Note this is being provided for information and understanding; entrants should read this in conjunction with the rules of the event.

Click here to watch a helpful video explaining the features of the tracker website.

Participants in the Flower of Suffolk Hundred (FoS100) will carry a tracker - a small black box which fits in a little pouch and is attached to the shoulder of your rucksack by a velcro strap. The tracker is of minimal weight and is highly water resistant, so you can forget about it for the duration of the event.

The trackers are provided by TrackTrail®. Shortly before the event a link to the TrackTrail® website will be posted on the FoS100 event webpage and also on the LDWA and FoS100 Facebook pages. The link will take you to a map showing the route with the current position of each tracker; also a leaderboard which gives the time of each entrant at each check point reached and their predicted times at the next couple of check points (although these are based on the average speed up to that point and therefore will not allow for time spent at future checkpoints). The link can of course also be used by family, friends, supporters enabling them to track progress.

Obviously with up to 500 entrants the route map is rather busy so there is the facility to follow “favourites”. You can “star” the ones you are most interested in, and then use the star filter to only see those. You can also filter by LDWA group.

The trackers obtain a signal from a satellite and send information back via all mobile networks. It there is a mobile blackspot on every network, information will be stored and returned when the tracker can connect again. We do not expect any significant blackspots on this route.

The trackers record your position every 2 minutes – this equates to walking a distance of 176 yards at 3mph pace. One effect of this is that if you arrive at a check point with another walker, the recorded times may be slightly different as each tracker reports in on a slightly different schedule based on when it was powered on. However, your completion time will be taken from the event finish clock, not the trackers. People who finish together will be shown with the same time.

A tracker could be stationary for a while for many reasons e.g. the entrant is at a check point or even standing still to have a drink between check points. The trackers do need a clear view of the sky to function efficiently, hence the use of the Velcro pouches is mandatory. Statistically, only a small number of the 500 trackers will not work to full capacity. Sometimes a problem can be identified and corrected remotely; if this is not possible there will be spare trackers around the route so that any not functioning properly can be changed.

However, please be aware that the trackers are used to enhance the safety of the event – the ability of spectators to “dot watch” is a side benefit, although massively addictive! There is an SOS button on the tracker which should only be pressed in a real and genuine emergency; it will phone some pre-programmed numbers connected to control of the event.

For safety purposes it is essential that your tracker is not removed from its pouch on your rucksack, or switched off, until you return to HQ. This means that HQ can see your position, even if you have retired and are waiting to be picked up at a check point (it also means that control can arrange for the return of any trackers seen making their way up the M1 at 70mph!). In the unlikely event that you retire without returning to HQ, please talk to the check point lead.

HAPPY WALKING/DOT WATCHING!