Dynamic Adventure Racing Plus
High Winds and Fast Downhills on the Quantocks
Jonathan Mayne (Dynamic Adventure) / 14.05.2004
The 3rd Dynamic Adventure Plus took place in the quiet town of Kilve at the foot of the Quantock Hills. As the competitors arrived the sky was overcast and a steady westerly wind was blowing. It was clear from the competitor list that the field was strong and there was going to be a battle for the top spots in each of the categories. Both The North Face and Anabasis were doing some final training before heading off to take part in Terra Incognita in Croatia.Needless to say, none of the registered participants had taken a duvet day and all turned up to do battle with the elements, the tracks on the Quantocks and each other!
At the race briefing, the competitors were made aware that the run would be fast, with 50% of it being on rural country lanes and along the coastal path, with the course director saving the off road and hefty hills for the mountain biking section. When asked if there were any questions, the room was quiet – Chris McSweeney had just popped out to move his car!
The majority of competitors opted to run first, knowing that the running stage would be easier to clear than the bike stage, this proved to be true with Pete James clearing the run course in 3 hours 15 minutes. He was swiftly followed by Ski Sharp and Howard Lowe, who took a slightly wiser (dare I say that!) route choice.
Within 3 hours 30 mins, two of Dynamic Adventure’s regulars, Alan Goldsmith and Duncan Atkinson returned having cleared the hilly and technical 50km bike course in a phenomenally quick time – much to the annoyance of Jonathan Mayne, the Course Director. They were followed in by Heather Dawe, who cleared the bike course in just over 4 hours. Team Sleepmonsters were the first team back for transition, clearing the run course in well under 4 hours, and were swiftly followed by the North Face – both teams had battled hard into the wind along the coastal path on their return back to base. The male pair Richard Taylor and Andy Innes also completed the full run course as had Rob Preston and Rob Spedding. The battle in the male pairs was certainly hotting up!
The lead competitors knew that the course was just about clearable based on the times of those that had done the opposite stage first. A speedy transition and a long hard look at the map, and the competitors set off once again. With everybody out on the course, the Dynamic team sat down to enjoy a cuppa and chat about what race they should enter following the cancellation on the Adrenalin Rush. But only 6½ hours into an 8 hour race, Pete James returned to camp having cleared the course! This was something of a surprise and (again) annoyance to the course planner! It was a superb effort by the GB Saab Salomon team member. See All Event Posts
