Effectively nothing - short of using actual exploits which would be forbidden in the course of normal gameplay - is prohibited. If you can think of clever ways to shave off minutes or avoid dangerous gatecamps then more power to you!
Re: the issue with getting the Northern Route over and over again - I’m not sure, perhaps @CCP_Fozzie can answer that if he drops by this thread again. Otherwise I’ll bring it up with him after the weekend! This contest runs for another 10 days so I’m sure there’ll be plenty of time to get it sorted and get your runs in.