Can we still host LSU 2020 and PRE 2020?

In such turbulent and restrictive times its very difficult for us to say we will be able to host either of these events in July this year, however we are fully committed to rolling ahead with the events and are keeping a super keen eye on developments with regards to the CV19 situation.

Because both of the races require a top quality safety team and we would need to rely on the emergency services in an accident situation, then this ultimately might be the controlling factor for us, however both the events have very small numbers and, we are at present, living in hope that restrictions will lift enough for us to host an event under the following terms:

1. Registration; will be a booked [time slot] affair. You will be sent a time to register, you will need to arrive at that time to be registered, or you will not be able to race. Registration will only be allowed a limited amount of participants/volunteers in the registering area and this will be a time limiting factor, so expect registration to take much longer than normal.
2. Starting the race; This will likely be done in separate start times, with runners moving off in either 30 second to 60 second intervals.
3. Checkpoints; It is likely we will not be able to have any cross contamination at all and so checkpoints might well need to have food bags/drop bags supplied by yourselves, numbered and named correctly, so we will only have to touch them a limited amount of times and you will just collect your parcel at the CP serving.
4. Finish; The finish of the race is likely to be a minor let down, with only a small team to see you through the finish.
5. Winners Ceremony; Its highly likely we won't have a winner ceremony for the races.

Above all, personal and staff/volunteer hygiene will be a top priority and social distancing will be adhered to and abided by in the correct manner.

It has been stated by the chief of police in a document released at the start of last week [20th April 2020] that it is ok to drive to exercise as long as social distancing is kept to and you are exercising for longer than you are driving for, so this is a positive to allow participants to possibly be able to take part in the current situation. However, all public gatherings are banned and so if this is still in place, then the events will not be able to go ahead.

How these races look and will be delivered, assuming of course its possible, will largely depend on whether or not the 'current' restrictions are softened enough for us to delivery the event safely, professionally and legally of course.

We of course completely understand the need for training and can see it is tough for competitors, if they don't live near the mountains, to be able to train correctly. With either 4500m or 2800m ascent profiles, this for us is a big limiting factor, plus of course the severity of our race routes, being highly technical under foot on both and with hands on rock on the Pinnacle Ridge Extreme. We of course do not want to put our competitors in a position of apparent danger, but we also understand that the climbing/scrambling that you under take on the Pinnacle Ridge Extreme or the technical ridge running you deal with in the Lakes Sky Ultra is not, in reality, so technically hard.

For the Pinnacle Ridge Extreme, assuming you have told the truth and your skill level is where it should be, then you will not have a problem with the technical difficulties of the scrambling. If YOU feel you have massaged your skill level for the race entry or you do not feel confident/competent, then this is your limiting factor. We will of course have a safety team present, but they are there only for your safety and not to 'guide or instruct' you up these sections.

For the Lakes Sky Ultra, there is no vetting, but the terrain you are crossing, whilst being 'highly technical' is certainly not extreme by any stretch of the imagination and you should be able to cope with this no problem. If you find the thought of this type of terrain worrying, then you should be contemplating not racing this year.

Course Shortening; It maybe, that due to the restrictions in place right now, that we believe the courses should be shortened. This might be due to the current situation, training time or lack of it, the severity of the weather, the severity of the terrain and the commitment it requires to come and race long and arduous courses such as the LSU and PRE and therefore we might just feel its appropriate to do so.

Tee-shirts; If you have purchased a tee, then it maybe that you receive this tee post event, through the postal service or we just refund that part of the entry prior to the race. We are in contact with our printers and will update you closer to the event. If we can't produce the tee, you will receive your money back.

What if we have to cancel?

Cancelation is looking highly likely and if this is the case, then we will have to take the same stance and procedure that we did for the Scafell Sky Race 2020.

Please understand the minute you enter the race, you are entering in to a contract where we commit funds and costs instantly. As we move through the year, the race entry's incur more costs. This is why from the second you enter, you can only receive a 50% refund.

We have listed about the costs for our races here, in the Scafell Sky Race cancelation news story:

https://www.lakedistrictskytrails.com/news/scafell-sky-race-2020-cancelled-due-to-coronavirus-strain-covid-19

Why are we holding out to make a decision about cancelation?

We could quite easily cancel the race today, but we are really trying not to jump the gun. Our events centre are happy to host the race in some capacity, assuming we are allowed some form of gathering. We have a safety team ready to work, we have a small amount of volunteers able to deliver the registration and checkpoints. On this basis we can run a skeleton event, but there will be no extra's and no slack.

We are well aware that everyone is cooped up and wanting to get out for a good old blast and we want to give you something to look forward to. We are also aware that if you have the drive and right mindset and if you have at least a backyard, then a marathon with almost 5000m ascent profile is possible, check out Rob Brown's [one of the epic Mountain Run Team guides/instructors] sky marathon from the #IRunAtHome challenge set by Ian Corless a few weeks ago:

View this post on Instagram

Awesome day yesterday. I love a stupid challenge and this was up there with the stupidest yet! Love the process of dreaming up silly ideas and making them happen. It's all for a good cause, raising some money for the wonderful people of the #nhs in these difficult times. Thanks a lot to everyone who has donated so far and if you are able to and would like to, the link is in my bio. . . . .. . . . #sportiviathome #irunathome #nhs #stayhome #staysafe #lasportivauk #foryourmountain #lasportiva #fellrunning #fellrunner #lakeland100 #lakedistrict #trailrunning #training #runnersofinstagram #instarunners #humanpoweredadventures #keswickac #ultrarunning #timetoplay #mountains #mountainrunning #runforfun #runhappy #runningmotivation #mountainlife #veganrunners #plantbased #plantpowered

A post shared by Rob Brown (@rob_brown_running) on Apr 19, 2020 at 2:59am PDT

Therefore we know, with a little imagination, drive and determination we are confident you will be able to 'train' if you really want to get out and race.

Worst case scenario? You start the race and blow out, cut your own race short and have a great time in the mountains.

We are also holding out, as there are no clear or decisive decisions from the government at present as to how long the lockdown will last and when they might start to relax movement restrictions. Please understand, this is not a pop at the government, we thing they are doing an amazing job in extreme times, but without a clear pathway ahead, this could go either way and if we make a move to cancel now and then find we could have held the race, we will most likely be more upset than you.

When will we make a final decision with regards to race cancelation?

We have decided to let the next month, this being May, unfold and to make a final decision, which we will publish, on the 30th May 2020. If restrictions are not looking to be lift by then, a decision hasn't been made or the lockdown is extended past this point, you can expect us to be cancelling the race.

What happens if everything has gone to pot and I don't want to race anymore?

If this is the case, you lost your drive and you want to cancel your race position and wait again until 2021, then all you have to do is let us know and we will offer the 50% refund right up until the 30th May, so as per the T&C's you booked under, with some grace for the weeks in May up until the 30th which will be decision and announcement day for the LDST Team.

We hope this decision we have taken right now and in fact all the decisions we have taken up and till this point have been well received and understood by all.

If you have any issue, problem or want to advise of something to the contrary with regards to our article or decisions with regards to the LSU/PRE 2020 race weekend, please drop Charlie an email on:

enquiries@mountainrun.co.uk

We hope you are all well and as happy as you can be with how the current country and world situation is and our hearts and love are extended to all the tragedies that have unfolded over the last few months.

Charlie and Nicola are working on some short films to help you with training idea's over the next month. They both hope you will like them and find them very useful.

Living in hope,

Thanks for your support,

The LDST Team