Endurancelife Classic
Endurancelife Goes Down a Storm in Sussex
Barry Matthews (endurancelife) / 01.06.2005
The torrential rain and gale force winds that tormented West Sussex for much of the weekend failed to dampen the spirits of the 130 athletes who braved the endurancelife Classic 2 multi-sport challenge.The event was held in Shoreham-by-sea on the banks of the River Adur next to the Adur Outdoor Activity Centre. It’s a perfect location for multi-sport enthusiasts offering excellent kayaking on the river and breath taking running and mountain biking opportunities on the nearby South Downs.
There were two race categories on offer – The “Classic� distance event of 4 mile sit-on-top kayak, 12 mile run and 20 mile bike or the half distance “Lite� event. There were categories for solo, teams of two and teams of 3, and both events were sold out well in advance of the start date.
The event commenced at 9am sharp, with the Classic category beginning with the run and the Lite event beginning with the kayak leg. Lite competitors were started in batches of 10 each minute, to ensure safe launch of the boats on the incredibly slippy slipway!
The Classic event saw an in-form Charles Richard’s challenging the unbeaten Mark Green for the winning position. Mark led during run and paddle, but was over taken by Charles on the bike leg, only to suffer a cruel puncture close to the finish line, enabling Mark to ride home the winner. Mark won in a time of 3hrs, 57 minutes and 2 seconds, Charles was second in 4hrs, 1 minute and 20 seconds and Steven Poole was third in 4hrs, 8 minutes and 10 seconds.
The team of two category was won by Dan White and Russell Dawkins in 4hrs, 14 minutes, with Richard Smith and Richard Thomas hot on their heels in 4hrs 20 minutes and 20 seconds and Elliot Lewis and Charles Brougham in third spot in 4hrs, 42 minutes and 57 seconds.
The Lite event was very keenly contested and the flat run and fast downhill bike sections made for some very fast times. The event was comfortably won by Neil Anstey in 2hrs, 33 minutes and 53 seconds, with Mark Campbell second and Karl Twomey third in 2.44.45 and 2.47.20 respectively.See All Event Posts
