So Entry for 2009 is open....

I ran on Sunday and I'm in complete agreement with the comments already posted on this site about the lack of organisation, incorrectly measured route, inadequate facilities for runners both pre/post race, lack of music etc etc. 

For me all the positives bring me back to the fantastic spectators (thanks to all those kids hi-fiving us from the sides and the fab dude who was banging away on his cow-bell & cheering us on!!), not to mention the spirit of the runners that weren't dampened despite the rain & jittery start.

So entry for 2009 is already open, & despite the negatives, I enjoyed the route and would consider entering this event again.  However I'm reluctant to do so without some sort of formal recognition from the organisers of RTTB that they have messed up & will not let the same mistakes happen again.

Namely addressing:

- fact that the route was too long & mileage markers inaccurate. 

- communication system pre/post event - for an event of this size, 1 guy with a loudspeaker is just not enough - it was impossible to hear what they were saying.  Can it be that hard to rig up some sort of speaker/microphone system? 

- Big cups + Running = Snorting water.  Please supply small bottles

- Baggage - an open sided lorry is not good enough.  People had packed dry clothes which ended up trodden & soaked.

- Music - In a post by the organisers, it says they had to withdraw 6 bands due to wet weather...which is a little misleading.   A post on runners world from a band member said that when they arrived the stage wasn't set up & equipment wasn't there (regardless of the rain), then when it was there the stage was so soaked that they were in danger of being electrocuted.  Its due to poor RTTB planning that they didn't have stage & equipment to handle all weather conditions - you can't just bank on it being sunny.   Unfortunately this was a complete waste of the bands time aswell

- Live results system - still no feedback from RTTB on this this messed up.

- And finally it says for 2009 entry that you'll get a free Limited Edition T-Shirt - well I'm still waiting for mine for 2008.  RTTB Organisers - where are they?  Come on speak up?!?

All in all, I'm not satisfied with the official comments by RTTB so far - they seem to make out that all the things that went wrong were out of their control and due to bad weather, tube probs etc - when really all the things that people have been most disappointed with are solely down to poor planning & serious lack of thinking by RTTB.  I think all the runners out there need reassurance that these specific issues will be addressed, before asking people to sign up to next years event.

I eagerly wait a response from RTTB....and give a pat on the back to everyone who participated/spectated on Sunday.

Plus, they've put the price up to £33.

I too am unfortunately a bit disappointed with the organistion of this event. Obviously the weather and tube problems were out of the control of the organisers but there were certainly things within their remit which they should have done better. 

 I never received my Race Pack. When I did pick up my race pack on the day, I appeared to be grouped into the wrong category. I discovered a lot of people in the same predicament as myself. Some of us were told to just join in any pen. The so called "pens" were a bit shambolic and everyone just went through the barriers anyway.

Probably most disappointing for this particular event, whose USP was to have music strategically played at many parts throughout the routes, was the fact that there was very little music! Where was the Orchestra that was supposed to be playing in the park? I hardly heard any music and wished that I had actually brough my ipod with me. If it wasn't for the great supporters cheering us all on, I don't know what would have gotten us all through it.

I had to pour my own water at certain points! I actually had to stop, reach to get a big bottle of water and pour a cup for myself and someone else! You really don't want to be stopping on runs like this as it is so hard to get going again!

I would have expected that the organisers may have set up more "Meeting Points" for competitors to be able to arrange to meet with family/friends afterward they had finished. There were no real meeting points at all.

I remember, prior to the event, it had said on the website that we would receieve "Live Results" and we would recieve a text message - I am yet to receive mine.   I have attended much larger events and have received my time within hours.

A lot of the so-called stewards weren't able to answer a lot of questions from people on the day - maybe they should have been better briefed?

Anyway, I don't want to harp on and complain but just wanted to say that I was unfortunately disappointed with the lack of organisation. It seems a lot of other people were too. On the postive side, I must say the supporters were great, considering they were out there at least an extra 45 minutes due to the late start of the event. Thanks to all of you for getting us through!

Dear Runners to the Beat

We wanted to help address a number of the issues that are being spoken about on the forum.  We also want to assure you that we fully hold our hands up to various areas that didn’t go as smoothly as intended and require improving in 2009 and will make this an absolute priority.

Baggage storage

This was an area that was considerably affected by our low marshal numbers. We ended up having a reduced number of three per lorry which meant that we didn’t have sufficient people to sort out the bags into number order during the race and then subsequently to distribute them out.  We apologise for those people delayed by this.

Road Closures

We had extensive meetings with Greenwich and the Metropolitan police over the route and gave it careful consideration to minimise the disruption to local residents allowing local access around the route.  There was a leaflet drop in the area over the summer and letters to addresses within the local area affected by the route were sent out in September along with communication through the local paper.    Better pre-event signage on the route does need to be improved and put in place which is something we will look at in the future.

Distance

The course was exactly 13.1 miles, this has been independently measured and checked by AIMS, who are an association of more than 250 race organisations.

Results

Results are now up on the website www.runtothebeat.co.uk click on the results link for the full provisional results from the event. These results are provisional only whilst we are still receiving the final information from our timing company as well as results queries from competitors who feel their time is incorrect.

Race Numbers

It seems that a few people have received the wrong number colour for the time they entered on their entry form. Therefore they have had to start further back to what they had planned. This is a mistake from our side which we apologise for and will endeavor to correct for the 2009 event. We hope that this has not affected your race too much and you still managed to enjoy the day.

Toilets

After analysing number of toilets at various other events we provided what we felt was a sufficient quantity both at the venue and on the course.  With the specific competitor toilets in the car park area we able to keep queuing to a minimum at the venue and we will revisit the quantities on the course for 2009.

Water Stations

As you can appreciate every runner has their own preference as to whether you prefer a cup or water. As the organiser we have to consider this decision weighing up many different aspects of the overall event. Cups were the preferred method for many reasons; for example, cups provide the recommended quantity of fluid, they are environmentally cleaner than bottles as there is less waste and it also allows us to re-open the roads quicker as people throw away cups sooner than bottles.  This is vital to enable us to minimise disruption for local residents.

Public transport

On the morning of the event there was a major tube issue which had a considerable impact on a number of our competitors.  A tube train had broken down across two lines in North Greenwich which meant that no trains were able to run east or west for more than one hour – the earliest arrival was almost 09:00 instead of 07:30.  It was for this reason that we took the decision to delay the race start until 10.30 as we wanted to ensure that as many competitors as possible were able to reach the event.  Fortunately the train was moved and the line was repaired in time for the majority of competitors to get to the venue in time.  In close consultation with The O2 prior to the event we had discussed that it was not feasible to provide contingency cover (additional buses etc) for this type of incident.

Music stations

With the weather conditions involving rain and gusty wind, we had to take a decision on the morning of the event to not open up six of our sixteen music stations as it wasn’t weren’t safe to do so, both for the musicians and the competitors.  We were able to play the Run to the Beat album instead but unfortunately this reduced the quantity of live music acts playing around the course.

Please be assured that we take this criticism extremely seriously and will do our best to ensure that none of it arises again.

Kind regards,

The Sony Ericsson Run to the Beat Team

Nazza99:

- And finally it says for 2009 entry that you'll get a free Limited Edition T-Shirt - well I'm still waiting for mine for 2008.  RTTB Organisers - where are they?  Come on speak up?!?

In fairness to the organisers, it doesn't say 'free', just that you'll have chance to pick one up...

Do the runners who never made it to the race get in for free next year. Haven't heard anybody mention it?

Hi I'm thinking of entering the 2009 race as I willing to give it a go as I'm hoping  that the problems with this years race were teething ones.I'm trying to use the link but it keeps crashing and was just wandering if other people where having the same issues?

I would've that the organisers would've made sure that this works what with all the displeasure about the 2008 event.I think that this may well be the straw that breaks the camel's back in regards to my entry next year.

So let me know if you to are having problems

Cheers

JH

Hi JH,

Can you please give us some more details as to at what stage the application form is crashing? We have tried it and it seems to be working fine and entries are coming through. If you still can't get through please email info@runtothebeat.co.uk

Thanks
Run to the Beat Team