THE VIKING 1,2,3,4,5K - 27th June 2026
Date: Saturday 27th June 2026
Time: 12:00
Location: Starting and finishing in Gainsborough from The Venue at Roses Sports Ground.
We head out and back on the riverside path along the Trent.
Capacity: 300
Price: £2.50 donation per person
The rather fantastical themed Viking 1,2,3,4,5K will start and finish in The Venue Roses Sports Ground in Gainsborough and takes place along the river front path running along the Trent.
There’s no set distance to complete. You can choose to do 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 kilometres — and you can decide on the day what feels right. Change your mind halfway? That’s absolutely fine too.
We're also not timing the event.
This event is designed for everyone who wants a fun day out and a great personal challenge to complete. We have an extra purpose with the Viking event, and thats to build it for people living with long term health conditions to join in and take part in the challenge.
At the finish we have a special treat and an awesome Viking themed medal!
If you do live with a long term health condition or face barriers to getting active and feel an ‘event’ may not be for you… we are here to say ‘it is!’ and we will be doing our very best to make sure everyone has a fantastic time!
Listening, learning and making a great day
Curly's don’t have all the answers on how to make this event perfect for everyone taking part, so we will be listening all the way up to the event, seeing how we can develop things.
You'll see some questions asked when you sign up that help us make things awesome.
You can wheel it, walk it, jog it, run it, take breaks, go slow, go steady, or just soak up the atmosphere. There’s no pressure, just a supportive, friendly space where every effort counts.
This isn’t about times or placings (we don't time the event). It’s about showing up, moving your way, and being part of something together. Taking on your own challenge in your own way.
However, you take part — we will all finish the day together and receive lots of support, great music (well we like it!) and of course an amazing medal! (outfits optional!)
Curly’s work on a principle of ‘Be Better, Not Perfect’ in everything we do… this keeps us moving forward but we are not afraid that things aren’t 100%.... they are always 100% fun (obs!) We have been personally inspired by amazing people taking part in our events with long term health conditions, so we thought we can do things better, we can focus, learn and see how we can make active events better for everyone.
So it may not be perfect... but we will do our very best together to create something awesome!
Event Partners
The fab team at West Lindsey District council are helping to make this incredible day happen!
With their support we're able to bring something really great to Gainsborough. Engaging with our communities and creating a unique event that helps tackle health inequalities while inspiring people to move more :)
They'll be joining us on the day and helping make the most of this event for the town and its community along the way!
The Route and event!
The event starts and finishes at the fantastic The Venue Roses Sports Ground (find it here) and we head out along the river to Gainsborough centre.
The nature of the event means people can complete 1,2,3,4 or 5km, so we have teams and each point along the riverside.
So if you wanted to to complete 3km then at 1.5km we've a cheer station and turnaround point for you :) we then have a turnaround point at 500m, 1km, 1.5km, 2km and 2.5km so it's a very lively route!
Walk, Jog, Wheel or Run... The event is for everyone to come and enjoy, but if you've questions on how you wish to take part then drop us a note :)
Any child 11 and under needs to be accompanied for the duration of the event.
Parking is at the sports ground and we start and finish in the sports ground ... at the finish we will be waiting for you with cake and of course one rather special medal!
GET INVOLVED!
We're looking for groups, charities and clubs to get involved on the day, maybe you could host one of the turnaround points, help out at the start or finish or simply come along and cheer... click here to reach out for a chat.
The medal & Vikings!
Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, was a crucial Viking base and arguably the capital of England for five weeks in 1013 under King Sweyn Forkbeard. Situated on the River Trent, it served as a strategic stronghold for Danish, or Viking, forces, with a camp at Castle Hills and a base at the Old Hall.
It also celebrates 50th anniversary of Lincolnshire’s iconic Viking Way!
- Capital City (1013): Following a successful invasion, Sweyn Forkbeard was declared King of England in 1013 and used Gainsborough as his operational base.
- The Danish Base: Gainsborough was a primary landing point and administrative hub for Danish settlers in the region.
- Sweyn Forkbeard and Cnut: Sweyn died in Gainsborough in 1014. His son, Cnut (Canute), also operated from here, and some traditions suggest his famous, yet symbolic, attempt to command the tide took place on the Trent Aegir at Gainsborough.
- Archaeological Evidence: A massive Viking army camp is believed to have existed at Castle Hills.
- Legacy: Many local residents are direct descendants of these Danish settlers. Today, a local pub is named after Sweyn Forkbeard, highlighting this historic period in the town's history.
Gainsborough’s position on the River Trent made it a vital port for Danish invaders, leading to it becoming a key administrative and, temporarily, royal centre for the Vikings in England.
So if you do fancy embracing the Viking themed event ... please join in, we're confident a few of our team will be!
Making it a great day ... inspired by you!
We always strive to make our events as fun, informal and as inclusive as possible.
The community that join our events are an amazing bunch, and we have been very fortunate to connect with so many of you.
A few stand out stories of personal challenge and determination have stood out to us though.
Many of these personal challenges and exceptional achievements came from individuals with long term health conditions.
After a few chats we realised that the nature of our events helped create a positive, fun and supported environment where people felt comfortable to 'do something incredible' ... but we had also realised we never actually asked the question of what we do that helps, what we might do that hinders or what we could do to make our events even better, with that extra focus on those with long term health conditions (LTHC) or indeed any barrier that they've faced in getting active.
We're also aware that people face different challenges and barriers to getting active, especially when it comes to taking part in event like this (events that we love btw!) ... so what better way to build things better, than than by focussing and asking the questions of the community (we definitely don't know everything... or in some cases, anything!)
And on a final note, there are lots of events out there for people to fundraise and support health conditions (which is great) ... but not as many events for those with health conditions :)
Now we may not be able to do every individual request or suggestion, but listening is the first step and as our motto says 'Be Better, Not Perfect' so it may not be perfect... but it's better and we can keep heading in that direction !
What we've done already:
Hosted on a Saturday to support transportation
It's a 12:00 start to remove a spot of early morning pressure!
Pick your distance on the day or during the event, so no pressure, we know people !
... and we've added in questions when you enter the event to help
ps: anything we learn we will share, so if you organise events or activities then please get in touch !