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Marshalling the C2C

Jim Rounsley / 07.09.2009

For me, marshalling on an Open Adventure event starts before the race. My instructions were to head to a van hire company in Kendal for 4PM. Having picked up the van we headed over to a Sound & Vision hire company to collect the two 50â€Â? plasma screens. I then had to do what marshals do best, wait. This time it was for Paul from Sportident to drop off the dibbers for the race.

I finally got to James & Lisa’s about 6.15. I never know what I’ll be asked to do on an evening before an event; there are always last minute jobs that need to be done. This time it was route books that needed to be put together. It’s a family activity, Siân folds, I staple, Megan counts & stacks & Hilary supervises. The plasma screens also needed to be tested which is a bit tricky outside in the rain! We were able to move some boxes & make enough space in James’s garage. Luckily they worked, good job to as I don’t know what we could have done as we had to leave at 5.30 next morning.

Final job of the evening was to fit the contents of the garage into the van. By this time Ian had arrived & after several attempts everything we needed was carefully locked up inside the van.

Time for some well earned shut eye. The floor at the Thurlows it fairly comfortable.

<b>FRIDAY 28TH; Race Day 1</b>

Alarm went of at 5.30. All we had to do was drive from Backbarrow to Whitehaven & find the start. Once there we had all the kit to set up; registration area, sound system, plasma screens linked to the internet to show the location of the racers (each team had to carry a small tracking device) & the new start/finish gantry.

It’s a good job Open Adventure has a loyal band of regular marshals the whole operation goes well & everything is ready by the official start of registration, although not by the time the racers start arriving & no you can’t register early!

It’s nice catching up with friends & racers from previous events. I don’t know of any other sport that is so friendly where the elite athletes are happy to chat with you. Some of the racers I hadn’t seen since the WARC race in Scotland.

It’s a great sight seeing the racers off (nice start James, running uphill) but once they’ve gone you know there is work to be done. Dismantle the start area, pack it in the van & then catch a lift with Malcolm to your next job which is off to the 3rd transition of the day at Gatesgarth. Once we’d set up the transition I headed for the hills to do one of my favourite marshalling jobs “remote marshal number 1â€Â? as Phil AceRaces Humphreys used to call me.

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