The 2007 Adventure Race World Championship
Talking to the Teams (1)
Rob Howard / 24.05.2007
As the teams passed through registration we had the chance for a quick interview with each of them. These are some of the interviews - and we\'ll post more soon.Irish AR Ballyfree (26)
We’ve only raced local races together before, (came second), and the other Irish team here beat us! Only Paul has done an expedition race before, and he’s told them as little as possible about it but mentioned the pain and suffering to come!
“Maybe ignorance is bliss and we can just get on with it and look after each other. Firstly we want to finish it – that will be a major achievement for any team if its as tough as expected. On the 3rd or 4th day we may think about positions and racing. We’ve seen in the past, slow and steady works. Maybe fast teams will burn themselves out or struggle with the weather or navigation.�
What are you most and least looking forward to:
Paul: High ridges in good weather. Getting in and out of wet gear.
Chris: Views of Scotland. Canyoning and jumping into unknown.
Bob: Kayaking, the cold.
Moira: Sleeping (already), saddle sores - my butt can really hurt!
“Keep sending those messages to us on SleepMonsters. That really helps during the race. “
Multitude Salomon (25)
We’ve raced in the last two World Champs and in the Raid Series, and have kept a regular team together for a few years. We finished 19th in Sweden in the last World Champs.
Here we expect it to be wet, and cold, but beautiful, with some nice paddling and high ridges. The weather will challenge us for sure, but we are used to the terrain and more used to the weather, more so than teams from hot places. There will be lots of climbing so it will be hard on the legs and knees, and we have to carry the kayaks a long way!
What are you most and least looking forward to:
Benita: Scenery, treks and ropes. Not a good kayaker, so that will be hard.
Gaute: Exposed climbing. Being wet all the time.
Dag: Paddling and scrambling. Dreading all the downhill.
Havard: Ridges and views. I don’t want to be wet for a week.
Barclays Capital (28)
We’ve all done long races before, but Andy says he’s not finished a team race before! (He was in a team which didn’t make the finish last time.)
Our aim is to finish as one of the top UK teams, without being too injured or having capsized the new kayaks. We’ve only been out in them a couple of times and not managed to get together to race as a team in advance of the race. Karen only met the team on Wednesday morning!
Our home advantage is being mentally prepared for the weather and terrain, and in our navigation. And we expect to have wet feet all week. Plus we know the way course planner Gary Tompsett thinks.
What are you most and least looking forward to:
Mark: Starting and getting going! Bad weather and snow.
Andy: Epic ridges and scrambles. Kayaking no question. Am not looking forward to that!
Kayaking. Inevitable river swimming/tussocks/hike-a-bike ... and midges.
Karen: Getting to half way. Being cold and wet on a mountain top in the middle of the night and falling over!See All Event Posts
