---

First Flight

Robyn Ferrar - Team The North Face Flight Series / 05.05.2005

The Welsh hills of Coed y Brenin brought many a fine athlete to and beyond breaking point in the first Ace Race of 2005. For Team North Face Flight Series it was a close call but we managed to push on through the mud, rain, freezing winds and a fair amount of bad luck, to finish exactly where we expected to, given the competition and our fitness.

We arrived late Friday night having driven straight through from London. The race campsite was already buzzing with hundreds of racers – new and old - preparing to be let loose early the following morning to pit themselves against the unforgiving welsh wilderness. Around midnight when we could finally crawl into our sleeping bags to try and get a few hours sleep, we knew only that what was in store for us would be cold, wet and very, very tough!

The race briefing was at 7:30 the following morning, where we were given the details of the new race format. 26 teams started the race, some of the top teams in the country among them, like The North Face, Snow & Rock, Sleepmonsters.com and KIMM Lite/High Five. We certainly had our work cut out for us.

The day started with a 15km bike ride to the lake for the dreaded paddle stage. Before jumping onto our sit-on-top canoes we had to weatherproof ourselves as much as possible – there would be nothing between us and the cold wind and rain. The paddle was 2 laps of the lake – 13kms in total – via 3 controls and 1 portage per lap. Just to make life more difficult we had stinging rain and gusty crosswinds to deal with too. This being one of our weaker disciplines we struggled through muscle cramps, fatigue and pain to finish in 8th place in a time of 2hrs 4mins.

Roman Steps

Thankful to be back on not-so-dry land, we had little time to dry off and nurse sore hands, wrists and shoulders. Our feet were numb from the cold and lack of use, and getting into our running kit was made difficult by ice-cold fingers refusing to do as they’re told.

When we did finally start the first 13km trail run, it was like running on peg legs as there was no life in flesh or bone from the ankles down. Just as our feet started to warm-up and respond to commands again, we hit the bog and our shoes filled up with icy, muddy water. However, during this stage we were treated to a short and slightly surreal snowfall, and the beautiful Roman Steps winding through the mossy rocks and trees.

See All Stories On This Race