Hey All, I hope everyone’s managing in the heat ok and feeling ready for this weekend ?
We’re just 5 sleeps from race weekend now, so in what will be one of the last pre race emails, I’m going to cover the following
Weather / Preparation
Compulsory Briefing / Race info pack
Does your bike need some lovin’ or any kit you need
Results / Tracker
Prize Giving
Beach and Country park access on both days
Parking on both days
Swimming on Saturday, or any day this week before the race
Weather / Preparation
There’s really no sugar coating it, it’s been very hot for the last few days, and all the forecasts I look at agree that it’s going to stay like it for the next week or so.
The only saving grace in this version of the heatwave compared to a couple of weeks ago, is that it’s much cooler at night and in the morning. Still, it’s going to be hot on race day, and think it’s now wise for any of you that haven’t yet prepared for it to do so.
Water temperature :
Today, the water temperature was over 25, and this is only going to get warmer as the week goes by.
I will, of course, keep everyone updated towards the end of this week, but I think it’s realistic to now assume that we will be having a non wetsuit swim on Sunday.
We have to make an official call at 05:20 on Sunday morning by measuring 3 points around the lap, and the Cut off for Wetsuits is 24.6deg.
I covered a fair amount about the rules of what you can and can’t wear in newsletter #4, so if any of you have not seen that, you can find that HERE
I also cover a bit about the weather, what we do to prepare for it, and also some other options you may find useful in the video briefing in the next Section, so please do give that a watch.
Note : I’ve had a fair few emails in the last few days asking us to find some cooler points in the lake to make wetsuits optional, so I just wanted to cover the bones of why this isn’t possible here :
In the past, I have both competed and helped at races (not ours) in both the UK and Europe where they’ve lied about the water temperature in order to appease those that wanted a wetsuit, but it brings other, fairly significant, dangers
Heat exhaustion/heat stroke is no joke, and for 95% of people, swimming 1,900m or more in a wetsuit at >25deg water temps can results in just that.
If you get too hot in the water before you even get out on the bike, you’re on a dwindling spiral, and races I’ve seen where people have just gotten too hot in the swim have resulted in a large number of bike accidents where people are still dizzy, confused, nauseous and their bodies are still trying to shed some of the excess heat, which is very hard to do, and sometimes impossible to do whilst active, so presents significant risk to your health.
I would love for the water temperature to be a nice steady 21deg, but I just don’t think it will be, so I have to be very strict on how we apply a wetsuit ban if we need, and it’s not a decision we make lightly.
Everyone that comes through our gate on race morning to get to our start line is our responsibly, and we cannot and will not endanger you by lying about water temps, or measuring at known cooler spots. I know that other organisers do, but I just wanted to explain why we can’t, and won’t.
I’m sorry to have to rant on this, but your safety is our number one priority, so I just wanted to explain our position, and hope that you all respect that.
Last July, we ran the Classic in much hotter conditions than the forecast is giving us for this weekend, and we will, like we did last July, put out extra water and some sprinklers to help keep you cool. The run course offers a good amount of shade too, although there are some exposed bits.
I even spoke to a lot of people after that race that were worried about a non wetsuit swim, and all agreed that it was actually a pretty nice experience.
The main point worth making is that the bike course aid station is around 10 miles into the lap. Assuming some of you will take an hour in the swim, and that first 10 miles of the bike course could take 45mins, please ensure you have enough drink and food on your bike to get you to that point.
Even in a non wetsuit swim, 25-26deg water temperature is hot, and there’s a good chance you could dehydrate yourself before you even look at your bike, so make sure you’re not chewing on air for the first ten miles, and have lots of water loaded up and ready to go please
The forecast, is of course, like all weather forecasts, still changing on a daily basis
Briefing / Race info pack
Although we have 2x longer non compulsory briefings on Saturday at 13:00 and 16:00, there is a compulsory video briefing where you get to see mine and Dave’s faces for radio talk you through the key safety points for the race and also discuss weather planning and options (including nervous swimmer hats etc), Please can you all make time to watch that before the weekend, and that can be found by clicking the below image:
Hopefully, by now you’ve all downloaded and read through the race info pack, if not, you can find it HERE
Does your bike need some lovin’ or any last minute kit you need
Tim Lewington of Speedbub triathlon store will have a shop at the race this weekend, so if you need some last minute kit (ie a race belt, as people often forget to bring those for their race numbers)
I wouldn’t suggest ordering a brand new fancy bike to race on this weekend, but if you wanted one, they can sort it. They’ll also be taking bookings for pre race check overs to your bike
These checks will cost £10 and will be done in 15 minute slots so please email or call the shop to arrange
If you wanted to book your bike in with them for a check over, or order any parts for them to bring with them on Saturday, please drop Tim an email at speedhubuk@icloud.com
Results / Tracker
DBmax, who take care of all the timing at our races, have a live timing page set up and ready to use.
This will update almost immediately as you start the race or cross any of the timing mats on the course, so is a great way for your fiends and family to check on your progress
The link for that is HERE
Prize Giving
I think it’s important to explain why we don’t have a prize giving ceremony at our race first.
Our race, as I hope you’ve felt already, is aimed at everyone. `Also, there isn’t anywhere at the lake enough away from the finish line that we can hold it, and it’s super important to us that anyone still racing out there towards the later stages of the race doesn’t feel like the race has finished without them and that they’re an inconvenience or burden to the rest of us, as they’re really not
Subsequently, we don’t want people out on the run course on their, potentially first lap, and us looking like we’re wrapping up by having a prize giving. The alternative is that we hold the prize giving at 3pm, but as we found out when we did this before, most people don’t stick around for it which I completely understand, as the fastest athletes on the day had finished around 10:30, and it’s not fair to expect them to hang around for that long.
Therefore, although we do have some pretty cool trophies for our age group 1/2/3 and for Aquabike, Relay and Bike/Run. we ask that if you have finished in a position to earn one of these, you come to the race HQ tent after the race and we can present them to you there and we’ll get a picture of you looking proud with it. They’re nice trophies, so worth coming along for after your race has finished
If you’re not sure if you’ve won one, speak to the timing guys at the finish line and they can double check.
Beach and Country park access
The guys that run the Cotswold Beach and Country park, are kind enough to let our spectators/competitors walk through the beach and country park area to get to lake 32 on both Saturday and Sunday, which saves a walk down the side of a road.
However, it’s super important that anyone walking through does not try and use their facilities, largely the beach or the kids paddling area. The reason for this is that they have very strict health and safety regulations, and are only allowed a certain amount of paying customers that they will provide life guard and safety cover for. If our competitors or spectators try and use these areas, they will quickly go over their quota, and they (and subsequently me) will be a whole heap of trouble.
When you park in our car park, you will get a Blue wrist band from us that will allow you access through their gate, and to turn right and walk through their car park to Lake 32 where our Registration, Race Start and Finish is.
On Sunday, spectators will be allowed to spectate from alongside the run course that goes through the beach and country park, but must not under any circumstances go near their beach or kids play/paddling area please
If you are coming along as a family on Saturday, or you have spectators that are arriving after 10am (when the B&CP opens) it’s, of course, ok to book into their as a customer through their website and they can use all the facilities they want. It’s a cool place, and will also mean that your spectators can park literally right against our transition area. They charge around £20 for a car
It’s very much worth booking now with them as I believe they only have a handful of slots left given the forecast, and if they’re not already, will be full in the next couple of days.
Their website is https://www.cotswoldcountryparkandbeach.com/
Parking reminder
Please be reminded that you will need to bring £10 cash for parking each day. We rent this field from a farmer, and he has our arm off for the use of it, so I’m afraid the parking cost is outside of our control.
To speed things up on Sunday AM, competitors can buy Sunday’s carpark pass from Registration.
It has to be cash I’m afraid, as A) the farmer wants paying in cash, and B) the phone signal at the lake is pretty rubbish, so our card machine doesn’t generally work.
Saturday’s car parking is payable on the gate, and Sunday’s passes are available at registration on the Saturday, or payable on the Gate Sunday AM if you don’t get one on Saturday
The carpark is a field though, and has a single gate to access it, so if you’re planning on arriving between about 05:15 and 06:00 when it will be very busy, please base your arrival time on there being a 10-20min queue to get into the carpark please.
On the Sunday, the carpark will be open from 04:30-06:00. After 06:00, spectators can also park in there. If you’re competing, and have your spectators in your car with you, it’s of course ok for them to use the carpark, just for clarification.
If you have spectators that are coming earlier than 06:00 in their own car (ie not with you) the best local place to park is Neighbridge Country park, which is a 10-15min walk and on the run course where the main aid station is located. It’s pay and display, and is about £3 for the day
The What3Words for neigh bridge is ///angle.sublet.chatters
Please ask them not to park in the residential area of Somerfork Keynes, as the locals don’t want their street clogged up with cars from the event, or blocking their driveways. We have a great relationship with SK residents, and we want to keep it that way please
Swimming on Saturday, or any day this week before the race
The lake we rent for our races have their own open water swimming every day, so if you fancied coming down this week and having a dip, you can book that at https://lake32.co.uk/product/payg-swimming/
It’s worth also noting that their pay as you go swimming booking on Saturday is actually cheaper than the race carpark, so if you book for a swim on Saturday afternoon, you save a couple of pounds, and also get to swim before you register as their swim booking includes parking
Final Words
As much as us Brits really do like a moan about the weather, at least it’s not hammering it down, 40 mph winds or just freezing cold. It’s going to be a hot one, so please prepare your kit and nutrition plans accordingly. We will do everything we can to make sure you all have a great day and get around safely, but need you all to take some precautions too please.
If you’ve missed any of our previous newsletters, you can find them at www.113events.com/news
We really are here to help, so please just drop me an email or give me a call if there’s anything I can help with at all. I’ll be at the lake most of this week, so won’t have a lot of access to my emails during the day, but my phone is on and I’ll be picking up my emails in the evening.
See you all in a few days
Cheers
Graeme, Nicci and the 113 Events Team
graeme@113events.com
07595 591612
