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What people say
      

Just to say my friends and I really enjoyed this year’s event, despite the breezy conditions. It was excellently organised again and the food at the cafe was absolutely delicious. I'm determined to run all the way up the hill one year.... The goody bag was very impressive too - Gavin

Thanks very much for a fantastic day we really enjoyed it, it was great race - Andrew & Pippa

A really elemental experience - exhilarating!!!! We loved it! Thanks for the great organisation and especially to those marshals who stayed in place despite the gales. Hope to see you next year.
Paul and Halia

Just to say a big thank you for organising such a great event, even though 2 days post event I am still walking like a penguin! - Calves seized up! Getting blown off your feet on the way down will be unforgettable too! One suggestion - can we have a longer bike route please? - (you really feel that you are just getting into the bike before its time to dismount) - 2 laps maybe? Looking forward to next year - Tim

Congratulations and ‘Thank You’ on such a well organised and friendly event on Saturday. I couldn’t have faulted anything either in the run up to the event, or on the day itself. If anything the weather added to the ‘challenge’ of the event, and didn’t detract from the ‘charm’ in the slightest. At least you didn’t lose any of us and make the national news also!! - Craig
Cheers to everyone for a great day on Saturday, my legs are almost better… I started thinking while I was up there on Saturday that the Charmer could be advertised as the "Windiest Race in the U.K."  what with Britain’s obsession with weather related stories, I though it might be a way to get some free publicity. There can't be many events like that anywhere in the world where the wind speed has exceeded 100mph - just an idea. Thanks again - Robert

Just a short note to say thanks to you and all of your team for organising such a great event. The weather certainly made it the most challenging event I have ever done! No negative feed back for you , just a couple of minor tweaks; if possible make the cycle a little longer- I enjoyed the rest!; you could get away with charging more - more funds for the new school and it would help offset the next point; improve the quality and artwork on the t- shirts. Thanks again and already looking forward to 2009. - Mike
 

 
What people say 2008 - comments and feedback

Just to say thanks for organising a great event last weekend...OK it was a bit damp and breezy - but that just added to the fun (in retrospect anyway. And a huge thanks to all the marshals ... truly miserable weather to be out in but they all managed to be smiling and encouraging. Thanks for a brilliant (I think) day; breezy and damp, but that all adds to the fun! I was impressed you still ran the event despite the weather, and loads of thanks to the marshals for standing around in such horrendous conditions. At least if you were competing it was over quicker! - Gill & Hamish

Great event and well organised, look forward to it next year, maybe run it a bit earlier in the year 'cos if it was this weekend just passed it might have been snowed/iced off, also the bikes needed more space on the rack as the middle of the rack had sagged under the weight and I needed a marshal to help to lift the rack and move other bikes to get mine out which took over a minute. One last thing might be a wee medal to keep after the event for everyone as it is a big effort for every participant, even if the price had to go up to cover this, and all profits go to the school. Anyway thanks for organising it - Steven

I'd first like to thank you for your work and energy arranging this event. It is truly unique and it was very well organised and very good-spirited. It's of course also a wee bit hard, but I can easily work through my memories of the race with a competent therapist. Don’t for one second think of making it easier. It's a challenge. I’ve a few wee thoughts about the event that I thought might be useful for next year. I'm an ex-psychologist who works in design so a few things about the race got me thinking ...
1. Labeling both outward and return bits of the run with yellow arrows is perhaps a problem. Running the way back, after the cycle part, you have to remember that people are frankly a bit b*ggered to say the least and their judgment is somewhat impaired, at least I found mine was. Perhaps each section should have a different colour of arrow?
2. Transition was ok, but again you're dealing with very tired people and it would help to colour-code sections, just to add more information in addition to the numbers.
3. The cycle bit was a joy after the first, horrible horrible horrible, uphill bit. I can see why people would like to make it longer to give the event some balance in terms of time, but the event is already really tough, and I'm not sure what that would do- it is meant to be a Charmer, and not a Death Race after all...
4. Install an escalator for the last uphill bit...
Again, thanks for all your efforts. It really is an event I'm quite proud even to have finished.
Alan

A belated email to say thanks for organising another great event last weekend.  Myself and my team-mate enjoyed ourselves in spite of the conditions.  The following wind certainly made the descent quick and, 'erm, interesting!  Hopefully it will be third time lucky with the wind next year! I’d also like to say a special thanks to all the marshals and Cairngorm Mountain staff who braved the conditions to make it all possible - Stephen

Firstly, thank you for putting on a well organised and enjoyable event in the face of such adverse weather conditions. We both enjoyed the race and once we regain the ability to walk properly we will start to think about what next. We will both come back to the event if we can, irrespective of the time of year, although icy conditions could make the descent a bit too dangerous (I think). I just have a couple of comments about the transition area. I don't have a huge amount of experience but of the duathlon/triathlon events I have done: it seems usual to have a one way flow through the transition area and also no cycling in the transition area; I think the bike rack was a bit low. Thanks again for a great event in an area we enjoy visiting and I hope my comments are of interest and useful. I'm looking forward to next year. John

Would just like to thank you for organising a tough but very enjoyable event. It was well organised and have no complaints other than the weather, which afraid you can't do much about. Joking apart though, once you were half a mile down the hill at the start, the weather didn't make much difference and it actually was nice conditions to run in. Other good points I'd like to mention are firstly the Start, which  was well laid out and the starting of 5 competitors every minute, in my opinion is spot on as it allows a decent gap between groups, and also doesn't make the start for the last group to long from the first group. There can be no complaints of the transition point which was well laid out and plenty room for the changeover to take place as well and the marshals were very helpful. The bike section was something of a new to me as this was my first duathlon event as being normally just a runner. I have to say though, I probably enjoyed the bike section most and okay the first mile and half was uphill but I thought it was great fun and was not to challenging for a novice on a bike like myself, but you could still get a decent speed up and have a break before the last run home. I've read comments from last year where some thought the bike section could have been longer but in my opinion the 4 miles was a decent distance which was just enough to give you break from the running. Overall I thought it was great course, I can only say your event has given me the bug for more duathlon events and will be back next year, hopefully with my father if he has recovered! - Barry

Thank you for organising such a super event. The conditions made it a real mental as well as physical challenge, and we both broke our own personal land speed records on the way down the hill with the 120mph wind behind us!! The marshals must have been sourced from some of the most extreme places on earth to have withstood prolonged periods of relative inactivity without getting windburn/frostbite, and how they remained so cheery, and supportive remains a mystery to me. So a big thanks to them from us, they were a welcome sight as I struggled around the course. The course was really demanding, much harder than we expected, but I had a real sense of achievement at finishing in what for me was a respectable time. The cycle was really good fun and dare I say it a little too short, although in the conditions we had I think it was perhaps the right length so as not to prolong things too much. All in all we found the event to have a lovely friendly atmosphere, and it was a great challenge and fun. We will definitely be signing up for next year. Thanks again, much appreciated - Sarah & Iain

I hope you're recovering from yesterday - congratulations on organizing a great event, I must confess I'd love to know how close it came to being cancelled! Anyway, as requested here is my feedback: Overall the event was super: great organization and a lovely atmosphere. All the helpers were brilliant and maximum respect to the marshals who had to endure the horrendous conditions for at least twice as long as us idiotic competitors! The information feedback on the day was also superb, it was great getting back to the T-Bar and having the photos of the start already up on the screen, and the speed of getting the results up was amazing. Ignoring the weather conditions (if only!) the course was a great one, maybe the bike section could be a bit longer? The only constructive criticism I have is about the bike racks for transition. They just didn't quite work: a bit more space per bike would have made all the difference, also the racks could have been a bit higher - I managed to get my saddle wedged under the rack when trying to get the bike out: and I'm not *that* tall. That said, the marshals were excellent at trying to sort stuff out. I can't guarantee that I'll be back next year, depends on the timing etc, but I'll definitely be recommending the Charmer to people as event that should be done at least once! - Anne

Just wanted to say a huge thank you to everyone for staging another Cairngorm Charmer. It was certainly a challenge with the weather conditions but a day to remember. The volunteers on the course were stars and you certainly deserved a mulled wine at the end of the day. Really appreciate all the hard work and effort that goes in to organising this event. Can't think of anything that I would change so massive thanks again to everyone involved for giving us competitors the opportunity to take part in an event like this. Looking forward to taking part next year September might be good but late October is still cool with me) - Lynn

 
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