Quest ARS

Up and Under in the Brecons

Nick Wake / 22.05.2002

Sunday May 19th saw the 3rd in the series of Questars Adventure Races for the 2002 season. The Royal Marines Commando Training Centre near Woodbury, Devon was the HQ of April’s event and this race was staged in the Brecon Beacons, which is famous as the training area for the SAS. Heavy rain in the proceeding 72hrs meant that the course was challenging, although race day was dry, with gusty wind.

Race organiser Nick Wake commented, “I was looking to design a course that would stretch beginners, and yet tough enough to ensure that more experienced racers were pushed. I think that I got it about right – the feedback from competitors was very positive.�

The race was a 6hr 15min continuous challenge including mountain biking, canoeing and trail run orienteering, but unlike other events which were split into timed stages this one was designed to allow competitors free reign in any of the three disciplines. The only stipulation being that they must gain a minimum value of points for each of the disciplines. This allowed teams to spend more time in their strongest area, and meant that planning and strategy were key elements to successful completion and a good final place.

Situated at 100m above sea level, the race HQ at Talybont-on-Usk reservoir is towered over by the surrounding mountains, where the checkpoints were located. The highest mountain bike and running checkpoints were at 600m and 565m respectively, which meant that competitors were faced with up to 1000m of ascent through the course of the day. This proved to be the downfall of a couple of teams, for whom the subtleties of reading contours were a bit too much! Their progress between checkpoints only 500m apart was at times rather tortuous!

The transition area on the edge of Pontsticill reservoir allowed teams to reload their water bottles before heading off on the trail run or canoe. Kit selection was important – there were no kit boxes in the transition area, so taking the right clothing and shoes and food for 6 hours was vital.

The canoe section was to proved difficult for some teams. With nearly 6.5km of paddling needed to reach all the checkpoints, and a blustery wind, a large gap opened up between the best and worst paddlers. Some teams found themselves canoeing in circles, and there were a few comedy moments as pairs of paddlers fell out over who was responsible for the erratic steering. 6 teams managed to max out on the canoe staging, getting all 6 CPs and piling on the maximum135 points.

The trail run section of the course allowed runners to show off their talent, and although no team visited all the checkpoints, teams ‘Blue Note’ and ‘Blisters R Us’ won this section, getting 135 points apiece.