2021 races are ready to launch

Hi All
Our 2021 races are now fixed as follows :

• June 6th 2021 – Cotswold 113 Middle Distance Tri
• July 11th 2021 – Cotswold Classic Middle Distance Tri

Entries will open online at 00:05 on Oct 1st at www.113events.com 

As we are no clearer than anyone else what 2021 will hold in terms of Covid restrictions, we are reducing the numbers down from the traditional 1,200 slots to around 1,000. Having successfully run two ‘Covid Safe’ races this year, we are confident that we can run the 2021 races in a totally Covid Safe Manner with up to 1000 sign ups should the current situation role into 21.

I appreciate that we had published on our social media that we would have the entries open by Sept 23rd, but as I’m sure you can imagine, trying to get our suppliers, many of which have taken a significant hit this year, to fix costs is not proving to be easy (Most of our entry fee is defined by Supplier/Facility cost). We will have that fixed in the next couple of days ready for an Oct 1st Launch, so apologies to those that were hovering over a button this week.
As we have deferred over around 600* entries across both races from this year, please be aware that entries available for 2021 are going to be reduced in number further, so please be quick so as not to miss out
*Approx 400 for the 113 and 200 for the Classic

Hopefully life will be a little more normal again in 2021, and we’ll look forward to welcoming many of you to our start lines next Summer.
2021 is also 113 Events 10th Birthday, so we’ll be sure to make sure it’s a special one

Cheers

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

The following newsletter went out to all competitors today

Cotswold113 2020 – Post event email

Good morning all
I hope everyone enjoyed Sunday’s Cotswold 113, and your legs are starting to feel a bit more human again
Firstly, and most importantly, thank you all for coming racing with us this year. It’s certainly been the most challenging year for us that we’ve experienced since we started in 2011, but I truly hope that we offered everyone that lined up with us this year just a little snippet of normality back for a few hours of Swim, Bike and run in what’s been a pretty crappy year for the whole world.
Triathlon in a Covid Safe environment is not the sort of racing we’re all used to doing, and it is different, but I hope that we made it work and that you all enjoyed the day in this ‘new normal’ in a totally safe environment.

I won’t waffle on for ages in this email as I’m conscious that you all have lives you want to be getting on with and are probably tired of reading my emails now, so in this final edition newsletter I’ll cover the following:

• Photography 
• Results
• Next year’s races
• Thoughts on Sunday’s event

Photography 
Charlie and his team took thousands of photos on Sunday, and it takes a couple of days for them to sort them all, so they will be available on his website from tonight at https://www.charleswhittonphotography.com/group28183.html

Results
You can find the finalised results from the day at https://dbmaxresults.co.uk/Results.aspx?CId=16421&RId=311

Next year’s races
Our 2021 dates are :
6th June – Cotswold 113 Middle Distance Tri
11th July – Cotswold Classic Middle Distance Tri
The two races are effectively identical, and although we traditionally have run the Cotswold Classic in August, we’ve been under some pressure for the Waterpark to move the Classic out of the Summer Holidays (understandably) as that’s their busiest period.

Although we had published that we were hoping to have entries open for both races this week, there’s been some delay with being able to fix prices with some of our suppliers (Most of the cost of entry is defined by supplier and facility cost as we rent everything in for races) as many of these companies are fighting to survive into 2021 like all of us, so are reluctant to fix quotes as quickly as they would normally
We’ll aim to have entries open online on Oct 1st, but will post up on our Social Media pages (Facebook and Twitter) once we have a fixed date in case this changes
Hopefully life will be a little more normal again next year, but if not, then at least we now have plenty of experience of how to run a Covid Safe race

Thoughts on Sunday’s race
In this modern world, getting online reviews is hugely important, so if you do fancy writing a review on the race, please can you head to https://racecheck.com/races/cotswold-113/
5 star reviews are, of course, always hugely appreciated, but I’d rather people be honest as that’s a fairer reflection on the day if you think we’re more of a 4.99 😉
We’re always after feedback so also please feel free to email me directly on your thoughts on the day instead, good or bad.
From our perspective, there were lots of bits that worked well, and some that didn’t.  The changes to the bike course worked in parts, but in others really didn’t work as well as we’d hoped it would.
For next year’s races, we’ll go back to something more like our traditional course, and the changes on Sunday were really a fairly last minute thing driven by the need to remove the overlap with the run course due to Covid.
For those of you that have raced with us before, I’d be interested to hear how you thought the two versions of the course compared

Anyway, that’s it from me for this year
Thanks again for everyone that has chosen to race with us this year in these strange times
Wishing everyone a safe time over the coming months, and we’ll hope to see many of you back racing with us in 2021 and beyond

Cheers

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

The following email went out to all Cotswold113 2020 competitors this morning

Pre event update #4

Good morning all, I hope everyone’s well ?
We’re just a few days away from this Sunday’s Cotswold 113, so I wanted to get this last email out with the last few bits of info.
In this email, I’ll cover the following

What’s expected of us all
Briefing video link
Covid reminder

What’s expected of us all
I’m going to try and not make this a lecture, as it’s definitely not intended as such, so bear with me.
Triathlon is newly back to the UK, and we all love that we can go racing again after such a terrible time for the world this summer.
However, although the local area generally love our races, there’s naturally going to be some isolated cases of reluctance to accept that it’s totally safe to run, especially with the Government’s latest tightening of social bubbles.
With this in mind, although we can provide you all with the tools and facility to race entirely safely and without risk of spread of Covid through contact, hygiene or proximity, we really do rely on you all to ensure that when you’re out cycling on the bike course and running on the run course on the public road, that you absolutely keep the required distance away from everyone as public perception of what is right and what is wrong is, in many cases, different to the rules and law.
The drafting distance on the bike is 12m with a 2m overtaking width, and on the run course, where possible, it’s 2m at least.
Triathletes are generally a really good bunch, and I’m fully expecting everyone to behave impeccably as set out by the great example shown by competitors back in August. You do, however, always get exceptions and there is a very small minority just want to get their heads down and race as fast as they can without considering the broader implications of their actions.
We don’t like having to do this, but if we see anyone intentionally not socially distancing whilst racing, it will be an instant DQ and your day will be over at that point.
I appreciate that many of you are racing as Husband and wife, son and father etc, and that you don’t need to social distance as you’re within the same ‘Bubble’. However, Joe Public doesn’t know this, so please ensure that in the interest of public perception of safety, that you always do remain at the correct distance whilst racing
it appears that there’s a strong possibility that this Covid mess may be around for a while, and there’s a good chance it might run into next Summer’s racing, so the future of our sport in the UK as a whole, and our events specifically, is very much in the hands of you all on Sunday
I know this has sounded like a lecture, and it’s not meant to be as I’m really aware that everyone that races with us is always on best behaviour.
With regards to spectators. We have had to ban them on site for reasons explained perviously. Honestly speaking, we would prefer that you didn’t bring any that congregate on the public highway to support off site too. It’s your prerogative to make that decision as it’s not something that we can control. If you do have spectators that want to watch the race from the Public areas, can you please please please ask them not to spectate in groups larger than 6, and not spectate at all on the run course within Somerford Keynes. It reflects really badly on us, and although it’s not something that we can control, it’s something that’s directly related to the race itself and I still get dragged over the coals for if someone does make an official complaint to the Authorities.
We would really like to be able to run our races next year, and in this Fragile time, it’s a very fine switch between having everyone’s full support, to suddenly being brandished as irresponsible through reason outside of our control, and support and permits from local areas getting pulled for the future races.

VIdeo Briefing link
The following link will take you to our video briefing, where you can see Myself and Dave’s faces for radio taking you through the key points for Sunday : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ZQOijCr7Hs
I apologies that it’s a little bit of a mishmash of footage from August’s briefing and the current race, but I hope it gets the points over and it’s important that you all take the time to sit and watch it please.

Covid Reminder 
It goes without saying that we must insist that you must not attend the race under any circumstances if you are displaying, have displayed in the last 14 days running up to Sept 20th, or have been in contact with anyone displaying the following symptoms in the last 14 days running up to 20th Sept:

• A high temperature – this means you feel hot to touch on your chest or back
• A new, continuous cough – this means coughing a lot for more than an hour, or 3 or more coughing episodes in 24 hours (if you usually have a cough, it may be worse than usual)
• A loss or change to your sense of smell or taste – this means you’ve noticed you cannot smell or taste anything, or things smell or taste different to normal
• Have travelled back into the UK from any one of the UKGov’s quarantine list of Countries since Sept 6th, and are currently required to Self isolate at home

By attending the race, you are declaring that you are free from all of the symptoms listed above, have been free for 14 days prior to Sept 20th, and have not been in contact with any person displaying any of the above symptoms in the 14 days prior to Sept 20th

All entrants will be subject to a questionnaire and temperature check provided by our Medical Partners on arrival on site

It all sounds very formal, but we have to take the Spread of Covid very seriously although we will try and make the race as much fun as possible within the current circumstances

Right, that actually is it from me now in terms of pre race emails.
We’re looking forward to welcoming you all along on on Sunday

Cheers

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

The following newsletter went out to all Cotswold 113 Competitors tonight

Pre Event Update number 3

Good evening all, I hope everyone’s feeling nice and ready for racing on Sunday and not getting too grouchy in your taper ?
We’re just a few days away from the race, so in this penultimate pre race email, I’m going to cover the following:

Reminder on what you should have already looked at
Gov update
What to expect on race day in Covid times
Updates to terms relating to Covid
Tracker and live video
Course conditions and kit choice
Spectators and where to go
What’s coming next 

Reminder on what you should have already looked at 
Hopefully by now, you’ve read your race information pack and found your number and start time window from our previous mail.
If you haven’t, then you can find the pre event update number 2 with all that info here : https://www.113events.com/cotswold113-pre-event-update-2/

Gov Update
The country is far from out of the woods in terms of Covid spread, but I just wanted to assure you all that the change effective today where to the bubble size has reduced down to 6 does not have an effect on Triathlon, and all organised sport events that can demonstrate that they achieve the UKGov’s (and in our case, also the BTF’s) Covid secure procedures and regulations, are exempt from social bubble rules.
The BTF and UK Gov have permitted our event on Sunday, so we are still all systems go
I posted an update on it last week, which you can see here :https://www.113events.com/9th-sept-update/

What to expect on race day
By now, you should have all had your race bibs and bike stickers in the post, or if you haven’t, please email mary@dbmax.co.uk and we can still sort something out to have you one there to collect on race morning
On race day, your swim hat and timing chip/strap will be located on your racking position.
In the race info pack, you will find info on car parking. It’s a pain to try and get all the cars in within a short time period, so please can you all have £5 cash for car parking ready in your hand when you get to the front of the queue. We cannot give back change as this would mean double handling cash, and we need to reduce the amount of touchy feely things in order to reduce the spread.
Once you’re out of car parking, you can head to transition to register yourself in, which is a 5 in walk.
At transition, you will be greeted by our team, and a member from our medical provider who will temperature check your forehead to ensure you comply with the UK Gov maximum core temperature. If you are over, you will be turned away and will not be able to race. If you are someone who has a valid medical reason to have a high body temperature, you will need to bring a copy of a doctors letter.
Our team will then check your BTF photo license that you must have with you (You can have a pic of it on your phone or a photocopy of it instead).
If you are not a 2020 BTF member with a valid photo license, you will need a photo ID (Again, a photo on your phone or a photocopy is fine too) and £5 cash for a BTF day license. Like car parking, you will be asked to put your £5 cash into a slotted bucket in front of our team, and we are not allowed to give change as we cannot touch your money or handle money to return. This BTF license money has to be handed in to the bank where they will not touch it for 72hours in order to any trace of Covid to be gone.
The internet at the lake is not great, so we cannot take card payments and must be cash only.
We had some long queues to get into transition when we raced in August, so please help us by having your BTF License, or photo ID and £5 to hand when you get to the front of the queue rather than fumbling at the bottom of a bag to find it.
In transition, you will be required to wear a face mask (much like you’d wear in a shop) when racking your bike. Like the temperature check, if you have a medical reason as to not wear a face mask, you will need a doctors note to support this, or you will not be allowed in. We absolutely have to be strict with this and anyone not arriving with a mask to rack their bike, will not be allowed in and cannot race.
You don’t, of course, need to wear a mask once the race has started
The purpose of the mask is that you can impede within someone else 2m bubble when racking your bike and laying out your run kit.
Transition will open at 04:45 and all competitors absolutely must be out of transition (With the exception of relay members) before 07:15
Transition will close to entries at 06:45.
We have a load of pre race toilets ready and waiting for you near to the swim start.
The swim will start in 6 waves, which you can find in the start list, and swimmers will be set off at 5 second intervals.
You can choose on race morning if you’d like to do the full 1,900m swim, or a shorter 350ish meter option swim course. There will be two chutes marked.
If you want to do the shorter swim, you can go off any time after 07:15 and you do not need to head off in your allocated wave and can start as you see fit up to 08:30
If you do not want to swim at all, please let our transition team know in the morning, and they will allow you to remain in transition and start off on the bike when the first swimmers start coming in from the lake (Around 07:20)
All three options still get to cross the finish line and collect your medal and goody bag etc. We will produce 3 separate sets of results.
In Summary, please bring a mask, £5 cash for car parking and £5 cash / photo ID if you’re not a BTF member 

Updates to terms relating to Covid 
As you might imagine, we have a million little admin things we have to sort to get this race Covid Secure. One of which is aligning with the track and trace regulations. With that in mind, we have had to update our terms to show that we can share your info with the UK Gov in relation to track/trace, and as this means our terms have changed, we have to notify you of this.
It also says that you must not attend race day if you’re at risk of spreading Covid-19, which goes without saying really
You can see the updated section at the bottom of the regular terms and conditions here : https://www.113events.com/cotswold-113/race-tcs/
In reality, the track and trace won’t effect any of you in normal racing conditions as the masks in transition and then the drafting distances on the bike and overtaking rules on the swim/run mean you won’t get within 2m of other competitors.
However, the only time we’d need to report it on our log would be if you needed to be recovered on the bike course in the van by our team or treated by someone from our medical team, and even that would only be if they got the call to say they’ve later tested positive.

Tracker and live video 
We will have a live tracker up and running through the results page at https://www.113events.com/cotswold-113/results/
We will also have a live video feed of the swim exit and finish line on our facebook page, which is www.facebook.com/113events

Course conditions and kit choice 
I’m going to hope not to jinx it, but the weather forecast looks like almost perfect racing conditions:

The water temperature yesterday was around 16, and with the forecast for sun this week, that’s not likely to change much. This means, that we’ll be firmly within the Wetsuit optional range for Sunday.
I’ve ridden the new bike course a fair few times over the last three weeks, and it’s very flat and very fast. If you have a TT bike, disc wheel and Aero helmet that you’re debating to use, it’s an aero course all day long. It’s largely pretty shaded from any wind most of the way around, but there are a couple of bits where field gates create a gap in a hedge that could cause a blust should the wind pick up.
98% of the course is on a good surface, but being the UK, there’s a few sections where the tarmac isn’t the very best. We will put up signs for these sections and paint potholes, but in reality, there’s nothing you can’t avoid if you keep your eyes open and all the rougher parts have a smooth line through.
If you’re one of the riders that obsesses about tyre choices vs watts, I’ve found a 28mm tubleless tyre pumped up to about 70psi works best for me on that course (I weigh 78kg and that’s on a road bike, not a TT bike)
The run course is around 55% tarmac, 40% hard packed lake paths and 5% grass. If i were racing, I’d use tarmac shoes every time, and even if we do get some rain on race day, the hard packed lake paths deal with low to moderate rain very well, and unless I was really unsure on my feet, I wouldn’t bother with off road shoes.
Although the weather forecast is decent for Sunday, I still want to remind everyone that it’s Sept and it can still be blimmin cold first thing, especially when you’ve just got out a lake. Please make your kit choices accordingly, as you’re always better to have too many layers on and have to remove one, than not enough and get really cold in the first half of the bike.
With a neutralised transition time, you have the luxury of time to get into your kit for biking. If you wanted to get fully changed in T1 or T2, although we do not have changing tents, you can still get changed under a towel. The BTF rules say no nakedness, and we’re pretty relaxed with that rule if you use your common sense please. Ie, a quick flash of flesh as you get changed is basically fine, doing naked lunges up and down the row of racking is not.

Spectators and where to go 
Boris’s 6 reduction has further confirmed our decision to not allow spectators on site at all before, during or after the race.
However, there are still plenty of places out of our site (Which is actually only a small section within the footprint of the lake complex) that they can watch from.
If they wanted to come in the car with you, they will get a car parking pass on arrival, so that car can come and go as it pleases during the day.
If you click on the small map below, that will enlarge and show you where on the run course and lake complex they can and can’t go

The orange area is our area, and this is no access all day.
The blue area that competitors will walk through to get into transition (and is the 1st mile or so of the run course) belongs to the beach and country park. They will allow spectators into their area in the morning, but you will need to pay them on the gate (I think it’s about £3 per head – You can check with them at https://www.cotswoldcountryparkandbeach.com)
They have a Beach (Clue’s in their name) and play parks, coffee shop and pizza restaurant, and it’s a good place for a family to watch the race from and enjoy the day. Their end backs right up to our transition, so from within there, you can see the competitors come out the swim to head off on the bike, and then come back in from the bike and off on the run. They have their own Covid precautions and rules, so your spectators would be there problem rather than ours (without wanting to sound too crude)
On the run course, the rest that isn’t in the Beach and Country park has some great places to watch from. On the above map, you will see that Somerford Keynes is marked in Red. If you have spectators coming along to watch outside the lake, please ask them to not under any circumstances watch from within Somerford Keynes. We have built up a great relationship with the residents of SK, and although they’re super supportive of the race going through their village, they do not want crowds gathering on their streets and in some cases, are quite nervous of Covid spread as they have a larger than average ‘Older population’
Please respect our wishes and do not spectate from SK village as this is hugely important to us.
Shown on the Map is Neighbridge Country park, where our aid station is located, and is possibly the most beautiful of the lakes in the area, and is a perfect place to watch the run from.
If you have spectators that want to watch on the bike course, by far the best place is the Cotswold Outdoor centre. The course goes right by there twice (out and back) or is a short 200m walk to the turnaround point if they wanted to see you more often.
It’s about 3 miles from the lake on a straight bit of road that isn’t the bike course, and the address is Gateway Visitors Centre, Spine Rd E, Cirencester GL7 5TL
Please can you ask any spectators you might be bringing with you to please abide by the 6 person social bubble rule. As much as I appreciate they’re not our problem and out of our control if they’re out on the public road, public perception of the race is hugely important to us and the general public will still correctly associate them with the event, and that would reflect badly on us if they are gathering in groups.

What’s coming next
In the next 48 hours, I will email out a link to the Video briefing of the race where you can see myself and Dave’s faces for radio take you through a few key points, and also I’ll send out some more info on what’s expected of racing in these strange times
Other than that, we’re looking forward to seeing you on Sunday morning

That’s it from me. I hope my lengthy waffle hasn’t put any of you to sleep yet ?
We’re here to help, so please give me a call if you have any questions between now and race day – 07595 591612

Cheers and happy tapering

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

Following this week’s Government Announcement on social gatherings, I wanted to give everyone a quick update on the 20th Sept Event :
We’ve spoken with the BTF at some length today, who, for those that do not know, are the UK’s Governing body for Triathlon and obtain approval for our events through the UK Government DCMS on our behalf.
Although the situation is, of course, fairly fluid, we are confident that we can run the event on 20th Sept with theirs and the UK Government’s approval.

The following email went out to all Cotswold 113 Competitors today

Just over 2 weeks to go…..

Good morning all, I hope this email finds everyone well and raring to go on Sept 20th ?
We’re just over 2 weeks to go until the Cotswold 113 on Sept 20th, so this is the 2nd instalment of the pre event info.
I’ll keep this one fairly short and sweet, so in this email I’ll cover the following:

Waves and Numbers
Race Info pack
Revised bike course
Update on Spectators
Marshal request

Waves and Numbers
As per our previous competitor newsletter, the waves and numbers are now available which show your starting times.
You can find these here : https://www.113events.com/cotswold-113/start-list/

Race info Pack
You can find the race info pack in the below link. This info pack should tell you everything you need to know about what to do on Sunday 20th Sept. As we are sending out race packs, you don’t need to do anything on Saturday the 19th when we would normally hold registration, and this is a day for you to put your feet up.
Race info pack here : https://www.113events.com/cotswold-113/downloads/

Your bib and bike sticker will come in the post for you over the next 10 days, and when you arrive in transition on Sunday morning, you will find your timing chip/strap and swim cap on the racking by your number. Your shirt, medal and goody bag will be at the finish line waiting for you
If you have any concerns or are missing a race bib by 15th Sept, please email mary@dbmax.co.uk
They will be sent out in batches starting next Monday, so don’t worry if your club mates or friends have theirs and yours has not arrived yet. There’s no need to worry until around Sept 15th.

It’s hugely important that you read through the race info pack in full as it contains instructions for everyone on race day, as well as a section on Covid specific rules. If your household is anything like mine and Nicci’s, the only peace and quiet you get is on the loo, so you could always print it off and leave it in the bathroom for some reading time 🙂

During race week, we will also send a link out to a video briefing on the race as well as a reminder of the Covid Specific rules
As much as life is returning back to normality slowly, we are still very much in the middle of a global pandemic, so as much as we can keep you totally safe when you’re racing with us, we really do rely on you all to toe the line with the rules set out.
On August 2nd, the competitors were absolutely brilliant, and we had no issues at all. I’m expecting that you all will absolutely do the same as I know our competitors are always a great bunch, so please take the time to read up on our Covid Specific rules in the Race info Pack.

Revised Bike course
After the August 2nd Cotswold Classic, we debrief with all the team, the various stakeholders and local authorities.
As part of those debriefs, we looked at parts of the course and how, if any, they presented risk to increased bunching and difficulties arising for adequate social distancing. One of the areas that was marked as a potential concern was the run course as it crosses the bike course, and the potential for runners to group as they wait to cross over the cyclists. With that in mind, we have produced an alternative to the bike course that takes the turn around point for lap 2 away from the lake (previously, the turnaround crossed the run course on the end of Spratsgate lane) and also to take cyclists coming back in at the end of the bike section away from that crossing point.
You can find info on the revised bike course in the race info pack, and links to Mapmyride course maps where you can zoom in, download GPX files and generally walk through it here : https://www.113events.com/cotswold-113/course/
The course now will take you away from the lake on the ‘Out section’ where you will join the ‘Lap section’ for 2 laps, before returning back to the lake on the ‘Return Section’
There are a couple of patches on the Out and return section, where the tarmac is less than ideal. It’s by no means bad and the area still has much better tarmac than most of the UK’s somewhat poor roads, but we will mark them with paint and signs, and they can easily be avoided if you’re paying attention.
This means that the turnaround for each lap is now around 3miles out from the lake by the quickest route by car and is located near to the Cotswolds Devere hotel on the Spine road roundabouts. Over the next two weeks, we will email out spectator info for that part of the course and where’s best to park and watch from.
On the positive, the revised course is now even flatter than our already pretty pancake flat traditional course.

Update on Spectators
The Covid situation in the area is not getting any worse, but is also not getting any better. Because of this, we have decided that we cannot allow spectators into the start and finish line areas as we simply cannot be 100% confident that we can manage them for Social Distancing and track and trace point of view.
The start and finish areas are actually a very small part of the course, and we will run live timing, live camera feed and a tracker so that spectators can still track and watch you finish.
The bike course is 100% on open area, so spectators can watch from anywhere on the bike course, and the run course is largely the same. We will, of course, ask that spectators around the courses maintain social distancing, but you’re all used to this in the new ‘Normal’ anyway.
We will produce some spectator info over the next two weeks on where they can and can’t go, and what you need to do to get into certain areas of the run course.
The only people allowed on site for the start and finish area will be competitors, marshals, team, medical providers, official photographers and officials, and we can make no exceptions to this, sorry

Marshal request
We are still looking for more marshals for the race. We have around 150 paid positions on race day, and still have around 30 to fill.
If you have any friends, family or club mates that could get involved, and see the race from the inside, we’d welcome them on to the team with open arms.
We pay all our marshals too, and they get either £20 cash or a £40 113 Events voucher, plus we’ll kit them up, get them a team shirt to keep and brief them on everything they need to do on the day. We’ll make sure they have a good laugh too as a happy marshal is an enthusiastic marshal, and we’ve had some truly amazing ones on our team.
All we ask is that they’re over 16, know their left from their right and are reasonably enthusiastic
We’ll make sure they have a fun day and we’ll keep them in hot food and drinks as well as ice creams.
There are two basic shifts, which are as follows :
Bike course – 06:30 Briefing and around a mid day Finish
Run course – 08:30 Briefing and around a 14:30 Finish depending on where on the course they are

If they are on the run course, they can watch the race start, but will likely miss you finish (unless you’re one of the last on the course), and if they’re on the bike course, they will miss the swim start other than maybe the 1st Wave, but will be finished in time to see everyone but the very fastest finish.
Marshals can, of course, hang around the finish area as long as they like, and we’ll be encouraging that to help build up some atmosphere.
We’ll also overload the finish area with marshals and try and pick the noisiest ones too 🙂
Marshals can obviously park for free, and we can find them someone to camp overnight on the Saturday night if they wish too
All marshals will not need to get within 2m of competitors, but just in case they do, they will all get issued with a Covid Pack which consists of a medical grade face mask, an 80ml bottle of >70% Alcohol hand gel and a few pairs of disposable gloves.
We take the safety of competitors and our team very seriously, so you can be totally confident that we will not put the marshals at any risk at all, and they, like you, will be totally safe throughout the day
If you do have anyone that can get involved, please email me at graeme@113events.com

Right, that’s it for me for this week
We’re here to help, so if you get any questions or there’s anything we can help with, please just ask as it’s what we’re here for

Cheers

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

The following newsletter went out to all Cotswold 113 Competitors today

1 month to go……

Good Afternoon all, I hope this email finds everyone well and raring to go in 1 months time for the 20th Sept Cotswold 113
Over the course of the next 4 weeks, you’re going to get few emails from me with more info, but this one is going to outline what we’re planning for the day, and also what to expect over the next few weeks in terms of info etc.

In this email, I’ll cover the following

Deadlines and address changes
On the day outline and how things will work
What’s coming and when
Covid Situation and stoppages
Marshal request

Deadlines and address changes
The start list is now fixed and frozen, and we cannot now change any names. However, you will get an email from Dbmax at some point in the next week asking you to confirm your postal address as I’m conscious that some of you may have moved house since entering the race, and as the race packs are going to be posted out, we don’t want them going missing. Replying to that emails from DBmax  will be your chance to update your address, and from around the 1st Sept, they will start posting out your race bibs and bike stickers (You get the rest on the day – more on this later). Please can you make sure you respond to them promptly if you have changed address.

On the day outline and how things will work 
Firstly, and most importantly, having run our first event in this stage of lockdown being relaxed on August 2nd in the form of the Cotswold Classic Middle Distance Tri, we appear to have satisfied all the powers that be that we can indeed run our events in a totally Covid safe format, not just for the competitors, but also for the Marshals, our team and local residents too.
We went belt and braces on everything related to eliminating the spread of Covid-19, and this is hugely important to us in order to be able to portray Triathlon in a positive light in the area and to be totally confident that everyone on site is 100% safe and we’re not risking any further spread of the virus in the area.
The way we have sold the idea to the BTF, and the way the BTF have subsequently agreed the permit with the UK Government DCMS is that competitors will come along and compete in a bubble of 1. Triathlon has always been an individual sport, so for our events this works and we’ll put various measures in place to ensure that this is entirely possible, but it’s important that you remind yourself of this on race day please.
After the August 2nd race, we have sat down as a team and with various groups to debrief on the day in minute detail to look at what we need to adjust or change in order to run the 20th Sept race in a mildly scaled up format (still at circa 50% the normal capacity we run at)
Most of the changes we’ve made are behind the scenes, so won’t effect you at all, and the same format of the race weekend will largely apply (you can still do a 1.2m swim, 56m bike and Half Marathon as you would do traditionally). However, we have devised a change to the bike course some of you may have ridden before to remove the turnaround point crossing over the run course as this lead to the potential for runners having to wait to cross cyclists and this could present a risk to keeping a 2m bubble. More details on the revised bike course will be released in due course.
In the coming two weeks, you will get a race info pack with all the details, but in summary, the event will run like this:

• Registration will be made by post
• All competitors will be temperature checked on arrival to site, and anyone showing a temperature over the UKGov’s guideline will be turned away (this is the same process for our team, marshals and officials)
• All competitors will be asked to wear a mask in transition in the morning for bike racking (like you currently do to visit a shop) Although you should not need to, this will allow you to impede within someone’s 2m bubble when you are racking your bike and kit at your allocated spot – You will not need to wear a mask during the race
• You will find your Timing chip/strap and swim cap in your numbered transition space ready for you
• All Marshals and team will be issued with a Medical grade mask, gloves and hand gel in case they need to get within 2m of a competitor (In reality, it’s unlikely to be needed as all marshal roles can be done at distance other than transition assistance, where they can wear masks/gloves)
• >70% Alcohol Hand gel dispensers and cleaning stations will be available in all areas of the race day, and should be used frequently
• The Swim will start* in a waved rolling fashion with each competitor set off at 5 second intervals monitored by our team and extended if, for example, the person in front gets in the water and stops to adjust their goggles
• We’re very conscious that many competitors will have not had a good block of swim training in order to confidently undertake the full distance, so on race morning, you can decide to either swim the full 1.9km distance, start straight on the bike, or swim a shorter (approx 300m) course that we will set out. All 3 options will still get a medal etc and cross the finish line, and we will produce 3 sets of results. You can make this choice on race morning, and don’t need to notify us in advance
• Transition time will be neutralised** to reduce any rush to get through and remove the risk of someone running through the area and going within 2m of another competitor
• You will need to be self sufficient on the bike in terms of Aid. We will have an emergency aid station available for those that either cannot carry enough drink on their bike, or have a leaking bottle, emergency or it’s just a 30deg day.
• The run course will have 2 Aid stations per lap (it’s a 3 lap course) that will provide cupped water and High5 Iso Gels. They will work in a two chute system***
• You will be still be able to collect your medal, goody bag and shirt at the finish line, but there will be no post race food or massage
• When you finish, you will need to remove your own timing chip/strap and drop them into one of the many drop buckets with disinfectant in.

*The race will start at 07:00 and competitors will be split into 6 waves each with a 15minute window. Typically, we love that we can normally offer groups of friends or clubs to be racked together and go off in the same waves to race together. However, as part of our many concessions we’ve needed to make to ensure social distancing is entirely possible throughout the race, we needed to actively avoid this this time, so the waves and bib numbers will be set alphabetically by surname and sliced equally into 6 with A being the lowest numbers and Z being the highest. We felt this was the fairest way to do it, and still in some cases, helps families travelling together with logistics.
07:00-07:15 Wave 1
07:15-07:30 Wave 2
07:30-07:45 Wave 3
07:45-08:00 Wave 4
08:00-08:15 Wave 5
08:15-08:30 Wave 6

** A Neutralised transition means that your overall finish time will not include transition 1 (Swim to bike) and Transition 2 (Bike tor run) times up to a  maximum of 10 mins for T1 and 5 minutes for T2. I’ll give you a couple of examples to help explain:
Competitor 200 takes 6 minutes in T1, so his/her T1 time shows as Zero
Competitor 201 takes 13 minutes in T1, so his/her T1 time shows as 3 minutes
Your overall finish time will be Swim, bike and run times added together, not your complete start to finish time.
This will allow you all the luxury of time that if the person in the slot next to you is getting changed on the floor, you can stand back and wait for a minute or five to allow them to finish rather than encroaching within their 2m bubble.
*** The two chute run aid station system operates with a double channel aid station. For example, you will be directed into the left channel, where there’ll be tables laid out with Cupped Water and High5 Iso gels. Whilst you are using the left channel, our team will be cleaning, disinfecting and re-stocking the right channel. When the left channel starts to run low, runners will be directed in the freshly cleaned and restocked right channel and our team will move to the left channel to repeat the process. There will be hand gel cleaning stations before each aid station, and competitors must use this on entry to the station before anything can be touched.

We are working to get agreement to allow spectators into the Swim start and race finish area, but this is not an easy process for us simply as we can control social distancing and track/trace for competitors, but spectators can be a law unto themselves and can be much like herding cats. We’ll keep everyone posted on how these negotiations go, but please can you assume at this point that No Spectators will be allowed around the finish area and swim start. In reality, this is actually only a small part of the site, and most of the run and all of the bike course are open to the general public. We will also, like we did on August 2nd, put out live video of the swim exit and race finish area, and will have a live tracker. We will overload marshals around the finish area too, and have an announcer and photographer to retain that normal race feel.
In later emails, I’ll explain by map where, if this is the case, you can get into and can’t and how to access the waterpark where you can stand on the edge of transition to see competitors come out the swim and on each run lap etc.
It’s been a long and complicated road to get to hold these events, and although I appreciate they are a little unusual compared to triathlon pre covid, it’s important to us that we can hold our heads up high and say in all confidence that we have put these on entirely safely.
We were very proud that the BTF and UK Government gave us permission for the August 2nd Cotswold Classic as the first proper sized triathlon in the UK to run in this stage of lockdown being relaxed, and we truly hope that we gave everyone that came along on the day just a small snippet of normality again. However, we rely on the Competitors to help us portray Triathlon in a positive light, and everyone that lined up on August 2nd did a great job of that by following social distance rules out on the bike and run, so I truly hope that we can expect the same from all of you on Sept 20th please.

What’s coming and when
I don’t want to bombard you all with loads of info 1 month out, and chances are, you’ll have forgotten it all by race day, so we get it out in dribs and drabs.
In rough terms, here’s what to expect and when in the next 4 weeks
4 Weeks out – Address check email from DB Max
3-4 Weeks out – Start list with waves and numbers will be published at https://www.113events.com/cotswold-113/start-list/
2-3 Weeks out – Bibs and bike stickers will be posted out in batches by DBmax
3 Weeks out – We will email out the final race info pack
1-2 Weeks out – We will email you a link to the online briefing video
Final week – Last updates on courses, water temp etc

Covid Situation and stoppages
This has been a rubbish year for everyone, and although the Situation with Covid appears to be under some form of control and decline, we really never know what will happen next.
As it stands currently, the BTF and Uk Government DCMS have permitted the race to happen on Sept 20th in the proposed format.
However, the caveat for that is that if the Cotswold Water park area situation declines, and goes into a local lockdown like we recently saw in Leicester, that Permit can be pulled with zero notice. We are not expecting that to happen as are monitoring the situation very closely, but with this being 2020, pretty much anything could happen. We will, of course, keep you all posted if anything changes

Marshal request
The marshals are what make our events, and without them, it simply cannot happen
We still need more, and even more so in the current situation, where we’re overloading areas of the course with them
If you have anyone coming with you that would like to be involved, we’d welcome them to the team with open arms
We pay all our marshals too, and they can choose from either £20 cash or a £40 113 Events Voucher to use with us for future races.
All marshals will be fully briefed, issued a 113 Events team shirt to keep and we’ll keep them in food and drink for the day.
In these Covid times, although they don’t need to get within 2m of competitors, they’ll all be issued with a Kit bag that includes a medical grade face mask, gloves and hand gel. None of which they will have to wear/use unless in an emergency, they need to help attend to someone within their space bubble
All we ask is that they’re over 16, know their left from their right and are enthusiastic. We’ll make sure they have a good time too and they’ll be properly looked after.
All marshals are allowed on site of course too, so if we cannot allow spectators, the run marshals will be the ones able to watch the swim start and the bike course marshals will be finished in time to see the finish of all but the very fastest competitors
If you have someone you can press gang into getting involved, please email me at graeme@113events.com

Right, that’s it from me today.
Apologies that this was quite a long one, and we’ll try and keep the further update emails a bit shorter as I appreciate the last thing you want to be doing today is reading through my waffle.
We’re looking forward to seeing you all in a few weeks time, but if you have any questions, please just call or email me as that’s what I’m here for

Cheers

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