Lythgoes Adrenalin Rush

Paddling for Home – The Last Teams In

Rob / 31.05.2002

There look, there’s daddy. There he is! Shannon Caldwell was pointing up the river holding her two small, excited children as the kayaks of A-Team Northern Ireland came round the headland into view. She’d been ringing the race office several times a day (and at night) during the race, wanting to know where her husband Stephen was. Within a few minutes he was ashore and running across the line arm in arm with his team mates, before hugging his wife and the slightly bemused children. They’d certainly not seen daddy look quite like this before, and never as dirty!

His team captain Donal O’Kane had completed last years race, but his 3 other team members were all new to adventure racing, persuaded by Donal in a pub. Shannon was there at the time and perhaps as the result of a few drinks said he should go for it. Of course, none of them had any idea what they were letting themselves in for. Stephen said the sleep deprivation was the worst, “40 minutes sleep in 50 hours�, and Brian Linton was suffering with tendonitis in his lower arm, after the mountain biking. He’d paddled with an underhand grip, but just for the moment the aches and pain, and the fatigue didn’t matter. They’d done it!�

There had been another reunion earlier too, when a showered, clean and limping Chris Ballou, first of NYC911, later of Team Carnivores, greeted the 3 other members of NYC911, finishing in the ‘superteam’ U-SUKSpeedos. (Pronounced You Suck Speedos.) It might be an AR first for all of a team to finish, but with 2 different teams! Finishing will help their fund raising though. All are members of New York’s emergency services raising money to help those bereaved on September 11th. They’d been in high spirits all the way round, and Darren LeBow was ready to celebrate. “Let’s get the Guinness!�

John Yip, the captain of Canadian team Running Free had a weary smile on his face on the finish line too. “What a great course! But I never want to see another bog again, it was so wet, and my feet are so wrecked. Maybe we’ll be back next year though.�

It was just before midnight when the last 2 teams came in, SWART Scania, and finally the Dutch team Reklet Group. With the castle lit up in the background and finish spotlighted they had no trouble seeing where to go, or hearing the cheers from the crowd gathered on the shore. Bea Van Santen had trouble getting out, or walking to the finish line as she’s completed the second half of course after a nasty horse kick bruised her whole upper leg. But she made it to the finish line where the champagne was sprayed and a bottle of Irish Whisky was sipped. Derek King signed the Passport Control book, and Brian Elliot lifted his radio, and pronounced the course closed. Adrenalin Rush 2002 was over.