Update on Y 100 Sir Fynwy


After the disappointment at having to cancel this year’s event, the Sir Fynwy Hundred organising committee remains hard at work in an effort to stage the event next year. Given the continuing Covid-19 pandemic, however, there remains considerable uncertainty that the event will be possible.

At the present time, regulations in Wales mean that staging the event is not possible while the recent re-tightening of lockdown measures as infection rates rise again shows the continuing uncertain course of the recovery from the pandemic.

The Committee is continuing to plan for the event, but at some point a decision will be needed on committing the substantial financial and human resources needed to bring it to fruition. At the moment, we are aiming to make that decision before entrants are required to pay.

The following paragraphs provides some more background to the challenges that we are facing, provides feedback on how they are viewed by potential entrants following a recent survey and outlines what our next steps will be. 

Where are we now?

As things stand ‘today’, the Regulations in Wales do not permit the Hundred to take place. The current limit on outdoor events in Wales is 30 people, and the Welsh Government’s current position is they do not regard staggered starts as being an acceptable way around this limit. While we are hopeful that this limit will change, and the Welsh Government has recently staged test events of up to 100 participants, there will need to be a significant change in this area.

For the Hundred to proceed we will also need the support of our partners in the community, most notably those in charge of the schools, village halls and other facilities used on the event. The organising committee has been actively contacting these organisations to ensure that these facilities remain available to use. In many cases, reflecting the fact they are often run by volunteers, we are finding it difficult to get a response.

What may have to change?

While we hope that many things will be back to ‘normal’ by next May, we also recognise that it is likely that we will still be in a ‘new normal’ that will continue to require social distancing.

With this in mind, we are considering what changes may be needed to ensure the Hundred can accommodate these requirements and proceed safely. We need to think about space constraints, much stricter hygiene requirements and potentially fewer volunteers being available to help. And while we are determined to keep the Hundred as an affordable event, we also need to consider how these new arrangements will affect our budget.

The organising committee has identified a number of changes that may be necessary to enable the Hundred to take place. These include: entrants not being allowed in event Headquarters; fewer checkpoints and more of them outdoors; entrants to carry GPS trackers and electronic dibbers to minimise interaction with volunteers at checkpoints; staggered start times; reduced hot food availability; food to be either pre-packed or entrant-supplied; no breakfast bags; no supporters allowed at checkpoints; and, new mandatory kit items (e.g. face mask, hand sanitiser).

We are continuing to liaise with the National Executive Committee (NEC) to ensure that our work is in line with the guidelines they are drafting to allow challenge walks to recommence.

What do people think?

We have recently surveyed all the entrants for the cancelled 2020 event with a list of potential changes. We were pleased, not only with the number of people who took the time to respond (nearly two-thirds of registered entrants), but the way in which people responded to the potential changes we were outlining.  Although none of us would choose to see this scale of changes implemented, 84% of respondents indicated they would be likely to enter if they did have to be implemented.

What are the next steps?

Planning work is continuing, but we realise we must make a ‘stop/go’ decision at some point. We are planning to make that decision before entrants are required to pay. While this date would still be some months before the event is due to take place, it reflects a number of important factors. Given the scale of changes to be made to how the event was originally envisaged, this length of time is required to ensure that plans can be made with a high degree of confidence that the event can be delivered as planned. The date will also be chosen to ensure that the number of irreversible financial commitments can be minimised.

We will continue to plan with optimism for a positive decision – and will keep you all informed.

Wales’ Covid-19 Regulations and other key documents

Regulations: https://gov.wales/health-protection-coronavirus-restrictions-no-2-wales-regulations-2020-amended

Roadmap (Unlocking our society ) to lifting lockdown measures: https://gov.wales/sites/default/files/publications/2020-05/unlocking-our-society-and-economy-continuing-the-conversation.pdf