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Welcome to the London Rat Race 2009 and our Capital Caper on the streets of Old Smoke. Please find enclosed the definitive pre-event information for this year’s event…
1. 5 days to go: Are you ready?
2. Event Village and Parking
3. Registration Procedure
4. Timings
5. Kit Info
6. Harness/Helmet Hire/Bike Hire/Rat Race Store
7. Skills Refresher Sessions (For Nine 2 Five only)
8. Eats and Drinks
9. Prize-giving
1. 5 days to go: Are you ready? With London comes the biggest Rat Race ever, in the biggest City of the UK.... The question is, ‘is it the biggest and boldest route?’. We are nudging the magical 1,000 entries, and we have a bumper event in store for all of you. If this is your first Rat Race, then welcome - embrace the athletic madness coming up. If you’ve done a Rat Race before then welcome back to the fray. Perhaps you have been studying the Rat Races on Channel 4 – check them out here on the Channel 4 website streaming. Or perhaps you’re just going in blind – heart pumping, accepting all challenges on the chin, and looking to master the Rat Race fresh out of the blocks. We’ll see you all-conquering in just a few days then!
2. Event Village and Parking
The event is once again based in the shadow of Tower Bridge at Potter’s Fields on the South Bank. This is where the Rat Race starts and finishes on both days.
GETTING THERE AND PARKING
A map of the location can be viewed HERE.
Best tube and train connections are to London Bridge. Tower Gateway/ Tower Hill stations are also very close.
If you are looking to park the car, there is absolutely NO parking at the event village location. Do not even attempt it. You will cause yourself and us a major headache. Any cars blocking the event production road into the site  will result in your car being lifted and impounded by the Council. There is on-street and underground parking close by and we would recommend the Butler’s Wharf car park at the corner of Curlew Street and Gainsford Street, SE1 2NY. It’s outside the congestion charging zone (just) and is 24 hour, underground and secure. http://www.123-car-parking.co.uk/Butlers-Wharf-Central-London-Parking.php
There is also the NCP Snowfields car park on Kipling Street, SE1 9RT near London Bridge station at £11/ day, slightly further away.
At the village you’ll find Registration, food and bev including the Rat Race’s own Fuller’s Discovery beer bar, some music and MC from the stage plus the awesome MAD stunt riders wowing you with some thrills and spills on their bikes. We’ve also got the monster Extreme Elements BUNGEE and ABSEIL cranes towering over us. The bungee is sold out, but you and your supporters can still abseil a whopping 100ft for £35 a head in the shadow of Tower Bridge! Check out http://www.exelement.co.uk/experience/london-rat-race-skyline-abseil-1341.php to book.
3. Registration Procedure
You must register as a full team. There will be NO exceptions. Please download two files that you will need to hand at the registartion: Medical Form & Disclaimer and Self Declaration of Mandatory Kit. Both documents are available for download from the website HERE (right hand side column below local partners). NOTE - This Thursday afternoon, 24th September we will publish the London Entry List on this page. Please check it and memorise your team number - it will to help out speed up the registration procedure.
At registration you will:
1) collect your “dibbers” - one per team (electronic timing devices for the event)
2) receive your Rat Race goody bag
3) receive your Rat Race T-Shirt - these are given on 'first come - first served' basis therefore we would strongly suggest coming to registration as early as possible.
4) receive your Race number
5) receive a map and some early instructions
4. Timings
The Rat Race will take place over 2 days and you are taking part in Saturday’s Mean Streets Challenge or Sunday’s Nine 2 Five – or both! The Mean Streets starts with an explosive mass start at 1700 and finishes close on 1930, and is predominantly foot based. There are some penalty points that accrue for lateness, but more than any other year before, these are lenient enough to test your strategy, and keep you out on the course. The Nine2Five starts at 0900 with a Rat Run leading to a Challenge or two and then to your bikes. The rest of the day is predominantly bike-based, connecting up several fantastic challenges on the route, with all finishers back by 1700. The Weekender features both the Mean Streets and the Nine2Five components.
SATURDAY
1100 Competitor Registration open (Nine2Five competitors can register on Saturday)
1100 Competitor Refresher Sessions begin (See below for further info)
1200 Music and MC commences
1500 Competitor Registration closes
1530 Competitor pre-event briefing (Mean Street class and Weekender class required to attend - Mean Street instructions give out)
1700 Mean Streets Race starts
1930 Mean Streets Race finishes
2100 Secure Bike compound closes
SUNDAY
0700 Competitor secure compound open
0700 Nine2Five Competitors Registration opens
0700 Collect routebooks and more
0830 Nine2Five Competitor Registration closes
0900 Nine2Five Race starts
1200 Event village open to the public
1430 First teams expected to finish
1700 All teams back – course closes
1900 Awards Ceremony at Barrowboy and Banker pub on London Bridge
2100 Secure Bike Compound must be cleared
5. Kit InfoThe are some essen tials and recommendations with kit, to make your weekend safe and comfortable. Go HERE to peruse.
You will have seen from our previous mailout, the request for every team to have 1 bike computer. It is also allowable to utilise a GPS device set to MPH display for when cycling. This should then be handlebar or wrist mounted, not tucked away.
This all relates to the responsible use of British Waterways canal and river navigation towpaths, and their Two Tings campaign. 10 MPH is also the magic number here. At the event centre, British Waterways will be promoting their canal network and this cycle bell campaign. For now, we would like you to have a look at their Code of Conduct here as this we must adhere to, during the event.
We often get a questions about helmet types. Helmet manufacturers are the source to the answers for each model, and it should be very clear from them what helmets are certified for use for cycling and/or climbing. Sometimes we ask that you use a helmet for kayaking – here, any helmet will do. A climbing helmet is NOT certified for cycling and a cycling helmet is NOT certified for climbing. And remember, you will need a climbing harness for the very vertical activity this weekend.
6. Harness/Helmet Hire/Bike Hire/Rat Race Store
Harness and Helmet Hire: Anyone taking part in the Nine2Five must have a climbing helmet and harness. If you do no not have one you can hire them for £8 a piece or £15 a set via the Rat Race Store. We still have few left but if we run out we run out! They will be collected at the store after the Mean Streets (or on Sunday morning from 7am). For those who have pre-hired them The Store also has multi-sport helmets for sale, which you can use for climbing, abseiling AND biking. Saving you weight and they are a cracking piece of kit for multi-sport aficionados.
Bike Hire: Please ask for you bikes at the store. These will be ready to collect at 7am on Sunday morning from the Store. Bikes need to be pre-ordered while stocks last. Please go to the Rat Race Store to order.
For those of you worrying about “what to wear” or those who don’t know their map from their mountain bike, check out our Rat Race Store at www.ratracestore.com. The store will be open at the event, for anyone who might have forgotten anything!
‘Rat Pack’ 20% off special offer from the Rat Race Store. 
The Rat Pack is a bundle of products to help keep you and your valuables in tip top order during your pursuits. This pack is based around the Sea To Summit eVAC 5litre dry bag that will allow all air to be squeezed out saving maximum room while remaining waterproof. The pack also includes an Adventure Medical Kit .5, a (dry!) pair of Bridgedale socks, and a (fresh!)Rat Race Endura race shirt. Remember, this is an extra shirt to the one issued at the race. There is still room for your cash, phone and keys (Your need to supply the last three items!). These items have a retail price of £56.96 but the Rat Race Store is offering over 20% off for Rat-tastic price of £44.99 with free delivery. Click HERE to grab one.
To get a further ONGOING 10% DISCOUNT on all orders you make though RatRaceStore.com simply subscribe to the Rat Race Store mail list and save more pennies. Click HERE to sign up and save.
7. Skills Refresher Sessions
If you feel that you are a bit rusty when you’re on a kayak or can’t remember the last time you put on a climbing harness, or maybe you’ve never done either…never fear…skills refresher sessions are here! These optional courses are available and recommended for those who are not familiar with ropes-based activity or kayaking. Through these short sessions you will be familiarised with the equipment you will be using and taught the basic necessary skills needed to safely complete the ropes-based and kayaking activities you’ll later encounter on the course. You can gain the skills by attending one of the refresher sessions or by attending a session at your local climbing or kayaking provider. You can take part as a team or just on your own. Refresher sessions are run on the SATURDAY at the event village. Those partaking only in an abseil session can book for 11am slots with a those choosing both kayak and abseil sessions have slots at 11am (kayak) and 12noon (abseil). Abseil sessions cost £9 each and you can buy a package of both kayak and abseil sessions for £15. Book them through the Rat Race Store at www.ratracestore.com/store/Refresher_Sessions.html
Please check in at the Rat Race Store in the event village 10 minutes before your booked time where you will receive your voucher.
8. Eats and Drinks
The village will be the place to be to grab a bite to eat or something to drink. The “Rattochino” Café will be on hand selling freshly brewed coffee and a wide range of hot and cold drinks, plus hearty fare from the Grill. Breakfast will also be available early on Sunday morning for those who are doing the Nine2Five. There will also be a full selection of energy gels, bars and hydration products on offer. And if you fancy some carbs served a slightly different way, our special Fuller’s Discovery Beer Bar “The Rat and Fiddle” will also be on hand serving delicious cool pints of Fuller’s Discovery Ale from the beer tent. So whether your supporters want to whet their whistles waiting for your arrival back to base or whether you get a thirst on having ratified the course, enjoy a pint with us at Potter’s Field!
9. Prize-giving
Join us for a(nother) pint of Fuller’s Discovery ale and the official Rat Race prize-giving at the Barrowboy and Banker pub on London Bridge at 7pm on Sunday night (SE1 9QQ). Remember, there are prizes for anyone to win as well as the silverware on offer for the fast Rats.
We’ll See you for Capital Adventure on 26th and 27th September.
Rat’s all for now!
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