Gearing up for the Hebridean Challenge
News Release / 14.01.2010
‘The Heb’ is a race that invariably evokes a strong reaction when it crops up in conversation. Sometimes it's "I've raced that, it's fantastic", sometimes it's "The hardest thing I've ever done, but well worth it", and sometimes it's "I'd love to do that". It’s always a strong reaction, and it's always positive.The Hebridean Challenge 2010 should be no exception to that rule. It's back, after a year off in 2009, as big, as bright and as vibrant a challenge as ever. It's got a big reputation to live up to, as the longest-standing multi-day race in the UK, but one on which it's never failed to deliver. There are some tweaks to the format for 2010, but this evolution should make the Heb one of the most accessible long races you'll ever do.
So, why should the Heb be on top of your hit-list?
There's a whole van-load of reasons.
The location is one you'll never forget: From the gentle undulating roads and spectacular beaches of South Uist to the hard rock and high hills of Lewis; from the tight singletrack descents of the Rhenigidale track to the wide sweeping moorlands of Hecla and Beinn Mor; from Barra to the Butt of Lewis, the landscape is one you'll want to come back to over and over again. Overnight camping on Eriskay, transitions at Tangusdale machair, swim stages at Reef beach. If these things mean nothing to you now, they soon might.
The atmosphere is one you'll never forget: Camping with all the teams together; eating together in the islands' Community Halls, hearty evening meals provided by the locals; talking over the maps, sharing a transition brew with your team and anyone else who comes along. Racing head-to-head against your daily rivals, head down over the bars, yomping over the bog, blazing paddles up the coastline, then whirling them around the floor at the post-race ceilidh. The friendliest, most inclusive race in the UK calendar? We certainly think so.
The course itself is something you'll never forget: Watch your team mates push themselves to the limit, hand the baton to you, and then watch you do the same; bike the machair of the Uists, run the hills of Harris, kayak the open expanse of the Sound of Barra, swim from the white sand beaches, then go to bed, get up and do it all again the next day; worm your way through the navigational and tactical twists-and-turns of the challenge, watching your brain compete with your legs for the prize of 'most abused body part' - the Heb is not just a straight run to the finish.
