D.A.R.E.
Fun in the Sun @ the D.A.R.E!
Alli Northcott – Team: The North Face / 13.05.2008
The lure of a 12hour race on the magically named Isle of Purbeck, was too great for many ... in fact, with a full race complement of 40 pairs the first D.A.R.E sold out within weeks of entry going live. It even tempted those who usually stay put in North to make an appearance down South!With the Kayak stage set to take place in and around Poole harbour, and the additional 4 hours of racing to be had, this was a race that most of us regular DAR folk were keen to experience!
The Dynamic team chose to set the course over 4 main stages, the Kayak and main Bike stage had strict timings set, with disastrous penalties to be had if you were late. However, for the later run and night-bike stages pairs were left to decide on the best use of their time. Like all DAR events the race was set to be a test of strategy, speed, fitness, skill and endurance.
Divided into 2 starts,‘wave A’ rode to the Kayak stage first after a short blast on the bike, whilst those competitors in ‘wave B’ set straight out on the 4-5 hour bike stage 2 minutes later. Well, most did, but there are always one or two who miss the start ... or forget to take their rucksacks with them and have to return to the event base a little red faced!
As we started in wave A, we raced away first to the Kayak, setting a blazing pace (perhaps too fast?) and as we arrived 10 minutes early we had a chance to catch our breath and change into kit ready for the impending sit-on-top experience into the freshening southerly breeze. Choosing to wear only waterproofs over our bike kit, we were soon driving our trusty steed through the waves, me in my usual wave-breaker seat to protect the all important navigator!
Pausing only to clip the control and re-adjust the feather on my paddle (so I could actually use the paddle properly), we were soon through the islands and on our way to Brownsea, a place I‘d never ventured to before ...
And venture we did, however without time to stop and admire the views and beauty of the place, my memories are mostly of lots of small brownies running for cover, the glimpse of the odd woggle, a few old folk and lots of people milling about in green jumpers! After a sprint back to the kayaks, passing a few teams as we went, we were soon surfing our way back to the last checkpoint, easily clearing the kayak stage with an extra hour to spare.See All Event Posts
