Dynamic Adventure Challenge Race - South Downs
Picture Postcards and Family Outings
Mike Stead (www.justonegear.org) / 23.10.2009
They say time heals all wounds, distance makes the heart grow fonder, and there's no fool like an old fool. With this in mind, I was looking forward to the South Downs DAR Challenge very much for three reasons: It had been over 6 month since my last one, there was a long way to go and I was feeling old.Having missed the Isle Of Purbeck event due to a very inconsiderately-chosen wedding date by my wife's closest friend ("You are NOT leaving me with two children in Cornwall at 5am on Sunday to drive there") I had more or less lost my AR groove. The draft AR packing list compiled from the first two DAR experiences had been lost in the huge pile of school notices and bills composting on the kitchen bench. So it was the inevitable 9pm Saturday flurry of lost socks, missing lids and empty food/squeezie/lube packets. Of course in the end all one does is wildly overpack, knowing all the while that there is some critical thing missing. What are we but private parts to the Gods of Adventure Racing, they toy with us for their sport (apologies Mssr Fry).
Sunday dawned a true autumn stunner, just above zero with a few wisps of cloud. The setting of Duncton nestled at the foot of the South Downs north of Chichester couldn't have been more perfect. For a village of around three hundred souls they have a pretty swish community hall, which was well-populated with AR folk by 9am.
Numbers looked good, there were rumours of a few burglars about who normally did the Endurance events, as well as two complete AR novices who had Simon 'concerned' according to the crew, due to their incredibly bubbly, "No Worries" enthusiasm. While getting ready for the run, the critical thing that was missing became apparent in the lack of orthotic insoles. Beware red insoles and red-lined shoes, when packing late at night. Luckily the 15-year old inserts from my cycling shoes were a close enough fit to be workable.
Looking at the run course, it was pretty obvious you had two choices: clockwise or t'other. Basically it came down to "Shall I climb the nasty hill at the start or halfway through?". Opting for the latter to allow for a warm up, the first two CP's were more or less follow-the-leader. Going from 11 to 9 however was a lesson in racing your own race. Simon had said exactly this in the brief, but sometimes the brain just doesn't listen. Trundling along following a spread-out bunch to the junction at what would be 28 on the MTB course, I completely and utterly disregarded the very wide, obvious bridleway to the right and ploughed on up the hill to the left. See All Event Posts
