9am start from Keswick. Almost civilised. Warmed up on the bike with Chris, didn’t know him before the race so good to chat a bit.

The first short ride is over quick enough with just a brief rain shower to cool things down a bit. On to lake Thirlmere I can see Team Accelerate up in front in their double and just a glimpse of Chris in the distance. Would be great if I can catch him by the end of the run although he ran a similar time to me yesterday so don’t get your hopes up.  Calm conditions on the lake with Helvellyn towering above on the left.  Accelerate seem to be doing something strange, zigg-zagging along on the left side of the lake.

They get themselves sorted eventually and not long after I overtake them – turns out they’ve had some rudder trouble.  Chasing Chris, so hard to judge distances on the water, feels like I’m catching but can’t tell how much time I’ve made by the end – maybe 4 minutes from the 8 I started behind.  Running up Helvellyn, not as steep as up Robinson yesterday, a lot is runnable. Chris up ahead seems to be running more than me but I still think I’m gaining. I start to pass a few other competitors as I near the top and the view disappears in the mist.

A brief hesitation just short of the summit, before I spot the checkpoint and start on down Swirral edge.  It’s steep ground but I try to move fast – too fast. I catch a foot just before a 4 foot drop. Momentums still going forward, leap! Land, brake hard on loose rocks and regain control. That was close, too close, back it off a bit, fast but in control!

Past Team Adidas Terrex – looks like James Cracknell is not enjoying the rocks so much, past Ant and Sally, still chasing Chris.  Over the stone wall, must be pretty much all down from here.  Find a faster line on the grass and make up a lot of ground on Chris.  Chris is moving slower than me on the technical ground so I try and go by quickly to get a gap but he speeds up and sticks with me. We both miss the track down and have to turn back when the lads (Matt and Dan) Team Accelerate fly by and point out the right way.  Close to the transition now so just stick with Chris and make sure I transition quicker to get on the river first.

On the river, railing the ski heavily to avoid catching the rudder but I still have to jump out once or twice where it gets really shallow.  Then a long slog down Lake Ullswater. I’m feeling the weight of the ski and lack of kayak training. Still this is the last kayak section so I force myself to keep the pace up and eventually I arrive at Pooley Bridge for the last transition.

The last ride of the day feels very lonely; perhaps everyone went a different way?  The legs are really starting to struggle when the lads come flying past again. Right, we’ll see about that. I give chase and although they manage to pull away I finish just two minutes behind them which puts me two minutes ahead for the day.  And it seems Chris was hurting as much on the last bike as we have similar splits and overall I have extended my lead by another 20 minutes.  No complacency till the finish but things are starting to look good, even if I lose time on the next two days I should be able to defend a 40 minute lead.

Fi’s had a great day finishing over 30 minutes in front of Sally (who unfortunately punctured) to take the lead in the women’s field.

DAY THREE

Running first today. I’m feeling pretty good and looking forward to my favourite kind of running – mud!  The run up to Nine Standards Rigg is much easier than the previous two days uphill and I even seem to make up a bit of time on the lads. A black bib is in front – surely can’t be Chris, and it isn’t, Ant Emmett is having a hard time moving over the soft ground. Certainly a run which suits the lighter runners. I’m loving the run, leaping bogs, picking lines, the occasional fall but it’s always a soft landing.

Past Adidas again, I think James is less of a fan of mud than he is of rocks. Past Fi, she doesn’t seem to be moving so well. After a severe ankle injury at the Open12 the soft unpredictable ground is hard going for her.  Some words of encouragement then carry on my way.  Tiring a little as the track sidles above the creek and a few more falls but still going well and soon enough I’m back on the winter route and firmer ground. On to transition. Neil tells me the difference to Chris is 2-3 minutes. I had hoped to make up more time but then he says Chris is 2-3 minutes ahead so I’ve made up 6-7 minutes – much better.

On to the mountain bike, finally some proper mountain biking. Past Sally, she’s a long way ahead of Fi, going well, looks like the women’s race is getting interesting!  Catch Accelerate when Matt has a fall, on an uphill fortunately so no damage done. Enjoying the riding – glad I’m not riding a cross bike!  Across the river and along a flat bridleway and there’s a strange noise coming from my bike. Sounds like some grass caught somewhere and rubbing the rear tyre but a quick glance down reveals nothing like that.

Another 100m and I know what it is. The back tyre is definitely getting soft. I’m running tubeless but it’s been too long since I’ve checked the sealant and there is none left to seal the hole. Damn! I’ll have to stop and fit a tube.  Stopped, bike upended, wheel out, my hands are cold and I’m struggling unscrewing the valve, fortunately another competitor stops and helps me out with some of the more fiddly tasks (I’ve forgotten you name but thanks very much by the way). Tube in, gas inflated and back on my way again. Accelerate have come back past but I cannot have lost more than a few minutes.

Tyre pressure is good for the rest of this stage but will be a bit low for the next road section, perhaps I should get a track pump in transition? Hike-a-bike up the hill then a couple of brilliant downhills to the transition at Castle Bolton. Forget about the pump, straight in and out again with just a drink bottle change and a half a banana.

Overtook Accelerate in transition however they come past again soon enough on their road tyres. Fortunately there is a stonking tail wind and the too-soft MTB tyres are not slowing me down too much.  Apart from wishing I had slicks this is a fantastic road section, Flat to downhill for the majority and blowing about 40kph from behind. Doesn’t seem like too long before I’m at the finish in Northallerton. My crew are not here yet but I’m looked after by Mrs Halliday with bacon butty and jacket and John Houlihan buys me a pasty (thank you both, I’ll buy you a meal at the next open5 John).  I’ve been beaten by Team Accelerate today but retain my overall lead. Also gained a few more minutes on Chris, tomorrow I just need to avoid incident and it should all work out.

DAY FOUR

Barring a major mechanical my first position in the individual race is secure however there are still overall honours to race for so once again it’s fast out of the blocks on the first road ride to Clay Bank.  A glimpse of Accelerate as I come into transition but I’m not expecting to make up any time on them on the run – I’m rather expecting to lose time, just hopefully not too much.  The run is another spectacular event, fields of purple heather and more great views.

The expedition racing is paying off and I’m feeling as strong as ever today, soon I see Chris in the distance and I steadily close the gap. Hitting the road down to transition Chris is just ahead. Sally is biking up the hill and I see Karyn (Fi’s support crew) driving out also. This means Fi has caught and passed Sally so must be going well today, looks like we might pull off a double win!  I catch Chris right at transition and am out again before him and try to get a little break going back up the hill. No looking back from here, it’s head down, march up the hike-a-bike and then all speed possible to the final transition.  Along the old railway cinder path there’s a fantastic tailwind again and it’s great fun blasting along. A short unpleasant slog into the wind follows. I catch up to Fi here. She’s well ahead of Sally and on track for a win. A quick pep-talk and then on my way again, chasing Accelerate who I get the occasional glimpse of in the distance.

My bike computer has disappeared – bugger, I liked that one (green and white if anyone picked it up), no worries, enjoy the descent down the ridge. Final transition, Accelerate and Adidas are both here. Quick transition for me (7s) then on the chase. Big effort up the first hill, dropped Accelerate and on with Adidas, Swap leads a few times throughout the ride although towards the end I’m starting to tire.  Another push to catch them up just as we reach the cycle path along the old railway line. This should be easy now but it’s a slight incline and I can’t quite match James and Bruce’s pace.

They’re still in sight as I cross the main road. Through the gate, swing it behind me and on but… I didn’t hear it close, look back and it’s still open, held by the wind. Bugger! Turn around, back to the gate, slam closed and on my way again. Finally the track crests and heads downwards. A big sprint to build up speed and then spinning down the hill. Why am I chasing? The race is won, I’ve won overall, but that’s not really the point, there’s still a race to be had here so race we shall. If they stop to change shoes then I’ll have them. Into transition and they’re still here changing shoes. Drop the bike and off running in my bike shoes. Bruce gives chase and is with me but James is behind and so Bruce drops back.   Enough foolishness, ease up, enjoy the finish. Robins hood bay is stretched out before me, the finish banner is there, it’s been a great race but most of all a fantastic journey.

I finished the Coast to coast course in a total time of 19 hours, 6 minutes, 6 seconds.

This was approximately 1 hour ahead of the 2nd placed Individual (Chris Hope) and 15 minutes ahead of the first team (Accelerate).

I was first overall on each day except day three when Team Accelerate were 4 minutes faster than me and I am in awe of some of the competitors who may be at the other end of the field, who spent much longer racing, had much less time to rest, who may not have known for certain that they could complete such an event, but who came and raced anyway.

Congratulations to everyone who participated in this year’s event. See you at the next one!

Photos courtesy of James Kirby and Martin Hartley

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This year it’s less than a week since I finished and won the 5 day expedition race Expedition Idaho with Team Thule.  I should be having a week of recovery but I’ll be damned if I going to miss the coast to coast again and have to wait another two years.  So the last 3 days since flying back from the states have been franticly un-packing, re-packing, arranging a ski to borrow, begging the boss for another day off work and generally scrambling to get ready for this event.

I’m almost there, I’ve got Tom Gibbs’ spec ski, stolen half of my girlfriends (Fiona) support crew, figured out where to go on the first day and made it to the start line.  Just need to find Bruce Duncan to borrow a flare, test out the ski and I’m ready to go.

In the water before the start. Got the flare, the ski is a bit on the short side (fixed leg length) and heavy, but workable.  I figure I might lose some time to the Ocean racing skis on calm water but on anything a bit chopped up I should be fine.

The gun goes and we’re off. Ant Emmet seems marginally quicker on the flat water in the harbour but as soon as we hit the open ocean I sense that I’m pulling away.  No looking back now it’s concentrating on catching runners, paddling strong and efficiently.

The too-short ski means I can’t get a proper leg drive going but that’s maybe not such a bad thing as I’ll be calling on those legs for a lot more work this afternoon.  The coastline is stunning but cannot get too distracted as some waves rebounding off the cliffs necessitate the occasional brace stroke.

Soon enough I’m at St Bees, jumping off the ski just before hitting the stony beach and up into transition.  A few words of encouragement from Neil (support crew) and others and then I’m heading up the road on the bike.   Two corners later, getting into a rhythm and then stop! Damn, rail crossing gates are down and no train in sight. Off the bike, up over the footbridge, back down the steps, back on the bike and on my way again.  Not bad really, forget about the delay and concentrate on the ride – eat, drink, hammer.

End of the ride, thanks for the signs. Into transition, Neils not around but there is my gear so PFD on and down to the water, Neils on his way back from tying my running shoes to the boat, more encouragement then paddling down Crummock water.  Perfect conditions for paddling, glassy calm and stunning scenery. Now where to exit? There was something in the notes about a river on the right, a stone wall? Definitely not supposed to use the shallow river so exit early to be sure then shoes on and start the portage.

Wish the boat was lighter. (Spec (surf lifesaving) skis must weigh at least 18kg by regulation as opposed to Ocean racing skis which are commonly not much more than 10kg).  Glad I’m not trying to use portage wheels though – this is not a smooth path!  Try to jog the flatter / downhill bits then finally Buttermere lake appears before me and I can put the boat back in the water where it belongs.

A short paddle down Buttermere, fortunately there is a flag making the get out point and then a final portage across the field to the transition.  Neil is ready with run gear, dropping a drink bladder in my backpack and then sending me on my way telling me that it looks like I “pulled away again on the kayak”.  My morale takes a dive, it’s positive encouragement but all I hear from it is the unsaid “you lost time on the bike” and I was working hard on the bike!

Now is the real test though, I haven’t run at all since finishing the race in Idaho and this hill before me does not look gentle. This will be the real test to see whether I have recovered enough to have a chance of pulling this off.  Just start out steady, concentrate on getting into a good pace – although I should really do something about those flapping lace.. SNAP. Shit!  Quick-lock laces for speed and now I’ve snapped one and have to stop and retie what’s left a couple of eyelets lower.  Spending precious time fixing up a time saving device – irony perhaps?

Damn but this hill is steep, looking back there’s a black bibbed racer starting the climb below me, 5 minutes back? More? Doesn’t make any difference, all you can control is your own performance so keep pushing to the top and over the other side. Enjoying the running now, brilliant views out each side of the ridge and some fast technical running – a bit faster when the helicopter shows up. A couple more glances back reveals a team in white bibs but no black bib. Keep pushing on. A bit of hesitation finding the path to Nicol End then it’s off the legs for the swim.

Enjoying this, the water is nice and cool after running and got a nice swim cadence going. Cycle jersey is a bit heavy, should have ditched it but no matter.  Out of the water, shoes are waiting for me just got to put them on and… AARGH, CRAMP! – ignore it, shoes on, forget the laces, straighten legs. Just got to run to the finish now, left or right? No idea, pick left. Running, turning right, running, turning right, running, turning right! Feels wrong and yep, there in front of me is the swim exit – how did I do that?  Try again back the other way and yep, there’s the path I missed. Through town, probably should take off this swim cap but that would take effort and currently there’s none spare. Finally to the finish and stop, relief, relax.

That’s day one done and dusted, nearly 20 mins up on Chris Hope, with a few minutes more back to Ant. A good start. Fi’s overtaken by Sally on the swim, sounds like they were close all day. They kayaking definitely helped me today, got one more day with kayaking to build a lead which I can then try and defend on the last two days.

Read part 2 of Stuart’s blog

Photos Courtesy of James Kirby

Seeing as we were already there for the Open 5 and had all the gear with us we decided to race in the Anglesea kayak race the following day.  As the wind was still extremely strong this was held in the Menai Straits between the mainland and Anglesea although the conditions in the straights were still rough enough for an exciting paddle!

Fi and I were paddling an Insomniac double adventure racing kayak which is one of the kayaks that we brought with us from New Zealand when we raced as Team Orion in the Adventure racing world championships in Scotland in 2007.  It’s a fast kayak but can be challenging to handle in rough conditions and there was plenty of swell moving up the straights when the start gun went.  With the incoming tide and following swell we moved out into the centre of the channel quickly and soon we were making good progress with just a single kayaker and two surf-ski paddlers in front of us.  It was exhilarating paddling in the swell trying to catch the best waves to aid our progress while also trying to hold our course when the wave tries to push the back of the boat of and lift the rudder out of the water – makes steering difficult!

As we neared the bridges the swell died away as the channel turned but the next challenge was soon upon us. The current in the channel reaches about 6 knots at full flow and it cannot have been much less than that when we turned around the buoy at the 2^nd bridge and started to make our way back upstream to the top turn at the first bridge which we had passed earlier.  Our kayaking speed in the double is about 6 knots and there where places where we were hardly making any progress against the tide at all as we made our way towards the next buoy searching for the slowest moving patches of water.

Due to some good paddling and a bit of luck we had moved up into 2^nd place by the first turn but on the upstream section the lighter single-person craft had an advantage and we were back in 4^th again as  we approached the top turn.

Thankfully turning downstream once more we had a final straight run to the finish.  As the straights opened up again we enjoyed some more surfing on the final stretch but had to settle for 4^th place overall, however clearly winning the double kayak category.

Another good event to top off a great weekend of racing.

Photos courtesy of Adventure Elements. More photos.

Team Orion News

Round one of the Open Adventure Endurance series was the Open5+, a 5 hour rogaine style multisport event held on Holy Island on the coast of Anglesea.  Myself and my partner Fiona have entered the three race series as Team FGS! Berghaus.  For Goodness Shakes supplies us with quantities of yummy recovery shakes and Berghaus have supported me for a number of years supplying great gear for adventure racing.  The three race series consists of a 5, 12 and 24hr race, held at the end of May, June and July respectively.   The races are a multisport rogaine format where competitors have to navigate to as many checkpoints as they can within the time allowed on a course split into running, mountain biking and kayaking sections.

The Open5+ began with a staggered on the beach at Port Dafarch on the West side of Holy Island.  With a rogaine format competitors can choose the order in which to visit checkpoints, picking a good route becomes part of the challenge. We opted to head straight for the kayaking section just a couple of kilometers down the coast at Trearddur bay.

Because of the rough weather conditions the kayak course had been shortened to a small loop within the bay. A bit disappointing for us as we are strong kayakers and enjoy adverse conditions but probably a wise call by the organisers with regards to safety.  The kayak was all done in about 15 minutes and we were back on our bikes intending to pick up most of the mountain bike checkpoints before heading to the run stage on Holyhead Mountain. With very strong winds from the south it was a battle heading to a checkpoint at Borthwen beach at the southernmost point of the island. We got a jump on a few teams who seemed to be a bit confused about where exactly the checkpoint was while we dropped the bikes and ran along the beach to find it just where it was supposed to be.

The ride back up to the North of the island was good fun with a strong wind pushing us along most of the way.  Fi’s knee that she had injured on our recent cycle trip to Spain (coming soon in another blog) was beginning to hurt as we headed through Holyhead and out along the breakwater but fortunately we did not have much further to go before we could drop the bikes and start running. Coming back (into the wind again!) along the breakwater we passed Tom and Astrid of team Addidas Terrex coming the other way.  They were probably going to be our toughest competition for the mixed team category, difficult however with the rogaine format to tell who was in front or behind at that point.

At the base of Holyhead Mountain we left our mountain bikes behind and set out on foot to visit all the checkpoints on the run stage. With the shortened kayak (and also a short swim being cancelled) we thought we had enough time to get all the checkpoints within the 5 hour limit so we had plotted a route to let us do this. The run across the mountain was good fun with some parts of tricky navigation where the tracks were hard to spot or not there at all. Running down to the furthermost checkpoint at the South Stack was an exciting experience with the wind so strong it almost felt like we were going to get blown right off the side of the cliff!  Collecting more checkpoints we made our way up to the North Stack where we had an abseil to complete.

The race organiser had arranged 6 abseil ropes and staggered the starts to ensure that there were no delays at the abseil and so had not planned to make any adjustments for teams who had to wait. Unfortunately when we arrived there were only two ropes left in use and then they stopped using even those ropes as they were suspected of being damaged on the cliff edge. As frustrating as it was we just had to wait while the rope safety crew replaced the ropes and started working through the queue of racers in front of us.  We could hope that the organisers would make an adjustment for the delay but in the meantime we still had to finish the race.

The abseil was well worth the wait! We descended a vertical wall for about 10 metres before that stopped and we were left suspended over a great cavern hollowed out by the sea. We continued to abseil down into the shallow water beneath us and then once off the rope were directed towards a cave at the side of the cavern. Fumbling through in near darkness we waded into deeper and deeper water until we were swimming out of the cave and along beside the sea cliffs. Directed by some more marshals we timed the swells to land on the rocks at the base of the sea wall and made out way back up the cliffs to where we had left our packs at the top of the abseil.

High on excitement we ran on towards the end of the bike stage a bit too quickly and had to backtrack for a few minutes when I ran right past a checkpoint that we needed to visit.  A bit angry at myself for  my silly mistake but still in good spirits we arrived back at the bikes for the short final ride to pick up the last two checkpoints and then to the finish.   Despite the delay at the abseil we finished with 25 minutes to spare having cleared the entire course.

Team Adidas Terrex finished 15 minutes in front of us and were given the win on the day for the mixed teams however the timing data shows that we waited about 20 minutes longer than them for the abseil.  It’s a tough job for the organisers to work out a fair way of making adjustments and at the time of writing the official results are still not confirmed however we do know that the next race should be an exciting and close fought battle!

Photos courtesy of Open Adventure More Photos.

Part 2

After a week of wet weather Saturday turned out to be a nice sunny day so we had warm air and great views for the run even if it was still pretty soggy underfoot.

I wasn’t really expecting to be right at the front however that’s where I found myself after the first few minutes so decided to keep the pressure on and see if I could run away from the rest of the pack.  That seemed to work out and after a while I had left the chasing group behind and was picking off the Ultra runners and early marathon starters who had set off 45 minutes before the main marathon start.

At around 40km  I was really starting to suffer especially as it was now apparent that there was much more that 2km to go!  Fortunately I had just enough left to keep up a steady pace to the end and finished in 3hrs 44mins, 15mins clear of 2nd and setting a new course record by a scant 17 seconds.

Fi had a bit of trouble with her ankle but still got around in just over 5 hours, both of us really having enjoyed the Gower peninsular running.

Read more about Team Orion

Our team for this year’s world championships consisted of myself, Brent Edwards who has raced with Orion for the past 4 years, and new Orion team members for this year, Fleur Pawsey and Nathan Peterson. We had all raced together at the Wulong mountain quest in September but this was the first time that this combination was racing together in an Expedition style race. Team OrionHealth’s races this year had been plagued by injury and illness and we were especially keen at this the world championships to have a good race and get a good result. In addition to the team we had Brent’s father Roy and my partner Fiona along to help with logistics and cheer the team on.

Baggage problems
Unfortunately our arrival in Spain coincided with a general transport workers strike and in the ensuing rescheduling of flights and baggage chaos we arrived in Spain missing half of our luggage. Most of the missing items were found the next day however by the time of our transfer from Madrid to Avila we were still missing Nathan’s bike box, which as well as containing his bike had several other crucial items of race equipment including life jacket, paddle and inline skates. Hopeful that the airlines would find the gear we carried on with our pre-race preparation over the next few days in Avila. With race day fast approaching and still no sign of the gear the backup plan swung into action and Fi and Roy were dispatched off to a nearby city where we had arranged to borrow a bike and some other race equipment off a friend of one of the Team Buff competitors. New inline skates were purchased from the local sports shop and we were back on track to start the race with a full complement of equipment.

Race underway!
9am on Sunday 3rd October the start gun for the 2010 Adventure race world championships was fired and we were off and racing. A quick foot orienteering section on the streets of Avila got us warmed up as we navigated to landmarks in the city. Running under the ancient city walls that we had walked around the top of during the opening ceremony the evening before, we zigzagged our way through the streets before taking to bikes and settling in for a long ride through the countryside.

Early struggles
After getting a good start in a bunch of 6 or so leading teams we had to ease off the pace and let the front runners pull away as Brent and Nathan struggled with the pace and I got out the tow line to help them out as much as I could. This first ride was split by a few hours of foot orienteering and I was hopeful that the change of discipline would be enough to help the guys recover. Nathan seemed to come right but unfortunately Brent seemed to be getting worse and worse and we were looking at a long ride of damage control as darkness descended and the rain started to fall. At least we had good gear keeping us warm and we made slow but steady progress though the stage until about 10km from the next transition, when Brent could not physically continue and we were forced to stop and rest. After a pretty uncomfortable hour and a half lying in a farmers field we carried on to transition.

Splitting up
Added a bit of a twist to the racing the following stage involved splitting the team into pairs; two would kayak while the other two ran, then at the far end of the lake kayakers and runners switched and returned. There were different routes to take for each pair so we gave Brent and Nathan the easier option with the hope that they could get a bit of rest as we expected the hard route to take significantly longer. Fleur and I kayaked first, had half an hour rest waiting for the guys at the far end before setting off on our run leg. Given how much quicker we were on the kayaking we expected guys to beat us by about an hour on the way back to transition so we set a good pace and ran as much as we could to try and make up some time. Surprisingly we were first back to transition. Brent and Nathan arrived about 15 minutes later having had a lot of difficulty locating a partially hidden checkpoint on the lake, which several other teams had struggled with also. So the guys had not had the rest that we had hoped for, but on the positive side Brent seemed to be on better form as we took to the bikes again for another tough bike ride.

A serious accident!
A few hours into the ride we were making our way up a never-ending vehicle track though forest and farmland. Having been riding along for a while just focussed on the front wheel I looked around at the team to see Brent and Fleur, but no sign of Nathan. Figuring that he had just fallen back a little we stopped and waited for him to catch up. After a minute or two with no sign we realised that something must be wrong – probably a puncture or other mechanical – so I started riding back down the hill to see what the story was. A few corners down I came across team Merrell stopped on the track. Down the side of the steep bank was Nathan lying prone with two of team Merrell in attendance. Having obviously had a serious fall and hit his head quite hard (his helmet was fractured and had been torn from his head) it was quickly decided that we had to get medical help, and so the emergency beacons were activated and we did what we could to keep him comfortable until the helicopter arrived. With no-one having seen the accident and there being risk of head or spinal injury the medics took no chances and got Nathan on a stretcher and into the helicopter to be flown to Avila to be checked out.

Team Merrell and Cynosis who had stopped to help carried on racing, while we kept on with Nathan’s gear and bike to the nearest road where we met Antonio the race director who would shuttle the gear on to the next transition. With our race officially over we took the shortest route possibly to the next transition, where we were relieved to hear that Nathan had been checked out, and apart from a mild concussion was otherwise fine.

Carrying on
At this point morale was pretty low. Our world championships bid was over and our friend and team-mate has been hospitalised. We had come a long way to race this course however, and we had so far only completed about a third of it. Brent decided that he had had enough and would not continue but Fleur and I were keen to finish what we had started, so once we had gotten the ok from the race organisation we kitted up again and re-joined the race.

Two go the distance
Over the next four days we raced as a team of two. At times it was tough continuing knowing that we were not a ranked team, however the challenge and beauty of the course reminded us that it is the adventure part of adventure racing which is the great attraction of the sport. Five and a half days after we started in Avila we completed another street orienteering stage through the city of Salamanca to finish the 2010 adventure racing world championships with a spray of champagne and cheers from our friends and retired team mates. We were unranked, only half a team, but had overcome adversity and terrain to complete a truly challenging adventure.

Read more about Team Orion Adventure

We haven’t had too much information on the race area/terrain yet, but the temperatures seem to fluctuate between a balmy 18-22 degrees during the day to a cool 3-4 degrees overnight. The competition looks hotter than the weather, with 67 teams confirmed starters – including most of the top adventure racing teams in the world: the British current champs Adidas Terrex (with NZ racers Sonya Clark and Warren Bates), and Orion’s old-time rivals US/NZ team Blackwater (formerly Nike) including Kiwi’s Chris forne and Nathan Fa’avae. Yet another top Kiwi racing is Aaron Prince with the Swedish Silva-Gerba. Other top teams to watch out for include the Explore Sweden team captained by race director Micheal Lindnord, the experienced Spanish team Buff Thermacool, Quechua (France) and Martin Flinta’s team Thule (usually including Kiwi’s Richard and Elina Usher in their line-up, but with replacements for this race).

As always, it hasn’t been completely smooth sailing getting to the race – the teams planned arrival in Madrid on Wednesday coincides with a 24 hour ‘General Transport’ strike across Spain – Stu has had to reschedule his flight from the UK till Thursday, while Brent, Fleur and Nathan are hoping their flight on Wednesday will go ahead…sometimes getting to the start line is almost as much of a challenge as the event itself!

The race briefing is on Saturday afternoon, with race start 8am Sunday morning from the town centre of Avila. Loyal Orion supporters Fi McBryde and Roy Edwards will be out on the course keeping the news coming in on Orion, and the (numerous) other Kiwi teams racing. Keep an eye on this blog, follow our progress on the Official Race Website or check out our team Facebook Page.

15-28 May XPD – Cairns, Australia
http://www.xpd.com.au/

11-17 July Explore Sweden – Norway & Sweden (arctic circle) http://www.exploresweden.se/

3-6 September Wulong Mountain Quest – Wulong, China http://www.wulongquest.com/en/hwyd/

30 Sep-9 October Adventure Race World Champs – Spain http://www.raidbimbache.com/info/en/raid.html

4-5 December Whakatane Adventure Race (Whakatane) http://www.whakatane.com/feature_24race.html