Dynamic Adventure Racing Endurance
New Respect for the Forest
Fi Spotswood (Team Epic Adventurers/Minx) / 29.03.2007
The second Dynamic Adventure Race of 2007 was a slap in the face to the sunny cosiness of previous courses. When I think of the New Forest I think of fluffy chestnut ponies with bed-hair, soft mossy grass and flat, sandy forest trails. My view of this region, and I think the view of many racers at the Endurance event, has changed.Our team follows the mantra that it is easier to bike when tired. So in the cosy village hall in Thorney Hill, sipping Flossie’s hot coffee and nibbling chocolate flapjacks we set about to design a run route that would have us clear the course within a comfortable time. (When you clear, you don’t need to worry about the individual scores of each check. You just get on and get them all). There was a problem, though: There didn’t seem to be many clear footpaths. Gary and I are both a little short sighted, and the faint dots across the swirling contours were not at all reassuring. We glanced nervously at each other as we searched vainly for the unambiguous green dashes of footpaths found in other regions. It was going to be all about the compass.
Nevertheless, we headed out of the warm and comfortable village hall with a clear strategy in mind, a route carefully planned and a clear ambition to clear the course. We quickly found the first few checks and with an injection of confidence headed out into the open land along with the Tea and Medals team who we spent several hours leapfrogging. Having the compass firmly in hand we chose the first of many horizon points to run towards across the rolling black and yellow moorland.
Ponies were aimlessly dotted around and the sky was grey and cold. We ran straight through brillo-pad bracken bushes and wove between shrub-sized grass clumps down a gentle hill towards our chosen tree. Cas Van Ardenne was to our right, with the same idea and making good progress; strong legs flying over obstacles like a gecko across the hot sand. See All Event Posts
