ACE Races Training Holiday

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To Spain to Train

Matthew Sleaford / 17.03.2004

Matthew Sleaford recently set off for Spain to join the ACE Races training course in the Axarquia region of Southern Spain. The week was organised by Axarsport and ACE Races, with help from Helen Jackson and they laid on a week of flexible training in the sun, finishing up with a mini-race. Here’s how he got on;

As a complete beginner to Adventure Racing, I did not know what to expect. What I was greeted with was a bunch of enthusiastic individuals who just wanted to get stuck right in, so we did. Right into a lovely dinner, ready for the following day.

Come Sunday morning, I was struck with the magnitude of what I’d signed up for. A 65K cycle through the mountains!!?! Having only ever cycled 5 miles before, I was slightly dubious as to my ability to get through the day intact, but with the help, enthusiasm and positive attitude of the rest of the group, I saw the day through with relative ease.

Waking up early has never been my particular forte, so when 8:30 struck on Monday, that’s 7:30 real time, I wasn’t compus enough to argue about running to a lake, paddling a kilometre and running back, but by the time I’d realised what was going on, it was all over. I’d done it …

… And I was ready for Mount Maroma. It looks so innocent sat there on the horizon, but don’t be fooled. It’s just lying there, waiting to suck the energy from your legs as you prepare to ascend its 2000M. However, seeing as we were all present at dinner that night, I made the score Maroma 0; ACE Races 1. Oh yeah!!? Can you feel it??!?

Navigation can reach up and kick you in the teeth when you least expect it, as proven when we ended up kayaking down a river, surrounded by trees, like some scene from a cheap horror movie. We had to get out and bush whack our way up to a road and figure out where the hell we were. ‘Spain’ was my rather helpful suggestion, but I soon realised by the deafening silence that followed that I may not have played a crucial role in our getting back. However, it all worked out in the end, so off to dinner… Navigation 0; ACE Races 1. Bring it on.

So, onto race day with my new found skills and confidence and for my first ever race I was in good hands. Teamed up with Phil Humphreys, ACE Races director and organiser, Helen Jackson, an incredible young lady, currently ranked among the top three in the world, and Lucy Poole, a very fit, ridiculously attractive member of the rising stars, Team Aztec Multipower. See All Event Posts