Starnberg

[deadlifting265]

There is the Starnberg 30mins going ahead next year on the 22nd of Feb.

I've read race reports from previous participants that it is a great event, so one to look out for.....

[Two Pudding Kid]

Yep - I have been there a few times. Not sure if I can be away from home long enough to make it worthwhile 2025 but it is close enough to Munich to spend time there. If only we could have a 30 minute race in the UK. Susan

[deadlifting265]

Yep - I have been there a few times. Not sure if I can be away from home long enough to make it worthwhile 2025 but it is close enough to Munich to spend time there. If only we could have a 30 minute race in the UK. Susan

How much(approx) would it cost to put on a 5km/20min or 30min race in the UK?

[Sakly]

Like the idea of a 30min race (even knowing before I have no chance to win anything at all ), but travel to Starnberg is the same as to London for me
I know there is typically an indoor comp in February nearby in Essen Kettwig, but no registration open yet. Planned on 2nd of February. Thinking about participation, if possible, but that's only 2k as far as I know.

[MPx]

How much(approx) would it cost to put on a 5km/20min or 30min race in the UK?

Dougie (Citroen) may be able to help here as he ran an event in Basingstoke for many years. Failing that, email Sam Blythe and ask him - he ran the Devon champs in Exeter up until Covid.

I did organise an event back last century (!!!) so not directly relevant. Stuff to consider (obvs dependent on how big an event - lets say 50 people, 10 ergs??) :

1 You need a big room. Hire of a hall or gym for a day (maybe 1.5 days to allow set up). Guessing, but maybe £1k?
2 You need the ergs. C2 used to let organisers "borrow" them from their site in Nottingham. So there was hire of the van/fuel/days off work/food etc., but relatively cheap. If they still do it I'd imagine there would be a hire charge now on top...but you could ask them. A least three days fetch/use/return.
3 You need a fair bit of tech - laptops, screens, cabling, power, etc. For my one it was at work and I had "access" to all the tech I needed for the day. Budget on a few hours to get to grips with the race software and make it work with all the machines. (ie the right names in the right races, adding late comers, deleting no shows, how to start, stop, restart, save results,etc.,for any race.
4 That's all hassle but worth the effort for a good day...but the thing that would seriously put me off these days is there would no doubt have to be some kind of nonesense risk assessments, consideration of medical backup, public liability ins, participation rules, written policies in case there's a bust up in the car park, and eveything that goes with modern society where no one takes responsibility for themselves any more. Its no longer good enough to get a few like minded people together and just get on with it.

But if you're up for it - I'd happily help out driving the van or whatever!

[nick rockliff]

If you can get a rowing club involved they tend to have all the ergs already on site. If you need 10 ergs for the race you will need another 10 for warm up in a different area.

Evesham and Newark were held at the rowing clubs and always great races. Always a mile race too.

I know when BIRC was held at the NIA it always ran at a loss. I was once told the loss was about £30k.

[deadlifting265]

How much(approx) would it cost to put on a 5km/20min or 30min race in the UK?

Dougie (Citroen) may be able to help here as he ran an event in Basingstoke for many years. Failing that, email Sam Blythe and ask him - he ran the Devon champs in Exeter up until Covid.

I did organise an event back last century (!!!) so not directly relevant. Stuff to consider (obvs dependent on how big an event - lets say 50 people, 10 ergs??) :

1 You need a big room. Hire of a hall or gym for a day (maybe 1.5 days to allow set up). Guessing, but maybe £1k?
2 You need the ergs. C2 used to let organisers "borrow" them from their site in Nottingham. So there was hire of the van/fuel/days off work/food etc., but relatively cheap. If they still do it I'd imagine there would be a hire charge now on top...but you could ask them. A least three days fetch/use/return.
3 You need a fair bit of tech - laptops, screens, cabling, power, etc. For my one it was at work and I had "access" to all the tech I needed for the day. Budget on a few hours to get to grips with the race software and make it work with all the machines. (ie the right names in the right races, adding late comers, deleting no shows, how to start, stop, restart, save results,etc.,for any race.
4 That's all hassle but worth the effort for a good day...but the thing that would seriously put me off these days is there would no doubt have to be some kind of nonesense risk assessments, consideration of medical backup, public liability ins, participation rules, written policies in case there's a bust up in the car park, and eveything that goes with modern society where no one takes responsibility for themselves any more. Its no longer good enough to get a few like minded people together and just get on with it.

But if you're up for it - I'd happily help out driving the van or whatever!

Thanks for the input and thanks for the potential offer of help.

It's easy to talk about it but a "British 5km or 30mins champs" is much needed IMO, and its something I've been thinking about for a while.

Food for thought for perhaps next year.....

[Dangerscouse]

It's easy to talk about it but a "British 5km or 30mins champs" is much needed IMO, and its something I've been thinking about for a while.

Food for thought for perhaps next year.....

I'd be very interested in this. There was a virtual 30 mins challenge, in 2021 IIRC, that had a fair amount of us doing it, but nothing else since.

[deadlifting265]

It's easy to talk about it but a "British 5km or 30mins champs" is much needed IMO, and its something I've been thinking about for a while.

Food for thought for perhaps next year.....

I'd be very interested in this. There was a virtual 30 mins challenge, in 2021 IIRC, that had a fair amount of us doing it, but nothing else since.

It would be a long time coming beens the 500m/2km has been the only national championships distances since the sport began, although there was a "national one minute sprint champs" in 2000 in Windsor that I competed in. Got there though and it was have as many goes as you want in a tent basically. Took my shoes off and rowed in my jeans after about a poultry two minute gentle warm-up

[iain]

My racing days are over, so feel free to ignore me as irrelevant! However I competed twice in Pete's 5km in Farnborough. I like the idea of the longer distance, but it didn't feel like a comp to me as the race is too long to watch and so there was a disconnect with the community having a chat while a few rowed and I think the atmosphere deteriorated compared with mile / 2k races. Just my twopennoth...

- Iain

[MPx]

I agree up to a point Iain - slightly changes the focus, but can still be good. I went along just to watch a few of Sam Blythe's Devon Champs which was a 5k. Only 5 "race" ergs IIRC, but enough people around for there still to be a bit of a buzz about it and most of the competitors I spoke to were there to get a time they were after, not necessarily to race anybody else.

In my distant memory, the day I co-ran was a team comp where each member did a 5k TT in the morning, 500m sprint at lunchtime, 2.5k accuracy piece after lunch, and 2k TT at the end of the day. It was all sponsored for charity (audience "betting") and included a very wide range of abilities but the team rivalry kept up the interest. The 500 was by far the most popular with the audience - biggest crowd and very noisy. But I'd say only the 2.5 fell flat for the audience and they seemed quite excited at beginning and end of both the 5ks and the 2ks.

[Citroen]

Yep - I have been there a few times. Not sure if I can be away from home long enough to make it worthwhile 2025 but it is close enough to Munich to spend time there. If only we could have a 30 minute race in the UK. Susan

How much(approx) would it cost to put on a 5km/20min or 30min race in the UK?

It used to cost me about £200 (that was van hire and diesel) to run a race session in the UK in 2005. The ergos were loaned out for free from Nottingham at that time. I used to get the hall for two days for free too.

That would cost £100 for van hire and £250 for diesel now. Don't know what hiring a hall would cost.