The 2007 Adventure Race World Championship

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Testing Conditions at Fort William

Gary Vallance / 24.05.2007

As the last of the attending teams descended on the Fort William race HQ, so did the Scottish weather. Throughout the day the racers have been put through the mangle with a never ending schedule of kit checks and skills competency tests, and by the end of the day, their clothes will be in need of a thorough wringing too.

So far the Highlands have supplied a consistent delivery of their own brand of “liquid sunshine�, but for most entrants, the meteorological conditions are the last of their concerns.

Kit lost

As usual, many of the teams from overseas are still experiencing difficulties with international airlines. Worst affected are US team Salomon/Crested Butte, currently in possession of just one of their four main kit boxes, with the remainder scheduled for delivery at noon on Friday.

Crested Butte’s problems were far from unique, and as Team ATP’s Avril Copeland was explaining how one of their boxes had gone adrift for 24 hours, the kit check area began to bubble with expectation, as a courier truck arrived from the airport carrying the latest consignment of misdirected equipment.

Eleventh hour escapades

Spared from the fickle inefficiencies of creative baggage handlers, the domestic teams had also had their difficulties, and as ever, the most notable have been of the “last minute� variety.

This time last week, Team Camracers were still boatless. While Russ Ladkin tried to find out the cockpit dimensions and source spraydecks, they had to rely on one of their trusty supporters to drive to Portugal to collect the kayaks. Meanwhile, teammate Keri Devine was panicking about their lack of preparation “I’d never seen the guys paddle, and just two days ago we took the boats out, and watched Russ head straight for the reeds. It turns out the rudder wasn’t properly set up, but for a moment I wondered what I’d let myself in for!�
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