The Arabian Quest

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Arabian Quest Series Off to a Flying Start

John Falchetto / 21.11.2006

In the inaugural running of the Arabian Quest eco-adventure race contestants mountain-biked, abseiled and generally scrambled in the foothills of Ras Al Khaimah in the United Arab Emirates.

The first race of the Arabian Quest adventure race series brought together over 100 participants eager to climb, rappel and mountain bike the Ras Al Jebel ranges.

“This was a great success, everyone enjoyed themselves and came back down safely,� said John Falchetto, founder of Mountain Extreme and organizer of the Arabian Quest race series. "I think for the first race, the race was overwhelmingly well balanced including a contrast between fast and slow segments, trekking and biking, pain and joy. All the contestants who took place came back tired but exhilarated and this was a big plus for us".

Cycling up Jebel Sal for more than 15 kilometres, challengers then swapped their bikes for running shoes to race across loose rocks and varied hilly terrain to checkpoint Summit, which was the turn-around point for most contenders. Only teams registered for the Arabian Quest Extreme continued towards the rope course.

The longest rope course ever rigged in the region, with over 1km of rope saw exciting action with an 80m abseil down, a traverse along a ledge and a 80m ascent on fixed ropes.
In the all male Arabian Quest category, the 3 man team ‘Danger Boys of Dubai’ took top honours, outsmarting and outrunning the competition.

Team member, Mike Wiseman said, “it was hard but we gave it our best and finished in one hour 30 minutes. I hope to come back for the next race in November with my own team-mate.� Mike had to run with team Danger Boys as his original team-mate abandoned him the night before.See All Event Posts