Roald Dahl Nurse.

If you want to find out a little more about our partnership click here.

Has the event been run before?

This is our first time at Pooley Country Park! We have hosted over 100 of these 6 hour events however at other locations but why not become part of history, there is only ever one first!

I’m unsure what to expect at a 6 hour event?

We’ve made some videos to try and help newcomers understand Big Bear Events and 6 hour events a little more here. We’ve got lots of videos on our You Tube channel that might help you see what we’re all about!.

I’ve heard you do nice medals. What will it look like?

Once it’s in our hands we’ll share the design with you!

I’m not that fussed by a medal, drink and flapjack…

In that case our partnership with Earth Runs will be perfect! Rather than give you a medal you don’t really want (and to help reduce waste) we’ll give you a Big Bear Tree Token. Not only will a tree be planted for each token given out but the token is also full of wildflower seeds for you to grow at home!

Can I run with my dog?

No, our canicross season finishes in March.

Is this event suitable for Rucking?

Definitely! Read all about how we do rucking here (or if you’ve no idea what rucking is find out here too!)

Is there a gpx of the route?

The route gpx can be found here or visit plotaroute.com here. The route may be subject to last minute changes and there will be plenty of markings up on race day so you do not need to have this - but I know some of you like to anyway!

I really want to take part in the event but the day isn’t convenient for me! What can I do?

We’ve partnered with our friends at Skamper to offer On-demand events! It’s not quite the same as being there on the day but it’s the next best thing! Using the Skamper app you can be directed around the route on a day of your choosing. When you sign up we’ll send you the medal in the post that was given out on the day of the event. This way when you finish you’ll be able to claim the medal you’ve earned for the run straight away! Why not load your car boot with snacks and goodies, get some mates to join you and have your own Big Bear event!

Full details on our Big Bear On-Demand events is here.

I still have questions…

Then why not join our Big Bear Events Facebook group and ask our ever so experienced runners in there or email us directly here. We want you to enter with the confidence you’ll have a great (if not tiring!) day so are happy to answer any question we’ve not covered off here.

Description supplied by the event organiser.