The Problem

In some previous hundreds, many entrants have arrived at the early checkpoints before the stated opening time and felt aggrieved when held up until the opening time. Really those entrants should have started at one of the later starting times. To avoid this situation on the Y 100 Sir Fynwy and any consequent unpleasantness we have put a lot of effort into deriving the checkpoint opening times for the Y Sir 100 Fynwy. Therefore it is important for both you and the organisers that you select a suitable starting time for the Y 100 Sir Fynwy.

In addition,a massed start via Chepstow town centre would have led to road closures with excessive costs to facilitate the safe passage of entrants. Hence a staggered start will be introduced. This is not something that the organising committee wanted to introduce, but is necessary in order to ensure the safety of entrants as they cross busy roads in the town centre. A maximum of 40 entrants will be allowed to leave at any one time.

When you enter you will be asked to specify a starting time between 09:00 and 14:00. Please read the rest of this page carefully before making your choice.

Summary of the Staggered Start

The staggered start will take place as follows:

• The first start will be on the Saturday at 09:00, then at 20 minute intervals until 14:00
• A maximum of 40 entrants will be allocated to each starting slot
• Entrants starting up to 12:00 will still have 48 hours to complete the event
• Entrants starting after 12:00 will have until 12:00 on the Monday to complete the event and will, therefore, have less than 48 hours to qualify for a 100 completion
• Entrants will be asked for their preferred starting time and to identify other entrants they wish to start with
• The organisers will endeavour to meet entrants' preferences but this is not guaranteed when starting slots are over-subscribed
• In the event of over-subscription it is likely that a later slot will be allocated by taking into account entrants finishing times on recent hundreds
• Entrants missing their starting slot for any reason will be re-allocated to the next slot with any vacancies
• The above does not apply to the Marshals' event.

Points To Consider

To aid you in selecting a starting slot there are two tables below, table 1 shows the maximum average speed from each start time to avoid arriving early at any of the checkpoints, and table 2 a suggestion of a start time based on your expected completion time. The cells shaded yellow give the suggested start time for a given complettion time. From these you can see:

• the finish opens at mid-day Sunday therefore entrants planning to complete the route in less than 27 hours must start after 12:00 otherwise they will be held up waiting for checkpoints and/or the finish to open.
• Don’t just look at when the first checkpoint opens. For example entrants who average over 4.1 mph will arrive at checkpoint 1 if they start before 10:00. However, looking at later checkpoints reveals that if they start before 11:00 they will arrive early at checkpoint 3. To avoid early arrival at any checkpoint they need to start at 12:00 or later.
• entrants starting at 14:00 can travel as fast as they like, they will not be held up at checkpoints.
• Be aware that the organisers will consult the results of recent hundreds when allocating starting times so please be realistic in requesting a starting time. Entrants regarded as unreasonably requesting an early start time with respect to their record will be allocated a later start time. This, of course, may be much later than you would like due to over-subscription of starting slots.

Additional Points To Consider Not Based On Speed

• It is suggested you arrive at the car park 1.5 hours before your start time. Can you arrive in time if you select one of the earlier start times?
• Starting later means more time in bed the night before which can't be a bad thing.

Our Recommendations

The rule that will be enforced is that checkpoints will not open early for anyone except 14:00 starters. If you arrive early you will have to wait outside the checkpoint even if it is raining (who knows, we might have a kit check for early arrivals to help pass the time). But we will allow 14:00 starters through should they arrive before a checkpoint opening time. In this latter case we will have got the opening times wrong and it wouldn't be fair to penalise such entrants. This will allow them to travel as fast as they like and finish in less than 22 hours.

Therefore our strong recommendations are:

• Definitely start at 14:00 if you aim to complete the event in less than 22 hours
• Seriously consider starting after 12:00 if you expect to complete the event in 24 to 30 hours.
• Only select a start time of 09:00 and 10:00 if you expect to take more than 40 hours.

Some questions answered

Why not have a single start at 10:00am? There are a number of reasons:

• See the second paragraph in 'The Problem' above with regard to road closures and safety.
• The cost. Village halls charge by the hour, later checkpoints would open earlier and be open for longer and event entry fees would have to be higher.
• The length of time marshals (all volunteers) would be on duty, particularly at the later checkpoints.

Why enforce opening times? If not enforced the problem is passed on to the following checkpoints. It has to be enforced at some checkpoint so it may as well be at the first ones. Remember this will not be enforced for 14:00 starters at any checkpoint.

Why should I start after 12:00? If you expect to complete the Y Sir Fynwy 100 in a fast time, by starting later you will:

• avoid being held up at checkpoints.
• be up to 5 hours fresher overnight and on the Sunday, starting later doesn't seem to slow the runners down so why would it slow the fast walkers/joggers?
• not be held up by slower walkers in the first mile or two.
• get a psychological boost when overtaking those starting earlier.

Why do runners, joggers and fast walkers choose the earliest start when they know they will be held up?
Dunno, we can't think of a logical reason. This page is an attempt to persuade them to choose a later start.

Can I change my starting time? Quite simply no! Once you have selected your preferred start time and your actual start time has been confirmed to you, alterations to start time will not be permitted. We have set a maximum number of people starting at any one time and the admin involved in changing times is something we don't have time for. After all we are volunteers and have lives elsewhere!