About monster FAqs

In recognition of the new minimum team size in Monster this year (3 people minimum), we have adjusted the way in which we post the finishing times of all participants.

Finish times are therefore listed online as follows:

1.  All finishers are posted & included in the official event results (gathered via the SportIdent timing chip system) and have therefore been allocated a placing i.e. 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd etc.
2. Anyone finishing as a single person is classified as ‘NC’ (non-competitive) as they did not comply with the event rule on minimum team size i.e. they arrived at the finishing checkpoint alone.
3. Anyone finishing as a pair is posted but is not classified as ‘NC’ as it is assumed that they had set out from previous checkpoints as a team of 3 or more, as marshalls at this point would have ensured this happened. I.e. they would not have been allowed to leave Silver as a team of less than 3. Teams of 2 were not permitted to start the event – all pairs wanting to register were matched up (pre-Pasta Party) to result in a team of 3 or more.
4. Based on the above, the accolade of ‘first team to finish’ goes to the first complete team of 3 who came in together. This could have been a team of 3 who started originally as a 3 or one which was created/paired up somewhere along the route.

Maggie’s wants to thank all participants for working with us to ensure a safe and secure event for all. Please see here for an explanation of why the new minimum team size was introduced in 2012.

Maggie’s recognise that this is the first year this new team size limit has been in place and that it has caused some participants confusion, in terms of timings, placing and disqualification from the event.

We’ve listened to the feedback and will be working to ensure better clarity of this rule in 2013. We want Monster to be open to as many people taking part as possible, and so will be looking at ways to possibly accommodate pairs and runners in future Monsters.

However, we do want to ensure that we still retain the true spirit of the event – which is one of a team challenge, where teams register, train, enter & finish together, ultimately to fundraise for Maggie’s, rather than it becoming an increasingly competitive race event. We want to achieve a balance between the focus on timings, with the huge overall achievement every participant should be proud of.

Questions:

My placing has changed since I first looked online immediately after the event on Sunday. Why? This is because all ‘NC’s were originally not included in the results listed online. They have now been included, meaning that the overall placings have altered slightly.

Before the event, I was not able to register as a team of 2 so why have pairs now not been disqualified or been excluded from the results listing? All teams exiting the checkpoints were of 3 people or more; marshalls matched up singles/pairs with other participants to ensure all teams leaving were of 3 or more. Obviously Maggie’s is unable to control/police what happens once teams have left the checkpoints so we cannot legislate for those incidences and can only assume that when pairs finished at Gold, that they had become that way due to a team member retiring or separating from them on route. It would be unfair for this reason to exclude them from the final results listings.

No – for safety and planning purposes, you cannot register for the first time on the morning of the event – you must have registered prior to the event and registration for Monster 2012 is now closed.

Registration for Monster 2013 is now open!  Be one of the first to join Monster on its 10th anniversary.  Early bird registration is £75 per person.  Please complete and return our early bird registration form with a cheque payable to 'Maggie's Centres' to Maggie's Monster, 1st Floor, One Waterloo Street, Glasgow, G2 6AY. 

Yes, you can do this right up until the registration on Friday 4 May 2012 but you cannot replace people on the morning of the event. This is for the purposes of insurance and safety.

Please ensure you contact us on 0300 123 1801 if you wish to change or cancel anyone’s place. Unfortunately registration fees are non-refundable if you have to cancel someone’s place without replacing them.

For the safety of our walkers we only allow a minimum of 3 people in a team.

You must be with a minimum of 2 people when leaving each checkpoint.  You will be held at the checkpoint until at least 2 members of your team join you or until you are joined with another team of at least 2 people leaving the same checkpoint.

Monster is a team event and we want to encourage you to stick together as a team throughout the event. This will help you keep safe as well as keep up morale and get you and your team to the finish line together. By training together as a team it will help you set a realistic pace that each of the team members are comfortable with. 

We do understand that it is natural that each person within a team has different fitness levels and walking paces.  We will be at the checkpoints and on route to ensure that hikers are not walking alone and join hikers who have broken away from their original team with another team walking at their pace to the next checkpoint.

We would encourage you to join Maggie’s Monster Bike & Hike Facebook page where you can post a request to other Monster participants to join their team.

Please refer to the full Event Terms and Conditions.

• Participants must check in and out of all checkpoints.
• Participants must wear their participant number throughout the event.
• You must have only one support vehicle per team, due to space restrictions at some of the checkpoints.
• Please inform a marshal at a checkpoint if any of your team decide to retire from the event for whatever reason. • The time of the last team member to check in at a checkpoint counts as the team time.
• Dogs can only accompany you on the walking section of the route from Fort Augustus to Drumnadrochit and must be kept on leads. This is in line with the Scottish Outdoor Access code and is a requirement of the event organisers.
• Please deposit all litter at checkpoints - not on the Great Glen Way!
• Please contact our main Event HQ emergency telephone number in case of emergency. This telephone number will be given to you at registration on the eve of the event and will also be printed on your participant number.

This is the warm up on the eve of the event and it is essential every participant attends. It runs from 5 - 10.30pm; you can attend at any time during these hours.

The party includes entertainment, a buffet dinner and the all important safety briefings. The safety briefings last about an hour (one at 7pm and one at 9pm – same briefing) and every participant must attend one of them.

The buffet dinner is included for every participant and two members of their support team – if you wish, you can buy additional tickets for other family or friends who are with you. Tickets for them to attend are £5 and can be bought when you register on the Friday night.

We will allocate your start time 2 weeks before the event and will send confirmation of your start time in an email along with final details and important event information.

Please note that you cannot request to change your allocated start time to the earlier slot. If you have been allocated the 6.30am start time and would prefer to start later in the 7.45am start time, please let us know and we will see if we can switch your team to a later start time.

The first two start times are the most popular and will also be full to capacity. So if you are allocated the 9am or 10am start, you cannot change your start time to be in one of the earlier ones. If you have been allocated the 6.30am or 7.45am start time and would prefer to start later, please let us know and you can switch to a later start time.

Please contact us on 0300 123 1801 – it may mean you will need to move en masse to a later start time. Where possible we have endeavoured to put all joint teams together in one start time. Or it may mean waiting for your team mates en route to ensure you all reach the checkpoint together!

Yes, we do have cut off times that participants must reach each checkpoint by in order to be allowed to continue to the next.  However, we have allowed for more than enough time for you to reach each checkpoint so this shouldn't be a worry to you.

Participants cannot leave the location and continue with the event after these times.  

Fort Augustus: 16h00

Invermoriston:  20h30

Drumnadrochit:  02h00

Yes, Athlete's Angels have prepared a training guide for Monster participants going to Bronze, Silver and Gold.

Take a look under Get Prepared and then Fitness Levels and Training on the website.

If you are hiring a bike from Maggie's you will need to bring your own spare inner tube as stipulated on the Compulsory Kit List and in case replacement is needed on route.

The specification for the hire bikes used by Maggie’s on this event is: 24 speed front suspension mountain bikes.  A 26'' x 2'' standard mountain bike inner tube is the required spare ('presta' valve although a standard inner tube this size would be fine).

We can send these out to you - please contact the Maggie's Monster team by emailing monster@maggiescentres.org or 0300 123 1801.

Yes - there is one you can download/print out/copy in the Monster fundraising guide.

Please don’t send us cash through the post, instead bank it and send us a cheque/ postal order to cover the amount. All cheque and postal orders need to be made payable to ‘Maggie’s Centres’ and sent to Maggie’s Centres, 1st Floor, One Waterloo Street, Glasgow, G2 6AY.

Whenever you send money to Maggie’s Cancer Caring Centres, please complete and enclose one of the collected funds tear off slips. By doing this you can help us put all your hard earned funds to use in our centres as quickly as possible. If you have any queries about how to bank your funds, please do call us on 0300 123 1801.

Maggie’s is here to help you every step of the way. Please get started by reading our Monster fundraising guide. Maggie's ask that every Monster participant raises a minimum of £400. £400 has been set as a target based on what people have raised for Maggie’s before on events like this – we know they can do it and obviously we need the event to raise as much as possible for Maggie’s. This is only a guide though – in 2011, the average amount raised per person was nearer £750 – amazing!

We ask that you send in as much fundraising money as you can, as soon as you can. It helps us in planning the event and to understand how much the event is raising for Maggie’s.

Providing your registration is paid, we would not exclude you from taking part if you did not reach the £400 target prior to the event – we simply ask that you commit to raising that amount by participating in the event.