Registration to Open on October 1st for Virtual Nos Galan

Registration for the first-ever virtual Nos Galan Road Races will open from Thursday, 1^st October, as the annual New Year’s Eve event goes online due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Earlier this month, the Nos Galan Committee announced that the 2020 event would take the unprecedented step of moving to a virtual platform in light of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, with the requirement to maintain social distancing for thousands of both competitors and spectators being unachievable in the physical format of the event.

A limited number of places will be made available from 9am on Thursday, October 1^st.  As always, competitors are urged to secure their place at the earliest opportunity to avoid disappointment.  The entry price will be £7.50 and registration will be open to all ages and abilities due to the format of the event.  Register for your tickets here.

The Virtual Nos Galan event for 2020 will run from 1^st December to the 31^st December and can be completed at a speed of entrants’ choice between those dates.  Competitors can run, walk, skip or even crawl the required 5km total distance at any time – either all at once or over a number of days – and this can be done outdoors (solo or with a small group maintaining social distancing) or indoors on a treadmill.  Evidence must then be submitted online at www.nosgalan.co.uk.

Competitors will need to track their distance via a tracking app or smart watch / phone. Once the distance is complete a photo or screen grab of the evidence will then need to be uploaded and submitted online. If competitors are using a treadmill, then a photo of the distance displayed on the machine will be sufficient.

As with the physical form of the event, entrants will again receive a medal and t-shirt upon completion of the 5km and once the evidence has been reviewed by the Nos Galan team.

Further info can be found on the Frequently Asked Questions guide.

Councillor Ann Crimmings, Rhondda Cynon Taf Council’s Cabinet Member for Environment, Leisure and Heritage Services and Chair of the Nos Galan Races Committee, said: “The coronavirus pandemic has had a huge impact on all of our lives and has necessitated that many of the things we consider as normal have had to pause or be done in a different way.

“We know that the Nos Galan Road Races are a fantastic night and a highlight for so many people, both locally and from further afield, and as a Committee we were determined to ensure that the 2020 event went ahead in some capacity.

“With local restrictions currently in effect for the whole of Rhondda Cynon Taf and the requirement to maintain social distancing likely to be a feature of our lives for the foreseeable future, hosting the event in its usual format would not be possible. I am, however, pleased that in light of the circumstances we can offer competitors a chance to participate through the month-long virtual event, with those who successfully complete the 5km total distance still being awarded their medals and t-shirts.”

Follow Nos Galan Races on Twitter and Facebook, or visit www.nosgalan.co.uk, for the latest news and information on the 2020 event.