The 2007 Adventure Race World Championship

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Paying the Penalty

Rob Howard / 26.05.2007

As teams arrived back at Kinloch Castle there was little surprise at who the lead teams were, and as expected the leaders were not separated by too much. In perfect weather everyone had enjoyed a classic ridge walk and panoramic views, but what was a surprise was how much dispute and controversy the prologue was to cause.

The first to cross the line after 5 hours and 23 minutes were Team Orion, just a few steps ahead of Lundhags and Buff Coolmax. Balance Vector and Nike were next and there was less than 15 minutes between these top 5 teams. “There were 4 or 5 teams all at about the same pace,� said Stuart Lynch of Orion Health, “and we were changing places. And there were fantastic views from the top!�

Balance Vector lost a little ground on the run in from the final summit, taking a different route to the other lead teams, but they ran into more trouble after the finish. All teams were given a spot check on mandatory kit at the finish and Balance Vector were found to be without either the mandatory sleeping bag or safety rope, the regulation penalty for which is 2 hours. (These spot checks will happen all around the course as the race progresses and later in the day at least one other team also failed this check.) The same thing happened to stage winners Orion Health and to Mitsubishi Quasar Lontra.

Nike were content to get the run completed and with their position, considering they had a poor start. “I broke a flipper going into the water,� said Chris Forne, “and had to take it back to the box and swim without them, and I’m not the best of swimmers anyway!� Monique Merrill enjoyed the scenery. “It’s the only first day of a big race I can remember seeing lots of views, which was nice on my birthday!�
However, Nike too could be in trouble after several other teams reported Mike Tobin running far ahead of the rest of this team (breaking the 100m rule). They too received a 2 hour penalty.

And to add even more uncertainty to the results a number of teams were reported not to have run all the way to the Papadil Lodge ruin as instructed but to have taken a short cut uphill beforehand. Alain Berger of Wilsa Sport Helly Hansen was one of several captains to put in a protest and as a result Lundhags, Buff Coolmax, SOLE, Salomon Crested Butte and McCain Adventure Addicts were all given a 2 hour penalty assessed by the race jury. (The new SleepMonsters SAT system was called into use to help decide these protests.)See All Event Posts