Highland Cross 2018 - Participants' Bulletin No 2 - June

Please note that general information and last minute change details are being regularly posted on both the Highland Cross website and Facebook page. PLEASE CHECK THESE REGULARLY!

Road Conditions - Chisholm’s Bridge to Fasnakyle Power Station

This section of the route has been subject to heavy wear and tear from use and severe weather. Considerable patching to the road surface has been undertaken to improve the road condition.

However this section must be ridden with considerable caution

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.

Highland Council has indicated that it will be patching in this area but they do not anticipate any great improvement being achievable before 23^rd June.

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

Preparation

Food and Drink

You should now know what works for you in terms of taking on fuel and drink during the event. 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 all the energy that you require to see you safely through the day.

Making it happen safely

In the interests of your own safety we expect that all participants will carry the recommended safety equipment on the day:

1.       A whistle to summon help – 6 blasts of the whistle repeated at one minute intervals

2.       A weather protective suit

3.       A small amount of high energy food

The weatherproof suit is vital. If you have to travel slowly or you have an injury it could make a huge difference to how you feel and your condition by the time resources get to you.

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 five excellent causes nominated this year need your help.

Page 2 of your brochure has information on setting up Gift Aid efficient fundraising pages.

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 18th 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.

Access to Morvich – Road Closure

Due to a defective bridge there is no access to Morvich via the South end of the Morvich loop road through Allt a’ chruinn hamlet where the “Jac-o-bite” Restaurant sits. The only access to Morvich is from the North end of the loop road (at Grid Reference 944 213 on OS 1:50 000 sheet 33).

There will be increased traffic congestion because of this and participants are urged not to take cars into the area. The community of Morvich is hugely supportive of Highland Cross and we ask that participants repay that support with consideration as to parking.

Discussions are underway with the local community to establish a participants’ and supporters’ parking area.

Remember that general information and last minute change details are being regularly posted on both the Highland Cross website and Facebook page. PLEASE CHECK THESE REGULARLY!

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Highland Cross 2018 - Participants' Bulletin No 1 - May

Welcome to the 36^th Highland Cross!

Whether you are a veteran of 30+ Crosses or coming into the event for the first time you are part of the amazing Community of Highland Cross that delivers outstanding benefit to Highland charities.

The Community of Highland Cross – YOU and the folk who make the day happen

You will take part on the day alongside over 750 folk with the same goals as you – to cross the Highlands in a day and raise funds for the five superb causes nominated to be major beneficiaries from this year’s event.  Details of the causes are in your booklet on pages 10, 11 and 12. 

Your crossing is made possible by a wonderful support network of volunteers, businesses, public bodies and voluntary groups who come together each year to make the Cross happen.  Many of folk supporting the Cross are past participants or their organisations have teams taking part as well as supporting.

100 volunteers from the benefitting charities will be working along the route and representatives from over a dozen charities that have benefitted from previous Highland Crosses will be supporting the event with donated vehicles and labour.  Details of the sponsors and supporters are on pages 13 and 14 of the booklet.

Preparing for the day

Please read the route and safety advice in the booklet – pages 4 and 5 - and on the website.  How you prepare for the Cross will largely determine if you have a memorable or miserable experience.

Please note the basic emergency equipment that every participant is expected to carry throughout the day it is detailed on page 5.  Please get used to carrying it in training.

Fundraising

This is often the hardest part of the Cross! But your efforts will bring immense benefit to causes that would struggle over years to raise the sums that one Highland Cross day can generate. These charities support some of the most vulnerable folk in our communities. The athletic challenge is admirable but the prime aim of the Cross is to give the nominated charities a tremendous boost.

Changes to the regulations for maintaining digital records

From 25 May 2018 we have to change the way that we keep our information on you.  This is because of the General Data Protection Regulations.

We keep records so that we can communicate with you about the event and especially as the event nears with updates on route conditions.  We keep records so that we can assign your fundraising efforts to the correct teams. We need to hold information so that we can award prizes to the athletically minded amongst you and to award long service gifts to folk who complete twenty Crossings.

Our data handlers are professionally involved in the secure handling of information and we do not share any of our information with any other event or organisation.  We never have and never will.

As this date approaches we shall be communicating with you further with regards to your privacy options.

Please ensure that this bulletin is shared with all your team members – not everybody has given us an e mail address. Every member of each team must register with us so that we can comply with the new data regulations. 

Facebook

We have opened up our new Facebook page as another way to communicate with our participants and the Highland Cross community.

https://www.facebook.com/thehighlandcross/