The Wilderness ARC
The ARC Survives the Storm
Rob Howard / 27.08.2005
To be hit by such exceptional weather just one day into your first ever event is a race organisers’ nightmare, but the organisation and the teams responded well. “It was good we were given a detailed forecast beforehand,� said Rebecca Lundberg of Mandatorygear.com, “or we’d have been even more unprepared. As it was we’d never encountered anything like those 90 mile per hour winds up on the mountains. It took us 6 hours to cover 8 kilometres at one point.�
The withdrawal rate was high, even among experienced UK teams, but the hard-pressed medical team, all experts in wilderness and survival situations, commented that teams made the right choices. They pulled out rather than risk continuing into remote country while at the limit of their resources, and afterwards recognized they were ill-prepared.
The back-up and support all the teams received from the marshals and medics was exceptional, and particularly in their efforts to get as many racers back out onto the course as possible. No other race has ever attempted anything like this.
The logistical challenge of finding kit boxes or bikes from different parts of the course, for racers from different teams, returned some to HQ and sending others back out in new team combinations at various times, was immense. Trailers and trucks were on the move constantly, and marshals were on duty at remote checkpoints for extra days in support of the later teams. TA4 was also moved to allow teams to sleep under shelter and keep them on the course.
Those still in the race, and those who went back out, were rewarded with a journey through the incomparable west coast scenery of Ardnamuchan and a historic finish location at the Glenfinnan monument. Due to the weather and the danger of crossing high rivers the course was shortened, but it had been prepared with many options available and those who completed the trekking stage to TA7 felt they’d done enough on the shorter option!
All the teams who competed found the highland terrain challenging. The fact the peaks only reach 1300m is deceptive and Mark Humphrey of Live Life said he thought the trekking sections were tougher than any he’d done at Southern Traverse. Combined with the unpredictable and varied Atlantic coast weather Scotland can clearly offer courses as tough and rewarding as any in the world, and the organisation behind the newest World Series race is capable, and now experienced at, dealing with the worst possible weather contingencies
SleepMonsters
