Snowdon Skyline: CANCELLED
Dear APEX Runner,
Considering the rapidly deteriorating coronavirus pandemic within the UK, over the past week I have been forced to re-evaluate the feasibility of hosting what would’ve been the upcoming Snowdon Skyline weekend. Unfortunately, for the various reasons outlined below I’ve deemed it most appropriate to cancel this year’s event.
WHY NOT POSTPONE?
Initially I had considered postponing to 12-13th September (the weekend before there are already three events taking in Snowdon summit!). However, as I started to come to terms with the realisation of how this could effectively pan out for myself and several other Race Directors doing the same, it came to light that this may not be wise. September/October will now be a very busy time for races and all races may see a drop in participation as runners effectively have to choose which postponed races to do.
In the interests on transparency, last year I made a loss of circa £3,500 on the event due to the relatively low numbers. If I postpone to the weekend before Skyline Scotland, I will almost certainly see a dramatic decrease in event participation, putting me in a situation where I may make a similar loss for a second year running. By cancelling with the below policy, I at least curtail this loss and secure the event for next year.
I’ve outlined other reasons why I have been forced to cancel below:
- Moving to September/October heightens the chance that the Bad Weather Route may have to be enforced. And let’s face it, we all want the race to go over Tryfan North Ridge and Crib Goch!
- Cancelling rather than postponing leaves more options for later events in the Skyrunner UK & Ireland calendar. The Scafell SkyRace and Arran Skyline are both planned for June and may need to postpone. Cancelling the Snowdon Skyline gives them more options.
- My other event, UTS (planned for mid June) may need to be postponed, which gives me the option of moving to September if needs be.
WHAT'S NEXT?
All entrants shall receive a 75% refund on their initial entry fee. Starting on Friday 27th March, I shall begin processing these in chronological order. Once processed, funds will reach your bank account in 5-10 days. If you’ve recently read Ian Corless’ article HERE regarding the struggle many Race Directors are facing and would like to ‘donate’ some, or all of your entry fee, let me know via email and please be patient when awaiting a reply: mike@apexrunning.co
WHY NO FULL REFUND OR DEFERRAL?
Unfortunately, neither of these options help me cover the many expenses already accrued in preparation for this year’s event. Including but not limited to: Skyrunner UK & Ireland series affiliation fee, event HQ and volunteer accommodation deposits, web development, advertisement and marketing costs, entry fee payment processing fees, trophy design and manufacture, equipment purchased specifically for this event (new, larger marquee, tables and chairs, start finish gantry banners and flags) etc. as well as a significant amount of time spent organising the event, including the associated travel costs to and from Snowdonia.
I should also add that I currently do not have any cancellation insurance in place for my events and speaking to other Race Directors, their insurancy policies wouldn't pay out for events that are cancelled due to this pandemic anyway. Believe me, if I could offer a full refund on race entries I would.
As they were due over the coming weeks, all recce events for both the Snowdon Skyline and UTS are now cancelled, with full refunds for any participants signed on to any of these events being processed shortly. For these, many things including accommodation and meals have already been paid for, with no option of refund. I shall also honour the agreed fee to the mountain guide who was booked for these and will lose a significant amount of forecast profit here.
Ultimately, the offer of a 75% refund is in line with other UK trail running events that have also decided to cancel and allows me to secure the future of my events business.
SNOWDON SKYLINE STRAVA CHALLENGE!
It’s not all doom and gloom! Once I’ve been around all the routes in full personally, I’ll create Strava segments for all race routes and set up the new Snowdon Skyline Strava challenge, with the Top 3 fastest times from each route receiving this year’s trophies and a free entry to next year’s event!
All trophies for this year’s event have already been designed and manufactured in collaboration with Design Real, some of which feature the year ‘2020’ so cannot be used next year. They’re truly unique and beautiful creations and I’ll write another article soon to explain the thinking behind their design. Watch this space for more info…
As a passionate Race Director and runner myself, I’d like to thank you personally for your understanding of the above, at a time that will no doubt be difficult for many.
I look forward to welcoming you back to beautiful Snowdonia soon and hosting the same event, including the brand new ‘14 Peaks Ultra’ on the weekend of 8-9th May 2021 (TBC).
See you then, if not before, at another awesome APEX Running event!
Michael Jones - Snowdon Skyline Race Director
2019 Skyrunner UK & Ireland Series Champion Kasia Osipowicz during the 2019 Snowdon Skyline. © Ian Corless.
