Land Rover G4 Challenge UK Selections
Orchestrated Manoeuvres in the Dark
Pyro / 29.11.2008
The long night of sleep the competitors at the G4 Challenge UK selection had been planning was fated never to happen. Not only were the ducks once again out in force, but come 2:30am they were roused from their slumbers by a combination of car horns, shouting, and the Counting Crows being played at full volume. Those who had been expecting a night exercise were up and out in short order, the chilly temperature of the night meaning they had been sleeping in their kit anyway, and following orders they marched up a nearby hill alongside a number of flashing beacons.
The night’s activity consisted of the competitors running down the hill, in a free-for-all, to pick up a beacon each, then running back to the top to finish. Simple? Not as such. The nearest beacon was worth the most points, but to grab it and return first and you would only get a single point, with all the others on a sloping scale. So, the slower runners could still take a respectable points tally.
The competitors however were determined to make this ‘fair’. A method was concocted where, basically, everyone would score the same points, and all was well with their method, until some last minute info was given out. “Oh, by the way� said course planner Simon “In the event of everyone scoring the same, the person who got the furthest-away beacon will have their points doubled�.
A modicum of chaos ensued, in which Bruce Duncan and Maria Leijerstam managed to sneakily dib in to finish outside of the pre-planned order. How much this affected their score is unknown, the race organisers have been very tight lipped about the way the points were allocated and used.See All Event Posts
