EnduranceLife Lake District Coast 2 Coast
C2C lakes 2008
Mark Bottomley / 11.11.2008
Having competed in the first two Endurancelife Coast 2 Coast Adventure Races of 2008, I was really looking forward to the third and final event in the series. It was to be a 3 day adventure race held in the Lake District - a new setting for an Endurancelife C2C AR event. The preceding races had been held in Devon and Snowdonia and both journeys had taken in the most spectacular and challenging “obstacles� that each location had to offer. I was very eager to find out, first hand, whether the course and the Lake District would live up to the standard set by the first two.The race was to commence in Grange-Over-Sands, on the southern coast of the Lake District and finish at Allonby on the north-west coast. In true AR style, the competitors arrived for registration on the Thursday night oblivious to what the next 3 days had in store – except that the first day commenced with a run, was followed by a kayak and ended with a cycle....simple as that!
After a rain free night under the stars we woke for an organised breakfast at 6.30. This was all very civilised and chatty and before I knew it there was 30 minutes ‘til kick off and I was two hours away from having my kit packed. As is always the case in these races, I had so much kit in my car that I couldn’t decide what I should leave out – our luggage allowance was akin to Ryan Air and I was not going to see my car for another 3 days!!
Fifteen minutes of panic packing and swearing to myself saw me handing my holdall and transition bag in to the organisers in last place (I hoped this was not going to become typical of the rest of the race). I received the first day’s instructions and maps in exchange for my kit, and briefly glanced at them before the race got underway at 8:00.
The first stage was on foot and took us over what, with hindsight, would only be described as mildly undulating countryside, but at the time it seemed quite hilly with some great views of what lay ahead. We ended the run at the southern most tip of Lake Windermere where we boarded our sit-on-top kayaks for the most pleasant kayak up the lake imaginable! The sun was out, the sky was devoid of cloud, there was no wind and the water was like a mill pond. It was difficult to focus on the fact that I was racing as the views were so beautiful. Well that was the first 30 minutes anyway! Then the aches and pains set in, along with the realisation that the other end of the lake was still as far away as it had been half an hour ago.
Nearly two hours later, the kayak stage ended with the customary roll out onto shore. I hobbled up the bank with my grandad’s legs and located my bike. It’s always a relief to get the legs spinning after a long paddle so I was looking forward to a mile or two on the flat to get the blood pumping....No hope! Straight out of transition onto the bridal way from hell! 45 seconds of cycling followed by the first taster of push-a-bike-up-a-mountain. If that wasn’t bad enough, I was greeted at the top by a photographer.
The cycle stage was amazing! It was listed on the day’s instructions as 28 miles but, after accounting for navigation errors (and everyone made at least one) the distance became anywhere from 30 miles upwards with times for the cycle stage ranging from 3 ½ to 7 ¾ hours. The stage was 95% on track/trails and took in the North Face Trail See All Event Posts
