About The Mourne 500

The Mourne 500 was a challenge first attempted (and flunked!) with mountain bikes in June 2010, having originally been inspired by the mountain-running event The Seven Sevens.

It involves over 65 km distance around the Mourne Mountains, with over 4,400 metres of climbing.

The Mourne 500 challenge was first completed on foot on July 31, 2010, in 18 hours and 26 minutes, under the old rule of the time starting and finishing at first and last points. That time has been bettered on quite a few occasions since, even under the rule now that start and finish points must be the same point.

What constitutes a '500'?

Any point above 500 metres height with more than 10 metres of prominence (sticking up from the ground around it!), was deemed valid when the event route was first surveyed in 2010.

This information was gleaned from the Ordnance Survey Northern Ireland Activity Map of the Mournes 1:25,000 scale.

It is worth noting that The Mourne 500 is not a rock-climbing challenge; climbing tors and crags to reach true summits has been deemed too dangerous, and is not necessary for a successful attempt.

Important!


The Mourne 500 is an unsupported challenge. Each participant takes part at their own risk and is fully responsible for their own safety, support and equipment.