2018 Event Information Guide Stage 4 participants Welcome to your comprehensive Event Info Guide! Any STRIVE Challenge is a major undertaking, both in terms of the challenge itself but also the training and preparation. This document is intended to provide you with all the logistical information you should need to make the next 9 months as seamless as possible. Please refer to this document any time you have a question, if the information isn’t there please get in touch with our Participant Managers at (StriveSupport@big-change.org). Looking forward to getting started with you all! EVENT SPONSORS EVENT PARTNERS

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CONTENTS

1. Challenge overview 3

2. Flights and ground transport 4

3. Accommodation 5

4. Stages overview 6

5. Training 7

6. Our support team 8

7. Medical support 9

8. On the route 10

9. Packing list 11

10. Insurance 13

11. Fundraising & next steps 14

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Stage Day Date Detail Arrival day Fri 21-Sep Stage 4 participants arrive

Stage 4: France hike

Sat 22-Sep Hike Sun 23-Sep Hike Mon 24-Sep Hike Tues 25-Sep Hike Weds 26-Sep Hike

Departure day Thurs 27-Sep Stage 4 participants depart *Itinerary subject to change

Section 1: Challenge overview

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Flights It is your responsibility to organise and book your own flights from your local country to/from the start/finish airports. Ground transport We will provide you with coach services to/from Geneva airport to/from the event start and event finish. Please ensure your book your flight to arrive in time for the scheduled coach times otherwise you will need to organise your own transfers. The coaches will depart at the below times: Inbound

- Geneva airport – Start hotel: Friday 21st September, 10:30 (3 hour transfer) - Geneva airport – Start hotel: Friday 21st September, 15:30 (3 hour transfer)

Outbound

- Finish hotel – Geneva airport: Thursday 27th September, 09:30 (1 hour 30 min transfer) - Finish hotel – Geneva airport: Thursday 27th September, 12:30 (1 hour 30 min transfer)

We will provide all in-country ground transport that you require for the event, apart from for personal needs.

Section 2: Flights and ground transport

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Accommodation is included in your entry fee and you will be allocated based on twin occupancy where available. Hotels will be provided and the beginning and end of the hike but whilst on the route you will be staying in mountain refuges. These will be basic and most likely set-up in a dormitory style with shared rooms. Below is a list of the nearest town that hotels / mountain refuges will be located in. We will confirm these with you closer to the time.

Stage Day Date Nearest Town Arrival day Fri 21-Sep Tignes

Stage 4: France hike

Sat 22-Sep

NA (Mountain refuges) Sun 23-Sep Mon 24-Sep Tues 25-Sep Weds 26-Sep Chamonix

Departure day Thurs 27-Sep NA

Section 3: Accommodation

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Stage 4: France hike Stage four is a five-day hike across alpine meadows and valleys. We are hiking between the ski resorts of Tignes and Chamonix. There will be wild flowers in the meadows and cow bells ringing from all corners. Think red wine, cheese and quaint Alpine villages. It will require a good level of fitness and robustness. We are hiking an average of 20km, with an average daily altitude gain of 1000m a day. Accommodation You will be staying in mountain refuges along the way. These will be basic and most likely set-up in a dormitory style with shared rooms. Finding your way: When on the hike you will be walking with mountain-trained guides and in groups for the entirety of this stage. So don’t worry, there is minimal chance of getting lost! Kit You will need a 35-40 litre rucksack that you will walk with each day. You will need to have the essentials in this bag for the daytime only. Try to keep this bag as light as possible as this will really make a difference to your enjoyment on the hike, be as frugal as possible with what you bring and try to stick to the kit list. You will get access to the rest of your luggage each night on the hike.

Section 4: Stages overview

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Training The successful completion of the Virgin STRIVE Challenge 2018 will depend almost entirely on your preparation and having the right mindset. Everyone lives a busy life but it is essential you get as much (smart) training under your belt before the challenge kicks off. A recommended training plan is available on the participant hub. There are also few training days throughout the year available to stage participants. The dates for these can be found below but the sports are still to be confirmed. We encourage you to come to as many of these sessions relevant to you as possible - not only will they be good practice they will also be essential for getting to know your fellow team members and some of the support crew too.

• Sunday 20th May 2018 • Saturday 23rd June • Saturday 30th June 2018

More information on the training days will be shared in due course.

Section 5: Training

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The event team (all stages) Our event team (led by Threshold Sports) is responsible for making sure you have a fantastic and safe experience during the challenge. Threshold will look after the following elements:

• Training events • Event logistics • Participant wellbeing and queries • Accommodation • Hospitality

• Ground transportation • Daily luggage transfers (from hotel to

hotel) • Lunch stops • Supplier and partner management

Medical support The medical team provided by Jigsaw Medical will be made up of the following team members. Hike stage:

• 1 x paramedic Hike support Adventure Base will manage the hike stage in France. STRIVE have worked with Adventure Base in both 2014 and 2016 so we are delighted to be working with them again for the 2018 challenge.

Section 6: Our support team

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We will have a dedicated medical team on the event who will be available on the road, at the lunch stop and at the hotel, with a morning and then an afternoon/evening clinic. There will be emergency medical care available at all times.

Personal First Aid No matter how fit you are, the Virgin STRIVE Challenge will hurt at times. Please be prepared. You will be responsible for your own first aid. Use your experience from training to learn where your weaknesses are and predict what problems may arise. Address any possible niggles now before they become injuries on the event. As much as there will be emergency medical care available at all times on the event, the team is not there to provide very basic first aid. Our medical team has collated a list of recommended items you should include in your main packing list for the event in addition to your regular medical prescription(s):

• Paracetamol • Spare set of your usual medication:

keep this in a separate place • Ibuprofen • Fabric plasters (assorted) • Vaseline (or similar, for chafing)

• Compeed (large) • Second Skin (alternative to Compeed) • Loperamide (Immodium)/ rehydration

sachets • Alcohol hand gel (for clean hands as

well as cleaning small wounds) Important info: keeping yourself hydrated and protected with sunscreen is also going to be important to your success – in September the weather will still be hot and sunny.

Section 7: Medical Support

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Food and drink Breakfast will be provided at your accommodation each day. Your evening meal will be provided at the main overnight location each day or a local restaurant. Powering you during the day is our aim and there will be a selection of calorie packed foods for you to eat. Sports nutrition will also be provided by our partners at Tribe. The food will be varied and plentiful, and we will cater for specific dietary requirements, which you should state on your registration form. Food is included in your entry fee, however you will be required to purchase your own alcoholic drinks. NB: when purchasing alcoholic drinks, please pay for these at the time. Finish Line Recovery area There will be a recovery area at the end hotel, which you will be able to head to once you’ve crossed the finish line. There will be various stations available for you include access to physios, sports therapists and ice baths! Lost Property If anything is found, and handed in, you’ll be able to pick this up at the Info desk, which will be stationed at the main hotel at the end of the hike.

Section 8: On the route

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This is a suggested list of kit to bring with you to ensure that you are comfortable and prepared. As part of your entry fee, you will be provided with the following kit, which will be given to you on the live event:

Hike General

T-shirt x 2 Cap x 1 Mid-layer fleece x 1 Beanie x 1 Buff x 1

In addition to the above, we therefore recommend bringing the following.

Hike General

Rucksack (35-40L) Underwear

Hiking boots (well worn-in) Casual clothing

Technical / soft shell mountaineering trousers Swimwear

Warm jacket (lightweight synthetics that would fit in your bag)

Flip flops

Base layer Trainers

Shorts Travel towel

Walking socks Water bottles (that can carry 2/3L) / camelbak

Hat & gloves Sunglasses

Walking poles (essential) Sunscreen/ lip protector and insect repellent

Sleeping bag (-5 degree tolerance) Ear plugs

Sleeping bag liner Personal medication/ mini first aid kit

Section 9: Packing List

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Head torch Toiletries

Rucksack rain cover Mobile phone and charger

2 litre platypus / camelbak European plug adapters

Tupperware with leak proof lid (essential)

Fork, knife, spoon

We appreciate that STRIVERS will have other commitments alongside the daily challenge but ask you (where possible) to keep ‘techie’ provision down to phones and tablets only, and avoid bringing laptops.

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It is your responsibility to have taken out insurance cover suitable for your participation in the event, which protects yourself and your personal belongings. Stage Requirements

Hike

- Comprehensive adventure travel insurance that covers hiking on trails up to 3,500m in France

- This must include: o Repatriation costs o Air ambulance and helicopter rescue services

- Please ensure your insurer is aware of your travel itinerary and agrees to cover your activities

Section 10: Insurance

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Fundraising As a Stage 4 participant you have a fundraising target of £3,000. Big Change will send you plenty of content, information and tips on how to maximise your fundraising. It is important to start your campaign as early as possible if you are to smash your target! Please get in touch with the Participant Managers if you have any questions. Next steps Please ensure that you have read this document thoroughly. If you have any questions please contact: StriveSupport@big-change.org. The next things for you to do are:

• Check the kit list and purchase any additional items • Purchase the right travel insurance • Look out for the monthly newsletters which will give you important updates about the

challenge and Big Change • Start training!

o The training programme can be found https://www.strivechallenge.org/documents-training-guides/. Please download this and build it into your schedule to ensure you are fully prepared

We will be sending more detailed information about each stage, including overview itineraries, 2 months prior to the event. We will also need to collate further information from you such as booking onto airport ground transfers etc.

Section 11: Fundraising & next steps