Event Info
Keen As Mustard
Bewl Water

Updated November 2024

Full event info Keen As Mustard Bewl Water swimrun, held at the beginning of September each year. This venue is about 2 miles south of the picturesque village of Lamberhurst in the county of Kent, U.K., within an hour’s drive of Tunbridge Wells, Hastings, Tonbridge, Maidstone, Ashford, Eastbourne and Sevenoaks via the adjacent A21.

Bewl Water is a man-made reservoir set in 800 acres of wooded parkland. An ideal freshwater venue for a swimrun event!

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Event Info Keen As Mustard
Bewl Water

Location

The event is based at Bewl Water, Lamberhurst, Kent, TN3 8JH, on the Kent/Sussex border.

How to get there

First, you need to get to the South East of England.

The closest airports are:

London Gatwick (LGW)
and London Heathrow (LHR)

From these airports you can hire a car, head for the M25, take the M20, and drive to the Lamberhurst area.

By rail, you can travel from London to Kent by train. There is a London to Kent train service with Southeastern services. London Bridge, Charing Cross, London Waterloo East, Victoria and St Pancras International all connect to Kent, with London St Pancras International operating the High-Speed One service, taking less than 40 minutes from the capital to the heart of the Garden of England.

If you are driving yourself from elsewhere in the UK, getting from London to Kent is relatively simple. Once on the M25, there are two directions into Kent; if you are coming from the North or the East, you will cross the Dartford Bridge (which has a toll charge). Once over the bridge, you will be in Kent, and you can follow the signs for the M2 or carry on down a little further to reach the M20.

If you’re coming from the south and west: on joining the M25, continue until you reach the M26 which will connect you with the M20. Equally, you can stay on the M25 until you reach the M2.

The closest main road to Lamberhurst is the A21.

Bewl Water reservoir

Where to stay

There is no specific accommodation recommended; Camping is available at Bewl Water please book at: https://bewlwater.campmanager.com/24483/Check-Availability/

Other accommodation options are available at AirBnB, Booking.com and other accommodation websites.

Race distances

There are 3 race distances:

An Intro event of 6 km
A sprint distance of 10 km
a 'Half' distance of 21 km

The 6 km Intro race involves 1400 metres of swimming (4 sections) and 5 km of running (5 sections). Start time is 08:35am on Sunday 7th September.

The 10 km race involves 6 swim legs and 7 running sections. The total swim distance is 2000 metres and total run distance is 8 km. Start time is 08:35am.

The 21 km event includes 4000 metres of swimming over 9 legs, and 17 km of running, over 10 legs. The start time is 08:30am.

The 6 km and 10 km distances are only open to solo competitors; the 21 km event is open to solo racers and teams of two.

The swim to run ratio for all the distances is 1:5, ie 20% swimming and 80% running.

Race routes

According to Keen As Mustard:

"The 6k and 10k courses head along the dam and out into the countryside before weaving their way back towards the finish. The 21k runs down from the start and the first swim takes you across in front of the dam wall. Catching up with the 10k course for the next few swims it then continues all the way around the reservoir. It covers some awesome trails, quiet roads and serious hills on a run through and around the nature reserve . Grass tracks take you back into wooded areas for a couple of swims before heading back around to the the finish. "

Keen As Mustard Bewl Water swimrun 6km route map

Bewl Water 6km map. Courtesy Keen As Mustard.

Keen As Mustard Bewl Water swimrun 10km route map

Bewl Water 10km map. Courtesy Keen As Mustard.

Keen As Mustard Bewl Water swimrun 21km route map

Bewl Water 21km map. Courtesy Keen As Mustard.

Event Info Keen As Mustard
Bewl Water

Energy stations

There will be 1 water and energy drink checkpoint on the 10k course, at the 5.5 km mark, after swim 3.
On the 21k course there will be 2 stations; at 5.2 km after swim4, and 15.8 km after swim 7.

Cut-off times

Cut-off times are based on a pace of 3 minutes per 100 metres of swimming and 15 minutes per mile running pace, which is quite generous!

The Intro 5km race cut-off is 11:30am into the last swim
The Sprint 10 km cut-off is 11:35am into the last swim
The Half 21 km cut-off is at 12:45 into the last swim

Weather

Held in early September, the water is mild and the weather is warm but a little unpredictable. The water temperature is around 15 degrees C. Wetsuits are not compulsory unless the water is below 14 degrees C. Proper trail shoes are strongly recommended.

There is always a chance of cold or wet weather, so you should take suitable clothing for every eventuality!

Summary of event info Keen As Mustard Bewl Water

The Keen As Mustard Bewl Water swimrun event is at a great location; swimming in fresh water and running on wooded trails with significant challenge!

Check dates for 2025 at our Calendar Europe 2025 page!

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