Dynamic Adventure Racing Plus
Forest Frolics at Rakes Brakes Bottom
Nicky Thomas - Dynamic Adventure Racing / 22.03.2005
From the race HQ in Ibsley the ‘Plus’ courses were designed to enable the quicker competitors to clear the bike ride, using the fast cycle route tracks to cover the distance, but the run was going to be tough, wanting to test the best, it was probably one of the longest runs we’ve put out. Judging the time to allow for each course was going to be a difficult call this time. With sunset due at around 18:30, the competitors only had to spend a maximum of an hour and a half in night navigation either on bike or foot. During the briefing Simon warned competitors that the ponies were particularly wild at this time of year and they should listen out in the darkness for the galloping hooves of the stallions as they round up their mares. His advice – get up the nearest tree … quick, as he did!
There seemed to be a fairly even split of competitors choosing to run or bike first. With a good number of the mixed teams choosing to bike first, this would prove to be their strongest stage. As the competitors headed off for a day of blood, sweat and toil, Flossie set about cooking up her famous broths………that was, until the cooker blew the electrics! Determined to meet her already long list of post race orders, she repacked her extra large saucepans and bags of ingredients into the car and sped off home, to reappear much later carrying her steaming brews.
The guys from Red Planet, Matt Kemp and Mike Davies cleared the bike course and were the first to return to base having done so and Sleepmonsters were the first mixed team to return having also cleared the bike. Holly and Gerard Leahy, last minute entrants, returned having picked up 12 of the 18 checkpoints, pretty good going since they had to fix three punctures along the way! Holly said she’d lost her resolve and they gracefully declined the run to retire to the pub.
Tom Gibbs, choosing to run first, cleared the course all bar one checkpoint, but he still claimed the highest score on that stage. In fact the closest to that was a mixed team ‘The Unlikelies’ who picked off 14 check points and in third position, male solo Emerson Kent with 13. See All Event Posts
