Keeping the Lake District Pristine: How Gritty Rascals Manages Biosecurity

Keeping the Lake District pristine: How Gritty Rascals manages biosecurity at swimrun events.

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POST UPDATED: 29th JULY 2024

Introduction

The Lake District’s beauty is a major draw for many outdoor events, and for our Swimrun Coniston event in September. But with that beauty comes a responsibility to protect its delicate ecosystem. We understand there may be concerns about multi-lake swimruns and their impact on biosecurity, and we’re here to share what we do.

Biosecurity: Biosecurity is a set of precautions that aim to prevent the introduction and spread of harmful organisms.
Forestry Commission. Biosecurity Policy.

Gritty Rascals takes the management of biosecurity very seriously, and in this blog we state how we implement a comprehensive biosecurity plan for our Swimrun Coniston event in close collaboration with the South Cumbria Rivers Trust (SCRT) – the coordinators of the Check, Clean, Dry campaign..

Working with the Experts

In 2023, we consulted with SCRT to ensure our measures align with best practices. Their recommendations form the backbone of our biosecurity plan, and we’re happy to go even further where possible.

Protecting Cumbria’s Freshwaters

Given the devastating ecological consequences and high costs for controlling invasive non-native species (INNS) and diseases, Gritty Rascals Events plays an essential role as an event organiser in helping to protect Cumbria from these threats.

The emphasis needs to be on prevention through biosecurity measures before they become established.

Keeping Invasive Species at Bay in a Swimrun

Our swimrun events involve athletes running and swimming multiple times between the start and finish, transitioning through some of the Lake District’s most iconic lakes: Coniston Water, Windermere, Grasmere, and Rydal Water.

To ensure biosecurity across these transitions, we take the following measures:

  • Pre-Event Awareness: We message all our participants to make them aware of invasive non-native species and biosecurity measures in place for the event and why they are important.
  • Clean Kit, Clean Race: A mandatory equipment check ensures all clothing, shoes, and gear are clean and dry before starting the event.
  • Dedicated Cleaning Stations: We provide cleaning stations that meet or exceed SCRT’s standards, allowing athletes to thoroughly clean themselves and their equipment after exiting Coniston Water, again once exiting the final Windermere swim, and finally at the finish line before athletes leave the event and potentially enjoy other water bodies post race.
  • Spreading the Word: Posters and banners throughout the event keep biosecurity top-of-mind for both participants and spectators.
  • Minimising Boat Movement: Our water safety plan minimises the movement of boats between lakes. Ideally, safety boats operate solely on the lake they’re assigned to.
  • Rigorous Cleaning Protocol: Any boats that must be moved between lakes are meticulously cleaned according to SCRT guidelines.

Open Communication, Continuous Improvement

The Lake District’s natural beauty is irreplaceable. By working together and prioritising biosecurity, we can ensure these swimrun events are a celebration of both athleticism and environmental responsibility.

And biosecurity is only one part of our environmental responsibility at our events. Our environmental practices include:

  • Zero Tolerance for Littering: Athletes disqualified for littering ensures a clean race course.
  • Mandatory Reusable Cups: All athletes must bring their own reusable cups (checked at registration) for use on the race as none of our feed stations, or finish line, have cups that only cause excess waste.
  • Course Marking: We use reusable cable ties only and our course markers are also reusable. We do not use any one-use plastics or paint markings.
  • Trees rather than Ts: We give our athletes the choice of a tree being planted instead of receiving a finisher’s t-shirt at the end of the race.
  • Reduced printing: All marshals and event staff now have all lists and checklists, including job roles and positional requirements, all delivered electronically to reduce paper and printing.
  • Post-Race Cleanup: We leave no trace behind. A thorough clean-up removes any event debris, and we never hesitate in picking up litter not left by our participants.
  • We keep adding to this list as we improve our environmental practices.

We believe in open communication, particularly with areas like biosecurity where the specialists are best placed to advise. SCRT confirmed we’re doing everything we reasonably can. However, we’re always striving to do better. If you have suggestions for further improvements, please don’t hesitate to contact us here.

In conclusion

We all have our part to play in keeping our landscapes in great condition, whether event organisers, day visitors, locals, or adventurers out for some thrills. We all need to leave our environment in a better condition for the next person.

We’d like to use our events to help make more visitors to Cumbria aware of the biosecurity protections and measures that need to be in place, and that we all have a part to play in protecting our incredible freshwaters we love to spend time in.

We are always learning how to make our events better for all, and ensuring we look after our natural world is fundamental to our delivery. We’d love to hear your feedback, concerns, ideas and thoughts. This is our world to enjoy, share, look after, and pass on.

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