Pit Stops, Checkpoints
In effect, Pit Stop is the name for a ‘service area’ where the event organisers, support vehicles, relay vehicles and runners all meet up. Pit Stops are the ONLY places where runners are allowed to take external support. They also describe the division between stages and a passage check point for your electronic SportIdent card. At Pit Stops we will have water, nutrition, toilets, medical support and car parking. Your planning around how to incorporate the services of a Pit Stop will depend on what your event category is and how independent you wish to be. For example, some participants will be taking part with no support other than that of the event organiser, whereas others will have the whole family in tow, and enjoying the weekend as a little adventure holiday, and visiting places of interest along the way. We want the Pit Stops to be fascinating and happy places where everyone gets a chance to experience the event, and not least watch the runners pass through or excitedly handover in the relay tag compound!
Pit Stop locations are shown on the Route Info section of the website here. For the Experts, the overnight camp at Vindolanda (Halfway) is a Pit Stop.
Details of Service;
Water: Tapped drinking water for topping up hydration bladders, water bottles or just gulping down! We’ll also provide some squash to mix in as you wish. You should consider carrying or packing powder or tablet additives for water.
Nutrition: We will have a simple selection of snacks that will keep you on the road: Sandwiches (both veggie & meat options), Fruit, a few different cakes, Chocolate bars & Sweets. If you have any special dietary requirements then please pack these into your own planning.
Toilets:
Mains or Portable toilets for male and female. Not always with running water within the toilets, but with hand cleansing gel as a minimum.
Medical Support:
Our professional medical team will be on hand to address any injuries or discomfort. We advise that you to have the ability to treat your own blisters on route, rather than suffer between Pit Stops.
Please remember that we have carefully placed these Pit Stops so that as a support/family driver you do not need to rush your travels or be encouraged to drive on the same road sections where Wall runners are accessing.
Checkpoints
These are in addition to Pit Stops and are passage points that enable us to keep a track of you, check you through an electronic SportIdent box, and offer up some water and sweets. Checkpoints are deliberately discrete and we ask that drivers/support DO NOT attempt to reach these locations WITH ONE EXCEPTION – Walltown Quarry near Greenhead. No external support is allowable at these locations, and another reason is that we do not want to load narrow roads with additional vehicles.
Check Point Locations;
Stage 1: Halfway through this stage at Oldwall, north of Carlisle Airport
Stage 2: One-third through stage just past Birdoswald Fort. Two-third through stage at Walltown Quarry (café, car parking, walks and classic Hadrian’s Wall access)
Stage 3: Halfway through this stage at Newbrough
Stage 4: One-third through stage at High Barns, 2 miles east of Corebridge. Two-third through stage at Low Prudhoe
Stage 5: No Check Point. Head for Finish.
Details of Service;
Water: Drinking water for just gulping down! We would rather that runners did not use this water for topping up large capacity hydration bladders or own bottles, so that the last runners are assured a supply. It is important that cups are NEVER discarded in the countryside.
Nutrition: We will have some delicious sweets, so grab some as you pass.
Toilets: None.
Medical Support: None, unless dialled in via incident protocols that you will be issued with pre-event.
Sweeper Vehicle
Although we have mentioned this elsewhere, here are a few words to describe the service available. Firstly, the Sweeper should be seen as a last resort, and not regarded as an immediately-available-service should you wish it – it may be attending to others for whom the service has become essential. Secondly, the Sweeper vehicle will only take retired or discontinued runners FORWARDS on the course, to the overnight camp at Vindolanda, another Pit Stop or the finish village at Baltic Quay. And lastly, the Sweeper can only cater for small numbers so please don’t retire your whole ‘football team’ at once! Based on our previous experience of Sweeping events, very few people require it, so stern is their resolve to complete the event under human-power only. You can do it!
