FLM runners and supporters

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Comments

  • some of us are taller than others ;o)

    Thinking about the time things, I guess the potential downside is that if several peeps arrive together then one team could get swamped

    Then again, it would free peeps up once they'd done their team to go and support at a point further down the course, although it might leave it quieter for the slower runners who maybe need a big cheerr more?
  • I think Sean did offer to cough up for balloons this year, but it was too late.
  • Sorry a bit late posting but you all did a fantastic job I saw The signs so knew I was approaching you guys

    Saw poster for team 9 I was confused which way they went but luckily spotted Bear and Rich so all was fine and there hugs made all the differnce seeing a friendly face jusdt when you need one.I thought the spot was perfect but then i dont know London and others may have other ideas.

    I liked the team support as it was really well organised.

    I think the numbers should be 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9 etc

    BUT a big thank you for all your hard work it really meant a lot to all of us:-)
    ALF: Always a little further
    Miles makes smiles.
    Progression
  • Thanks so much Meerkat, fantastic organisation, lovely people and very nice for babysitting Mr Kerzo too. Brilliant for first timers - even if they are as slow as me!
  • Beanz52Beanz52 ✭✭✭
    First many many thanks for to all of you - especially team 7 (and richk and tigerruner whom (whom? who? MK?)I stole from team 6).

    Like many have already said, it was knowing you would be there that kept me going - and for us late arrivals it was wonderful that so many of you WERE still there.

    yes I found you - the visualisation from MK's site was a big help
    - a stack of RW-financed balloons would be good
    - I think counting up would be fine - just have a sign Team 1 or RW teams start here or something

    did the countdown help? - yes it did

    from my side of the fence the allocation to teams helped - and richk's pics helped to know who to look for

    next year? well I'll be there supporting if I am not running

    thanks again peeps

    xxx beanz



  • our team 9 on a stick was an idea my kids had, the pole was actually a plastic waste pipe 6' high bought from homebase for 96p.
    it did bend a bit when the wind got up, but only cos i only had 2 cable ties left after putting up the countdown signs.

    I think it is def possible to have signs for all the grous next year and producing them for all teams would not be an issue for me.

    re placement of the cheering point:- having walked back down the course to put up the countdown signs, i had to run back as it was obv due to the helicopter above that paula was on the way, and the charity stand and water station did mask our spot (and I knew where it was) moving would mean we would HAVE to find an area with enough railings etc to clip the signs to, although I arrived at 10.00 am and the road between us and asda was almost deserted, so poss move down towards crosshabour might work, ie 17.5m

    Having said that this is my 3rd FLM 1st time as a runner. last 2 years as a supporter, and I think revery year M17 (or 18 as it was) has got better and better.

    UM if you fancy meeting up sometime for a reccy of the 16-19m area then let me know.
    think sooner the better, then we have a whole year to iron out any poss probs and sort out signage balloons etc etc, esp if I run next year
  • Hello all

    I was too late to register for a group but knew I would be welcome to come over and say hello, get a hug, jelly baby etc. It made a real difference knowing that forumites were going to be there, as my friend was at mile 13, OH and children at mile 15 and then 19, so having some support in between was eagerly anticipated.

    Saw the countdown markers easily, although 800m seemed like miles away! Then, because I hadn't run the FLM before and didn't quite know what to expect and also because by this time I must have been having a girly giddy moment, I thought that you must have been the group singing at the side! My ignorance!! Then I spotted you all, scampered over to say hello and promptly almost tripped over the mounds of discarded water bottles!

    I would have stopped for the promised hug, but I was going pretty well at that point and didn't want to risk stopping and losing momentum. But what a great idea to provide a structured support like this - will definitely register if I get a place next year and if I don't, would love to join the support team. Like a lot of other runners, I found the miles between 20 and 23 absolutely the worst, but if you were positioned there, how bad might I have felt if there hadn't been the prospect of support at mile 17? Difficult call.

    Anyway, the point of this long rambling email is to say a humungous THANK YOU to Meerkat for sorting it all out and to all of you for being there for us people. And to all the other runners, esp forumites, for supporting each other. I had just the most fantastic day, loved it all, blubbed a few times, laughed loads and feel humbled and privileged by the whole experience. I love you all, mwah mwah.
  • HelegantHelegant ✭✭✭
    On the way towards m17 arch there is an outside bend with (I think) 10-15 foot high raised railings behind. The pavement is quite narrow, but it is near to the toilets, and it would be easy to put up more visible signs. Also it's closer to Asda for extra supplies.

    I've mailed Ahsley about the balloons - £5 per 100 for 11" helium quality latex (plus postage) and suggested that RW give a bit of sponsorship in the form of balloons and helium (I reckon it would take over 500 balloons to make an arch across the road and we would struggle to find anchor points high enough to allow buses etc to pass underneath (and someone has to tie all those knots - starting the night before as it takes a while, and we would have marathon blistered fingers!) However, balloons between railings and lamp-pots might be feasible - probably needs another reccee.
  • It worked fantastically, you were exactly where you said you would be and congrats on your big sign Team 9. Can I be in your Team again next year. Promise I won't keep you waiting next time Legless.
  • Teams were a fab idea

    BUT

    I do tbink a generalised support station to generically inlude peeps might be better
    look its fab to get gin or whatever at 27-but the stuff doesnt matter THAT much-and i think it did strss the supporters who should also have a good day
  • Thinking about ETA's, there is two aspects to it.
    1) Time taken to cover 17 miles
    2) time taken to get across the start line.

    If we are splitting groups into time bands as well then it would be more important to include time to get across the start.

    If we are going to be there all day, then ETA's are less important.

    If we are going down the time bands route perhaps with the help of this year's runners, we can produce a table of how long to get across the start line?
    So get an average time for all the people in red start pen 9 etc And do that for all the coloured starts and pens.

    Or is that making it too complicated?
  • In fact if RW do that, they can put it up on the website as a resource.

    <<<<<Sean - hint, hint>>>>
  • Would like to say a BIG thank you to the special group of individuals who gave up their time to support us. The considerable time you put into organising the support and the personal expense you went to in providing refreshments was very much appreciated.

    Legless - your signs were great. I spotted them very easily, as you'd made it very clear to all your team beforehand where they'd be, and it was such a relief to see them as I needed the support when it came. Please pass on my thanks to your kids for helping to make the signs. Thanks too for all your encouragement.


  • Another big THANK YOU here!

    Meerkat - you did a great job, as did everyone who helped.

    I don't have anything to add to what's already been said. Countdown signs were good, I spotted the numbers ok, founf lp with no difficulty whatsoever.
    Maybe next year the supporters could have hair dyed a different colour for each team?
    :-)
  • SlugstaSlugsta ✭✭✭
    Hipps, thanks for your concern. Speaking for myself - I had a fantastic day and didn't find it particularly stressful, although it must have been an organisational nightmare for Meerkat. It's a pity I didn't mingle more and get to know peeps in the other teams, but that was more down to general excitement more than anything else!
  • Hair colours...now there's an idea :))
    No, not a mare at all. Just delighted that we helped running peeps.
  • well you DID

    just the thought of you peeps being there really helped


    i didnt make the most of it as i did last year-that pi on RW belies how dreadful i felt

    thankyou, from the bottom



    of my bottom
    ;))
  • Thanks for all the support, unfortunately i missed Team 1. This was despite the pictures on ultrameerkats website, i also missed the 800,400,200m to go signs. I only realised i had missed you when i saw team 4, i was a bit disorientated at that stage and definately didnt want to upset my rhythm and come back. I was gutted because i had also missed my wife, daughter and friends at the 13 mile point!
    The reason i missed you is because the signs were low on the railings, they definately need to be up in the air. I wonder if you could have a banner high up stretching across the road for the 200 or 400m sign?
    I know you guys saw me, i heard you shouting for me which i really appreciated and you got my picture aswell. I posted my report to Runners World and they have found my photo and stuck it with my report, it looks like im turning and smiling at you guys!

    Massive thanks to you all a great effort and I WILL see you again next year! At the moment its looking more likely to be from the runners side of the the fence than the supporters side though!
  • UM and Legless sounds like an outing and years planing are a great idea.

    I used wood for our high posters as this doesn't bend, was light to carry and is easier to allow the posters to be placed with drawing pins. The railings with cable ties made them very firm.

    With the crowds of people low down banners don't work until you are on them.

    Countdown markers seem to have been a big hit.

    As Legless says if we make up a set of banners that can be used year and again its not a problem. The URWFRC posters I used have been used in 2003, 2004, 2005 and a couple of other races as well.

    For the record I bought the RWURWFRC balloons back in 2003. At the time RW offered to pay half and URWFRC offered to pay half. I never got round to making the claim and put it through my company instead. This year the balloons were mentioned too late to get printed.

    Another point on the balloons is that the ones we had printed were for Helium. Plummy supplied the Helium and this lasted for events at FLM, Abingdon, and Windsor. The downside was he wouldn't take the canister back and its a bitch to get rid of (legally).

    Anything over the road is a no no. If something goes wrong, the wind picks up etc. can you imagine the catastophe of a mass pile up mid course. Not worth the risk to the runners or the legal backlash to us. I agree with Helegant. If there is a place where the railings are high on a bend that we can attach to behind us this will work best of all. The reason i suggest being on the outside of a curve is that as you enter the curve you see all the team meeting points. If its on a straight the previous marker hides yours (eg. TEAM 9 banner hid ours!).
  • I thought you were all fab, and the jelly babies were just what I needed; many thanks team 4! The hug from RichK was nice too, as everything was hurting at that point. Maybe we should have designated huggers? I nominate RichK.



  • mmmmmmmmmmwwwwwwwwwwwwwaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhh




    (((((((((Kath)))))))))
















    you just never know what you'll find during a lunchtime lurk do ya :)

    wonder if you'll find a seconder tho Kath ;)
  • You mean you hugged other people too? Fickle, or what?!

    (Sorry about the sweat by the way)
  • RichK it was a snogfest as you well know:-))

    My face was all salty from so many sweaty hugs and kisses.
  • You didn't have to tell everyone BB !
  • Hi Guys.

    I'm more than happy to go supplying banners.

    I've got the graphics file, I will make posters for individual teams if anybody wants. Just give me reasonable notice, and if you possibly arrange to have them mounted on boards yourselves.

    Looking long term use on this I have had a chat with a local signmaker who produces banners on thick pvc. I can supply the file to him, he can have the whole logo, text etc CUT out of yellow pvc and mounted onto a blue background banner. The colours he can do match quite closely URWFRC colours. However this will cost a lttle and whereas everything I have produced before has come straght through the business I would have to fork out 'real' money for this sort of banner. However it would give a really robust weatherproof banner, big as well.

    Besides I want to do FLM again next year, all being well pacing the Get You Round group again, so I'll need to know when I'm close!! I don't know whether anyone noticed but John Bingham wasn't there this year either! We were both crocked!!
  • Plum supplied the hot air? now there's a surprise!
  • Hi all

    I completely missed the support team, 1st FLM and all that was a bit nervous, didn't want to hit the wall and was completely sick of lucozade, jelly babies and mars bars so although it would have been nice to see friendly faces I wasn't too bothered about not getting my goodies, sorry!! I saw the team 9 marker and thought I'd gone too far so that was that! had I gone too far?
  • Only if you were in Teams 1,2,3,4,5,6,7 or 8.
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