Quest ARS

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Questars in Snowdonia

Pippa MacDougall - Questars / 06.06.2003

The fourth race of the Quest Adventure Race Series was the most challenging course as yet with ascents of over 200 metres between checkpoints. There was some challenging navigating over the Snowdonia hilltops and competitors were at times knee deep in marshland and gorse. With the sun shining all day however, there were stunning views of the Trawsfynydd reservoir, the Rhinogs and the Afon Dwyryd estuary.

Although every checkpoint was visited by at least one team, due to the arduous nature of the course, the average team points total (260) was quite low compared to other events. This ensured that those who completed the four canoeing checkpoints and gained all 140 Questar points were generally in the lead within their race category. Guy and Ian of the Pink Team had apparently taken this strategy to heart and were last seen heading South down the reservoir looking for canoe CP5!

Those that opted to concentrate on the running were faced with a tough challenge as they contemplated the west side of the course. Well trodden sheep tracks added a further network of paths to confuse the runners and large areas of the maps simply marked \"Piles of Stones\" whilst not actually misleading everyone, didn\'t offer any help whilst navigating.

The east side of the course was however more straightforward although hindered by its own set of challenges as Tim Leggitt and Mark Dodds would vouch. The Mini 69 team were forced to pick up their pace when faced with a rather territorial horse near CP14.

The cycle course was designed to include a number of different terrains. Those attempting to go North from CP6 along the gorse covered track got a little more than they bargained for as their scratched legs proved, whilst those pushing themselves up the 330 metre climb to CP11 were rewarded with stunning sea views and Snowdon\'s summit. The CotswoldOutdoor.com team put in a fabulous effort on the biking stage coming home with 320 Questars.

Llyn Trawsfynydd lends itself to canoe orienteering with a number of islands and walls remaining from the days when hot and cold streams of water were circulated around the lake for the Power Station. It was generally a relief from the relentless heat to head out onto the water with one particular novice team deploying a rather interesting \'cooling\' technique with one member leaning over the front of the boat albeit rumoured to be steering.

The race was closely fought by a number of regular teams: Team Goodman, Supper Stars, Redbirds, CotswoldOutdoors.com and the Dark Horse, with those who concentrated on the canoeing and one other discipline generally fairing the best. The local Welsh entrants did consistently well within their categories and in particular Sarn Helen and the winning veteran team \'Eryri\' who did the Saab Salomon car proud! The novice category fought a similarly close race with some relatively good scoring by all teams and was aptly won by Beginners Luck.

Finally a Happy Birthday to Barrie Wells who was given this entry to his first adventure race by his daughter as a birthday present. Once again many thanks to all of you who made the effort to travel to Snowdonia and take part.

Overall Winner: Team Weston (495 Questars)

Men’s Team: GVR (325 Questars)

Women’s Team: Redbirds 3 (255 Questars)

Mixed Team: Team Weston (495 Questars)

Mens Solo: Matt Leathwood (475 Questars)

Veterans: Eryri (355 Questars)

Novices: Beginners Luck (360 Questars)
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