The Legends Trail Benin 250K is a one-off opportunity to experience everything Legends Trail has to offer, but in a whole new setting.
Registration
Registration opens on December 1st 2022 at 6.00pm.
There will be 50 places, assigned on a first come, first served basis. There will be no wait list in operation.
The Registration fee is €1850 for the entire experience without international flights, and a mandatory travel and cancellation insurance of €150.
This fee can be paid in 3 installments.
- €800 at registration, which consists of €650 registration fee and €150 for the mandatory travel and cancellation insurance. This is non-refundable
- €600 before June 1st 2023
- €600 before November 1st 2023
Cancellations will be accepted till December 1st 2023 with a refund of 50% of your entry fee, except the first installment of €650. The travel & cancellation insurance is non-refundable.
Transferring your registration to another runner is possible till January 1st 2024 with an administration fee of 5€ (and under the assumption that Legends Trails doesn’t handle the financial transaction between runners).
In order to register, you need to have successfully finished a race of 100km or more. This will be checked and verified when applying for a place.
Transferring you registration to LT Benin Multistage is possible till February 1st 2024 (you have to have completed a 100k race successfully in order to be able to register for the 250k non-stop.
What you get
For information on before and after the race: see information on the entire trip
During the race:
- Race number
- GPS tracker during the race
- Finishers trophy
- Checkpoints with proper food and drinks
- Ample water supply (every 10km)
- Support from Medical and Safety Teams
- Showers and Toilets at the Finish Location
Checkpoints
During the course, there will be 4 fixed checkpoints where every participant has to check-in with a race official on arrival and on departure. Failure to do so might result in disqualification.
Cut-off times are calculated on an average speed of 4km/h, and will be strictly enforced at the checkpoints. You have to be out of the checkpoint at the cut-off time. Legends Trails International can also decide on intermediate cut-off times on the course if circumstances would justify this. If that would be the case, you will be informed about these intermediate cut-off times when leaving the previous checkpoint. If the weather or other circumstances require course deviations, you will also be informed about this when leaving the previous checkpoint.
In each checkpoint, the following will be offered to you:
- Your drop bag
- Hot and cold drinks
- One good hot meal per participant per checkpoint. We will have normal and vegan options. If you have special dietary requirements, please let us know UPFRONT and we’ll see if we can accommodate you in this.
- Showers and toilets.
- Option to sleep in your own sleeping system outside of the checkpoint (so NO indoor sleeping options for participants).
- A medical team will be available (as long as they are not required for emergencies on the course). Please take into account that the medical team can become very busy with foot care, blister treatment and such, so it’s always a good idea to be able to take care of your own feet in order to avoid long waiting times.
Mandatory Kit
90% of the course is on trail. Trail shoes are advised.
The weather in February in Benin is hot. Daytime temperatures range from 30 to 35 degrees and during the night this drops to 18 to 23 degrees. Watch out for a heat stroke, so cover your head at all times and apply ample sunscreen.
There will be kit checks prior, during and after the race. Runners must carry the following mandatory equipment at all times. A time penalty of minimum one hour will be imposed for any item found to be missing at any point on course.
- Race number (worn visibly and easy to read at all times)
- GPS Tracker provided by the organisation
- Mobile phone with a battery charged and operable for the duration of the race (with Organizers’ numbers (given at registration)
- Survival Bag (if you carry your bivy or tent with you during the race, you do not need a separate survival bag). A simple survival blanket is NOT acceptable.
- Whistle
- Running pack or belt able to store obligatory equipment
- Bottle or hydration pack of at least 1,5 litre capacity and at least 1,5 litre of water or liquid (checked on leaving aid stations)
- Enough food to last to the next checkpoint
- Waterproof and windproof jacket (regardless of expected weather conditions)
- Shoes appropriate for the surface
- Elastic bandage
- ID or passport
- Headlamp with spare batteries
- First aid kit including any regular medication that you take in enough quantities to last 4 days
- Some money (you can use shops, bars or restaurants along the course, but please pay your bills)
- Red light from dusk till dawn attached to your backpack/pack
- Sleeping system (can be in drop bag): Tent/bivy, sleeping mat and sleeping bag
Strongly Recommended
- Clothes appropriate for the weather conditions
- Anti-chafing ointment (e.g. Vaseline, sudocream)
- Sunblock
- Anti-musquito spray
- Trekking poles
- Change of clothes
- GPS device with the route downloaded. Please ensure that your GPS is able to provide you with an UTM coordinate in case of emergency
Medical
There will be a dedicated team of race medics available throughout the duration of the race. If you suffer an injury or accident that warrants direct medical attention, the medics will be on hand to provide you with exactly that. Contact numbers and full details of what to do in an emergency will be given to you at race registration. Due to the nature of the course, ie. mostly off road, the medics may take some time to reach you, or potentially be out of contact tending to other runners.
If you are injured but able to walk, please make your way to the nearest aid station where there will either be a medic, or an aid station captain will immediately get in touch with medical care should you require it/ arrange for transport out.
If you suffer a severe injury or encounter someone in serious difficulty please call the medical emergency number.
Course Markings
The course will be entirely marked, as detailed maps with paths on them are not available for Benin.
The gpx of the course will be made available approximately one week before the start of the race.
Trackers
Each competitor in the race will be equipped with a GPS Tracking device with satellite reception to ensure proper coverage.
Each tracker has an SOS button which sends a one way signal to the Race Controller. The SOS button is for emergency use only!
On receiving an SOS notice, we will endeavor to establish verbal / text communications to your mobile phone and will simultaneously be deploying a Legendary Safety Team to your location. We may also decide to request assistance from the Police, Ambulance and other emergency services.
Racers who activate their tracker are considered to be in a level of distress or peril that we, or the emergency services, will extract them from the course to a location of safety. They will not be permitted to re-join the race. For this reason, if you have mobile signal, it is best to contact Race HQ so we can assess and provide the most effective assistance.
If you are with another racer who is the casualty, activate their SOS button and stay with them. If they have lost their tracker, activate your SOS button, stay with the individual in distress, make your location as visible as possible and use your bivy/emergency bag to keep you warm until help arrives.
You will not be penalized for ‘good Samaritan’ actions.
As mentioned before, the tracker will be attached to your pack by a race official. Once this has been attached do not remove this device. They cannot, and must not be placed within your rucksack under any circumstances, as this severely affects tracker performance. After a small amount of time you will not notice the tracker, so don’t try to negotiate with the team as they will be working hard to ensure your device is working correctly prior to the race start.
After finishing the race, or when you retire, you have to return the tracker to a race official. We have often seen trackers disappear in all directions after a race, and will charge 150€ for any non-returned tracker.
Insurance
Legends Trails International and all its volunteers are fully insured during the complete period of the race.
As a participant you need to buy a mandatory travel & cancellation insurance (€150). This allows the organization to be sure all participants are properly insured and they also know who to contact. The insurance will be covered by VAB NV.
If something happens during your trip with medical implications this insurance will cover (most of) your costs.
If you are unable to take part in the trip for a medical reason this insurance will cover your cancellation cost.
See the general terms & conditions for the insurance.
Registration
Registration opens on December 1st 2022 at 6.00pm.
There will be 50 places, assigned on a first come, first served basis. There will be no wait list in operation.
The Registration fee is €1850 for the entire experience without international flights, and a mandatory travel and cancellation insurance of €150.
This fee can be paid in 3 installments.
- €800 at registration, which consists of €650 registration fee and €150 for the mandatory travel and cancellation insurance. This is non-refundable
- €600 before June 1st 2023
- €600 before November 1st 2023
Cancellations will be accepted till December 1st 2023 with a refund of 50% of your entry fee, except the first installment of €650. The travel & cancellation insurance is non-refundable.
Transferring your registration to another runner is possible till January 1st 2024 with an administration fee of 5€ (and under the assumption that Legends Trails doesn’t handle the financial transaction between runners).
In order to register, you need to have successfully finished a race of 100km or more. This will be checked and verified when applying for a place.
Transferring you registration to LT Benin Multistage is possible till February 1st 2024 (you have to have completed a 100k race successfully in order to be able to register for the 250k non-stop.
What you get
For information on before and after the race: see information on the entire trip
During the race:
- Race number
- GPS tracker during the race
- Finishers trophy
- Checkpoints with proper food and drinks
- Ample water supply (every 10km)
- Support from Medical and Safety Teams
- Showers and Toilets at the Finish Location
Checkpoints
During the course, there will be 4 fixed checkpoints where every participant has to check-in with a race official on arrival and on departure. Failure to do so might result in disqualification.
Cut-off times are calculated on an average speed of 4km/h, and will be strictly enforced at the checkpoints. You have to be out of the checkpoint at the cut-off time. Legends Trails International can also decide on intermediate cut-off times on the course if circumstances would justify this. If that would be the case, you will be informed about these intermediate cut-off times when leaving the previous checkpoint. If the weather or other circumstances require course deviations, you will also be informed about this when leaving the previous checkpoint.
In each checkpoint, the following will be offered to you:
- Your drop bag
- Hot and cold drinks
- One good hot meal per participant per checkpoint. We will have normal and vegan options. If you have special dietary requirements, please let us know UPFRONT and we’ll see if we can accommodate you in this.
- Showers and toilets.
- Option to sleep in your own sleeping system outside of the checkpoint (so NO indoor sleeping options for participants).
- A medical team will be available (as long as they are not required for emergencies on the course). Please take into account that the medical team can become very busy with foot care, blister treatment and such, so it’s always a good idea to be able to take care of your own feet in order to avoid long waiting times.
Mandatory Kit
90% of the course is on trail. Trail shoes are advised.
The weather in February in Benin is hot. Daytime temperatures range from 30 to 35 degrees and during the night this drops to 18 to 23 degrees. Watch out for a heat stroke, so cover your head at all times and apply ample sunscreen.
There will be kit checks prior, during and after the race. Runners must carry the following mandatory equipment at all times. A time penalty of minimum one hour will be imposed for any item found to be missing at any point on course.
- Race number (worn visibly and easy to read at all times)
- GPS Tracker provided by the organisation
- Mobile phone with a battery charged and operable for the duration of the race (with Organizers’ numbers (given at registration)
- Survival Bag (if you carry your bivy or tent with you during the race, you do not need a separate survival bag). A simple survival blanket is NOT acceptable.
- Whistle
- Running pack or belt able to store obligatory equipment
- Bottle or hydration pack of at least 1,5 litre capacity and at least 1,5 litre of water or liquid (checked on leaving aid stations)
- Enough food to last to the next checkpoint
- Waterproof and windproof jacket (regardless of expected weather conditions)
- Shoes appropriate for the surface
- Elastic bandage
- ID or passport
- Headlamp with spare batteries
- First aid kit including any regular medication that you take in enough quantities to last 4 days
- Some money (you can use shops, bars or restaurants along the course, but please pay your bills)
- Red light from dusk till dawn attached to your backpack/pack
- Sleeping system (can be in drop bag): Tent/bivy, sleeping mat and sleeping bag
Strongly Recommended
- Clothes appropriate for the weather conditions
- Anti-chafing ointment (e.g. Vaseline, sudocream)
- Sunblock
- Anti-musquito spray
- Trekking poles
- Change of clothes
- GPS device with the route downloaded. Please ensure that your GPS is able to provide you with an UTM coordinate in case of emergency
Medical
There will be a dedicated team of race medics available throughout the duration of the race. If you suffer an injury or accident that warrants direct medical attention, the medics will be on hand to provide you with exactly that. Contact numbers and full details of what to do in an emergency will be given to you at race registration. Due to the nature of the course, ie. mostly off road, the medics may take some time to reach you, or potentially be out of contact tending to other runners.
If you are injured but able to walk, please make your way to the nearest aid station where there will either be a medic, or an aid station captain will immediately get in touch with medical care should you require it/ arrange for transport out.
If you suffer a severe injury or encounter someone in serious difficulty please call the medical emergency number.
Course Markings
The course will be entirely marked, as detailed maps with paths on them are not available for Benin.
The gpx of the course will be made available approximately one week before the start of the race.
Trackers
Each competitor in the race will be equipped with a GPS Tracking device with satellite reception to ensure proper coverage.
Each tracker has an SOS button which sends a one way signal to the Race Controller. The SOS button is for emergency use only!
On receiving an SOS notice, we will endeavor to establish verbal / text communications to your mobile phone and will simultaneously be deploying a Legendary Safety Team to your location. We may also decide to request assistance from the Police, Ambulance and other emergency services.
Racers who activate their tracker are considered to be in a level of distress or peril that we, or the emergency services, will extract them from the course to a location of safety. They will not be permitted to re-join the race. For this reason, if you have mobile signal, it is best to contact Race HQ so we can assess and provide the most effective assistance.
If you are with another racer who is the casualty, activate their SOS button and stay with them. If they have lost their tracker, activate your SOS button, stay with the individual in distress, make your location as visible as possible and use your bivy/emergency bag to keep you warm until help arrives.
You will not be penalized for ‘good Samaritan’ actions.
As mentioned before, the tracker will be attached to your pack by a race official. Once this has been attached do not remove this device. They cannot, and must not be placed within your rucksack under any circumstances, as this severely affects tracker performance. After a small amount of time you will not notice the tracker, so don’t try to negotiate with the team as they will be working hard to ensure your device is working correctly prior to the race start.
After finishing the race, or when you retire, you have to return the tracker to a race official. We have often seen trackers disappear in all directions after a race, and will charge 150€ for any non-returned tracker.
Insurance
Legends Trails International and all its volunteers are fully insured during the complete period of the race.
As a participant you need to buy a mandatory travel & cancellation insurance (€150). This allows the organization to be sure all participants are properly insured and they also know who to contact. The insurance will be covered by VAB NV.
If something happens during your trip with medical implications this insurance will cover (most of) your costs.
If you are unable to take part in the trip for a medical reason this insurance will cover your cancellation cost.
See the general terms & conditions for the insurance.