Hi Patrick Barry and I completed your event this year and we had a great time. Patrick ran it and I walked it. I was lucky enough to met up with an experienced LDWA member Martin Kenyon early into leg three. Martin is some guy to walk!!. Martin set a relentless pace which I had to jog now and then just to stay with him.

I stead with Martin for approx 20 miles which we covered in 5' 30". But alas upon reaching Tockholes I said to Martin to proceed since I wasn't able to keep that pace up. From Tockholes to the finish I had another 15 miles which took a very sad 6' 15". All in all I got around in 15' 30" (60 to 90 minutes faster than I expected).

Must admit I really enjoyed the day and the route was excellent. A huge thanks for East Lancs for the day and their volunteers were second to none.

A special word to the nurse in the boat house who patched up the blisters on my heals. I normally don't get blisters but the shoes I wore were slightly big and as the heals were sticking on some of the mucky paths there were 'popping' out and gently giving my heals a little slap. A few thousand of those slaps leads to lovely big blisters!!. Lesson learned there. Were proper fitting shoes!!!


Unfortunately we don't have the certificates, think we left them behind us in the boat club.

Thank you East Lancs for this event. Lovely route with lot of scenic variety (moors, canal; rivers; reservoirs; woodland; villages) and very little road walking. Support at the checkpoints was superb - homemade soup was delicious! Thanks for the markers up on the moor - really helped with route finding at night. Noted that some support volunteers helped from the start right through to the end - I salute as well as thank you. Really hope this event becomes a regular fixture in the LDWA calendar.

The map is dead, long live the GPS! :-(

Glad it's sorted. I didn't have any trouble downloading it yesterday (Had trouble remembering my password to log on to say that!).

Thanks for the help chaps. Looks like the problem was that the files wouldn't go into basecamp for Garmin. I managed to put the file directly into the GPS device itself and it worked. Also the RR 50 Team have been tremendous and have this morning changed the files so that they do go into basecamp. Now that's done, just the walk itself to complete.

Relatively quick and easy conversion using www.bikehike.co.uk :

Version v1_5 (whole route gpx) can be re-saved in bikehike as a 'gpx track' or 'gpx route', the text of neither of which include <time></time> (if that's what's causing the problems).

In detail:
Download RR50_2018_Complete_Route_v1_5_Sept.gpx to your hard disk
Open www.bikehike.co.uk
Click Course Creator tab
Click Load Route
(Defaults to 'Upload from: file')
Click Choose File
Navigate to the folder containing the downloaded .gpx file
Doubleclick on the downloaded .gpx file
Click Upload Route
If necessary, click Toggle Map Sizes to get a view at OS 1:50,000 scale (bikehike may drill down to 25,000)
Click Save Route
Select gpx track or gpx route
Change Course title from 'bikehike course' to e.g. 'redrose50track' or 'redrose50route'
(For route timings, you can change Average speed to your pace)
(Defaults to 'file' downloads; suggest trial to hard disk)
Click Download Route
Select destination of re-downloaded file
Your new version, e.g. 'redrose50track.gpx or 'redrose50route.gpx' , may now work.

Chrome 68 / macOS X 10.11 / Garmin Etrex

Iain

Had a quick look. The GPX files have an error in their formatting. The simplest way to correct them is to open them in a text editor and do a search and replace to remove all the "<time></time>"

If you want to view the GPX on a map then the easiest web site I know is gpxeditor. Looks like the GPX will need editing as above.

Is anyone else struggling to download the GPS files for this Red Rose 50. Only the first two sections seem to download successfully. The rest of the legs and the overall file have an error.

Hi, I've just entered and I'm very much looking forward to it. I've tried plotting the route onto Map 287 using the route description but its almost impossible to get it all right. Is there a map anywhere, or will there be one at the start that we can copy? Cheers.

It is good to see that more entries are coming in for this excellent event.. I did it last year, but am double booked in September so I cannot do it again. It will also be an excellent qualifier for next years hundred, if you need one for the HH100

Shame the 28 miler has been taken out. I did this last year and really enjoyed the route.

After much effort, East Lancs LDWA have fine-tuned the updated route for this year's Red Rose 50 taking place over 24 hours of Sept 15th/16th. We listened to the feedback from 2017 entrants and have made significant route adjustments which reduces the distance from 54+ miles to a few hundred yards above 50 miles. We have taken out the hard slog across Wet Moss and around Bull Hill. The route has now been tested and a gpx file available for those who would like to recce.
The event offers magnificent value for money. You get 50 miles of enjoyment in the beautiful countryside of the West Pennine Moors, feeding stations at the checkpoints (typically in Village Halls) and a meal at the end for £33 (£28 for LDWA members + SI booking fee). You also have a choice of running or walking. Some people describe the checkpoint food on East Lancs events as a gourmet walk so we have a reputation to maintain. It is an ideal qualifier for the 2019 Hundred (in Northumbria).
More info at https://www.ldwa.org.uk/challenge_events/show_event.php?event_id=20123 (including gpx) or enter through SI Entries at https://www.sientries.co.uk/event.php?elid=Y&event_id=4374
Now that the route is final (subject to any last minute changes such as footpath closures),

Gordon