The following email went out to all Cotswold Classic 2020 competitors tonight:

Cotswold Classic – Covid19 Update #4

Good evening all, I hope everyone’s well ?
We’re a little over a month now from the August 2nd event, so I wanted to bring you all up to speed on what’s been going on here and to bring you some more info on the race. Thing still appear to be improving largely, and we are still very much planning on holding the event on August 2nd. If you missed our last newsletter with an update on how the day might look, you can find that HERE
I’ll keep this email relatively short, and will cover the following;

– Last chance to Swap to virtual 113 or make changes to your entry
– Camping and Accommodation update
– Race info pack ETA and info for on the day

Last chance to Swap to virtual 113 or make changes to your entry 
As we have to fix all the start lists 4 weeks out from the race, if you would still like to Swap to the Virtual version fo the race for an £80 discount to use with us next year, or to make any other changes to your entry, we will need to have that done this week please (ie before Midnight on Saturday 4th July)
The uptake for the Virtual 113 has been pretty good and we’re now over 100 of you that have chosen to race that way this year. We’ve had a few last minute name changes, and we’ve waived the normal admin fee for that this year, so if you still want to make name changes etc, that also has the same deadline please.
This also applies to our offer to refund or defer any NHS staff, and this offer of course still stands until Saturday
After Saturday, we have to fix the start list with insurers, get numbers etc printed as these all have to be posted out to you, so we can’t easily make changes to entries from that point onwards without incurring more costs.

Camping and accommodation update
As I’m sure many of you will have seen, the UK Gov have allowed accommodation and camping to restart again on July 4th. Assuming this decision doesn’t get reversed, that means overnight stays on the night of August 1st are ok again.
Bev at the Campsite next to our race site dropped me a mail this week and asked me to update you all on their Covid-19 rules for their site. You can see those HERE
If you have a booking, or want to make a booking, you can contact them directly at http://www.go-by-cycle.co.uk/camping.htm
If you’re looking for alternative accommodation in the area, the postcode for the race location is GL76DF

Race info pack ETA and info for on the day 
Over the last few weeks, we have had numerous Zoom/Skype conferences with the BTF and all the other stakeholders in the event to go through our proposal of how we feel we can run the race in a way that both ensures complete social distancing and the highest level of hygiene, and the proposals have all been met positively so far and everyone is happy with how we are planning to go ahead.
It may feel like we’re being a bit belts and braces with our approach, but as this is unchartered territory, not just for us at 113, but for the sport and the world as a whole, we want to be 110% sure that both you guys, our team, and anybody else even remotely involved in the event is completely safe and we’re not putting them in the line of any unnecessary spread of the virus. We’re also very conscious that we want to leave a positive shadow on the area in the good name of Triathlon as a sport.

Over the next couple of weeks, we will finalise all our discussions with the various stakeholders and permission granters to complete our plans of what you can expect on the day, but please be rest assured that should you want to do a fully timed 1,900m Swim, a 56mile bike and a half marathon and then cross the finish line to a medal and a goody bag, that will still be completely possible and that we’re not detracting from the sport of Triathlon. We will, as outlined in our previous mail (linked above), also have an option to instead start on the bike, or complete a shorter alternative Swim course if you feel this suits you better due to the lack of Swimming many of you will have done until recently when Open Water Swimming lakes reopened. Both of these alternative options will still get an official finish time and medal etc, they will just have separate results. You don’t need to make your mind up on these options until race morning, so there’s no immediate rush to decide.

As this review process goes on, there will of course be tweaks and minor changes, and once these are all finalised (these are not big changes for you all, and are mainly things that happen behind the scenes that you’d be otherwise oblivious to on race day), we will put together the final race information pack and email it out to you all. Realistically, I expect to have this done at the latest in two weeks time. At around 1 week out from the race, we will put together a video version of the briefing, and I would like you all to take the time to watch it in full as it will explain everything that you will need to do both in advance of August 2nd and on the day itself.
It’s going to be strange not having you all there on the Saturday, where you can typically familiarise yourself with your settings and getting your bearings for Sunday morning, but the briefing will explain all of this, and we would ask that everyone does take the time to read it as Sunday morning will be a little hectic as we’re going to be temperature checking everyone on arrival, and we don’t want any unnecessary delays on top of that.

We will, as always, just be on the end of a phone if anyone gets any questions, and we relish the chance to interact with competitors in the run up to the race too, so don’t ever feel that you can’t just give me a call.

Right, that’s it for this update, so I’ll leave you all to get on with your Wednesday evenings.
If any of you have any questions, concerns, need help with anything or just want some advice, please just give me a ring – 07595 591612

Thanks and happy training

Graeme, Nicci and the 113 Events Team
graeme@113events.com
07595 591612

The following email went out to all Cotswold 113 2020 competitors today

Cotswold113 – Coronavirus Update #3

Good afternoon all, I hope everyone’s well in these somewhat strange times ?

Firstly, let me apologise for lack of Cotswold113 Newsletters. I thought it was better to update you all as things change, rather than bombard you with ‘We’re still waiting’ style emails that you’ll soon get bored with.

There’s some hope in this email though, and as of last week, the BTF have agreed to start permitting events again from 4th July in line with the Government’s phase 3 relaxation of the rules, and just this week in the Daily Government update, Oliver Dowden, the government’s culture secretary, has said that Community sport should restart in July.

We’re obviously far from out the woods as a planet yet, but if you think back to how much things have changed in the last 3 months, a lot of things can change again between now and Sept 20th.
As far as we are concerned though, our planing now goes full steam ahead on the basis that we will run the Cotswold 113 on Sept 20th.

As you all had entered the Cotswold113 race this year, your entry is automatically transferred straight over to the Sept 20th date, and you won’t need to take any further action.

However, I think we’d be exceptionally naive to think that things will be back to any kind of normality in Sept, so we have a plan in place for racing to include some kind of social distancing measures and a variety of other things to ensure that attending is totally safe.
As some of you might know, we effectively run this event twice per year. Once in June (now Sept) and once early August. As the August race is going to be our first event this year now, and also our first attempt at running an event with social distancing measures in place, I wanted to share with you all how we are planning on approaching that race, and our proposed measures that have been approved by the BTF as a solution to where we are currently. Of course, a lot can also change in the next 6 weeks, but this is how we’re planning on making changes at that event based on where we are now.
Last week, I sent an email out to all August 2nd Cotswold Classic competitors explaining the changes for that race, and you can see that in the following link : https://www.113events.com/cotswold-classic-coronavirus-update-3/
It’s worth remembering that the measures taken in the August race, although might seem a little extreme, are based on not only what could be a very different set of restrictions to what we’ll hopefully see in Sept, but also our first attempt at running an event in this current Covid era of Social distancing and hugely increased checking and hygiene, and of course with the safety of our competitors, local residents, team and marshals as our main priority, so we have gone belt and braces on everything for August.
By Sept, I’d hope that the measures imposed by the UK Gov have relaxed further, and also that we will review as a team post August race what worked well, and what didn’t, and we’ll adjust accordingly to scale up for Sept.

Realistically, the changes we expect to have to implement in September, are going to be as follows :

1) Registration by post/Briefings by video
2) Rolling starts
3) Tweaked run course to avoid two way sections
4) Increased Transition space

We’re also very aware that although pools are likely to be reopening on July 4th, and lakes have now reopened in the last couple of weeks, in many cases a lot of our competitors won’t feel like they will have had adequate swim training to want to take on the full 1,900m swim course. Therefore, like we’re doing in August, alongside the traditional 1,900m course we will also mark out an option for a shorter (Approx 400m) Swim course, and also allow people to skip the swim all together and start on the bike. All of those three options will still get to cross the line and collect their medals, have official finish times etc, and we will just produce 3 separate sets of results.

Virtual 113
If you didn’t fancy racing on Sept 20th, but still wanted to complete a middle distance race this year, we have rethought our virtual option, which has been quite popular with August Classic Competitors. We have done some number crunching and increased the incentive from the previously published £50 Voucher to a new £80 Voucher which can be used with us for future years racing.
How the Virtual 113 works is you can complete our distances in whichever format you like, wherever you like, over how ever many chunks or days, and then send us in your proof of completion. We’ll then publish the results on our website and post you over your medal, shirt and an increased bumper goody bag.
You can also post us some pics if you like and we’ll put them on our social media pages and website (In our experience of Triathletes, you either don’t want to send in pics at all, or you can’t send in enough, but either is fine with us – If anyone has a race picture or Virtual 113 Pic worse than mine from IMCH 2010 after my body gave up on the run, I’ll give you virtual high5 – Not for the fainthearted pic here)
You’ll then get an £80 discount code to use with us next year or 2022, where you can come along and experience the 113 in full.
If anyone’s interested on transferring over to the Virtual 113, please just drop me an email at graeme@113events.com and I’ll take care of the rest.
You have until August 1st to Swap to Virtual 113, but until End of Dec to complete it.

Right, that’s it from me for today.
If anyone has any questions, or there’s anything we can help with, please just give me a call on 07595 591612
We’ll keep everyone updated as things progress, but please take care in the meantime, and see you all soon

Cheers and happy training

Graeme, Nicci and the 113 events team
07595 591612
graeme@113events.com 

The following email went out to all Cotswold Classic 2020 competitors tonight

Cotswold Classic 2020 – Covid update #3

Good afternoon all, I hope everyone’s keeping ok in these strange times ?

Last week, the BTF have said that they are going to start permitting events in line with the Goverment’s phase 3 relaxing of the lockdown, which is pencilled in to happen at the earliest July 4th.
Potentially, that’s good news for the race happening on August 2nd, and we’ve now been in touch with the BTF on how we feel we can run the event in a manner that eliminates social distance, and ensures that hygiene levels are high.
The BTF have issued some rules and regulations around a return to Triathlon, and we have applied to them with our proposed format, which I will take you all through in this email.
It’s important to note that we need to be absolutely 110% sure we can run this event in a totally safe format before anything gets the go ahead.
In my normal style, this email is going to be a long one, but please take the time to read through it as there’s some important bits in here.
I want to be as transparent as possible with you all, so you all know that we are doing our best to get you racing, and I, of course, would welcome any feedback or suggestions
In this mail, I will cover the following.

1) How the race could look
2) Refunds and improved virtual 113 options
3) We really need some marshals

1) How the race could look
The outline from the BTF covers most of the obvious things, but as you all know, there’s a significant amount of little things to think about outside of these obvious big bits in order for us to be 110% confident that A) We can manage Social Distancing from the time you arrive in the carpark, to the time you set off on your way home, and B) we also have to ensure that everything you or our team touch is sterile from other people’s hands and possible contamination of the virus.
In order to see how this was possible, we created a rather large traffic light matrix, where we looked at every single element of the race and events that happen in the run up to it in quite some detail, and anything that was either Red or Amber on the SocDis and hygiene measures, we’ve looked at what we can change in order to make it Green.

One of the significant changes to the traditional Cotswold Classic is competitor numbers. We traditionally run around 1,100 entries, which equates to around 1,000 people racing on the day. With the volume of NHS refunds (more on that in #2 on this mail), transfers to the virtual option and deferrals to 2021, this has reduced the entry numbers down to 6**, which with further reductions and on the day ‘no shows’ will mean we’re potentially racing with <500 on August 2nd.
The main changes to how our study findings, and subsequent proposed format, will effect you guys on the day are as follows:

• In line with the BTF Covid Guidelines, the race must now be a ‘Non competitive’ time trial: For you, this means it’ll be a rolling start, and although we will publish everyone’s splits and finish times, they’ll be either alphabetical or numerical rather than in an order based on times (Although you will be able to manipulate the data to show an order). With the reduced numbers, and various swim options (More on that in a bit) this means we will be starting one competitor every 10 seconds or so for each distance, and there’ll be a window of around 90minutes to get everyone started. More on how the start procedure and timings will work later in this email. The BTF have understandably removed any qualification status for all races in 2020.
• When you arrive on site in the morning, we will be checking people’s temperature, and if you are above the Gov guideline threshold, you will obviously be turned away and unable to race. You, of course, should not attend if you are showing any symptoms as per government guidelines anyway, and I think this goes without saying https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/symptoms/
• Transition spacing will be much increased, which is greatly assisted by the reduced numbers to <50%
• We will not be able to run our normal familiarisation day in advance of race weekend, which is a real shame as the team and I love these days as it’s the only chance we get to meet many of you without your race faces on. The lake we race at is now open for OW swimming again, and I can email anyone .GPX files of the bike course if you wanted to test it out before the day. You will not be able to run the run course beforehand as although the beach and country park has now reopened in the last 3 days, they are limited on numbers they can have on site at any one time, so you cannot currently get through there to test the run course.
• There will be no registration or briefings on Saturday the 1st August. We will post out race numbers and info, and when you arrive Sunday morning, your timing chip and swim cap will be in your spot for you in transition. We will create a system for non BTF 2020 members to sort day licenses nearer the time, and a way to verify ID on the day by sample.
• We’re conscious that pools have been closed for 3 months now, and although Swim England are hoping to have training pools open from July 4th, this means that many of you will have not swum enough to feel like you can competently or safely swim 1.9km in two months time. Because of that, we will offer two alternative options. 1) We will mark a 400m swim course alongside the normal course. 2) We will offer for you to start on the bike and miss the swim entirely. All options will still get official finish times/medals etc, and we will publish 3 sets of results (in a non competitive format)
• The bike course will revert back to the option course we used for the Cotswold113 last year when the badger set closed the road to Hannington. The reason we are doing this is because the section into Hannington is narrow at around 4m in places, and we do not feel that a competitor could safely overtake another competitor leaving 2m if a car was coming the other way. This course is 90% the same as the traditional course, and actually removes the 1 hill per lap, so is faster and easier than the normal course (Which is actually really flat too other than the 1 hill) – You can see the option bike course here : https://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/2511529435
• Unless it is very hot on race weekend (Av >25deg), the BTF guidelines ask that all competitors are self sufficient for Drinks/Gels on the bike. If it is very hot, we can put out a ‘sort of aid station’, but you will need to stop, dismount, and fill your own bottles from a bowser and we will clean it between each user
•  There will be hand gel everywhere, and you will have access to it at every part of the race where you may be touching things. We are currently looking for suppliers for around 350ltr of >70% alcohol Hand gel that we can decant into smaller containers to give to our team, marshals and position around the course. I’d strongly recommend you don’t confuse these with an aid station and try and drink it 🙂
• The run course will have subtle tweaks to the crossover section on Spratsgate lane to remove the section which is 2 way and narrow.
• Run course aid stations will be limited to Water and Gels, and they will operate on a two sided system, whereby you will collect your own cupped water and gels from one side, whilst the team fill the other side. Once one side is running low, the team will divert you to the other side, and will swap over to clean and refill the tables on the now empty side and vice versa
• You will still collect your medal and a bottle of drink at the finish line as your cross, but we will not be able to provide post race massage – You will still be able to stand up to your waist in the lake though, which seems more popular on a warm day than a massage in a sweaty tent anyway.
• This is a big one, and we’re working hard on how we can possibly make it work for everyone within the regulations, but please expect that there is a very real possibility that we will not be able to allow spectators in to the start and finish area at all, and the race might have to become ‘behind closed doors’ for competitors only. I totally appreciate this is less than ideal, but we have several bodies and authorities to appease with our proposals, and increasing the numbers on site by 2 or 3x with spectators may be the difference between racing or not. There is, of course, 100% of the bike course, and around 60% of the run course out in the public area where people can spectate from, and you can pretty much see the finish line from the road. We will over marshal the start and finish area too, and we still have an announcer, so the finish atmosphere will still be great. We, of course, will have a photographer too, and are looking into a live video feed online for the finish.
• Relay teams will still work as normal, but the handover from swimmer to biker, and bike to runner will have to be in an area marked specifically, and you will complete each leg and fasten your chip onto the racking, stand back to 2m, and the next person will collect it from the racking on the other side, and then continue on. You can still all cross the finish line together, and will all get medals etc, but will need to Socially distance in the finish chute/line unless you are from the same household (a good chunk of our relay teams are)

I appreciate that these are some fairly significant changes in some cases, but we have to ensure that if we are to run the race, we are only ever going to do it very safely and with the health and wellbeing of not only our team and marshals, but yourselves too as our number one priority..
We are currently working on how we can set the ‘waves’ for the rolling start, but I think it’s going to be impossible to allow people to choose their own waves and numbers this time like we normally do, but the format in which people start will be fixed, but quite relaxed, so that people can still set off at roughly the same time as their club mates or friends.
A lot can change in two months, and this is all worse case scenario stuff (within the status window of ‘we can run the race’), but initially, we have to propose based on this, and we can adjust as the situation changes and guidelines relax. We will, of course, keep everyone updated as things change and the situation is somewhat liquid right now as you all know. Things seems to be changing on an almost daily basis, so as things change that effect our event, we’ll keep you all posted.

2) Refunds and improved virtual 113 options
As you would’ve read in the previous competitor newsletters, we had budget left to be able to refund entirely for anyone working in the NHS. This offer still stands up to the end of June when things have to be more fixed, so if anyone works in the NHS, and understandably, has had a somewhat large workload and haven’t been able to train, just send me a photo of your ID card, and I’ll refund (or defer you if you prefer) straight away.
As I said in my last email, I’d love to be able to extend that offer beyond NHS workers, but we spend 90% of the race entries in the run up to the race, and simply don’t have the cash left to extend that offer beyond recognising the NHS (We’ve actually spent around 140% of the entry fees as the race is well below break even this year). If other key workers are really struggling due to their own situations, please give me a call, and we’ll see if we can sort something out for a deferral to next year in these instances.

If you want to still feel part of it this year, but don’t want to race in person, we still have our Virtual 113 option available where you can complete the distances in your own leisure and in any format you like over as many days as you like. We’ve done some number crunching, and have increased the incentive to do this from the previously advertised £50 2021 or 22 discount to £80 2021 or 22 discount, plus have increased the goody bag. It’s much like a standard virtual race, and when you have finished the distances, send us in some form of proof (we’re very relaxed on what proof as I’m conscious that not everyone has all signing and all dancing GPS watches) and we’ll post you out your medal, shirt and bumper goody bag and record your times on our site if you want them there.
We’ve had a reasonable uptake on the Virtual 113 and I genuinely believe it to be a good option if you don’t fancy racing in person, or want to do all the distances together in one chunk on the day. You will then be able to come and experience the race in all it’s fullness next year when hopefully life is a little more normal again
You can send in your pics too, and we’ll get them posted up on our website and social media if you want

3) We could really do with some more marshals 
Normally, we start recruiting marshals early in the race process, but with the mess that 2020 has been, we simply haven’t got around too starting. We’d abolsutely love any friends, family, enemies, loved ones etc that you may be able to rope in to be on our team of marshals on August 2nd, and should it be behind closed doors, it’d mean they can come into the race site as part of our team and enjoy the finish in person.
They don’t need any experience at all, and will have a full briefing (probably also by video) and we’ll kit them up with a team shirt and everything they will need (even though they don’t need to get within 2m to cheer you on and provide a point of contact, they’ll also be issued with gloves, mask and hand gel – Insurance stipulation)
You get paid for marshalling too, and they can choose from either £20 cash or a £40 113 Events voucher, and we’ll keep them in hot food and drink on the day too and make sure it’s a fun shift for them
They don’t need any experience, and we only ask that they know their left from their right and are over 16 please
If you have anyone that can get involved, please ask them to email me at graeme@113events.com and I’ll happily welcome them to team 113

Right, that’s it from me. I hope you’re all still awake after that marathon.
The current situation is changing on a daily basis, and we will of course keep everyone updated should anything change that effects if we can or can’t run the day on August 2nd. Things appear to be improving, but no one truly knows what the future may hold for tomorrow right now, let alone in nearly 2 months time.
If you’ve got any concerns or questions, please just give me a ring on 07595 591612

Thanks, keep safe, and happy training

Graeme, Nicci and the 113 Events team
Graeme@113events.com
07595 591612

The following email went out to all Cotswold Classic 2020 Competitors today

Cotswold Classic 2020 – Coronavirus update #2

Good afternoon all, and I hope everyone’s keeping well in these very difficult times ?

I just wanted to drop everyone an email to keep you all updated on what’s happening this end, and a few options we’re looking at for August 2nd.
Firstly, and most importantly, we’re still very much planning around the August 2nd Cotswold Classic to go ahead in some format.
However, like everyone, we don’t know how this summer is going to pan out, and although we’re keeping a very close eye on the government’s guidelines, and speaking regularly with the BTF, we’re all a bit in the dark and taking baby steps into the unknown as it’s not something this industry has ever had to deal with before.
These are truly unknown times for the Country, and as much as we’d love to be able to deliver an event regardless, the safety of you all, our team and everyone’s family is by far the most important thing here.
Our two races are very much the race for you all, so I wanted to keep you all up to date with what we’re planning, and in the interest of transparency, what adjustments we’re looking at should we still have to have some kind of social distancing in place (I think reasonably likely) or if we simple cannot race at all this year (less likely, hopefully)

There’s several stages to this and I can waffle on a bit in my mails, so I’ll try and address things in some kind of order.

1) I’m very conscious that due to the flat nature of our course, and the pretty much non existent cut offs, we tend to attract a much larger number of first timers to the distance than other Middle Distance races in the UK. I’m also very aware than pools have been shut for 5 weeks now, and that many of you who are developing swimmers, will not have got in the practice time/distance that you have wanted and will be very worried that in just over 3 months, you might need to swim 1.2miles in open water underprepared.
For anyone that doesn’t want to do the swim on the day, we are working on a way to make the race have a duathlon option, where you can just start on the bike and not need to Swim. You will still, of course, get an official time and medal etc, but will show on separate results. There’s no rush to make a decision on this right now, and we can arrange this up to around a week out from the race day.

2) We are very grateful of our NHS workers, and judging by the uptake for this offer for our June (Now Sept20th) race, we have around 8-9% of our competitors working directly for the NHS. We appreciate that you guys have far more on your plates right now than training for a race in these terrible times, so would like to offer a full refund (or deferral to next year) to any NHS workers that do not wish to race this year, and can email me a copy of their NHS photo ID.
We really appreciate the work you guys are doing, and can only imagine just how hard it is on the front line right now.
As much as we would love to be able to roll this offer out to all key workers or anyone else, I’m afraid we simply do not have the budget for this as around 80% of race fees are spent in advance of the race, and in the case of the August Classic, it’s actually nearer 120% as the race is still 200 competitors below breakeven point, and it’s very unlikely we’ll be selling any more slots (We’ve actually closed entries until we have a better idea of how this year is going to pan out) – More on race economics later in this email

3) Should we have to have some social distancing rules in place for the race weekend, which I think is pretty likely, we have looked at a number of ways that we can do it, and of course, are very open to suggestion of other ways if you can think of anything else ? :
A –  Scrap registration on Saturday, and post out all packs in advance of the race – You will still need to collect your timing chip on race morning as these are not easy to post (Something to do with magnets and postal systems), but these can be left in your spot in transition, so you can collect on race morning as you rack your bike.
B – Remove the pre race briefings, and we will record these on a video that we will post to our site and send you all a link.
C – Separate racking slots further in transition, and spread the racking over multiple start times (Ie competitor number 1 goes off at 06:00 and competitor number 2 goes off at 06:30) that way you’re not back in transition next to each other at the same time
D – Bike racking will be done by wave, over a longer period and split by numbers to ensure  that there’s ample space to maintain a 2m rule whilst racking your bike
E – Create multiple rolling start points and set your time at the point you cross the mat into the water, thus ensuring competitors are ample distance apart at the swim start.
F – Install Hand rails on Swim exit to avoid hand to hand contact with Swim exit helpers – Regularly wipe/spray rail after each use
G – Adjust run course to remove the two way section, and narrow points where it’s tough to overtake without going within 2m of another runner.
H – Create longer aid station sections to allow cyclists and runners to grab their own bottles/gels/cups etc from tables and lay them all out individually so that each competitor touches only what he/she is going to pick up
I – Make finish line ‘finish and go’
J – All our team, marshals, medical support and officials to wear gloves and masks, hand gel sanitiser to be available at all points around start, transition, aid stations, finish etc
K – It’s also possible that we could run the race over two days (Sat 1st and Sunday 2nd August), and should there be restrictions on numbers for outdoor gatherings in August, this is something we’re looking into the logistics of doing.

These are truly strange times, and as much as I don’t want to limit the interaction with our team and the competitors as well as, as it’s the part of the race that we really quite like, it’s a real possibility that we’ll have to be less personal on the day and help from a distance 🙁
You’ll all be glad to know that Noisy Dave is not much quieter from 6 foot away as he is from 3 foot too.

4) What we have offered to the June (Now Sept) Cotswold 113 competitors, and would offer the same out to the Classic Competitors, is the option to complete the race as a ‘Virtual 113’
How this will work if you wished to sign up for this option, is you are then free to complete the distances in your own leisure and in your own time. You do not need to do them all on the same day (especially not considering the current lockdown rules) and you have until the end of the year to do it. In return for you completing a virtual 113, you will get your Goody bag, shirt and medal in the post as well as a £50 discount code to use with us in the future. You may even want to wait until the lake is open that we race in, and complete it on our course in your own time, and we can supply GPS files and maps etc to do that, and can even arrange for a period of time where our swim course is marked out and the finish line left erected. You can also do this without the swim if you like, and we would record your completion as a virtual 113 duathlon.
We are currently building a page on our site to record results and will host a gallery too should you wish to send in photos
If this is something that interests you, just drop me an email at graeme@113events.com

5) As you may or may not know, on March 23rd, we rescheduled our June 7th Middle distance race to Sept 20th. We have had a number of competitors from that race either withdraw through the NHS refund scheme (Around 95) or transfer to the August race (around the same number again). That means, that if we can run as normal on Sept 20th with a full entry list, we will have spaces available in that race that August competitors can transfer over to. I am not going to make any transfers to that race until we get a better idea of how things are going to pan out, so please be patient with us on this. However, once we know what’s happening, you will all be the first to know and the slots will get offered out to you lot before they either go on sale generally or just removed. They’ll be first come first served from that point onwards, so don’t ask just yet please.

6) If, and this is the worst case scenario, we can’t run at all this year and all outdoor events are banned for 2020. All our 2020 competitors will be transferred over to next year’s races, and you will have a choice of which race you want, or if you wanted another year to race in 2022.
I touched on this in our last email, but we’re in the somewhat difficult position, that like most other triathlon organisers (I don’t know about IM as they’re playing a different game to us) our event cancellation insurance doesn’t cover Covid19 as a Global Pandemic. What this means for us is that we have already outlayed around 80-90% of the entry fees in advance of the race, and these are costs that we can’t get back as they’re spent. There are some parts that we can carry over to next year (Goody bags, Swim hats etc), but on the whole, it’s all very specific to 2020.
If we were to have to carry over all the entries to next year, it would mean we would have to incur much of this cost again in 2021 without any revenue from further entries, but are able to either borrow it from the Covid19 Government Loan scheme as a small business and remortgage etc personally to fund it. It would mean we could just about survive, but we would not be able to offer refunds this year over and above the NHS staff, as that would bankrupt us completely, and be the end of 113. I’m not writing this looking for sympathy, but I just wanted to be transparent about how the triathlon industry works for medium sized organisers like ourselves that still have wages to pay and overheads, and to ask that you are not too hard on other organisers who are also, like us, taking these small baby steps into somewhat unchartered territory.
If you want to hear my dulcet tones, a couple of weeks ago I was a Skype Guest along with Iain Hamilton from the Outlaw series on the brick session podcast talking about how Covid is effecting the industry, and you can hear that here : https://overcast.fm/+H4mmdCs5A?fbclid=IwAR2-cNMj_tUCzqTLu9Zqltarw-lWA05yBZN0LX8_EdPq5mgBWIx6FuvzMcM

Right, that’s it from me for this newsletter. I will, of course, keep everyone updated as soon as we know more about how this lockdown is going to end. We’re here to help, so if you have any concerns, suggestions or there’s anything we can help with, please just give me a ring or drop me an email

In the meantime, please take great care of yourself, keep safe and keep your families loved

Thanks

Graeme, Nicci and the 113 Events team
Graeme@113events.com
07595 591612

The following email went out to all Cotswold113 Competitors today :

Cotswold113 2020 – Update

Good morning all, and I hope that everyone is keeping safe in these terrible times.
We are living in truly awful times at the moment, and all of our lives are being turned upside down.

Given the latest communications from the Government, it’s now becoming increasingly clear that the Cotswold 113 on June 7th is now not going to happen in any format, and it would irresponsible for us to expect people to be able to train well over the next 11weeks, so we have made the decision to postpone the race until the weekend of Sept 19th and 20th, when I truly hope that we have all gotten through this safely.

We did have a few other mid summer dates available, but as this is a constantly moving issue, we thought it was safer to move to an end of summer date in order to give us the best possible chance of getting something in and in some format.
As per my previous mail, we have a number of ways we can still run the race should there still be any reduced form of restrictions to social distancing in place in sept – See previous mail here : https://www.113events.com/cotswold-113-coronavirus-update-1/

This is a very tough time in the events industry, as I’m sure you can all appreciate, and whilst the chancellor of the exchequer has released some great measures to help Employed people, they’ve not helped out the outdoor leisure industry. The government has bigger issues to worry about right now, as do we all, so I can totally understand that and accept that this is just what we have. If things change and the government does start to help out the events industry, we may end up being in a different position, and I’ll keep you all updated.

In light of this and where we stand currently, we have in the last few days, sat down with our accountant and team, and worked out what we can do to help those that can’t race on the revised dates without bankrupting ourselves and it being the end of 113 forever :

Most importantly, we need to recognise those who are on the front line of fighting this disease right now, so if you are a hospital Doctor or Nurse, please contact me with a copy of your NHS id and I will issue you a full credit for your race entry. We truly appreciate the work you are doing, and it’s going to be a very tough few months for you guys, so thank you very much.

We are going to introduce a ‘Virtual 113’ that can be completed at any time over the year, and for anyone who wishes to take up this method of racing, we’ll give you a £50 credit to use with us next year when you can hopefully come and experience the 113 in full.
You will still get your goody bag, shirt and medal once you have completed, and you can do this at any time and in any format you like right up to Christmas. With our timing partner, we will build a separate page for virtual results so you can track on a leader board. I’m conscious that pools are now closed, so if you wanted to complete sooner rather than later, you could also do it as a duathlon too, and we’ll complete a separate leader board for those competitors.
These are truly unchartered times for all of us, and I’m conscious that many of you (like me) might be stuck indoors for 12weeks, so unlike normal virtual races, we can be pretty flexible with how the mileage is completed, so on a treadmill or a turbo/wattbike is just fine too if that’s what you have.
We will give competitors that want to choose that option until June 1st to Decide, and you can do so by emailing me at graeme@113events.com

Our August 2nd middle distance race (Cotswold Classic Middle Distance Tri) is still being planned to go ahead currently, and whilst that race is not full, there are still 350 places in that race that we can transfer Cotswold113 Competitors into if that date works for you better.

I have been getting many questions from competitors that took out the optional injury/illness cancellation insurance that is provided through the Entry System company that we use. The insurance company is called Bookingprotect.com and they will cover your entry fee should you or someone in your immediate family contract Coronavirus. You can see their statement on this at https://bookingprotect.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Coronavirus-Guidance.pdf

This is completely uncharted territory for us and the rest of the events industry, and we at 113 are absolutely trying to do our best for everyone. I know from speaking with other organisers, that they are getting a hard time from their competitors, and that’s understandable that this happens as it is a tough and frustrating time for us all. I’m truly appreciative that we’ve built up a really great bunch of regulars, and I thank you all for your patience with us whilst we try and take these steps into something we really don’t understand how badly and for how long it’s going to effect us all.
Like most other organisers, any cancellation insurances that some of us take out, do not cover global pandemics, and for most medium to large sized races, a large percentage of the entry fee is spent several months before the race, so we’re all facing a very uncertain future, and I’m afraid this will be a big hit for the triathlon industry as it’ll be the end of many of very good non commercial race 🙁

Ultimately, racing is really important, but at times like this, the health of us all and of all our families is the most important thing here, so I truly hope that everyone gets through this in good health and that their families do also.

As plans pan out, and we get more info from the British Government and the Sports Governing bodies, I will of course keep everyone updated

I am very likely to be stuck at home in Isolation for the next 12 weeks (low immune system due to current medication – long story that I won’t bore you all with), so I’ll have all the time in the world to answer any questions or just talk triathlon, so please give me a call or drop me an email if there’s anything I can help with or any questions I can answer

Please keep safe everybody, and keep your families close and and loved

Graeme, Nicci and the 113 Events team
graeme@113events.com
07595 591612

The following email went out to all Cotswold Classic 2020 competitors tonight:

Cotswold Classic – August 2nd 2020

Good evening all, I hope everyone’s keeping well in these testing times ?
Although we’re nearly 5 months away from this year’s race, I just wanted to get an email out to you all to let you know what’s happening at this end, and what we’re doing to plan this year out in these difficult times
Firstly, and most importantly, we’re still doing all our preparation around the race going ahead as planned on August 2nd.
As many of you will know, we hold two middle distance races each summer, and although I’m very much hoping the 2nd race in August is going to go ahead unaffected, it’s look increasing likely that the June 7th Cotswold 113 will be impacted in some way.
Just to keep you all in the loop, this is the email that I sent out to all June Cotswold113 Competitors last night:
https://www.113events.com/cotswold-113-coronavirus-update-1/
We are still very much working on the basis of the August race going ahead as planned and in the grand fashion that you all love and deserve. However, should this situation escalate for many months to come, I’d urge that you read the above email as it outlines the changes that we can apply to the August race, and would request your thoughts and feedback on these suggestions. After all, this race is very much your race, and you guys are the most important part of the race itself.

The Current Coronavirus outbreak is unchartered territory for the events industry as a whole, and we are, of course, working closely with both the Governing Bodies, NHS and Government Guidelines. It’s a constantly evolving process, and the goal posts are moving on an almost daily basis.
Today, the BTF have requested that all races due to be held during March and April are either cancelled or rescheduled.

Triathlon is important to us all, but ultimately, your safety and that of your families, our marshals and supporters is the most important thing here by far, and we appreciate that this is a difficult and confusing time for all.

I will keep everyone posted as things develop, but please can I urge you all to keep safe, keep your friends and family close and we’ll look forward to seeing you all on the other side once this has all blown over and we’re back to moaning about Brexit and summer rain showers.

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to call or email me

Thanks and please stay safe

Graeme, Nicci and the 113 Events team
graeme@113events.com
07595 591612

The following email went out to all Cotswold 113 Competitors today:

Cotswold113 – Coronavirus update Good evening all. I appreciate everyone has bigger issues at the moment, but we are naturally getting a lot of emails of concern about our 2 events, so in the interest of transparency and honesty, I wanted to bring you all up to speed on where we are at this point in time and what we are currently planning as a contingency for the June 7th Cotswold 113 (and potentially August 2nd Cotswold Classic too) If you have seen today’s Government conference update with Boris Johnson and his Chief Medical Officers; like me, you will feel that the Cotswold113 running on June 7th in a traditional format is starting to look increasingly unlikely. We, of course, will continue to to plan around it happening on June 7th, but we are putting together some contingency plans just in case, so I wanted to make you all aware of what we are planning, and as you all are just as much a part of this race as us, call on you all collectively to let us know if you have any feedback. This is completely unchartered territory for the us and the Nation as a whole, so we are currently trying to make the best of a bad situation and hope than in the interest of life still maintaining some level of normality where possible, us as Triathletes can still get to race this year in some format, and at some point. Firstly, let’s assume for a minute that our current state continues for 2.5 months and that we’re on public event lockdown still in June ;  We are, this week, having meetings with the Lake Owners, the Councils, Police and highways etc etc about a revised date towards the end of the summer. We will hope to have the date of that option finalised within the next week, and is very likely to be late August or Sept. For that option, we will publish the revised date as soon as we have it, plus a timescale in which we can realistically confirm that we are moving to the new date or not, so as to give everyone time to make arrangements etc. I expect that we can make a judgment on whether or not things are looking up for June by the end of April at the very latest. Secondly, let’s assume that things have quietened down in June, but we are still not out the woods entirely in terms of public gatherings or that public confidence in gatherings are still low. We are considering a few options for a race in this instance: 1) We can run the race over two days, and separate the waves by a larger time frame to reduce social contact to almost zero if desired. Registration would happen by post, briefings would happen by email/youtube and starts would become rolling so as to reduce the density of numbers gathered at the swim start. We would rethink Aid stations and the finish area would be adjusted to finish and go (most people do this anyway) 2) Along with the above, I totally understand that some people would still not want to attend the race day and be around strangers, so for these competitors, we would introduce a ‘Virtual race’ option. This would allow competitors to complete the distances on their own or with friends from their club, and we could then post you your number/goody bag/ shirt etc in advance, and your medal once you have completed the distances. Realistically, this could be done in your own time as and when you please, and we would not limit the date for completion and could send the medal out as and when you’re finished, even if it’s at Christmas. For competitors that choose to take a virtual option, we could then send them a discount code to use with us next year when hopefully Coronavirus is a distant memory and life has returned to normal (fingers crossed) so they can come and experience the 113 atmosphere in person. If people wanted to come to the lake we race at to do this, it’s open for Swimming 7 days per week in the summer before 10am, and I’m sure we can come to an arrangement with the lake guys to display swim/bike/run maps or even leave a finish line erected for a short period. The two options above could also roll to the revised date if required. I will, of course, keep everyone posted as and when things change, and we are in constant communication with both the Governing bodies of our sport and the government guidelines and regulations surrounding outdoor sports events. As you will all have seen, the situation regarding advice from the Government is pretty fluid right now, and is changing daily, but we are keeping on top of it as much as we can and will adjust as we go. I truly appreciate that we have built a following of loyal and great competitors over the years, and want to thank everyone for baring with us in these difficult times. For a moment, I’d like to explain a little about the commotion this is causing within the triathlon industry as a whole, as I’ve seen that most the other UK race organisers are being very tight lipped about what’s happening with their events, and other than the one large global player, I’ve not seen any communication from the UK’s other medium/large sized races to explain what they’re doing about the current situation. Some events, like ours, take out very expensive cancellation policies to cover the unknown causing races to stop. However, as this has now reached global Pandemic classification, these insurance companies are washing their hands of any claims via the small print (typically, insurance covers things like weather, floods and road closures due to watermains bursting etc) . I can’t speak for the other minority of organisers that also take out these policies, but from my understanding from the ones I do speak with, this is the same for all of us 🙁 I appreciate that many of you will have entered (in some cases several) other races this year, so please can I ask that you are patient with the other organisers as they, like us, will be taking brand new baby steps into a situation they have never faced before and most likely not planned for. Many are big businesses, but some, like us, are just a husband and wife putting on races that we hope people love. Unfortunately, this will be the end of many a very good race in the UK Triathlon calendar, so please be patient when dealing with the other organisers as they will be having as tough a time to work out a plan as we are. Ultimately, the Corona Virus is hitting our country hard, and I truly wish good health to all our competitors past and present as well as their friends and families. Triathlon is important to us all, but life and our health is far more important, so please keep safe, and keep your loved ones close and safe also. I appreciate that this does not answer some of the questions we are getting on a daily basis, but I just wanted to be totally honest with everyone and let them know what we are hoping to do in terms of racing this year and the options that we are considering for you all. Please feel free to call or email me should you have any concerns or questions Thanks, and please stay safe. Graeme, Nicci and the 113 Events team. 07595 591612 Graeme@113events.com

The following email went out to all Cotswold 113 2020 Competitors today

Cotswold 113 – 7th June 2020

Good afternoon all, I hope this email finds everyone well ?
We’re just under 3 months out from the race, so I wanted to drop you all a quick email to keep you up to date in the run up to the event.
I’ll keep this one fairly brief, but in this mail I’ll cover the following :

Coronavirus Update
Marshalling at the 113
Familiarisation day

Coronavirus Update
Unless you’ve been living under the rock for the last few weeks, you will have no doubt seen that the Coronavirus (or COVID-19 to give it it’s proper name) has become a big issue for us all.
We, of course, take the safety of our competitors, team/marshals and spectators very seriously, and would not want to expose them to any unnecessary risk. We are currently (and will continue to do so) monitoring the government guidelines for events such as ours, and are in communication with the governing bodies for our sport on how best to manage any changes or regulations that may apply.
As it stands currently, the race is still set to continue as planned, but I will of course keep everyone updated if anything changes.
I have had perhaps 100 emails over the last week from understandably nervous competitors, but wanted to get a broader statement out about where we currently stand.
In the meantime, please assume everything remains unchanged, eat healthily, stay hydrated, wash your hands a lot and stop buying all the toilet roll in my local Asda 🙂

Marshalling at the 113 (or Cotswold Classic on August 2nd)
Our races have built up a great reputation for having some of the best marshals in the sport, and it’s something we’re very proud of and want to maintain.
Around 50% of our marshals come from a local pool of repeat offenders, but the rest come from friends, family, team mates and colleagues of our competitors. If you have people coming along with you that could get involved, please give them a nudge.
All our marshals get paid too, and you can choose from either £20 cash or a £40 113 Events Voucher to use with us on a future race. You’ll also get a team technical shirt, and be kept in hot food, drinks, ice creams and anything else you might need throughout the day.
You don’t need any experience at all, and all we ask is that you’re over 16 and know your left from your right. We’ll take you through a full briefing and partner you all up with someone with more experience if you’re brand new to marshalling.
We can’t, unfortunately, ’employ’ anyone under 16, but if you have family with an over 16 year old that wants to marshal, we have team shirts down to small child size and they can of course take advantage of the free ice creams and burgers.
If you have anyone that’s interested, please get them to drop me an email at graeme@113events.com
We effectively re-run the June 113 on August 2nd, so if you fancy being part of the team still, but are racing in June, we’d love you along on the team in August, so you can see the race from the other side.

Familiarisation day – 24th May 
On the 24th of May, we’ll be holding our free of charge familiarisation day for all competitors.
This is a great way to see the course in a relaxed environment, and also to meet the team and other competitors too.
We’ll have a booking system up and running soon, and I’ll send an email at a later date with more info on the day and links to book, but in the meantime, please get the date in your diary.
The emphasis on the day is leisurely, so all speeds and abilities are welcome and we’ll guide you around a single lap of the Swim (1 lap = 1900m), 1 lap of the bike (1 lap =  28miles) and 1 lap of the run (1 Lap = 4.35 miles)
It’s a fun day, and our guidance is completely free. The only thing you’ll need to pay for is if you want to Swim, the lake guys will ask you for £7 on the gate for day membership.
I’ll aim to have the booking system up and running in the next couple of weeks – Booking in all sounds very formal, but it’s really just to get an idea of numbers and to have a way of communicated with all attendees in the run up to the day.

Right, that’s it from me for today.
If you get any questions or there’s anything we can help with, please just ask as it’s what we’re here for
I’ll get another email out soon with links to the Familiarisation day, and, of course, any updates over how the Corona Virus may effect us as we take ongoing advice and guidance from the Government and Governing bodies.

Thanks and happy training

Graeme, Nicci and the 113 Events Team
07595 591612
graeme@113events.com
www.113events.com 

The following email went out to all our newsletter subscribers tonight

2020 races are now go…. Good evening all Firstly, thanks for either racing or marshalling with us in the past, or subscribing to our newsletters Although it seems like the summer of 2019 is still in full swing, I wanted to drop you all a quick email to let you know we’ve now fixed the dates for the 2020 races and when entries will open for them both : Cotswold 113 Middle Distance Triathlon – Sunday June 7th 2020 Cotswold Classic Middle Distance Triathlon – Sunday August 2nd 2020 Online entry will open for both races online at 00:01 on Saturday August the 24th at www.113events.com and both races have early bird discounts for the first 150 sign ups. To give you all a heads up on how quickly they fill, the 2019 June 113 was full by early October 18, and the August Classic was full by early Spring this year, and both races are filling quicker every year. Please book early to avoid disappointment, as once they’re full, they’re full We hope to see many of you racing with us again next year Graeme, Nicci and the 113 Events team graeme@113events.com