It's now over three years since I was asked to arrange transport for the Hadrians Hundred. Not having had any previous involvement in organising such an event, I naively thought it would be just a case of hiring a couple of vehicles and recruiting a few drivers, and anyway, three years was a long way off. However I quickly discovered it was a tad more complicated than that.

Transport is a vital component in the success of every 100 Challenge Event, and is sometimes overshadowed by other matters. Our event necessitated hiring three seventeen seater mini buses, for the collection of retirees, and movement of food, equipment and personnel around the course. We also hired a LWB high top van, predominantly to transport baggage to and from Dufton. All the vehicles were double crewed for safety reasons, and also to share driving duties. Sixteen volunteer drivers were recruited, and worked a shift patten over the weekend.

I'm happy, and relieved to report that the transport arrangements ran smoothly, and without drama, and contributed to a successful event. This was largely due to the volunteer drivers, who worked tirelessly and without complaint. The only hiccup, if you could call it that, was a puncture to one of the vehicles, which was dealt with swiftly by the AA. I initially thought hiring three large mini buses might have been excessive, but in the end a large demand for retiree collection justified the decision.

Gordon Barras