SUNDAY 25th april 2027

The 2027 race will be held on Sunday the 25th of April.

Timings are as follows:

Little Stinger Dash – 9am

Cubs Run 2km – 9.15am

Nettlebed Stinger 10km – 10am

Online registration will be available from January 2026 until Wednesday 21st of April 2026 or at the point that the races have reached full capacity. Entry to the Nettlebed Stinger 10km costs £23 for affiliated runners and £25 for unaffiliated runners. The Cubs Run 2km will be charged at £8 per child and the Little Stinger 200m Dash charged at £6 per child.

On the day entries will also be available subject to availability at a cost of £10 per child for the 2km and 200m dash, and £30 per adult for the 10km. Card and cash payments will be accepted. Please be aware entries have sold out for previous years so we would highly recommend registering in advance online.

Race HQ
Race HQ will be held within the grounds of Nettlebed Community school. Race HQ address: Nettlebed Community School, High Street, Nettlebed, RG9 5DA.

Race HQ will open at 8am with registration opening at 8.15am. Please arrive 30-45 minutes before your race to allow us to start on time. When you arrive, please register with our team of volunteers and collect your race number. Registration will close at 9.45am.

Race numbers are NOT being sent out prior to the race. Please allow sufficient time to collect your race number from Race HQ on the morning of the race. When you collect your number, please ensure you complete your name, emergency details and any allergies or relevant medical conditions on the reverse of your number.

The Race Starts from the Cheese Shed which is a short walk down a footpath from the walled garden. Runners will be taken in groups to the race start from the Walled Garden at Race HQ so please wait in this area to be called. This will happen 10-15 minutes before the start times listed above directly after the warm up. The finish line for this years race is in the walled garden. This is also where you will find the bag drop and refreshments.

10km Route

See the 10km route on Strava

A challenging 10km multi-terrain run set in the beautiful Chiltern Hills surrounding the village of Nettlebed, just 5 miles from Henley-On-Thames. This race will challenge the novice runner with some ‘stinger’ hills but will reward you with stunning views as you run through woods and farmland. Experienced runners will enjoy the ups and downs!

The race will start a short walk form the schools walled garden, heading out along a paved track before joining a wooded bridleway. From there we will race through woods, across open fields skirting around Highmoor Village and Witheridge Hill before joining a stretch of quiet road (this will not be closed). A long steady climb will take us up to English Farm, where you may even spot some of their famous Longhorn cattle. A footpath will take us back towards Nettlebed, including one last kicker hill (which happens to be a Strava section for the more competitive runner!) before returning to the walled garden for a sprint finish! 

Approximately 60% of this route is off road along a mixture of footpaths and bridleways.

We will allow 1hr and 45 mins for all competitors to complete the course.

Please note: UK Athletic rules state you MUST be over 15+ years on the date of the race to enter the 10km distance.

Bag Drop
There will be a covered bag drop made available close to the finish line.  This is not manned, therefore please do not leave valuables.  All items are left at your own risk.

Water Stations
There will be a water station at approximately 5km and at the finish line.  If you think you may require additional water, please plan to carry this with you.

Refreshments
There will be no food available on the route, but FONS will be providing a plethora of yummy home baked goods and hot drinks to purchase for immediate calorie replenishment at the end!  We will have card machines, however, please bring cash as well as signal for the machines can sometimes be tricky!

Personal Hygiene 
Please only use the bathroom facilities provided, these can be found at the front of the school by the entrance and again at the start line in the Cheese Shed car park. We ask that all runners and supporters respect our school premises and neighbours with regards to this! Sufficient toilets will be made available. Hand sanitizing stations will also be available at the facilities, registration and at the end of the race.

Dogs
As the race HQ and finish line is within school grounds, sadly we cannot allow dogs (other than service dogs) on to school premises, so please leave your fur babies at home this time.

Parking
The Race HQ is located at: Nettlebed Community School, High Street, Nettlebed, RG9 5DA and Parking will be available at different locations in the village.

The main parking has been provided by Nettlebed Estate and is the large field opposite the Cheese Shed/Nettlebed Creamery. There will also be limited parking available at Nettlebed Community School,  and The Cheese Shed itself. Unfortunately there will be NO race parking at the village social club or The White Hart (opposite the school Car Park).  Please respect their car park and find an alternative.   Please follow directions from parking marshals so we can maximise the space we have. Please respect residents of Nettlebed and DO NOT block local resident’s driveways as this is not fair and could put the race in jeopardy for future years. There is no parking available at Old School Green for Health and Safety reasons.

Headphones

In line with UK Athletics guidelines, only bone conducting headphones will be allowed on course as there are sections of road that will remain open to traffic. This is for your own safety, and the safety of other runners, drivers and pedestrians.

Marshalls

Marshalls will be available at various locations around the course (they’ll be the ones wearing the yellow vests). Directional signs and ticker tape will also be visible.

Race briefing

A race briefing will be provided via e-mail prior to the event and there will also be a short briefing before the start time.

Medics

We will have trained medics on the course and at the start/finish first aid point. Should you need assistance at any time during the race, please seek attention from a marshal or use the mobile number provided on the pre-race event email.

Refunds and Transfers

If you are unable to race, we sadly cannot offer a refund or transfer your place to another runner but may offer the option for you to defer to the following years event. We are a charity event, run solely by volunteers and every penny of race entry is allocated to putting on the event or supporting our primary school.

Results

Official results will be available after the event.

Prizes
All competitors will receive a race ‘Zero Waste’ Medal on completion of the race.  Our choice of medals promote our commitment to being a sustainable race….they’re made from wood and reclaimed materials by a ‘Zero Waste’ organisation.

Small locally-sourced prizes will be awarded to:

200m dash – no awards

2km – 1st, 2nd and 3rd Boy

2km – 1st, 2nd and 3rd Girl

10km – Male – 1st, 2nd and 3rd

10km – Female – 1st, 2nd and 3rd

Prizes will be awarded shortly after the races have finished, at approximately 11.15am. 

Nettlebed is located on the A4130, approximately 5 miles from Henley-On-Thames. It is within 30 minutes of both Reading and Oxford as well as easily accessible from Marlow, Wallingford, Watlington and Didcot.

From Reading: Leave Reading via Caversham joining the B481. Follow this road through Sonning Common, Rotherfield Peppard and Highmoor Cross. Continue on from Highmoor cross to a roundabout on to the A4130. Take a left signposted to Oxford and you will enter Nettlebed village within a 100m.

From Oxford: Leave Oxford heading South towards Henley on Thames. Join the A4074 which you will follow for approx. 20 minutes until you pass through Preston Crowmarsh/Benson. At the next roundabout take the second exit on to the A4130. Follow this road for a further 10 minutes until you enter the village of Nettlebed. The school is set back on the right, shortly after the church.

Bike storage is available at the school and Nettlebed is served by the 33 and 33A (Henley to Abingdon Bus). The nearest train station is Henley-on-Thames and taxis are available at the station.