A Scottish X-adventure

Tim Lloyd / 10.09.2002

The spectacular Glen Coe valley played host to the 2002 Salomon National X-Adventure race, and with some of the UK’s top teams lining up to fight it out for a free BARC entry, it promised to be a cracking event.

Race start was at 06.00 from the White Corries chairlift and stage 1 took teams by mountain bike along the west highland way to Taynuilt where they picked up rafts and descended down river for half an hour, finishing with a short swim to the transition point. The cycling was very fast, with teams reaching the rafting sooner than expected. First at the rafts were team “Looking for a Sponsor�, led by Jonathan Whitaker, and accompanied by top fell runner Morgan Donnelly, World Class adventure racer Helene Diamentides and Steve Birkinshaw, on loan from Team Saab Salomon.

Hot on their heels off the bikes were Team North Face (Keith Byrne, Helen Jackson, Norman Dunroy and Chris McSweeny). TNF quickly proved their dominance on the water, overtaking “looking for a sponsor� who were stranded on a rock in the middle of the river, dropping them to second place at the end of the stage. Third was the military team Winged Sherpa, an unexpected challenger at this early stage.

From Taynuilt, Stage 2 would take teams the entire length of Loch Etive in Canadian Canoes, leading to a 10k road run before heading to the mountains of Glencoe, via a steep scramble up the devils staircase, and descending to Kinlochleven for the overnight camp.

In the Canoes team The North Face extended their lead, the only team able to match their speed on the water were Team Wales (Aled Rees, Dei Huws, Chris Near and Nicky Davies). Both teams arrived at Glen Etive together, with The North Face the first away on the long run ahead. 5 minutes down were “Looking for a Sponsor� and these three teams had pulled clear of the opposition.

However, the running was to prove decisive and it soon became apparent that the race for the X-adventure title would be between just two teams. Early into the 10k road section Team Wales were to pass The North Face and it was to be the last that North Face would see of the Welsh. To add insult to injury, as soon as the teams hit the mountains, The North Face were passed a second time by “Looking for a Sponsor� who were looking very comfortable under the guidance of orienteer Steve Birkinshaw.

Experienced North Face member Chris McSweeny was finding the mountainous terrain very tough, and could do nothing to catch the other two teams who were quickly disappearing into the distance. “Looking for a sponsor� pushed on and passed Team Wales, but were then re-overtaken by the Welsh when Birkinshaw made an unexpected navigational error which cost the team 3 minutes. But by the end of the stage “Looking for a Sponsor� had taken the lead once more and finished 5 minutes ahead of the Welsh, North Face came in over 30 minutes later. The remaining 25 teams finished the day, and were able to re-fuel on Wilf’s excellent cuisine before grabbing a couple of hours sleep.

See All Stories On This Race