Ten Under the Ben
Weather turns for 10 Under the Ben 2010
Stu Thomson / 20.05.2010
For the past 5 years, No Fuss Events flagship event, 10 Under the Ben has built a reputation as not only one of the finest endurance races in the UK, but also as a weekend when year on year sunshine beats down on the slopes of Aanoch Mor. Tales of dehydration and sunstroke have graced website forums for weeks following the event with even the hardiest endurance athlete’s struggling to cope with the heat.Not in 2010.
On Saturday morning, nearly 1000 participants gathered at the Nevis Range resort just outside Fort William for the sixth 10 Under the Ben event. It’s one of those rare, but beautiful occasions when elite level XC whippets mix their fitness and skills on the same course as the average joe, who’s dragged his slightly rusty looking steed from the damp garden shed, with both ends of the spectrum leaving feeling exhaustedly content.
For 2010 the No Fuss crew had unveiled a few major changes to the notorious Witches Trail loop. With 4 new natural technical sections added along with the all-new Le Mans style start giving the regular competitors a little more to think about for this year.
This year the start in itself was a spectacle, with competitors faced with a 100m sprint to their bikes before beginning their opening lap. Carnage ensued: bike positioning, shoe choices and much psyche-out talk of Usain Bolt sprinting ability all became irrelevant when lost in a sea of 400 bikes.
The sun shone for just about long enough for all the starters to get out of the arena and on to the course. The choice to go lightweight on clothing rebounded when little more that 15 minutes in a huge downpour hit the participants. Not only soaking everyone, but turning those fresh new sections into a tough rooty technical test.
Once again, with 168 competitors, the solo class was the biggest field. With the damp conditions early on not helping to preserve the legs over the distance. Greig Brown was the man who took the victory home, being the only man to manage 11 laps. Ben Thompson and Scott Cornish wrapped up the podium, with 4th placed Graeme Vietch also being the first vet home. In the female solo’s Leslie Ingram got into the lead early in the day and held the gap over second place Hannah Barnes for the duration.
If you’ve never been to 10 Under the Ben, its certainly worth the trip as the atmosphere is fantastic. A packed out venue, happy people on bikes backed up with great sounds and a genuinely funny MC. Even the continuing showers and cold temperatures seemed irrelevant in the midst of the festival.See All Event Posts
