London Rat Race 2008

Facts:
- 216 Teams (180 on the Sunday)
- 3 in each team
- 2 Members from Team Traceur (Nick and I)
- 1 Parkour Obstacle Course

Mission (Should we wish to accept it, of course):
- Ensure all teams complete the Parkour course successfully, and in one piece.

Results:
- Race Director's Report: Rat Race Website
- TV Footage Sat 22nd Nov 7.30am, Channel 4 (8:30 Channel 4 +1)
- Photos by Detail Events Ltd (unless otherwise stated)
- Photos Online at SleepMonsters
(Navigate on the left of the page for "Parkour Prologue" and "Finish Parkour")

Being the first time I'd ever been involved in this event I had no idea what to expect other than we had to set up a basic parkour course somewhere along the South Bank on Saturday and then again near City Hall on Sunday, and when the competitors turned up we had to make sure they got through the course before letting them move onto the next official checkpoint (They had over 30 in total to get through).

The only hassle was.... we had no idea when the various teams would turn up as they were allowed to complete the checkpoints in any order they wished. Which in turn meant we could be sitting quietly for hours before a mad rush ensued. Which is exactly what happened! :-D

We had great parkour routes set up, and when done properly would take the teams no more than 3 minutes to complete. It involved jumping over railings/walls, cat crawling along ledges (Although we caught many teams chickening out on this), precision jumps (more like "precision walking") across obstacles.

Most teams only managed to clamber over at best by the stage they arrived at our checkpoints as they were already quite exhausted after completing all the other checkpoints and plus all the miles of cycling they had to do inbetween.

The Saturday "Prologue" event had everyone trying their best to stick a BUFF HEADWEAR sticker, which they carried throughout the parkour course, as high as they could by popping up the side of a wall. Team Tutu held the position for the highest sticker, but were pipped right at the end by one of the last teams to come in. Unlucky guys. There's always next year. :-)

Very well done to all who completed the course especially Team Aberdeen Asset Management who were the overall team winners at the 2008 London Rat Race.