Final week to the NDW

This weekend is the calm before the storm. This time next week we will have had 100 Marathon runners and 100 50 milers cross the finish line of our inaugural races and will be awaiting the arrival of the final few returning 100 mile warriors, 28 hours deep in to their adventure across the North Downs....

We've done everything we can do in advance of Thursday. I feel extremely well prepared, that which we can't prepare for - one can never prepare for. As with every event there will be issues over the course of race weekend but we will roll with them and i'm confident we have got enough of a framework in place to be able to handle most any eventuality.

We have run into a few speedbumps on the path to this coming weekend. When I touched base with Box Hill again a couple of months ago, the initial permission for runners to use the NDW path over that area had all of a sudden been rescinded. Many competitors have been aware that the weekend of our race is also the date for LOCOGs Olympic Road Cycling Test Event in preparation for London 2012. The route for the cycle race heads from central London down to the Surrey Hills and sends the riders on a multi lap circuit around and over Box Hill. As such LOCOG intervened with our race and made it clear that we would not be able use the NDW path at all due to road restrictions and spectator numbers and asked us to change the date. Needless to say I wasn't keen on that idea and after much haggling and explanation as to the simplicity of our circumstances - not least that all of our runners will be off of Box Hill by 6am on the morning of the cycling event, LOCOG finally agreed to give us the go ahead. Having to re-route runners around the base of Box Hill would have meant missing out on one of the more iconic points on the route and certainly the steepest and longest single ascent/ descent (some might be wishing now that we hadn't got clearance after all!) - for me it would have literally and figuratively removed the heart of the race.  Nevertheless we are good to go as long as we are clear of the area by 6am. As such, the 5:50am cut off for 100 milers to reach the 76 mile point at the base of Box Hill having negotiated the descent and the bridge/ stepping stones will be strictly enforced. If a runner is close to the cut off at Reigate Hill they will be encouraged somewhat strongly to pick up the pace over the next 7.5 miles....

We've also had plenty of comments on the thick swathes of stinging nettles blocking the NDW by Clarks Lane just after the point where we'll have our final aid station on route to the 50 mile point. I spent Friday afternoon out on the course with Allan Rumbles (NDW 100 miler) armed with an axe, a scythe and some shears ready to clear Downs which had been impassable for a half a mile. Thank goodness we found the council had been down maybe only a few days before we got there as the way was remarkably clear leaving only a few ends for us to tidy up. If we'd had to do it ourselves we'd have been there for hours to make it passable. Not quite the level of trail work that goes in to making Western States happen each year but some nevertheless!!!!

Logistically everything is now in place. The team of volunteers has grown almost daily. We had our core of volunteers in place for a long time, the numbers I felt we needed to get things running smoothly on race day but I feel much happier about the overall level of support we have now. I don't think there's ever a time when you can have too much aid station support as a runner.

Rucky Chucky Near Aid Station at Western States: Photo c/o Joe Mcladdie

Food, water, Coke and both Electrolyte Replacement Drinks and Gels from our nutritional sponsor GU have been stocked and instructions mailed out to our aid station teams. Runners will find over 60 people on the course during race weekend including:

- 2 fully equipped medical response units covering all 3 finish lines with a further roving response unit to get to runners in need out on the course.
- An 8 strong course marking team who will lay additional markers and directional arrows through Friday 12th, glow sticks during the day/ night of Saturday 13th before finally sweeping the course across Sunday and Monday 14th and 15th.

The majority of our volunteer team, some of which will be out on the course assisting runners for 36 hours or more are experienced marathon and ultra runners and those that aren't, have friends or family who are. We are deeply indebted to them for their help and support and as always, without them there would be no race.

Some of international runners arrive through Wednesday onwards so things will really start to become real around then. Hopefully I'll be able to sleep again at night come next week, just in time to fly on to Leadville for my own 100 mile assault the following weekend out in Colorado....