From: rat-hq@ratraceadventure.com
Sent: 06 September 2007 22:19
To: Christopher Taylor
Subject: London's Calling - The Rat Race is London Bound

Follow Up Flag: Follow up
Flag Status: Red

The Rat Race is London Bound

Hello London. Welcome to the Rat Race! You have chosen to join us as we prepare to ratify the Capital for the inaugural London Rat Race Urban Adventure it's been a good choice and you're in for a great adventure. So far this year it's been a superb season of Rat racing. In Bristol we had the rocky horror picture show, tree climbing and a nice dip in the river - via the end of a rope! In Edinburgh we had a runaway bride, deep fried Mars bars and abseiling at Hearts FC's Stadium. Just what has the London Course Planning team got up its sleeve for you this coming September 29 and 30^th we wonder?

For your Rat Race outing in the capital you will be hosted by course planner Nick Gracie alongside the rest of the Detail Events team. Nick is a born and bred Londoner - he therefore knows his city inside out and will be taking you deep into the Capital to uncover the very best adventure possible.

Enclosed in this first London Rat Race mailout are some important facts and figures about the upcoming race - please note the timings for this year's event (especially the Saturday) and the info on skills refreshers, harness/ helmet hire and bike choice. You will receive more updates before the event and please remember we are always at the end of a phone or email - so call us on 0845 009 4365 or email info@ratraceadventure.com to ask specific questions.

1. Still time to enter; and a word about our associated charities

2. Skills Refresher Courses and additional pre-event Rat Race training options

3. Harness / Helmet hire

4. Bikes

5. Event timings and running order

6. Sponsors old and new

7. Parties and other goings on

8. A Call to London Volunteers

1. Still time to enter + info on our event charities

With just under a month to go until we unleash several hundred rat racers into the London streets, we still have a few places left so if you have friends who are still umming and arrh-ing then get them to the entry page and sign 'em up! Entries for the Adventure and Business classes will close at midnight on 23^rd September, but entries for the Mean Streets Saturday night event will remain open until the end of registration on Saturday 29th September.

We have 2 charities associated with the Rat Race. Our Rat Race Series partner Cancer Backup is joined in London by our official London Rat Race charity partner Crisis in partnering with the event and offering special incentives to those who race and raise money for them. Please contact Sarah Walker on 020 7426 3854 or email events@crisis.org.uk to find out more about the Crisis charity scheme. For Cancer Backup entries, please contact Sarah Moses at events@cancerbackup.org or telephone 020 7920 7211.

2. Skills Refresher Courses and additional Rat Race training options

As usual with the Rat Race, we will be offering up kayak and rope-work skills refresher courses on the day of the event (Saturday 29^th September) that are run by our instructors and safety crews. They are intended to give you the extra confidence you may need prior to the event should you be rusty on these disciplines. Each course is priced at £10 (session lasting <1 hour) or £18 for both. To sign up, please email info@ratraceadventure.com and state your name and team number. We offer up these refreshers in "waves" at 0800, 0900 and 1000 on the Saturday so please indicate which time suits you best. We will do our best to accommodate you - but please bear in mind these are popular courses so we may not be able to offer you your first choice of time.

In these final weeks pre-event, if you are looking for good training opportunities, try out the options below.

Navigation:

If you are a bit rusty with the map and can't tell your Hyde Park Corner from your corner shop, we are pleased to announce that we have partnered with The Richmond Park ½ Marathon Trail Challenge the Sunday before the Rat Race on the 23^rd September. The race will constitute an official navigation practice event for the London Rat Race and is being run by the South London Orienteering club. This will be a good opportunity to familiarise yourself with map reading generally and the orienteers you will meet at the event will be able to help steer you in the direction you want to go!

More information on the Trail Challenge event can be found by navigating yourself to the following website:

www.sloweb.org.uk/trail/20070923/index.htm

Rope-work:

If you would like to practise your rope-work skills prior to the event please contact the Westway climbing centre in West London, who are also partnering with the event. They are on 020 8969 0992 and at http://www.westway.org/sports/wsc/climbing

Kayaking:

If you would like to practise your kayaking skills prior to the race please contact Chiswick Pier Canoe Club. They run courses every Sunday morning between 11.00am and 1.00pm. Please email in advance to check availability by emailing enquiries@chiswickcanoeclub.co.uk. Their website is at http://www.chiswickcanoeclub.co.uk/Asp/home.asp

3. Harness / Helmet Hire

We have 100 helmets and harnesses for hire (you WILL need both if you are racing in the adventure class). This kit is only required on the Sunday of the race, although it will be issued when you register on the Saturday morning in the event village. Prices are as follows:

* Harness: £8

* Helmet: £8

* Helmet and harness: £15

All you need to do to reserve your kit is email kit@ratraceadventure.com and your name shall be added to the list. Remember - we only have 100 helmets and harnesses to hire so it will be a first come first serve basis for reserving your kit.

4. Bikes for the Adventure and Business Class

Although we strongly recommend Mountain Bikes, Hybrid and Commuting bikes will be acceptable - however we highly recommend you have very good tread on the tyres. You will be cycling down steps and also doing long sections of off-road on rough tracks. Please make sure you bring plenty of spare inner tubes for Hybrid / Commuting bikes as punctures will be more common on these machines.

Road bikes are not suitable for the event and are therefore not allowed.

We would also recommend a combination of clip-in pedals (if you have them) and running shoes packed in your backpack. If you dont have them, don't worry - there will be plenty of others who won't either.

Remember also that bike bells are mandatory, and will be checked for. We encourage excessive use of them on the day!

If you need to rent a bike we can recommend 'On Your Bike' underneath London Bridge Station. They only have hydrid bikes but these will be OK for the race. Please call 0207 378 6669 to book your bike.

http://www.onyourbike.com/

5. Event Timings and Running Order

Registration for Adventure, Business and Mean Streets Class will be held between 1000 - 1500 on Saturday 29^th September at the event village.

Location: the Rat Race Event Village - We are keeping this Top Secret until a little closer to the event. Let's not give local teams an unfair advantage! All we can say is that it is in central London and therefore easily accessible by all public transport links.

It is crucial that ALL Rat Racers register during this period. No exceptions.

Please don't leave it till the last hour. Get in there early then you get to enjoy the show. You MUST NOT BE LATE, as the rest of the day will run out very very quickly and you will be left with minimal preparation time before the beginning of the Mean Streets event on Saturday evening.

Please attend as a whole team, together, simultaneously, at the same time for registration. You will need to bring your rucksack, packed with all mandatory kit, so if you are hiring kit allow time to collect this first. At registration there are a few forms to complete and hundreds of fellow racers to meet and mill with. You will collect your prestigious goody-bag, Columbia race vest and number and SPORTident electronic dibber.

Competitor briefing for Adventure, Business and Rookie Class: 1530 sharp on Saturday 29^th September. Location: the stage at the Rat Race Event Village.

NB this briefing is for ALL competitors: Means Streets, Adventure and Business classes. EVERY RAT RACER NEEDS TO BE THERE! Don't even be tempted to send only some of your team-mates. Don't be late. You all have to hear the same information, regarding safety and logistics as much as race details.

The Rat Race Mean Streets Prologue will start at 1700 from the event village and end at 2000. In previous events it has sometimes started at 1900 or 2000 so this is EARLIER than in previous years. PLEASE make a note of this. We have not changed any timings for registration so there should be no excuses of "not being able to make it" in time. You ALL need to register by 1500 therefore you should ALL be able to make the race briefing at 1530 and the Start at 1700. To re-cap:

Registration 1000 - 1500

Race Briefing 1530

Mean Streets Start 1700

The Sunday Start will be at 0730 sharp with the race briefing starting at 0700. The early start is crucial for event planning of the early part of the course and facilitates your escape from the Inner City.

Please be on time and ready to go for the 0700 briefing. Sunday morning will start with a short running challenge and from there on you will be on your Mountain Bikes for the majority of the day, leaping off for the frequent challenges en-route.

6. Rat Race Sponsors

We are delighted to welcome back our event partners for the 2007 Rat Race Series and for the Rat Race London event.

The Rat Race's presenting partner for London is Visit London and is supported by the following event partners: Columbia Sportswear, Ellis Brigham, Trinidad and Tobago Tourism Bureau, Active Magazine. Real Buzz.com, Buff, Clif Bar, For Goodness Shakes, A-Z and Sleepmonsters.

For the London event, we are also delighted to introduce the following brands who have answered the call of the Rat:

Fullers Discovery - Official Beer

We are pleased to announce Fullers Discovery as the official beer of the 2007 London Rat Race. Fullers are the finest and proudest brewers in London and their new Discovery Beer is the perfect partner to the Rat Race to help you discover a new and adventurous side to London. Fullers will be in full force all weekend tempting you with cold beer.

http://www.fullers.co.uk/

Pro Feet - Official Footwear Retailer

To help you run faster we have 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 service.

http://www.profeet.co.uk/

Sundog Eyewear Retailed by Wraice - Official Eyewear

After a summer of grey skies and rain, we are expecting a super sunny September, especially the weekend of the Rat Race and we are very proud to announce Sundog sunglasses retailed by Wraice as our official eyewear sponsor. Wraice will be selling Sundog eyewear at the Rat Race Event Village as well as other new and innovative sporting aids from around the world. Please look out for Barney and team at the Event Village.

http://wraice.com/

7. Parties and Other Goings On.

This is the last Rat Race of the 2007 season so we are going to go out with a bang. London is alive with vibrant activity 24/7 so remember the age old adage that Sunday night is NOT a school night. The venue will be announced nearer to the event and will be near to the event village. There will be plenty of cold Fullers Discovery beer flowing!

8. A Call to London Volunteers

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 and safety staff 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.

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

Well that is it for the first mailout to all you enthusiastic London bound Rat Racers. There will be a second one coming your way in a week or so's time to give you more pre-event info and ensure your weekend is a memorable one. If you have any questions about the race, format or what you will be getting in your goody bags, then please either email mailto:info@ratraceadventure.com or phone 0845 009 4365.

See you all on the start line

The Rat Race Crew

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