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2013 Runner Listing
Can be viewed here
Will be held on Sunday 16th June 2013
Feedback from 2012 Ythan Challenge
Many thanks to everyone who took the time to complete our survey after the 2012 race. We do value your comments, since by finding out what people think, we can work to improve the event for everyone. Every single comment is read and discussed and we do try to incorporate those suggestions for improvement. Thanks --Bogmeister.
Online entry was frustrating due to website failure - a common complaint I'm sure, but a compliment since so many people want to sign up!
This came about as a result of publishing the opening date for entries and the webserver was simply overwhelmed.
Tried to do a swap online and the correspondence was non existent, ended up phoning!
I'm afraid we’ve never had an on-line swap facility.
I didn't book. You need an n/a option above.
Really difficult to enter this yeargiven the event is over-subscribed a means of swaps or last minute entries when folk don't appear would be good.
We have thought about this. Because the race is organised by volunteers who all have day jobs, we’ve found that we simply do not have the capacity to handle last minute swaps
Keep doing what your dong and we'll all get along great!
Thanks
System had a bit of a crash when I entered but that's understandable. Very popular event.there should be no swaps allowedShame that swaps closed one week prior as my sister could no longer run and someone from a wait list could have taken her place on the start line instead.I understand 80 people did not turn up for the race and it would be useful if runners could turn up on the day just in case they can take a number from someone who was a no-show.Didn't need to use the swap management so can't really comment. I ended up entering via the old fashioned way - postal entry as the on-line went sooooo fast!! I did miss out on the last email message but did read about it on the home page.Online entry server could not cope with demand.
Race day comments
Felt a bit of an anticlimax to have to trot up and down the slope in the field at the end after the REAL obstacles we endured in the middle of the race.
Only problem for me was lack of lockers available to females as they were all taken by 10am.
Need more access to lockers.
i don't fuss over medals given i enter a number of races in a year. maybe have a check box on the entry form and save having to make a number of them
Fun, fun, fun - all the way!
Disappointed to be in a different start wave from the rest of my team, we entered the event to compete as a team and help each other round yet I had to run alone. Think this could have been handled better.
We hope to be able to ask you on the on-line entry whether you wish your team all to run in the same wave or whether you’re happy to be allocated a wave based upon entry time.
Very well organised event!
Thanks
Could not fault the timing system where else would you get instananeous resuls
Great service as always. Good refreshments and support at the end. Prompt results is always great.
Quality and design of t shirt is nice but I ended up with a huge t shirt as had run out of smaller sizes even though I had specified on entry.
Fantastic course this year, big well done to the organisers and the marshalls help and support on the way round was a huge help. Cant wait for next year!
My 1st Ythan challenge and I was so scared beforehand - but I LOVED it!! It was very well run/managed and marshalled
Marshals were great: so many of them. Please could there be veggie burgers next year ?!? Oh and nicest medal design I've seen in ages
Great event- thanks
One of the best organised races I have ever taken part in and more fun than anything else I've tackled so far.
Somehow my surname and first name are the wrong way round, and it took the registration people a long time to find my race number at the start. My name is also the wrong way round in the official results but apart from that it was a brilliant event, thoroughly enjoyed it!
Had an absolute ball - loved the fact that you didn't know what you were going to chance upon next! Thought the whole course layout and marshals were fantastic and deserve a massive thank you. Will be back!
What folk liked
Felt like a totally new challenge and i had a smile on my face most of the time!
The river, the mud pit, the friendly marshalls
The end!
SUPERB marshalls, great course and obstacles, lovely medal and tshirt, just the right size of field so it felt very friendly, great food at finish.
All the people there from runners to marshalls. Very friendly.
Everything!!! The marshalls were fantastic and i think i thanked them all,but if no THANK YOU x
Liked everything about it on the day, the start the course the efficiency at the end and the post run refreshments, my only gripe is the showers were cold!!
The crowds were fantastic! Medals and T-Shirt very good.
Its so unique for the northeast of Scotland
the challenge, the diversity of obstacles
there is not another race in the NE like it
The fear of the unknown
Mud, dubs, glaur, nettles, leg sucking bog, cold & wet river, scratchy bales, abrasive cargo nets, knee buckling descents and thigh busting ascents, sweat stained running shirt, soggy socks, wet drawers, pine needles in trainers, tree bark abrasions, ankle shattering terrain oh, and the sun!!
My very first Ythan challenge, I entered just to see if at 49 i could complete the course and hold my head up high. After 30 years of no excercise, a smoker and a little over weight, i thoroughly enjoyed the day.A tremendous course with unexpected obstacles all the way round. Everybody helped each other and gave encouragement just when we needed it. Crossing the line and getting the medal was all the reward I needed.Would recommend the challenge all.
loved the obstacles and the course!
Just pure great fun as always.
It was something totally different (I usually run road races). The encouragement from other runners and marshalls was excellent - I will encourage my other running buddies to enter next year
Great course, great atmosphere.
fun event, great to do something rathe than just run!
The challenges, the river dip, everything!
Everything and was even better because Eugenie was not there
Good Organisation as always. Felt very safe throughout. Challenging course as always - nice to have something different. Great support from marshalls. 4 waves at the start certainley helped the congestion issues from last year.
The extra obstacles and hill leaving the Esslemont Estate - rather than the 'boring' run back out of the estate
Well organised from start to finish. Great encouragement from the marshalls on the course. Special thanks to those in the water. Put the fun back into run.
The obstacles and distance make it far more interesting than any standard 10K run.
Loved every bit of it. It is the pure challenge that I enjoy.
Great fun with the obstacles providing something a bit different to your every day road race (really liked the section with the fallen trees). Lovely atmosphere even though it's a tough run, the participants all look out for one another and were very friendly.
Fun, friendly atmosphere, always a helping held
easy to understand from registration to finishing, well planned.
It was the best Ythan Challenge so far. I have completed it about 6 times now and I just love it. I love the challenge and the change in obstacles every year. Great atmosphere and great route.
The course this year was even better than last year because there was more of a challenge off road after the we dips in the Ythan.
There was a great friendly atmosphere. The marshalls were amazing. Had the best fun. Really looking forward to next year.
All of the above. It was Mental - but good mental!!!!
Everything - even the bruises I'm now covered in!! This was my first Challenge and I'm determined it wont be my last. Fab event - well thought out course with challenging obstacles, a really supportive and friendly atmosphere amongst the runners and brilliant marshals. 2 thumbs up!
EVERYTHING!!! I have not anything like this before. Very challenging and also very rewarding event.
The route changes in the Esslemont Estate were great, the extra trail running in the wooded areas was fabulous. The results were available very quickly. Registration was well organised.
Love the tweaks each year, great course, plenty of obstacles (and no wasps this year!). As above, the race stands out for keeping it small and friendly and not turning into a huge commercial monster like the Survival of the Fittest/Rat Race which are now priced at ridiculous amounts.
Challenging route while mitigating risk
There is nothing else like it in the area. Excellent fun.
It was amazing fun, great route and well organised. Loved every minute of it. The obstacles were great and running through the woods was just fantastic jumping over trees! I'll be back next year for sure.
I loved the atmosphere, the camaraderie and the chance to push myself to my limits ... and just a wee bit beyond.
I like the way there's a difference to the challenge every year, you are a sneaky bunch!
River crossing and the air of surprise while taking part!
Not knowing what was round the next corner!
How can we improve the challenge
not sure
The ending? Perhaps best to stick to a simple run finish rather than shoe horning in a few slopes
Because the Esslemont Estate is not open to the public, the obstacles at the end were intended to give those waiting at the finish something to see.
The net strung between the trees is attached top and bottom but is too loose in the middle and caused delays and hold ups. A second net would help. Otherwise it is probably just fine the way it is.
The long wait at the climb-over cargo net after the river was a problem. The queue was enormous and I was there for over 10 minutes waiting which meant heartrates dropped and everyone got very cold. It's a good challenging obstacle but if it is going to hold up the course like that it should be reconsidered - this is the only place I had to wait.
This will be removed for 2013 and replaced by… You’ll just have to wait and see.
Better online entries. Give previous entrants priority ;)
Just keep doing what your doing.
Open race to more competitors. A lot of my friends from my running club could not enter !
Our number of runners is a fine balance between allowing as many people as possible to take part whilst not causing too much damage at the estate.
Better email correspondence and hot showers.
More advertising, facilities and encouragement for spectators in order to increase the atmosphere even more than the fantastic turnout that was there. Goody bag at the end would be better than trying to juggle all the bits and pieces.
This is under review every year.
The change of route was great, same again next year.
maybe start people in more than 4 waves with shorter intervals to have smaller groups to avoid congestion on the first bit of the river path have a longer running bit after the "river crossing" to get warm again
We plan to change the route out of the Meadows to avoid the stairs leading down to the river.
you do very well, thanks for another great event !
Keep us on our toes
Keep it simple and the stick to the same format, maybe try and reduce the time spent waiting at some obstacles (a very minor point and maybe something that is not easily fixed, which I can appreciate).
The two significant bottlenecks will be removed for 2013.
maybe a few rope swings over a large mud pit..Sure to be fun and of course,getting covered in mud.Brill
Good idea, we’ll give it some thought.
more obstacles!
We’re always looking for new ideas to keep the race fresh.
Can't think of anything.
Dont think we need the staggered start, just sound the horn and let everyone at the course. Water stations need proper sports bottles/bags rather than plastic cups.
Make sure teams are kept together in the same start wave!!!!
We hope to resolve this for 2013
The cargo net obstacle wound up being a 10 minute backlog, either omit this, or have more than one net!
This will be removed for 2013
mnore obstacles in the meadows for the spectators to see
Only real hold up was at the 'up and over' cargo net. I must have waited about 2 mins to go over it. Would it be possible to have 2 nets at this point to speed things up a bit?
This will be removed for 2013
Keep on mixing it up!
Just keep developing those obstacles - brilliant
To improve the quality I'd add more obstacles and remove the queue at the climbing net by having 3-4 nets strung up between the tree's. I stood waiting on 10 competetors to climb over the net.
This will be removed for 2013
Good as is
more km markers maybe one at 7k?
There should have been one. We’ll ensure they are all in place for 2013
More lockers or like in other races small tent to keep belongings in black bin liners with race numbers on them. Something for spectators to do while they are waiting.
Good idea, we’ll give this some thought
This is nothing to do with the race or the organisers but as a mum who has three children hanging about, maybe some stuff for them at the Meadows, bouncy castle, face painting etc. I know its not a huge thing and its meant as constructive because the race itself and the organisation of it all is brilliant.
Would find it difficult to suggest any improvements ( even the weather was perfect on the day)
Minor comment - review the scramble net. Although it provided me with a rest period, some competitors felt that it introduced an un-necessary delay.
This will be removed for 2013
Route us further round the road before getting onto the riverside path, avoiding the bottleneck at the top of the steps (am sure this is what happened in previous years). Add more mud. Take out the ankle-breaking rutted bit next to the river on the return leg; add even more trail sections through the woods.
We will look into this.
I love it just the way it is. Apart from my request for veggie burgers for us awkward vegetarians next year!! Seeing how quickly it sold out and someone's Facebook coment on queues later on in the race, one idea worth looking at is having a challenge event as well as a 'race' if demand continues to increase. The Seven Hills of Edinburgh race does this and allows anyone just wanting a go to start at a different time to people who want to race but far enough ahead that they won't hold up the people wanting to race the course. So setting them off an hour earlier rather than 5-10 minutes later.
More mud :)
Difficult to control as it is entirely down to the weather leading up to race day.
Not that it affected me, but people were saying they had a 10 minute wait at some obstacles, don't think there is anything you can do about that.
The two significant bottlenecks will be removed for 2013.
The start waves were disappointing as i was running with my husband and i was also in a team of friends, we all had different coloured race numbers and ended up not being able to run together. Maybe there was a section on the entry in order for you to state if you were running with someone? If not perhaps there should be. Thankfully my husband waited for me.
We hope to be able to ask you on the on-line entry whether you wish your team all to run in the same wave or whether you’re happy to be allocated a wave based upon entry time.
By improving the Scottish summer
We only wish we could.
I don't think there's anything to improve, it was a brilliant challenging event, with fantastic marshalls.
Better website and online entry like Run Balmoral
Reduce registration if possible - get tags, numbers out beforehand - even if you need to raise the entry fee to cover admin costs do not think that you will have any trouble with entry submissions.
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Challenge FAQs
Visit our FAQs page to find answers to some of the questions we get asked most often.
Feel free to e-mail us if you have a question that we haven't answered.
FAQs page
The Entries for this year's Xodus Ythan Challenge are now closed. Once again, we've had an overwhelming response from runners. The entries this year were full in just over 2 hours. We are aware of a glitch which occurred between the entry website and the Worldpay system and some of you may have had payment taken and not been informed whether you had a place. Those entries have been accepted. Once we get the file back from the entry website, we will pulish a full list of the names of the successful entrants.
