TTC 2019 - Final Arrangements

The running routes have been checked out by your team of coaches and all that remains is to fill you in with the final details. PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING CAREFULLY AS THERE ARE MANY CHANGES TO PREVIOUS YEARS.

The Venue
We are returning to the Trossachs Tryst Hostel on Invertrossachs Road, Callander. Refer to the map in the How to Get There section for the precise location (your sat nav will only get you very approximately onto the right road due to the remoteness of the location, so look at the map first). This was the original venue used for the first 9 years of the TTC for those who have been regular participants. However, the hostel is under new ownership (the children's charity FABB Scotland) and is no longer permanently staffed. Therefore, the venue will not be open until the part time caretaker can meet up with me to hand over the keys. This will not be until after 4pm on Friday 6th September (we will be charged extra if we want in earlier than that). If you are coming through to Callander earlier in the afternoon, please spend your time in Callander having a cake and a coffee or whatever rather than coming to the venue. Also note that Wheels cycle hire, which is located beside the hostel and is permanently manned, has nothing to do with the hostel. Note also that we do not have access to the upstairs area of the hostel, so don't go up there).

Please be ready to run at 5:15 pm on the Friday evening. If you are going to be late arriving, please give me a call (07867863741). For the safety of all, we can't really delay the start too long but will try our best. Please don't take any risks to get there on time if you are late. Its only a run! Dinner is booked for 7:30pm at the Lade Inn.

The accommodation is in dormitories of various sizes with a mix of bunk beds and single beds, each dorm accommodating from 4 to 9 people. I have worked out the jig saw puzzle of fitting the 28 participants into the 32 spaces. I will let you know on arrival what room you are in just in case we have any further changes though this final week. Bedding is provided. Please bring your own towels.

We have to be out of the hostel by 1pm on Sunday. Please make sure you have taken all your belongings as we don't have the luxury of the previous resident owner calling me up to tell me what she has found after we had left!

How to Get There
Approaching Callander on the A84 from Stirling, proceed to the centre of Callander to the traffic light controlled cross roads where you should turn left down the hill onto Bridge Street/A81. Follow the road across the bridge and the various speed humps past the primary school to the mini roundabout a hundred metres or so further on. Turn right onto Invertrossachs Road and follow this road for about 1.5 miles (do not bear left into the Callander Holiday Park caravan site entrance after a half mile). There is a big green sign at the entrance to the hostel.
This Google Map shows the route from Callander Main Street.

What to Bring
Please bring the following:

• Towels
• Running gear appropriate to the weather forecast! (1 run on Friday, 2 runs on Saturday plus a core session, 1 run on Sunday). From the information provided, it seems that we do not have access to a washing machine, so bring enough changes of clothes with you.
• All of the runs are on a mixture of trail and tarmac. I would say that road shoes are fine on all of the routes but some of you may also wish to bring trail shoes if you have them and are comfortable running 3 to 5 miles (5 to 8km) on tarmac in them. Due to the torrential rain this "Summer" many of the routes are wet, slippy and eroded so care is necessary irrespective of the footwear chosen.
• Water bottle and belt or bum-bag or running back pack. This is not an expedition and the runs are of normal training run duration from 30 minutes to 2 hours so no massive back packs that will only slow you down; just enough to carry a light running jacket and your water bottle/gels on the long Sunday run. Your pack leaders will not be able to carry stuff for you as they are running too.
• Any medication that you require (and let your room mates and pack leader know where and what it is just in case of emergencies)
• A yoga mat or beach towel for the core session which Kay will take. We have the luxury of the large indoor hall for this if the weather is bad.

Food and Drink

• The water from the taps is beautiful Trossachs water so is fine to drink. If you think you need any special gels for the runs, then please bring your own. We will be doing 5 to 6 miles on Friday, 7 to 9 miles on Saturday morning, 3 to 5 miles on Saturday afternoon and 11 to 14 miles on Sunday morning. The distances are not far but the elevation gain is significant on all the routes. You shouldn't really need gels during any of these runs except perhaps the longest route on the Sunday.
• Everyone has made their menu choices for dinner on Friday and Saturday and they have been submitted to the Lade Inn. A printed list will be available on each of the dinner nights for those (like me) who can't remember what they ordered.
• Breakfast goods will be provided on Saturday and Sunday and if you are lucky, Kenny will even make a pot of porridge each morning! Breakfasts will be help yourself in the communal dining room/kitchen.
• Buffet lunches are provided on Saturday and Sunday by external caterers as usual. As with the breakfasts, the buffet will be set up in the main communal dining room. The caterers will bring their own cutlery and dishes so please do not mix up with that which belongs to the hostel.
• We are responsible for washing the hostel's cutlery, so please lend a hand and don't leave it to the few.
• The lunch caterers will wash their dishes/cutlery, so no need for us to do that.
• We are bringing communal tea, coffee, milk and biscuits which will be in the communal dining room.

Safety
Safety is paramount for the entire duration of the weekend. There will be a briefing before each session highlighting additional points but here are the main ones:

• All runs will be in approximate equal ability packs based on what you have told us on the entry form and what we know to be the real situation. Please stick to the pack you have been assigned at the start of each run. We can always move people up or down a pack for the next run. If you are struggling during the run, your pack leader should have noticed this but please let your pack leader know anyway. 
• Nobody goes off on their own or is left on their own as there are several hundred km's of trails to get lost on in there.
• We are sharing the trails and roads with other users (motorists, cyclists, walkers). Be respectful of all and be aware of what is going on around you.
• There are public access Automatic External Defibrillators at various points on the routes. Your pack leaders are aware of the locations and many of the Harriers are familiar with their use through the training organised by Jim Mearns. Heaven forbid we need them but they are there if we do.
• The Lade Inn is over a mile away from the hostel. We shall shuttle people back and forward in cars over the two nights for dinner. However, if anyone is walking to the Lade Inn, they MUST NOT walk on the main road (A821) to Kilmahog. This is an extremely dangerous narrow road with blind dips and bends and a high proportion of tourist traffic (cars, buses and motorbikes) who are not familiar with the twists and turns and often drive too fast. If you are walking to the Lade Inn, take the high level footpath parallel to the main road.
• There is a 70km mountain bike race taking place on part of the trails we are using on the Sunday. They have exclusive use of the trails on the south side of Loch Venachar due to the speed they will be racing at and the trail will be closed. However, their race starts at 9am, our run starts no later than 8am. We have to be clear of the fist section of the trail beside Loch Venachar before that trail is closed.  That means there will be no turning back on the long run. Once we have all passed the section of trail on the south side of Loch Venachar, we have to continue with the loop on the north side.

If anyone has any additional questions, then please drop me an e-mail (w.alan.derrick@gmail.com) or text (07867863741).

As always, this will be fun weekend if we all take heed of the above.
Alan