Highland Hints on the ARC

Rob Howard / 16.05.2005

There are only 3 months to go until the Wilderness ARC, the UK’s new expedition length race and the final Qualifier for November’s World Championships in New Zealand. Course Director Gary Tompsett has been putting his car, legs and imagination to good use around the Scottish Highlands, preparing a course to test the best and still be achievable for all those who gather on the start line.

Without giving too much away he passed on these hints in the latest ARC newsletter. Teams who’ve already entered should get their maps out now to start the guessing as to where he’s referring to … and if you’ve not entered but are thinking about it, now is the time to make a commitment.

If you add water, the Wilderness ARC course grows and grows!
After some assessment of distances and pace estimates over the terrain, the full course distance is still close to the target 400km. Although this is still a daunting proposition, the route is designed to be logistically friendly and a fair balance of disciplines. In essence this enables us to service the course well, and provide certain short cut options, should they need to be implemented by us or because of the prevailing weather.

On the ground
Have you got a head for heights? Ridges provide some of the driest and simplest ways of passage in the Scottish Highlands, but if it’s windy and wet, the visibility poor and the ridges are a rocky scramble, they take on a different character altogether. Expect to encounter any mix of these ground and weather conditions.

Although the main disciplines of trekking, biking and boating all fall into nice expedition bite sized pieces, we can say that you will be on your feet for a long time. You’ll need good choices of footwear and socks throughout. And to make the most of the wilderness there will be one monster trek.