Urban dwellers in six cities in the UK and Ireland are set to see their landscape transformed in 2009 with the arrival of the Rat Race on their doorstep – a sporting test with a difference. The Rat Races bring
adventure to the city and offer urbanites a break from convention as they are offered up the challenge of one of the world’s most unorthodox, yet thrilling sporting challenges.

The director, Jim Mee, explains the idea of the competion: “The Rat Race is all about doing the unfamiliar in a familiar environment. Most of us live and work in cities; the rat race is designed to encourage people to use these spaces as our playgrounds as well. The cities that we’ve chosen all have an abundance of great places and green spaces and anyone taking part can be assured that we will be making the most of them. We get incredible access within the cities and people will have the chance to go to places that they’ve never been to before, even if they live there!”

Using the cityscape as the playground, teams will engage in a variety of mental and physical challenges: Contestants will run, bike, abseil, climb and kayak the streets, structures and waterways of the host city, whilst navigating their way around a course that’s only revealed to them hours before they begin. Buildings, streets, shops, offices and canals all feature in the event as competitors face challenges engineered right out of the very fabric of the city.

Challenges in previous events have seen competitors abseiling from Twickenham Rugby stadium and the iconic Tyne Bridge. There has been bike descents of hair-raising stairs, underground navigation in pitch dark tunnels, shopping centre assault courses and zip wires from skyscrapers. The 2009 events promise even more adventure on the streets of the country’s coolest cities.