Highland Cross 2016 - Participant’s Bulletin 5
Welcome to the “After
bulletin”!
50 folk did not give us an
email address but at least one person in every team did. Please
ensure that this bulletin is circulated amongst your team
colleagues.
Congratulations to all the 747
folk who finished Highland Cross and commiserations to the 2
folk who were robbed of their crossing by bike problems!
Lost Property
We have very little lost baggage
or lost property still with us but if you are looking for lost
property please get in touch with us via the contact details on
the website or in your booklet.
Comment cards
We really want to improve the
event and genuinely welcome constructive suggestions. Either
email them or remember to put them on your comment card when you
receive it with your Certificate soon. Also comment cards are a
vital way of registering interest for an invitation for the 35th
Highland Cross.
What the Lady winner says about the Cross
“Dear John, Calum and all of the
organising team of the Highland Cross,
I just wanted to say a huge thank
you for yet another fantastic Cross. The organisation and
support was as usual completely faultless. The marshals and
volunteers are always all so cheerful, it really makes the
event. It is by far my favourite race each year and it is always
such a great day.
I always wanted to do the Cross
when I was wee, having seen family friends and neighbours
training hard for it and completing it. To complete the Cross
was viewed as pretty much the pinnacle of local sporting
achievement in our household! This one was particularly special
for me and I don't think I'll ever forgot that feeling I had as
I cycled into Beauly.
Now to get the sponsor money in...
one member of the Inverness Fiddlers said 'I'll sponsor you £10,
but if you win, I'll make it £100'. She might be regretting her
words now, but I won't let her forget!
Thank you all,
Caroline”
Caroline’s kind words bring us
nicely onto
Why we make the day happen
Highland Cross exists to
provide a unique crossing of Highland Scotland and most
importantly generate funds for Highland Charities that seek to
improve the medical and social well-being of folk in the
Highlands.
That is why you have committed to
the £500 per team minimum pledge. It is fantastic to see so much
fundraising activity going on through online pages and we know
that teams are holding fundraising events to boost their
contribution. Thank you for that commitment and please continue
it for as long as possible - the six excellent causes nominated
this year need our help.
We are poised to give the go ahead
to the charities to order the gifts that we have pledged to
support but we need every last penny in to allow us to do that.
If you still have money to bank or pledges from friends to
redeem please do so as soon as possible. We need it all
banked or through the charity giving websites by 31st July!
The Community of the Cross – Making the day happen
Volunteers from over twenty
charities supported by Highland Cross this year or through
previous fundraising worked to make the day happen for you and
to bring in essential funds for Highland causes
As well as the supporting
charities you received help from an amazing selection of
Highland Cross volunteers and supporting organisations - they
are listed in your booklet.
Whether you were on your 34th
Crossing or you were a Highland Cross Newcomer we hope that you
had a wonderful Crossing and that you make a great contribution
to Highland charities through your efforts!
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Highland Cross 2016 - Participant’s Bulletin No.4
Safety Warnings
Foot
section conditions - Torrential rain storms and subsequent flash
flooding have done damage to the foot section of the course.
The surface of the “Yellow Brick Road” from Athnamulloch to the
changeover point has been badly scoured. The Forestry Commission
have contractors working on the road to improve it. But
participants should expect all sections of the foot section from
Morvich right across to be rougher than usual and take
appropriate care.
Road Conditions – Junction between the Strathglass road (A 831)
and the road to Beauly (A 862) at Lovat Bridge. During a
route survey it was identified that there are extremely rough
road surface conditions at the bend where you leave the
Strathglass road and join the Inverness to Beauly road for the
last mile into Beauly. Participants must anticipate this area
and ride with appropriate caution. Remember the road at this
stage is open to normal traffic and vehicles may be coming
towards you on the uphill carriageway. The bend is at Grid
Reference 514 449 on OS Sheet 26
Proper Preparation Prevents Poor Performance
Into the final countdown - Bike loading in Inverness starts at
17.00hrs and ends at 21.00hrs sharp on Friday evening!
At Inverness do not attempt to leave a bike before the official
time. The security gates will be in place and we do not want to
distract the Fire Control Room who controls them. Your bike will
not be registered into our keeping and may be left behind when
the lorries depart. Do not lean bikes against the fire
engines! This causes justifiable annoyance to our generous
hosts!
-
Do
not over wrap bikes
-
Make sure that you have YOUR number on your bike and bags.
-
Do
not attach luggage or helmets to your bike – put everything
in a weather proof bag clearly marked with your number.
-
Put
a label with your Name and number inside every bag as backup
Beauly
bike loading starts 06.15hrs.
Bus Transport
We carefully order the correct number of buses according to the
bookings that YOU have made. The last thing that we want
is not having enough bus capacity in the right place at the
right time to get everybody round to the right start time!
Fuel and Drink
You should know what works for you in terms of taking on fuel
and drink in these final days leading up to the event on the day
itself. Every individual has different needs in this respect –
we will provide water and Isostar rehydration fluid along the
route. Use these as YOU know your body needs. Take food that you
know that you can tolerate and will give you the energy that you
require to see you safely through the day.
Your Bicycle
Please
ensure that you have a fully functioning cycle and have the
spares and tools that YOU can use to make necessary repairs or
to deal with a puncture at any point on the cycle section.
Surplus gear at the start for transfer to Beauly
There will be a bag van at the Start to take your surplus gear
through to Beauly. Any gear that you want transferred must be in
a bag marked with your unique participant’s number with a name
and number label inside as backup. The Baggage Pound in Beauly
is in the open air and you are advised that the surplus kit
should be in a waterproof container.
-
Your change-over gear – protect it in a waterproof bag
-
Gear being sent to the Quarry with your bike must be packed
in a waterproof bag – we suggest that you use a dry-bag. If
not make sure that you have used waterproof liners inside
your gear bag.
-
Gear going to the quarry including your cycle helmet and any
cycle computers must NOT be attached to your bike and must
be in a separate bag which will go in a bag van to the
Quarry.
-
Make sure that all your baggage has a waterproof label with
your unique event number attached to it and another label
with your name and number inside it as a backup.
Getting your gear from the Changeover to Beauly
In the Changeover you must pack your bag and pass it to the bag
van marshals if you want it taken to the Finish Baggage Pound in
Beauly. It must have your number on it and on a label inside it.
A new prize donation from Fishbox!
Inverness based company Coast & Glen have generously sponsored
prizes for this year’s Highland Cross. Fishbox will be providing
vouchers for the First Gent and First Lady Finisher in the Cross
and will provide three vouchers for the highest fundraising team
of Highland Cross Newcomers announced at the Charity Handover
and Thank You evening in the autumn. See the last bulletin or
the website for their offer to participants. Use discount code:
HCross2016
www.fishbox.co.uk
Making it happen safely
We have constructed a Safety Net to support you along the route
but the most important person in the safety Net is YOU!
Do
not carry an illness or injury into the Cross!
Carrying an illness or injury into the Cross guarantees that you
will have a poor experience and may result in serious illness or
further injury afflicting you during the event. It is also
an unreasonable burden on the Safety Net as these volunteers
have to deal with an incident that should not have happened and
they volunteer to deal with accidents and unexpected illnesses.
We have had the experience of a participant who returned from
holiday with diarrhoea but who was so committed to the event
that they started. Five miles into the foot section, at a
difficult place for us to access, they needed an evacuation of a
different kind! The Medical Marshal had to get to them by
helicopter and then have them airlifted out. If the helicopter
had not accessed them they would have needed a full mountain
rescue stretcher carry out to safety. If you know that you
have been unwell or have an injury please withdraw before the
event for your own safety and so that emergency resources on the
Safety Net are available for event related incidents. In
the interests of your own safety we expect that all participants
will carry the recommended safety equipment on the day:
-
A
whistle to summon help – 6 blasts of the whistle repeated at
one minute intervals
-
A
weather protective suit
-
A
small amount of high energy food
The
forecast suggests that there will be a North to North Eastern
wind blowing down the whole course all day. This is a cold wind
at the best of times. Make sure that you have and use your shell
protection. If you slow or have an injury it could make a huge
difference to how you feel and your condition by the time
resources get to you.
Cycle safely
Fasnakyle Brae steep twisting downhill. Emergency vehicles may
have to ascend it to get to a serious incident. Ride it at all
times as though it was two way traffic. Fasnakyle to Beauly is
open road shared with the public you do not have right of way.
If you have to repair your bike or take a breather try to use
the water stops or at least pull off the road for your own
safety.
-
Withdrawing – try to do this at a water stop. There are
support vehicles to help get you to Beauly.
-
Beauly Toll junction – please note the safety warning at the
start of the bulletin
-
Final cross over – be aware of traffic around you and obey
the Police Officer marshalling to cross-over!
Why
we make the day happen
Highland Cross exists to provide a unique crossing of Highland
Scotland and most importantly generate funds for Highland
Charities that seek to improve the medical and social well-being
of folk in the Highlands. That is why you have committed
to the £500 per team minimum pledge. It is fantastic to see so
much fundraising activity going on through online pages and we
know that teams are holding fundraising events to boost their
contribution. Thank you for that commitment and please continue
it for as long as possible - the six excellent causes nominated
this year need our help.
The Community of the Cross – Making the day happen
Volunteers from over twenty charities supported by Highland
Cross this year or through previous fundraising will be working
to make the day happen for you and to bring in essential funds
for Highland causes. As well as the supporting charities
you will have help from an amazing selection of Highland Cross
volunteers and supporting organisations - they are listed in
your brochure. Some of you taking part have been
volunteers on the Safety and Support Net and will be viewing the
event from a different perspective. We hope that you enjoy your
day but will come back to the Net with recharged enthusiasm for
delivering an amazing day. Whether you are on your 34th
Crossing or you are a Highland Cross Newcomer we hope that you
have a wonderful Crossing and that you make a great contribution
to Highland charities through your efforts.
Highland Cross 2016 - Participant’s Bulletin No.3
Safety Warning
Road Conditions – Junction between the Strathglass road (A 831)
and the road to Beauly (A 862) at Lovat Bridge
During a route survey this week it was identified that there are
extremely rough road surface conditions at the bend where you
leave the Strathglass road and join the Inverness to Beauly road
for the last mile into Beauly. Participants must anticipate this
area and ride with appropriate caution. Remember the road at
this stage is open to normal traffic and vehicles may be coming
towards you on the uphill carriageway. The bend is at Grid
Reference 514 449 on OS Sheet 26
Bus Transport
We carefully order the correct number of buses according to the
bookings that YOU have made. Last year there was a
sudden increase in folk turning up for the early walkers’ start
buses in Beauly. There was just enough space to squeeze folk on
but we then had an extra bus for the Runners’ start. When we
analysed the problem later it appeared that a number of
participants had changed to “Walkers” at the last minute without
informing us – please tell us if you are doing this, ideally by
email and as early as possible also where there was a mix of
runners and walkers in a team, the team had decided to all
travel on the “Walkers’ bus” despite earlier making separate
bookings, and folk switched from an Inverness booking to turning
up in Beauly. The last thing that we want is not having enough
bus capacity in the right place at the right time to get
everybody round to the right start time! Please stick to the
booking that you have made – we can accept changes but email us
as early as possible.
Proper Preparation Prevents Poor Performance…
With two weeks to go to the Cross whether you are an athlete
going for a record or a “get acrosser” you will be in your final
preparations. This bulletin looks at a couple of aspects
of final preparation.
Fuel and Drink
By now you should know what works for you in terms of taking on
fuel and drink in the days leading up to the event on the day
itself. Every individual has different needs in this respect –
we will provide water and Isostar rehydration fluid along the
route. Use these as YOU know your body needs. Consider
what food you are going to take with you on the day and send up
with your bike and bag to the “Change-over” area at Affric. We
have had a number of incidents where cyclists simply fall off
their bikes or cycle off the road in the area after Fasnakyle
Brae. Having spoken to a few of the folk concerned they
characterise their experience as having run out of energy, lost
concentration and then lost control. In one case a participant
was seen to simply stop pedalling, balance for a moment and fall
over onto the road. The folk we have spoken to believed that
they were hydrating well on the way across but perhaps they had
not eaten enough. Please think about what you are going to eat –
energy gels etc give a quick boost but for the long haul your
body may need something more substantial with more complex
carbohydrates. Bananas, cheese sandwiches, heavy duty cereal
bars all seem to feature on the menu in the Quarry! Know the
fuel that YOU will need and send it to the Quarry in your
change-over bag.
Your bicycle
Please ensure that you have a fully functioning cycle and have
the spares and tools that YOU can use to make necessary repairs
or to deal with a puncture at any point on the cycle section.
With so many different styles and sizes of bike we do not keep
spares at any point along the route. Almost every year we unpack
a bike with a list of repairs or adjustments needed to be done
on a label attached to it! Needless to say the people who do
that find the bike waiting for them with the label still in
place.
Your change-over gear – protect it in a waterproof bag
Gear being sent to the Quarry with your bike must be packed in a
waterproof bag – we suggest that you use a dry-bag. If not make
sure that you have used waterproof liners inside your gear bag.
Gear going to the quarry including your cycle helmet and any
cycle computers must NOT be attached to your bike and must be in
a separate bag which will go in a bag van to the Quarry.
Arriving at the Quarry to get into fresh cycling gear that is
dry and ready to go is far preferable to the alternative of wet
gear. Prepare your kit bag for the change-over and for the
Finish and you will reap the benefit. Remember both the
change-over in the Quarry and the Finish bag compound are open
to the elements and we cannot protect your gear. Make sure
that all your baggage has a waterproof label with your unique
event number attached to it and another label with your name and
number inside it as a backup.
Substitution arrangements
If you need to withdraw for any reason a substitute entry can be
made for a replacement participant for your team up to the 13th
June. The rules governing substitution are in your brochure but
the substitution can only take place on the form from the inside
back cover of the brochure.
A new Prize donation from Fishbox!
Inverness based company Coast & Glen have generously sponsored
prizes for this year’s Highland Cross. Fishbox will be
providing vouchers for the First Gent and First Lady Finisher in
the Cross and will provide three vouchers for the highest
fundraising team of Highland Cross Newcomers announced at the
Charity Handover and Thank You evening in the autumn. They
comment: “We are a seafood wholesaler who supplies over
200 hotels and restaurants across and the Highlands and Islands.
We also send out 'Fishboxes' direct to consumers. Fishbox is a
subscription box of fresh, sustainable, Scottish seafood
delivered direct to your door. Fishbox champions the quality of
Highland seafood, delivering this produce to homes across the
UK. We are a growing, local business and we would love to
support the Highland Cross. We have a personal link to the
local event with many of customers, based locally and further
afield, competing in the Highland Cross each year. Even our MD
Magnus Houston has a proud photo of him crossing the finishing
line! We send a selection of the freshest Scottish seafood
to homes across the UK, with free delivery. All fish is
responsibly sourced from small, independent fishing boats and
suppliers. We are delighted to be supporting the Highland Cross
and would like to offer 50% off to anyone who orders their first
Fishbox online.“
Use discount code: HCross2016
www.fishbox.co.uk
Why
we make the day happen
Highland Cross exists to provide a unique crossing of Highland
Scotland and most importantly generate funds for Highland
Charities that seek to improve the medical and social well-being
of folk in the Highlands. That is why you have committed
to the £500 per team minimum pledge. It is fantastic to see so
much fundraising activity going on through online pages and we
know that teams are holding fundraising events to boost their
contribution. Thank you for that commitment and please continue
it for as long as possible - the six excellent causes nominated
this year need our help.
The Community of the Cross – Making the day happen
Volunteers from over twenty charities supported by Highland
Cross this year or through previous fundraising will be working
to make the day happen for you and to bring in essential funds
for Highland causes. As well as the supporting charities
you will have help from an amazing selection of Highland Cross
volunteers and supporting organisations - they are listed in
your brochure. Some of you taking part have been
volunteers on the Safety and Support Net and will be viewing the
event from a different perspective. We hope that you enjoy your
day but will come back to the Net with recharged enthusiasm for
delivering an amazing day. Whether you are on your 34th
Crossing or you are a Highland Cross Newcomer we hope that you
have a wonderful Crossing and contribute to the benefit to
Highland charities through your efforts!
Highland Cross 2016 - Participant’s Bulletin No.2
Welcome to the second Highland Cross 2016 bulletin!
From the numbers of groups of three walkers, joggers, runners
and cyclists that we see around Inverness and the surrounding
countryside it is clear that folk are getting well on with their
preparations for the Cross!
Substitution arrangements
We hope that your personal preparations and fund raising efforts
are going well and that you will be with us on 18th June but if
you need to withdraw for any reason a substitute entry can be
made for a replacement participant for your team up to 13th
June.
The rules governing substitution are in your booklet but the
substitution can only take place on the form from the inside
back cover of the booklet.
Why
we make it happen
Highland Cycle Ability Centre
This is
a centre created to provide cycling opportunities for everybody
in the community irrespective of the challenges that they face.
Highland Cross 2015 was privileged to fund the purchase of a
Landrover and trailer combination to allow them to expand their
work into communities across the Highlands. The trailer can take
a selection of their amazing specialist cycles to bring cycling
opportunities to folk otherwise denied them.
Highland Children’s Unit went operational on 9th May
Calum
Munro represented Highland Cross at the preview of the new
Highland Children's Unit on 25th April. It is hoped that the
Unit will start accepting patients very soon. The
facilities are extremely impressive and look nothing like a
standard NHS facility. Great effort has gone into making them as
child and young person friendly as possible with enhanced
facilities for parents/carers to be with seriously ill children.
The £40,000 of Highland Cross funding from the 2012 event will
be combined with the funds raised this year to pay for the
fitting out of the High Dependency Unit (HDU) a key area of the
new Unit. The photograph shows the Nurse's Station in the HDU
and gives a taste of the decoration and quality of finish in the
whole unit. Another wonderful example of what the wonderful folk
of the Community of Highland Cross have achieved for the wider
Highland Community! Volunteers from the Archie Trust, who
led the fund raising for the new unit, will be fitting your
wristbands just before the start at Morvich.
Making it happen safely
We have constructed a Safety Net to support you along the route
but the most important person in the safety Net is YOU!
How you prepare, equip and conduct yourself on the day will
determine if you have a memorable or miserable crossing!
In the last bulletin we gave you the advice from the Scottish
Hill Runners Committee and we are repeating this advice to you
all.
As a minimum Highland Cross Organisers expect every
participant to carry with them at all times during the event the
following:
-
A
whistle to summon help – 6 blasts of the whistle repeated at
one minute intervals
-
A
weather protective suit
-
A
small amount of high energy food
Weather Protection
Lightweight weather protective suits come in all materials and
price ranges. The link below takes you to a new shell jacket
from Alp Kit. It is light and neat and very easily packed in a
day sack or bumbag.
www.alpkit.com/products/arro-mens
In the interests of your own safety we expect that all
participants will carry the recommended safety equipment on the
day.
Congratulations!
Highland Cross is delighted to send its congratulations to
Calman Trust who have just had a major success in spreading
their award winning work with young people in Highland.
Youth charity the Calman Trust is to take over and run energy
company SSE's staff cafe in Inverness.
The new canteen will provide opportunities for young people to
learn and work and the profits will be used to support the wider
work of the charity, which includes housing support, training,
cookery classes, life skills and work experience. Calman
Trust already runs the city’s successful Café Artysans venture,
a social enterprise that supports young people to gain vital
training and work experience on the road to sustainable
employment. The Café Artysans team is now serving
breakfasts, lunches, drinks and snacks to SSE staff at the
company’s Inverness base, located in Longman Industrial Estate.
Read the full story at:
http://thirdforcenews.org.uk/tfn-news/social-enterprise-to-run-sse-staff-canteen
Highland Cross has been proud to support Calman Trust in
previous years through the supply of embroidery machinery for
their training centre and with a refrigerated van for their
outside catering enterprise.
The Community of the Cross – Making the day happen
The examples in the bulletin show the quality of the causes that
Highland Cross is honoured to support. Volunteers from twenty
charities supported by Highland Cross this year or through
previous fundraising will be working to make the day happen for
you and to bring in essential funds for Highland causes.
Highland Cross 2016 - Participant’s Bulletin No.1
Highland Cross is now in its 34th year and provides you with an
opportunity to challenge yourself to cross the width of the
Highlands in a day along one of the most scenic of routes and to
raise funds for at least six fantastic Highland Charities.
Whether you are a “Cross Virgin” or a regular you are very
welcome to this amazing day.
Why we make it happen
Highland Cross is created by a voluntary committee backed by the
generous support of a wonderful group of individual volunteers,
charities and organisations and commercial firms who give of
their time, equipment and talents to create benefit for Highland
Charities. We are delighted to celebrate the athletic
achievements of participants but the key fundamental of the
Cross is creating benefit for others less fortunate than
ourselves. Therefore unashamedly we emphasise the need for you
to honour your commitment to raise a minimum of £500 per team in
sponsorship. As described in your booklet, online
platforms such as “Justgiving” and Virgin Money Giving” can be
used to create fundraising pages to support your efforts.
Making it happen safely
We have constructed a Safety Net to support you along the route
but the most important person in the Safety Net is YOU!
How you prepare, equip and conduct yourself on the day will
determine if you have a memorable or miserable crossing!
Each year we undertake a thorough review of how we organise the
event and this year we have once again benefitted from the
guidance of the Scottish Hill Runners committee (SHR) who have
reviewed our safety processes. They strongly recommend
that every participant carry a minimum of safety gear and we are
repeating this advice to you all. As a minimum Highland
Cross Organisers expect every participant to carry with them at
all times during the event the following:
-
A
whistle to summon help – 6 blasts of the whistle repeated at
one minute intervals
-
A
weather protective suit
-
A
small amount of high energy food
The SHR
guidance notes state: “Adequate whole body cover to
protect you against hypothermia or heat exhaustion/dehydration
in the severest conditions likely on the day.” And “Hypothermia
is dangerous. Competitors should be aware that if circumstances
cause a runner to stop or slow to a walking pace then body heat
is lost quickly. In cold, wet or windy weather the onset of
hypothermia can be very rapid unless sufficient warm clothing is
worn.” We appreciate that the majority of you who enter as
Walkers will already be planning to carry a sack or bumbag with
waterproofs etc – this is great! However we have noted
that in past years quite a number of runners and joggers have
chosen not to carry a shell despite our advice to carry
protection. Given a fair day and constant movement you may get
away with this but if you have a minor injury you will find
yourself chilling quickly if you have to slow or stop. Over the
years quite a few participants have been grateful that they did
take a shell with them when problems arose. In the interests of
your own safety we expect that all participants will carry the
recommended safety equipment on the day.
Congratulations!
Highland Cross is delighted to send its congratulations to
Birchwood Highland, a charity that is part of our Community, for
their achievements in the recently released Care Commission
Annual Inspection results. Staff and service users at
local mental health charity Birchwood Highland are celebrating
great results from two visits by the Care Inspectorate, to the
Inverness Support Service, the Lochaber Support Service and the
Easter Ross Support Service, the Care Inspectorate awarded all
three services the top rating ‘Excellent’. The services
provide housing support and care at home to individuals across
the region. The same grade was awarded to Birchwood
Highland’s Recovery Centre after another unannounced inspection
of the 23-bedroomed facility in Inverness, where individuals are
supported by a dedicated team of nurses and support workers.
Birchwood Highland are nominated as a major beneficiary from
Highland Cross 2016 and volunteers from the charity will be
working in the Finish Area in Beauly Square on the 18th June.
The Community of the Cross – Making the day happen
This example shows the quality of the causes that Highland Cross
is honoured to support. Volunteers from twenty charities
supported by Highland Cross this year or through previous
fundraising will be working to make the day happen and to bring
in essential funds for Highland causes.