National Indoor Adventure Race
Up’s and Downs, Inside and Out
Rob / 14.03.2003
For the teams listening to the briefing on the second National Indoor AR Championships there was a lot to take in. Some of the competitors had raced last year and were familiar with the ramps and rumble strips, the simulators, climbing wall and zip wire that made up this complex circuit. For others it was all new, and no doubt a bit intimidating.That was certainly the case with the new ‘Jacob’s Ladder’ feature in one corner, which reached right up to the roof. Also new was the introduction of an outdoor ‘Endurance’ stage in nearby woods where all the teams would compete head to head. (While they were gone the arena was taken over by teams trying out the course on the Nike ACG Challenge - but they were on for 10 minutes not 3 hours!)
As the show aisles began to fill the first race got underway and it was soon clear ‘Jacob’s Ladder’ was one of the hardest elements of the course. Not only was the giant ladder hanging free and swaying about, the shorter racers could barely reach up to the next rung and pulling on the belay rope or side wires wasn’t allowed. Racers were climbing over and up each other to make any upward progress, and often in all sorts of trouble.
During the first heat both ‘Red Nose’ and ‘On’t Moor’ got big penalty points as they couldn’t make the climb, or made the tactical decision it wasn’t worth the effort. And in the afternoon race favourites ‘Genetic Potential’ struggled until they’d worked out a system. (Watching Marc Laithwaite struggle Phil Humphreys’ smiled and commented, “I’m glad there is something he finds difficult!�)
Everyone found the climbing difficult, both the rotating climbing wall in the simulator stage, and the climb up to the tower on the Technical stage. The holds on this were rounded and uneven, very difficult to grip at all, especially with tired arms in the later part of the race. The rotating wall was very hard to hold on to as it sloped gradually back, and at times quickened so competitors were speed climbing. This was a crucial stage as once you fell off you couldn’t get back on until your ‘opponent’ hit the mat too. If they managed to climb on for a long time you just had to wait it our and valuable points were lost. (The were measured here by the distance climbed.)See All Event Posts
