Even for my own attempt this August, trying to find friends and family willing to support me over a 2 week period has been very difficult. The main difficulty with support was that each day would start from a different location from John O'Groats to Lands End.
Support crews would have to involve a driver who would also be responsible for the navigation of the athlete. Driving for up to 22 hours a day is a big ask and is also potentially quite dangerous.
Even if athletes found several supports to cover a few days each, the supporter would need dropping off and collecting a few hundred miles later.
The second reason is one of expense. I have been contacted by a few athletes desperately wanting to race this Deca but the costs would be too great. Athletes would need to hire a motor home which doesn't come cheap (over £1000), and the fuel required wouldn't be far off the same figure. Adding these costs to the race entry and food etc would be a tough ask.
We had to come up with a static location that we could use for the athlete village. I never liked the idea of a pool swim, so introducing a lake swim would add another dimension to the race. Both the bike and run courses will be out and back laps so supporters have the option of taking a day off or just responding to the athlete if needed. Athletes would also be able to navigate themselves once familiar with the course.
From the Heart of England to the Top of Wales: The bike course will be awesome, travelling from Lichfield into Snowdonia and back again. The run route will cover one of the famous footpaths in the UK; The Heart of England Way.
The admin and the costs would be far more attractive to the athletes and Enduroman would be able to lower the costs of the race entry.
The down side to this, is that I have to completely change my swim training. There is big difference between swimming 24 miles in a pool compared to a lake. I still have loads of miles in the bag. A quick 4hr lake swim tomorrow followed be a 6 hour lake swim at Swan Pool the following week should put me back on track.