As the person responsible, and not having done anything above a marathon myself, i was hoping that you would help me by giving me a few pointers to how you would like such a race to be organised, what is really important and what is desirable. please feel free to add any suggestions below. i suspect it will be easier if i say how i plan to run it and then you tell me why it is wrong and how to improve it.
in no particular order
entrants will need to have completed a marathon (longer?) in the previous 6 months(?)- what is reasonable to ensure we don't have people who aren't up to it?
car parking will be in short supply at the start, so we would prefer not to have any cars parked there all day.
the start will be at any time between 6 and 8 am, you decide when you want to start, given that the latest finish is 9pm.
the cost will be minimal to cover first aid, hall hire, food, expenses in general and hopefully about £15.
the course is along footpaths, bridlepaths, towpaths, cyclepaths and unavoidable road/pavement. maps will be put up on our website with detailed instructions. the maps will be able to be downloaded to garmins but you should print off and carry your own for safety. we will mark some of the route near the beginning but otherwise you will need to navigate from the maps and instructions. most paths are waymarked and we will put that in the instructions.
you will be expected to arrange a support team, although they may cater for more than one runner. otherwise you will need to carry further emergency supplies.
you will be expected to carry a mobile phone for emergencies.
we will have probably 5 checkpoints with water available and some food at the second and fourth (what would be best?). Hot food will be available at the end.
there will be a prize for first male and first female, but not of great value - we see the completion as more important than winning. if possible we will present the prizes on the sunday morning at the 5 mile presentation, but if not it will be soon after they have finished.
we wish to have a momento - it could be for the race on its own or for the 3 weekend races. if the latter it will be a technical t-shirt, if the former it will be something along the lines of a mug. or we could go for something better but might have to raise the price.
there's probably lots more but that'll do for a start.
thanks in advance for your help.
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emdee:
One thing that immediately springs to mind is around the start times. It's great to be able to decide when to start, but you might want to offer more guidance on this. For example, it might be worth saying you'll hold a mass start at 8am, giving people 13 hours to finish. Anyone wanting to get in on any prizes should be in this start. Then say that anyone needing more time is welcome to start earlier.
Oh and the whole "start any time..." thing. Whilst that's a nice touch (it was great at the Compton 40 - just turn up at the start line, wait for the minute hand to reach 0 and you're off), it makes for more work at the start (recording individual start times) and finish (working out finish times/placings based on differing start times).
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Hellen
I like the start any time you like, eases toilet congestion and more space for faffing. You will prob need to give guidance as to what time the CPs open and close so that fast people dont start too early and CP not open or slow poeple dont get there too late.
Food - no point in gels as they are easy to carry , think it is best to have things which people wouldnt beable to carry so easily such as bananas. Jaffa cakes go down well too and if not too much trouble sandwhiches are nice near the end when the need for proper food kicks in. If keeping costs down econonmy flapjacks are fine and quite cheap or just some cheap old biscuits, when hungry people are not too fussy!
Long Eaton RC 50 mile ultra
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SummarySuggestions for how to make the race the best it can possibly be, on Saturday 11th June.This article is owned by Chrisity |