Land Rover G4 Challenge International Selection
Zip and Splash
Rob Howard / 03.02.2006
The programme on the final morning gave the teams the chance to try a couple of new activities, a zip line off the caste turret and across the lake, and a raft race around the lake. Although it’s the last day the atmosphere seemed a little more relaxed this morning, maybe because the teams felt the selection was all but decided, though the organisers say these final activities could still make a difference. “We’ve been much more relaxed since yesterday,� said Gary Robertson of Ireland. “Last night we sat around the fire chatting and laughing, and probably keeping the others up, we were in hysterics for a while. To be honest I thought we’d be given the run around all night, and thought as it’s the last 20 hours there wasn’t much point in going to bed, but that didn’t happen. Between the three of us we have no idea who is doing the best, and while it’s important to us, we are not going to worry about it.�
His team mate Paul Mahon added, “We got 6 hours sleep last night, and today do some rafting and a 1 km run around the lake. Wednesday was quite tough, but if we’d known the selection would be nothing more than a week of partying and training would take out of us we’d have done the 2-day race taking place nearby this coming weekend.�
The Irish were not the only adventure racers feeling the need for some endurance activity. Tom Landon-Smith of Australia commented, “I’m not a training freak, but feel like going for a good run, I think we’ve only had 2 and a half hours of exercise all week. It\'s been great fun though and we\'ve learnt loads.�
That’s certainly an underestimate and this mornings rafting on the lake was a hard 25 minutes of paddling … mainly because the raft had a 2.7 tonne Range Rover on it! Two teams combined to paddle a raft up the lake, around a buoy and back again. It wasn’t easy to steer or keep momentum and the shouts of the teams echoed across the water as they encouraged each other and tried to keep a rhythm.
In the second heat there was a near-collision at the start and the UK/Turkey team came out the winners with Andrew Grieve bellowing commands to the paddlers and urging them on. The paddling was a chance to get warm as the weather remains cold, though everyone now seems used to it. Carolina Hess of Brazil was surprised to see ice on the lake. “I’ve seen ice in a drink or a freezer,� she said, “but not on a lake.�See All Event Posts
