ITERA
To the Coast and Back – A Big Finish at ITERA
Rob Howard / 15.08.2025
As ITERA moved into day 5 the leaders crossed the finish line and the race was spread out over the Spey Valley and surrounding hills, and along the dunes, trails and villages of the Moray coastline.
The final stages of the race were full of iconic and beautiful locations and special challenges which followed quickly one after the other. Teams all had different challenges to deal with; injuries to struggle on with, broken bikes to fix, or struggle on with, and midges to bat away and curse.
The weather too remained fickle and on Friday night the race HQ was almost flooded, with deep water on the roads from torrential downpours. Elsewhere there was no rain at all. This race has had high winds, heavy rain, thunderstorms, fog and extreme neat (for Scotland anyway)! The temperature difference between Thursday and Friday was 12C.
The course along the coastline was the most varied section of the race, starting with some of the best sand dune and forest orienteering in the country. Teams had a huge 1:10,000 map – a real whopper and the checkpoints were set for orienteering rather than adventure racing, so navigators had to be on the ball, especially at night.
ITERA Lite winner Gary Davies said, “We did it in daylight and it was still really hard and technical.” He added that they went through in the heat of the day and walked to save energy and try not to make mistakes. For Team UltRARar the section was familiar and a home coming, Josh Buckle was born nearby!
This section finished in Lossiemouth, famous for its ice-creams, and along the whole stage there were lots of places to stop for drinks and ice creams in small harbours and seaside towns. The whole coast is popular with tourists and daytrippers, and the beaches were busy.
There was more orienteering to come, at the famous Gordonstoun school, where King Charles is a former pupil. Here the orienteering was on a micro scale, more like urban O, so navigators had to make a quick adjustment. Teams were amazed to see the characterful old and sleekly designed modern buildings of the campus, but not so pleased with the checkpoint in the stinging nettles!
Beyond this teams were on bikes on Moray Coastal Trail, riding close to the shore above small bays and crags, and through heather moorland and sections of pine forest.
The Kinloch Barracks, a former RAF base, was a highlight. There was a set course around the runways and right down the length of the main runway. What a unique opportunity to ride down the middle of the 2.3km runway, right along the dotted line! For races during the day it was very hot here and the heat shimmered off of the tarmac. At the end of the runway the checkpoint was on the hulk of an old Nimrod aircraft, set on the front wheel right under the nose cone. Definitely one of the coolest adventure racing checkpoints!
Beyond here there was a beach or sand dunes ride through Findhorn, and some teams saw dolphins leaping just offshore. The bay is famous as a dolphin watching location. The twists kept coming, there was a checkpoint at an ice house, one on a big statue of a Collie Dog, and the chance to ride some world class mountain bike orienteering on the Altyre Estate.
Not all teams got to complete all of the stages, as there were short courses in play, but they had lots of options. One out and back ride was to Lochindorb Loch and Castle, and there was a twist here. The checkpoint was on a castle turret, and the castle is on an island. Teams had one paddle and one kayak, and were only allowed a maximum 3 people in the kayak, and of course they all had to visit the checkpoint. Someone was most likely going to swim!
The final special stage was the impressive Huntly’s Crag where a Tyrolean Traverse was set up from the top of the crag to the far side of the valley. Teams had an hour to complete this so there was a bit of down time while waiting to go across and before the final ride into the finish.
By early Thursday afternoon the third place expedition race team, Rachel’s Irish Adventures, and the leaders of ITERA Lite were both at Huntly’s Crag. On the Lite course Team Cranny and Gary came through first, followed by Lakes Adventures UK/NZ and these two teams had a very close race from the start. “We saw them at almost every transition it seemed,” said Gary Davies. “At the start we swapped the lead, and later on we kept pushing hard, getting a gap, then making a nav mistake and losing it. We were getting frustrated as they were navigating so much better than we were!”
Even so Davies and Mark Chryssanthou managed to stay ahead the Dixon brothers (Dave & Ali), and as it turned out Lakes Adventures UK had an hour penalty for some infringements. Davies added, “It was a varied course, and while not in the mountains I still recorded 5500m of ascent, so there was plenty of climb.”
Third in the Lite race were Team 40nStillStrong from Germany, and they finished in the worst of the deluge which hit Badaguish.
Teams were crossing the finish line regularly through the afternoon and into Thursday night and Friday morning, with a rush of finishers next day ahead of the 12.00 course closure.
All of the teams were cheered into the finish, given Durty Brewing beer and pizza, and sat in the race HQ (if there were midges outside) or stood around the finish line exchanging stories and meeting up with friends and family.
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