From: rat-hq@ratraceadventure.com
Sent: 15 September 2007 11:02
To: Christopher Taylor
Subject: London's Calling - The Countdown has Begun

Follow Up Flag: Follow up
Flag Status: Red

Hello London Rat Racers,

Are you ready? 2 weeks to go and the event is all set to take London by storm. Here is a second mail-out to give you a few more clues as to what your weekend will have in store for you this 29^th/ 30^th September.

1.) Small tease...

2.) Event village location/ services at the village and getting there

3.) Bike storage at the event village

4.) Reminder on Registration procedure and general event timings

5.) Harnesses/ helmets

6.) Refresher courses

7.) Volunteers

8.) Pro Feet join the Rat Race

9.) Party - free beer courtesy of Fullers!

1. Small tease...

...where will you be going? The course is ready and waiting and although in the great traditions of the Rat Race we will not be telling you where you are headed before the day of the event, we thought we would share some facts and figures with you. The Rat Race is famous for some unique features...here we just aim to whet your whistle with the following cryptic clues:

We can tell you that:

You WILL be cycling down steps
You WILL be cycling off-road
You WILL be getting wet
You WILL be seeing some famous places
You WILL be visiting a stadiumOoh there are so many in Londonwhich one do you think it will be?
You WILL be travelling through 14 London Boroughs in the Adventure class!

2. Event village Information

We can announce that the Rat Race will be based at Potter's Field Park, on the South Bank of the River Thames. This ideal spot nestles in the shadow of mighty Tower Bridge and lies adjacent to the Mayor's City Hall offices. Moored at the quay is HMS Belfast and immediately opposite can be seen the Tower of London. This truly is the heart of London. From here, the course could be sending you north, south, east or west. You won't know where until you get there though. The full address for the venue is Potter's Field Park, London, SE1. It can be seen really well at this link here: http://www.streetmap.co.uk/newmap.srf?x=533250&y=180250&z=1&sv=533250,180250&st=4&ar=N&mapp=newmap.srf&searchp=newsearch.srf.

Easiest public transport links are found at London Bridge tube (Jubilee and Northern lines) and mainline rail station (200m from event village), Tower Hill tube (Circle and District lines) and Tower Gateway DLR (all Tower Hill stations <500m from event village). To plan your journey by bus or tube, see the journey planner at www.tfl.gov.uk. Please note that most tube lines carry restrictions on the carriage of bicycles and therefore plan your journey by public transport wisely.

If driving, there are several car parks around Potters Field that provide easy access to the event village.

Services in the event village will include catering stands and a specially licensed Fuller's Discovery Beer bar. Enjoy a post race drink and invite along your hard-working supporters - theyll need the lubrication for all that cheering! We will also have the music stage plus concession tents from our event sponsors. Visit the Ellis Brigham shop for last minute purchases or get along to the Sundog Eyewear stand to ensure your shades are up to scratch for the challenge ahead. The Buff crew will be in town with their beach bar alongside Clif Bar offering up their yummy gourmet energy bars. Coffee and juices will also be available and there will be the awesome Cancer Backup massage crew on hand to give you some TLC post (or pre) event! Entrants in The Business class will be able to soak up the atmosphere from their Business Class tent and the stage will feature some really cool live bands throughout the day, as well as hosting our MC keeping you up to speed with race announcements and the like. The MAD bike trials display team will also be on hand to wow you with their precision stunts throughout the day on Saturday. The whole event can be read about in the official programme, given to every competitor within the pages of Go Active magazine.

For accommodation, we recommend logging onto www.visitlondon.com to find quality hotel and other accommodation within the vicinity. The event venue can be accessed easily from excellent public transport connections (see above) and the main South Bank trunk route of Tooley Street connects well with accommodation options at Waterloo and around Embankment if you are cycling. There are numerous hotels in the immediate area surrounding the event venue and there are also a number of options around the Tower Hill area, across the River Thames around Tower Bridge and within easy waling distance. Further out, the hotel zones around Bayswater, Kensington, Paddington, Euston, Bloomsbury and Holborn are all within 20 mins ride time on your bikes.

3. Bike storage at the event village

You are very welcome to ride your bike to the event village for the Mean Streets prologue on Saturday and then, naturally, you will need it for the Sunday too if you are embarking on the full adventure class event. However, please note that unlike other Rat Races, you WILL NOT be able to leave your bike in the Rat Race bike compound overnight on the Saturday night. The bike compound will be open from 1000 on the Saturday and will close at 2200, allowing you to leave it here all day. Bring a lock and be aware that although the compound is secure, this is a very busy part of central London. You must remain vigilant at all times and ensure your bike is secured to the fencing in the compound. We will expect all bikes to be removed by 2200 and cycled home/ back to your hotel/ elsewhere. There will be no security on the bike compound overnight on the Saturday night. From 0600 on Sunday, you may bring your bike back and stow it in the compound ready for the start of the event. On Sunday night, you can store your bike in the compound until 2100 after which time it must be removed. More info on timings will be available when you arrive at the Rat Race and there will be plenty of people on hand to give you advice in this regard. A synopsis of timings is also given below.

4. Reminder of event Registration procedure

A quick reminder on event registration. You MUST register between 1000 and 1500 on Saturday 29^th September and the event briefing will be at 1530 for ALL competitors. The event timeline is as follows:

Saturday 29^th Sep

0800 Refreshers begin for ropes and kayaks

1000 Refreshers end

1000 Registration opens at the event village

1000 Bikes can be left in the bike compound at the event village

1200 Entertainments commence in the event village

1500 Registration closes

1530 Mass briefing for all competitors

1700 The Mean Streets event begins

2000 Mean Streets ends

2000 Food served for all racers in the village

2200 Bar closes

2200 Bike compound vacated by all competitors

Sunday 30^th Sep

0730 Start of the Rat Race Adventure Class event

1200 Event village entertainments commence

1430 First finishers expected at the event village

1800 All Rat Racers returned to the village

2000 Prize giving at the Party (very close by)

2100 Bike compound must be vacated of all machines

5. Harnesses/ helmets

We have run out of our hire supply of harnesses and helmets so if you are still looking for these items (adventure class only) and can't get your hands on them, then check out the deals at www.ellis-brigham.com. They have a solid product range and great advice in store.

6. Refresher courses

If you want to sign up still for ropes and/ or kayak refresher courses you can do. We have sessions running at 0800, 0900 and 1000 on Saturday morning so please indicate which course (ropes or kayaks) and what time you would ideally like to attend. Remember, we cannot guarantee the time but we will do our best for you. Each course will last < 1 hour and please be advised that the kayak refresher will be around 15 mins cycle from the event village (15 mins on public transport too). The rope-work refresher will be very close to the event village site.

7. A Call to Volunteers in London

As with any of our events, The Rat Race London will be relying on a number of volunteers to help ensure the weekend runs smoothly and is a success for all. There are many roles that the volunteers undertake from being course marshals to keep the event running smoothly to working in the Event Village and making sure everyone gets through registration and to the start line on time. It will be hard work and a long day - but brilliant fun, working in a great environment with a really cool team spirit. There will also be the Rat Race party after the event on Sunday where you can let your hair down and enjoy a couple of pints of Fullers Discovery on us.

So if you know of anyone that would like to come along to The Rat Race in London (perhaps a family member or friend) and help make this weekend one to remember for all, have them send an email to mailto:volunteerandbeahero@allinthedetail.com or call 0845 009 4365. Include name, age and any skills/ preferences that may be relevant to helping out over the weekend and we will be in touch.

8. Pro Feet - Official Footwear Retailer

To help you run faster we have recently teamed up with Pro Feet, Londons premier custom fitted footwear retailer. Profeet have 2 specialist running shops in Fulham and Balham as well as a specialist ski boot fitting lab also in Fulham. We will be sending around a separate Pro Feet discount email to all Rat Racers offering great savings on their services and products. Watch your inbox for this.

9. Party - free Fuller's Discovery beer all round!

Yes that's right...those lovely chaps at Fullers have pledged free beer for you all at the event party. You will receive your Fullers Discovery party pint voucher in your goodie bag, together with some other offers on beer and lots of other race goodies. The Discovery bar will be open throughout the weekend in the event village for you to sample this new blonde beer from the ubiquitous London brewer. Then, after the hard work is done, have a few more with us at the party! The venue for the party will be within a stones throw of the village and will be open from 1900 onwards. There will be food available if you want to eat (at cost) and free beer will feature alongside the Rat Race prize giving where the London winners as well as the Rat Race 2007 Series winners will be announced. There will be loads of spot prizes too, so make sure you come along with your mates and who knows, you might be a winner too! If you would like to bring friends then thats fine. All we ask is that you send an email to party@ratraceadventure.com with the number of supporters you wish to invite to the party (plus your team name) to aid with our planning.

So that's it for now. We hope the final training is going well and we look forward to seeing you in a couple of weeks. There will be another email to come with final details and as ever, if you have queries, we are at info@ratraceadventure.com and on 0845 009 4365. If you know of folk who may not have received this email, or email #1 sent last week, then let us know at the above email and we will send it out.

May the Rat be with you.

Rat HQ

For any further information about The Rat Race, check out < http://www.ratraceadventure.com/>, email <mailto:info@ratraceadventure.com >, or call us on 0845 009 4365.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

The Rat Race thanks the following organisations for sponsoring and supporting the Rat Race Urban Adventure Series 2006:

Columbia Sportswear <http://www.columbia.com> Official Sports Apparel Footwear Partner to the Rat Race, Columbia was founded in 1938. Columbia Sportswear Company is a global leader in the design, sourcing, marketing and distribution of active outdoor apparel and footwear. As one of the largest outerwear brands in the world and the leading seller of skiwear in the United States, the Company has developed an international reputation for quality, performance, functionality and value.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Visiting London <www.visitlondon.com>

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Bristol City Council <http://www.bristol-city.gov.uk>

Destination Bristol <http://visitbristol.co.uk>

----------------------------------------------------------------------

The City of Edinburgh Council and FutureSport <http://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/futuresport/>

EventScotland <http://www.eventscotland.org>

Visit Scotland <http://adventure.visitscotland.com>

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Active Magazine www.goactive.com

For Goodness Shakes www.forgoddnessshakes.com