Questars Trio Race - Chilterns
A Challenge in the Chilterns
Daniel Carrivick / 22.07.2010
Teams arrived early on Saturday morning to collect their team packs. Inside, amongst a race number, an electronic score card and various other things, was a waterproof map with all the check points pre-marked on it. The map was the source of much scrutiny as teams worked out which checkpoints they would visit and in which order they would visit them. Energy bars kindly provided by MuleBar were also available for competitors to take one each for the race.The Race Briefing, which was held inside the clubhouse, covered the finer details of the race and the course. There was also lots of practical advice for those that had never done an adventure race before. It was quite cosy in the small clubhouse with everyone in there, but what the hall lacked in size, it more than made up for with its location and other on-site facilities.
Teams had staggered start times to ensure they were well spaced right from the word go. Starting under a big yellow arch, each team collected a waterproof checkpoint card which listed the description and value of each checkpoint. With the clock ticking teams quickly identified and crossed off the dummy checkpoints from their map and adjusted their planned route accordingly.
It was up to each team whether they ran or biked first. Most teams elected to do the trail run stage first, which took them onto the Ridgeway and either along fast, flat ground by the Grand Union Canal or up over hilly terrain into the Chiltern Hills. After climbing to the top of one hill, it was a steep drop down the front of the chalk escarpment, through the beautiful tree lined grassy avenues in Tring Park, to visit another checkpoint before ascending back to the Ridgeway via other checkpoints.
Teams continued along the front of the Chilterns as far as they wanted to go, admiring the spectacular views out over the Vale of Aylesbury and beyond, before returning over the backs of the Chilterns, characterised by rolling hills and a pleasant mixture of deciduous woods and agricultural land.
Navigation should have been easy as public rights of way were very well signposted throughout the area. But in places there were so many paths and bridleways (and there were more on the ground than there were on the map) that several teams found themselves not where they thought they were. The abundance of public rights of way also meant there was often more than one obvious route of getting from one checkpoint to the next, so it was quite difficult to decide which the quicker route to take was.
The kayaking stage took place on a lovely stretch of the Grand Union Canal, along which Sleepmonsters photographer Rob Howard spent most of the day taking photos of participants as they passed by. These photos can be viewed and purchased here.
A long wooden landing stage at the Kayak Transition made it easy for teams to get on and off the water, even those that hadn’t kayaked before. And Quest marshals were standing by ready to assist those that needed an extra helping hand. Each team was allocated a generous 50 mins on the water, making it possible for competent paddlers to easily visit all the kayaking checkpoints within their time limit. For other teams it was a question of whether to head north or south first and how far along the canal to go? With a 50 point penalty for being late off the water, most teams erred on the side of caution and ensured they were back at the kayak transition well before the end of their kayak time slot.See All Event Posts
