The following email went out to all Cotswold Classic 2016 Competitors tonight ;
Cotswold Classic – 21st August 2016
Good evening all
It’s just over a week to race day now, so this is the final info from us before the start whistle goes off on the 21st
I won’t waffle on too much as I know you’re all busy twiddling your thumbs during your taper, and tied up choosing wheels or deciding if you want to wear socks or not for the run 🙂
In this mail, I’ll cover the following ;
- Race info pack and latest start list
- Marshal request
- Course condition and weather forecast
- Bike Mechanic
- Saturday Briefing
- Live timing and results
- Sunday prize giving and prize raffle
Race info packs and final start lists
You can find the race information pack here https://www.113events.com/cotswold-classic/downloads/
We’ve tried to include everything you could possibly need in here, so it’s worth printing it off and having a good read through it.
I’d suggest A4 paper is good as you can read it at your desk at work and still look like you’re doing something that’s work related 🙂
If you think there’s anything else that we need to cover in the info pack, just let me know, and I’ll update it
You can find the final start list here https://www.113events.com/cotswold-classic/cotswold-classic-start-list/
Unfortunately, we’ve gone to print with race numbers etc, so we can’t now make changes. Hopefully, you all got your requests in after the July 27th email (we had 670 wave and number requests) before the 1 week deadline, and I’m pretty sure we catered for 99.9% of the requests we’ve had
Marshal request
We’re still in need of another few marshals to make up the full paid team of 125ish
If you have anyone coming down with you that’d like to get involved and be on our team, please get in touch
We have a couple of shifts that still need bods ;
05:45 – 12:00ish Bike Course
07:45 – 14:45ish Run Course
All our marshals get paid, and the deal this year is £20 cash or a £40 113 Events voucher, an event technical shirt and we’ll keep them in free food, drink and ice creams
We can’t, unfortunately, pay under 16’s, but they’re welcome to help you out if they’re with an adult. We’ll still get them an event shirt (they go down to an 8yr old’s size) and they can of course still get free ice creams
Marshals don’t necessarily need any experience and we’ll take them through a full briefing and get them everything they need as well as taking them to and from their positions if required
All we ask is that they’re enthusiastic and preferably know their left from their right
Please drop me a mail at graeme@113events.com
Course Condition and weather forecast
The forecast for next week and weekend are good, so the run course is looking to be in great condition for tarmac shoes. Although it’s made up of around 50% tarmac and 50% hard packed lakeside paths, the path sections are generally very solid and certainly not off road shoe type terrain. If this changes and we suddenly get a week of rain, I’ll drop everyone an email to let them know, but I would be racing in racing flats if I were you rather than off road shoes as it stands currently.
The lake is currently measuring in at 19.1deg, which is well within the ‘Wetsuit Optional’ range of 13-24 specified by the BTF.
If we get the originally forecasted heatwave of 30deg every day between now and race day, there’s a very slim chance it could go up into the no wetsuit range, but I think this is extremely unlikely as the current forecast shows a pretty standard summer week in the area, and I fully expect the water to stay around 18-21deg
If we were as bad at our jobs as the guys that create weather forecasts, you’d be turning up for a triathlon, and finding a football match..
Like with the run surface, I’ll email everyone if anything changes and we’re suddenly packing ice skates or sun loungers for the lake
Please head to the bottom of this mail and give our Facebook and twitter pages a ‘like’ as we’ll be posting up updates there throughout the week too
Bike Mechanic
On Saturday the 20th, during registration, we will have Nigel Bicknell of Bicko’s bike shack doing bike repairs and general sorting for a discounted rate to competitors
If you want to book in with him in advance for a bit of last minute fettling, his contact details are bickosbikeshack@virginmedia.com / 07551923072
Nigel will also be based at the bike course Aid station on Sunday for any repairs required during the race
We will provide 3 motorbike support guys on the course on top of the Moto Refs, and they will carry spare tubes and basic tools, but ultimately, the competitors are responsible for fixing their own punctures on the day, and don’t rely on the moto guys, as they could take some time to get to you.
Saturday briefing – 14:30
On Sunday morning, 10mins before you get into the water, we will give you a quick compulsory briefing.
I’m conscious that most of you will have your race heads on, so won’t pay any attention to me at all, so we have a non compulsory briefing to be held on Saturday afternoon at 14:30 next to the Swim exit which will be in much more detail
During this briefing, we will take you through the whole race, from where to find your spot in transition, right through to the process once you’ve finished the race, stuffed your face at the finish tent and then fell asleep in the post race massage.
It’s a good chance to ask any questions you might come up with on race weekend if you can’t grab one of us before hand, and a good way to understand how the race will work for you all from start to finish and where things are etc. Feel free to bring family and friends along also, as we’ll cover spectator spots and where the best burgers are too
Live timing and results
Later next week, we will post a link to the live timing and results page here https://www.113events.com/cotswold-classic/results/
The live tracker will update as soon as you cross any of the timing mats on the various courses, and is iPhone/Android friendly if you have friends etc who are looking out for you at the lake. The lake area has reasonable 4g too for most phone networks, so your husbands etc will have no excuse for missing you finish whilst they’re sat in the cafe eating burgers rather than cheering you on
Prize giving and race number raffle
We will hold the prize giving and raffle at a little after 14:30 next to the finish area.
I apologies to the fastest guys and girls that this means waiting around for some time after you’ve finished, but the reason we do it so late, is that I don’t want the last people on the course, who’ve been out there racing for longer, to feel like the race has finished and everyone’s gone home without them. Plus, it means that when they come in across the finish line, there’ll be more people around that area to give them the biggest cheers of the day that they so rightly deserve
Although we publish results in the 5yr age categories asked of us by the BTF, we only have prize presentations/trophies for our own age groups, which are as follows;
1/2/3 Male 18-49 (age on race day)
1/2/3 Female 18-49
1/2/3 Male 50+
1/2/3 Female 50+
1st Placed Relay team
After the prize giving, we will hold a race number raffle where you can win a 113 Events SwimZi swim coat, and also a free entry to the 2017 Cotswold 113 or Classic. This will be picked from a random number generator, so please bring your race number with you as if the first number is not claimed there and then, we’ll draw another until someone present wins. It’s a prize worth well over £200, so worth hanging around for
That’s it for my rambling today.
We’re here to help, so if you get any questions at all, or need anything from us, please don’t hesitate to call or email me. It’s what I’m here for
Hopefully, this summer sun will stay with us for the next 9 days, and we look forward to seeing you all at registration on the 20th
Cheers
Graeme, Nicci and the 113 Events team
graeme@113events.com
07595 591612