Comic Relief 2011

[palkanetoijala31]

I've only skimmed through this thread as I highly doubt that I'll be able to get the day off in the middle of the busiest period at work, but from what I've seen it seems that people have kinda taken their eyes off what this is supposedly for, and the clue is in the name - raising funds for Comic Relief!
I think the people that are able to do the challenge need to make a decision whether they are to go as a mass group or not, and then take things from there, and above all, work out ways to maximise the money raised.
Otherwise this will end up being almost "just an excuse to have a FNC", or potentially a race a lá the Tube Olympics, with raising money for Comic Relief being an (at best) secondary objective.
Just my two bobs worth, I'll go back to skimming now...

That is a good point you have brought up Steve i thoroughly enjoyed comic relief last time it was such fun as a big group the world record was a bonus if it did happen for example.The best things for me was allthough part of the group i ran off at the start and had the time of my life enjoying watching 12 superheros run into each station.

[Going Underground]

OK here is my tuppence worth....

I am happy to come out whatever the start and finish stations are, personally I think most people will find it easier to get to the Heathrow area in the morning so a T4 start gets my vote. I can leave a car at the finishing station the night before so could give another 4 people a lift if required.
As this is for comic relief I will certainly be requesting donations again but see no reason why this this should contradict the route from being competitive and at least being somewhere near GWR pace... No harm in logging, taking photos etc....

[palkanetoijala31]

Running the Comic Relief route through todays JP and starting at t5 instead of t4 because of kensington Olympia new timetable.it comes out and wait for it a marvellous time of 18h 09m but it does have a guaranteed KEN O,MHE and Hainault loop perfect.

start time 06.17
finish time 00.26

[palkanetoijala31]

Running the Comic Relief route through todays JP and starting at t5 instead of t4 because of kensington Olympia new timetable.It comes out and wait for it a marvellous time of 18h 09m but it does have a guaranteed KEN O,MHE and Hainault loop perfect and obviously is quite leniant.

start time 06.17
finish time 00.26

I do have other plans up my sleeve but they require a lot of work to take an hour off.

[JoeGJ1984]

I do think that the recent CiNs and Comic Reliefs have started to become just excuses to have FNCs - the primary idea, after all, is to raise money for charity! (If you did want to have a race a la Tube Olympics, you could always make an extra date on the calendar, unrelated to charity. It would be good to do this during school holidays, to give students a chance to take part in a mass FNC - I think during the summer holidays as that puts it in the middle of both Comic Relief and CiN). I think the best bet here would be for somebody to set up a justgiving page and anybody who wants to take part (or anybody else) can donate to it.

That said, I'm thinking of using this as an excuse to do my first FNC attempt and I'll be happy if I get a successful completion under my belt.

Please, I would say, let's keep one of the two charity events as a big group - I think it's more fun for newcomers that way, and makes a good first FNC for somebody to do. I think as the CiN has been established to be done in teams, the Comic Relief should stay as one big group. (I think I probably won't be able to match Andi's running pace though! And I'd hate to have to run all the way between High Barnet and Cockfosters).

As for the GWR, I think it's unlikely that we'll get it with a huge group like Comic Relief, so I think make the start and finish places fairly close together (such as Amersham/Chesham and Heathrow Airport). I must admit, it would be good to finish at T5 because then we can use the facilities at Heathrow Airport afterwards (such as having something to eat or going to the toilet) - a bit better than finishing in a cold, dark place at half past midnight with nothing open. On the other hand, it's never cheap to leave cars near an airport! (although we may have to do that anyway if starting near Heathrow Airport). Chesham to Amersham can be done, but won't be very competitive with the GWR and gives a cold, dark finish, so I'm leaning to preferring Amersham/Chesham to T5.

Running the Comic Relief route through todays JP and starting at t5 instead of t4 because of kensington Olympia new timetable.it comes out and wait for it a marvellous time of 18h 09m but it does have a guaranteed KEN O,MHE and Hainault loop perfect.

start time 06.17
finish time 00.26

Having said all the above, where does this route finish? I think if you have that route, it might be best to stick with it.

[Garion]

I'm remaining neutral in all this; if I definately attend, I'll be happy doing whatever. I just want to say that Comic Relief 2009 was my first FNC and I enjoyed that day as there was a sense of togetherness and spirit with the main group. I also enjoyed it because we were all encouraging eachother to carry on, I appreciated that more so as it was my first proper attempt and I enjoyed talking about the challenge with other members of the group. Therefore I would say a group idea is better on that basis, but feel free to do whatever you guys want

[Sam]

I think a group attempt would be good as 2009 Comic Relief was really good (at least for the part that I was there for!). It would be good to have a competitive route though as a sponsored GWR is better than a sponsored FNC, as there have been a lot of sponsored FNCs....

[Garion]

Agreed, people seem to donate more if there is something special mixed in

[Sam]

Yes they do, and i'm sure a lot of people have already sponsored a FNC in the past.
Obviously none of us quite have Andi pace but i'm sure having it somewhat competitive isn't a bad thing....
Anyways!

[palkanetoijala31]

I do think that the recent CiNs and Comic Reliefs have started to become just excuses to have FNCs - the primary idea, after all, is to raise money for charity! (If you did want to have a race a la Tube Olympics, you could always make an extra date on the calendar, unrelated to charity. It would be good to do this during school holidays, to give students a chance to take part in a mass FNC - I think during the summer holidays as that puts it in the middle of both Comic Relief and CiN). I think the best bet here would be for somebody to set up a justgiving page and anybody who wants to take part (or anybody else) can donate to it.

That said, I'm thinking of using this as an excuse to do my first FNC attempt and I'll be happy if I get a successful completion under my belt.

Please, I would say, let's keep one of the two charity events as a big group - I think it's more fun for newcomers that way, and makes a good first FNC for somebody to do. I think as the CiN has been established to be done in teams, the Comic Relief should stay as one big group. (I think I probably won't be able to match Andi's running pace though! And I'd hate to have to run all the way between High Barnet and Cockfosters).

As for the GWR, I think it's unlikely that we'll get it with a huge group like Comic Relief, so I think make the start and finish places fairly close together (such as Amersham/Chesham and Heathrow Airport). I must admit, it would be good to finish at T5 because then we can use the facilities at Heathrow Airport afterwards (such as having something to eat or going to the toilet) - a bit better than finishing in a cold, dark place at half past midnight with nothing open. On the other hand, it's never cheap to leave cars near an airport! (although we may have to do that anyway if starting near Heathrow Airport). Chesham to Amersham can be done, but won't be very competitive with the GWR and gives a cold, dark finish, so I'm leaning to preferring Amersham/Chesham to T5.

Running the Comic Relief route through todays JP and starting at t5 instead of t4 because of kensington Olympia new timetable.it comes out and wait for it a marvellous time of 18h 09m but it does have a guaranteed KEN O,MHE and Hainault loop perfect.

start time 06.17
finish time 00.26

Having said all the above, where does this route finish? I think if you have that route, it might be best to stick with it.

For the benefit of you Joe i have sent u a pm of route please run through journey planner urself it is quite a standard running pace so i think good enough of a challenge for urself.

[Garion]

Yes they do, and i'm sure a lot of people have already sponsored a FNC in the past.
Obviously none of us quite have Andi pace but i'm sure having it somewhat competitive isn't a bad thing....
Anyways!

Some of us don't even have Sam's pace

[JoeGJ1984]

I haven't received a PM...

[Sam]

Yes they do, and i'm sure a lot of people have already sponsored a FNC in the past.
Obviously none of us quite have Andi pace but i'm sure having it somewhat competitive isn't a bad thing....
Anyways!

Some of us don't even have Sam's pace

I openly admit that I do not enjoy running and am not the fastest runner in the world, so my routes always have ample time to make on foot connections.

[palkanetoijala31]

I haven't received a PM...

Give me a chance it took a lot of writing u have now

[Garion]

Yes they do, and i'm sure a lot of people have already sponsored a FNC in the past.
Obviously none of us quite have Andi pace but i'm sure having it somewhat competitive isn't a bad thing....
Anyways!

Some of us don't even have Sam's pace

I openly admit that I do not enjoy running and am not the fastest runner in the world, so my routes always have ample time to make on foot connections.

And I'm probably one of the slowest here so that was a joke reference to me and me alone, not to anyone else.