BCN 24 Hour Marathon Challenge 2024

[Captain Pegg]

The 2024 BCN Marathon Challenge will take place on the weekend of Saturday and Sunday 25th and 26th May.

 

The finishing point will be Hawne Basin.

 

I've sent out a mail to those past participants for whom I have contact details. If any forum members wish to take part they will be very welcome - it is very much not a cliquey event - or if you're unsure please feel free to contact me for a chat or perhaps watch the Cruising the Cut episodes that featured this year's event.

 

Vlog 301: Challenge Accepted! –  Cruising The Cut

 

Vlog 302: They Think It’s All Over –  Cruising The Cut

 

 

Edited November 12, 2023 by Captain Pegg

[Graham and Jo]

Dotterel is in, new crew, young energetic - alcoholic.

 

Cheers Graham

[Captain Pegg]

There's been plenty of interest already. I've had four or five longstanding Challengers confirm they'll be back; one of last year's first time entrants interested in returning, and @Graham and Jo above are long standing Challengers who will be returning for the first time since Covid.

 

Part of the reason for wanting to get word out earlier this year is that the Challenge really needs to boost the numbers from 20ish to 30ish to sustain it as an annual event. It's been a struggle to get the numbers post the Covid hiatus.

 

The Society will be attempting to give more promotion to the event and any help in publicising the event will be gratefully received.

[beerbeerbeerbeerbeer]

Too early to commit 

But if you put good beer on like you did last year I will be tempted,

 

[Captain Pegg]

11 minutes ago, beerbeerbeerbeerbeer said:

Too early to commit 

But if you put good beer on like you did last year I will be tempted,

 

 

Of course there will be good beer

[Graham and Jo]

Can you get the event put on the BCN society Facebook page then I can share it to a number of canal groups. 

 

Cheers Graham 

[ditchcrawler]

7 hours ago, Captain Pegg said:

The 2024 BCN Marathon Challenge will take place on the weekend of Saturday and Sunday 25th and 26th May.

 

The finishing point will be Hawne Basin.

 

I've sent out a mail to those past participants for whom I have contact details. If any forum members wish to take part they will be very welcome - it is very much not a cliquey event - or if you're unsure please feel free to contact me for a chat or perhaps watch the Cruising the Cut episodes that featured this year's event.

 

Vlog 301: Challenge Accepted! –  Cruising The Cut

 

Vlog 302: They Think It’s All Over –  Cruising The Cut

 

 

Do you have an email address for people to respond to, I will publicise it to our club members 

[agg221]

We will be there one one boat or the other, probably not both - that would be sheer masochism, although it could have some advantages (what is the definition of a butty...)

 

Alec

[Captain Pegg]

5 minutes ago, ditchcrawler said:

Do you have an email address for people to respond to, I will publicise it to our club members 

 

PM sent

 

[David Mack]

11 minutes ago, ditchcrawler said:

Do you have an email address for people to respond to, I will publicise it to our club members 

 

5 minutes ago, Captain Pegg said:

 

PM sent

 

Why the secrecy?

[Captain Pegg]

3 minutes ago, David Mack said:

 

Why the secrecy?

 

Because I've given Brian my personal e-mail address to use

[David Mack]

Why not publish a BCN Marathon email address here, and in the other places requested above?

[Captain Pegg]

11 minutes ago, David Mack said:

Why not publish a BCN Marathon email address here, and in the other places requested above?

 

Because I don't have access to it. I'm not sure who does but I can probably find out.

 

Folks on here can PM me. Many have managed it.

[BEngo]

8 minutes ago, Captain Pegg said:

 

Because I don't have access to it. I'm not sure who does but I can probably find out.

 

Folks on here can PM me. Many have managed it.

As with all things BCNS a good starting point would be Brenda Ward.

 

I also suspect Richard and Sue will know how to get to.ghe challenge e-mail address

 

 

N

 

 

[Captain Pegg]

3 minutes ago, BEngo said:

As with all things BCNS a good starting point would be Brenda Ward.

 

I also suspect Richard and Sue will know how to get to.ghe challenge e-mail address

 

 

N

 

 

 

I don't think Brenda will want bothering with Challenge stuff.

 

Sue may have access to the e-mail but failing that Mike Anson or Michael Smith-Keary can probably reset the permissions.

 

As I said before for the purpose of anyone reading this thread that's interested, PM me.

Edited November 12, 2023 by Captain Pegg

[Francis Herne]

Good news that it's confirmed!

 

I'll be back this year. Whether on my own boat or a second run on Atlas & Malus remains to be seen.

 

I had a rule idea the other day: bonus point(s) for sections of canal not covered by any other competitor during the Challenge? Might be inconvenient for totting up scores at the finish though.

Edited November 12, 2023 by Francis Herne

[Stroudwater1]

Hopefully we will be in for this year, fingers crossed. Definitely a case of not the winning but the taking part that matters though 🤣 

[agg221]

21 minutes ago, Francis Herne said:

I had a rule idea the other day: bonus point(s) for sections of canal not covered by any other competitor during the Challenge? Might be inconvenient for totting up scores at the finish though.

I like that idea! At the moment the competition (and I use the term advisedly) is pretty much all about planning your own route and hoping you don't hit any problems. In sports terms, it's like playing darts, or archery. Really you are only competing against the best you can do. Add this component in though and it gets a bit more tactical. We would have done rather well last year under that rule as I believe we were the only boat to reach both Anglesey Basin and Pelsall.

 

We aren't really competitive - we have the wrong boat and two of our crew are always on the younger side (12 to 15). This does not impact on the entertainment though; for us, reaching the finish with the boat still running is generally regarded as a success!

 

Alec

[Captain Pegg]

14 hours ago, Francis Herne said:

Good news that it's confirmed!

 

I'll be back this year. Whether on my own boat or a second run on Atlas & Malus remains to be seen.

 

I had a rule idea the other day: bonus point(s) for sections of canal not covered by any other competitor during the Challenge? Might be inconvenient for totting up scores at the finish though.

 

It's an interesting idea and ways to encourage use of the lesser used sections is what the Challenge is all about.

 

However I fear it would likely benefit folks starting at Delph, Aldersley or Fazeley as much as it would those venturing to Anglesey, Norton Canes and Bradley.

 

The questions and photo bonuses are intended to reward those who venture to the remote spots. I'll think about beefing those up for 2024.

 

 

 

[Francis Herne]

1 hour ago, Captain Pegg said:

It's an interesting idea and ways to encourage use of the lesser used sections is what the Challenge is all about.

 

However I fear it would likely benefit folks starting at Delph, Aldersley or Fazeley as much as it would those venturing to Anglesey, Norton Canes and Bradley.

 

The questions and photo bonuses are intended to reward those who venture to the remote spots. I'll think about beefing those up for 2024.

 

I'm not sure that promoting a wider variety of routes and starting points is a bad thing! Only a handful of boats (one from each place) could exploit it that way or the benefit evaporates, making it very risky to rely on.

 

If you're betting on such a strategy and pull up at Delph the previous day to find a competitor already waiting there, do you write those points off or scramble up the locks to start from somewhere else?

 

Alternatively there could be a list of waterways included or excluded from the policy.

 

I agree with increasing the photo points bonus. The hassle involved in doing the Engine Arm seemed far out of proportion to the two points available.

Edited November 13, 2023 by Francis Herne

[Captain Pegg]

The scoring system isn't broken and is complex as it is. It gets tweaked every year to ensure it's as fair as possible to the range of competitors.

 

Last year the problems with Rushall locks prevented many competitors from heading up the W&E, which was disappointing because the works on the Daw End arm rendered it mostly a no-go area the previous year. In general the vast majority of competitors do some part of the W&E and I expect that to return in 2024 and I'll consider how to incentivise that given the last two Challenges haven't seen many boats heading that way.

 

I won't be offering significant additional points for cruising the bonus rated x1 sections; that would be counter to the objective of the Challenge. The bonus points add interest as much as they affect the result.

 

 

 

Edited November 13, 2023 by Captain Pegg

[Francis Herne]

I'm not upset with the status quo, it's just fun to propose things. 🙃

 

My other idea was points for litter/junk collection - winning the Trolley Trophy (against some spectacular entries) is unlikely unless focusing on that above locks/miles, so there's no formal incentive for 'normal' entrants to pick stuff up.

 

Some token points similar to the decoration scoring would reward on-the-fly collection of litter, keeping the trolley in play for the dedicated big-game fishermen.

 

Say 2 points for at least one bucket of cans or small items, 5 points for at least one trolley or similar, 10 points for anyone receiving general acclaim for their haul on arrival.

 

Not sure how to make that fair for single-handers or small boats.

Edited November 13, 2023 by Francis Herne

[IanD]

4 minutes ago, Francis Herne said:

I'm not upset with the status quo, it's just fun to propose things. 🙃

 

My other idea was points for litter/junk collection - winning the Trolley Trophy (against some spectacular entries) is unlikely unless focusing on that above locks/miles, so there's no formal incentive for 'normal' entrants to pick stuff up.

 

Something similar to the decoration scoring would reward on-the-fly collection of litter, keeping the trolley in play for the dedicated big-game fishermen.

 

Say 2 points for at least one bucket of cans or small items, 5 points for at least one trolley or similar, 10 points for anyone receiving general acclaim for their haul on arrival.

 

Not sure how to make that fair for single-handers or small boats.

 

How many points for a coil of razor wire or a mattress?

[Captain Pegg]

1 hour ago, Francis Herne said:

I'm not upset with the status quo, it's just fun to propose things. 🙃

 

My other idea was points for litter/junk collection - winning the Trolley Trophy (against some spectacular entries) is unlikely unless focusing on that above locks/miles, so there's no formal incentive for 'normal' entrants to pick stuff up.

 

Some token points similar to the decoration scoring would reward on-the-fly collection of litter, keeping the trolley in play for the dedicated big-game fishermen.

 

Say 2 points for at least one bucket of cans or small items, 5 points for at least one trolley or similar, 10 points for anyone receiving general acclaim for their haul on arrival.

 

Not sure how to make that fair for single-handers or small boats.

 

It is a valid point that stopping to collect rubbish is potentially counter to progress. I've never been focussed on collecting rubbish other than the requirement in the rules that anything you have to remove should be retained and disposed of at the finish. Compounded by the fact that I've often competed on a boat this has little room on which to accumulate rubbish.

 

The key thing is to strike a balance with the the outcome of the trolley trophy.

 

[Tonka]

1 hour ago, Francis Herne said:

I'm not upset with the status quo, it's just fun to propose things. 🙃

 

My other idea was points for litter/junk collection - winning the Trolley Trophy (against some spectacular entries) is unlikely unless focusing on that above locks/miles, so there's no formal incentive for 'normal' entrants to pick stuff up.

 

Some token points similar to the decoration scoring would reward on-the-fly collection of litter, keeping the trolley in play for the dedicated big-game fishermen.

 

Say 2 points for at least one bucket of cans or small items, 5 points for at least one trolley or similar, 10 points for anyone receiving general acclaim for their haul on arrival.

 

Not sure how to make that fair for single-handers or small boats.

Won't be many points for rubbish next year as Gosty Hill Tunnel will wipe off all the rubbish on top of the boat