It doesn't cost much to put some savory food on, just takes people time. I know it was during Ramadan but plenty of the event was in the dark, when the fast is over anyway.

It is a shame with the poor reputation and reassurance this time that things were no different.

Cartmel - stop blaming the small people for eating all the food!!!

Sean is correct - I am afraid the food on offer was an insult given the £35 entry fee - one wonders if the organisers set things up in the expectation than entrant might collapse, through lack of sustenance, so that they could put their rescue procedures to the test. Lastly if it had rained for the duration of the walk then the lack of any indoor checkpoints would have proved testing even if the month was July.

I echo the comments with regards the level sustenance on the event, food was wholly inadequate having had reassurance from one of the organisers when I phoned with regards food on route ? QUOTE ?there will be plenty of tea, water, cakes, sandwiches and savoury snacks available? was the response to my reference to previous SMRT events where food was scarce to say the least. Perhaps one could say I should have known better and taken more food than I did for myself. However that said, finishing in the top 70 on one jam buttie I was well pleased,.... perhaps on two jam butties I would finish in the top 10 . who knows.!! Whinge over ...enormous thanks to the organisers , the midgets I reckons got the best nutritional value but without you guy s and gals supporting us at checkpoints with copious amounts of water, tea, jelly beans jam butties and yum yums we would never have completed. Serious: HUGE THANK YOU to all organisers, the course was fab, but using ones initiative I can fully understand why the event had to fold due to lack of entries :)

Thanks for the comments, on posting I was quite nervous thinking I was overreacting. What prompted it was having missed soup because of the midges we then reached Saltergate Bank only to find jelly beans on offer . The sudden realisation that we were on our own and 17 miles to go as far as food was concerned was to say the least a shock. From past experience with srmt I had brought enough stuff to see me through but I have never, ever, ever on a walk been in a position where I thought I haven?t enough, there are six of us , how can we share this out between us.

For a bit of banter, the next control had on offer something called yum yums (I think that?s what they are called) for the uninitiated these are a sub species of doughnut but in reality they are a bite sized excrescence consisting of stale fat and sugar. If you listen carefully on a night on the moors approaching Maybeck you may just hear the faint echoes of ?No, I don?t want an effing yum yum?

What looks to be an obvious synergy, walkers as a source of revenue, and organisers in need of revenue it?s an odd way of finding conflict when it?s only a matter of a few decent calories.

Very much enjoyed this very relaxed event - lovely views; great weather; beautiful sunset and large orange moon in a clear sky. As well as the formal checkpoints; there were extra water points; folks positioned at some key turn points; and pretty good signage. It would make a nice event for someone attempting their first 50; no time pressures - apart from completing in 24 hours.
Regarding 'food' - I always carry my own - being a plodder, I often travel towards the back of the pack - so even on LDWA event I am used to arriving at c/points to find the larder is bare. Reading previous comments - maybe folks are expecting to be fed - rather than supplemented.

We agree with the comments made by Sean, he got it spot on. 6 of us from Cleveland LDWA did the Crosses as a group, we had a good event, didn't enjoy all the road/hard tracks but expected it. To us it appeared to be a runners event, lots of quick sugar "jelly beans, flapjack" but nothing savoury until the soup which was a long way in. It is important that event organisers tell you if the food is going to be as basic as this.

But not to take anything away from the Organisers and their supporters who worked throughout the weekend to accommodate this event, particularly those check pointers in the High Muffles area who were swamped by Midges, in fact we thought the soup was full of herbs, until they started to move and realised it was protein on the wing - "midges".!!!

Couldn't do this event due to injury but it sounds like standard MRT catering. You would think Rescue teams would appreciate the need to feed entrants properly on long events but apparently not.
The general impression I have got from such events is that if someone is kind enough to donate food to the organisers then this will be passed on to the entrants (one memorable event where the only food was stale sausage rolls, at every checkpoint!) but there is a reluctance on the part of organisers to purchase food as it eats into their fundraising.
Lets also not forget that the entry fee here was substantial and a certain level of sustenance should be provided. If not, it should be clearly stated on the entry form.
Doubtless there will be a reduced entry next year and as a consequence less funds raised.
John

I have no experience of The Crosses, but I have been on another on-LDWA event whose organisation was, by comparison, deficient to LDWA's in ways which included both food and route delineation. I did comment to them and I hope my remarks were listened to; it wouldn't be appropriate, now, to say which one it was, but it is a very well-known national UK charity.

The sponsored events for charity industry - for that is what it is - has now reached such a level that it is sadly likely that sooner or later there will be a major incident involving the safety of participants. This will be a great shame, since the motives of both organisers and participants in such events are unquestioned. But the consequences, at least in the short term, will be a drop in both participation and money raised. The longer term result may be registration of events and perhaps a national overseeing body to maintain standards.

In the meantime, I suggest that non-LDWA organised events be indicated more clearly, perhaps with a disclaimer to the effect that the LDWA is not liable for any consequences and that their inclusion in the events lists does not represent responsibility for or approval of their organisation or procedures. The LDWA hundreds (and Oxfam's 100Km Trailtrekker) are the best organised events of any sort with which I have been involved. Sadly, some of the others are a long way behind, and we should not expect the same or similar standards to apply should we choose to take part in them.

Iain.

The catering was what I expected as I've done the Saltergate Circuit from the same organisers & the food on that is hopeless so I took some of my own provisions for the Crosses ? not something you should have to do when the entry fee is a whopping £35 for a fifty . Of course it's for charity but this does not excuse a ridiculous entry fee & minimal catering provision of the cheapo custard cream , flapjack , jelly bean variety at most Cps .

The goody bag was also rubbish , the buff was fine but not much else of use in there . What use a voucher for ten percent off at an opticians in Driffield ?! There was far too much road & track on the event , the 7km contourless section beyond the Lion Inn went on forever . A lovely area , there was stunning scenery on a perfect weather day , but not an event I would do again if repeated given the hefty entry fee , long road / track sections & basic catering provision. .

I saw in the Crosses a chance to get a much better perspective on the North York Moors and it didn't disappoint. The route covered, roughly, a huge square of the moors and took you through some lovely countryside, up and down dale literally and apart from one climb did it in quite a civilised way. I dare say some more heather bashing could have been included to avoid roads but for me the compromise chosen was pretty good and if I say the lanes were quiet I mean it, the area really was quiet. As the walk progressed the Fylingdales installation was visible in the distance during Saturday afternoon and I did enjoy the way it acts as a kind of pivot.
So, a well thought out route enhanced by well placed controls, with plenty of support at each stop, The organisers certainly have the ability to put on a great event which makes the down side of it all the more disappointing,namely, the catering. For 20 odd miles you don?t actually need much at the time but a 53 mile walk is altogether a more serious undertaking and to be presented with effectively an unrelenting diet of sweeties is appalling. There has to be a fault line in the collective thinking of the organisers if that was all they could come up with.

If that level of deficient nutrition is all an organiser thinks walkers need then fine but say so and loudly on the entry form so we walkers can take proper steps to sustain ourselves and then at least a scoreline of walkers ? SMRT 35 won?t be so bad. It?s such a shame, potentially a great walk, potentially a great entry.