The Wilderness ARC
A Wild Beauty
Erica Terblanche / 28.09.2005
Racing for nearly four days in the Scottish Highlands in hurricane strength winds and driving rain, alongside three near-strangers was an experience that not only made me grow tremendously, but that sent me back to South Africa with enormous gratitude for our sunshine and renewed admiration for the strength and toughness of our South African adventure racers.
Jax (Jaqueline Brook), our team manager accompanied me to the far North of Scotland to staff headquarters for race director, Phil Humphreys. The pre-race events were elaborate and included several opening ceremonies, performances by Scottish bands, an Olympic-style march through the quaint town of Fort William and a prologue, which involved a 90-minute urban AR type sprint on the Saturday evening before the race.
At race briefing course designer, Gary Tompsett guided racers through the entire route using 3-D digital maps. This race was not going to be won on creative navigation, as we were for safety reasons, required to stick to a predetermined course between checkpoints. Geoff Hunt, with a knowing glint in his eye also referred to the massive cold front that would hit Scotland by Wednesday. We could not have imagined just how big the front was until it sowed disaster within the first 24 hours of the race …
An eye-opener for me was that competitors were fastidious about the weight they carried. Food was rationed to the bare minimum, water only replenished when absolutely necessary, shelters were small pieces of fabric with light elastic in the seams, clothes were chosen as much for weight as functionality and nothing spare was carried, except for absolutely compulsory race equipment.
In sympathy of team’s weight aversion, race directors designed the transitions and route in such a way that competitors never had to carry any kit that was not specifically required for the particular leg.
The Race Begins
Start to T1: 30km Paddle
On Monday, 22 August at 9am, 30 teams set off on a mass paddle start. Helicopters were hovering, boats loaded with cameramen and photographers zoomed by and the sun showed a shy face behind dark clouds. Despite the ‘good weather’ we were dressed in full wetsuits, palm jackets and gloves. Scotland is COLD, even at the height of summer. Team Live Life, consisting of two South Africans and two Brits, fell into a comfortable stroke in third place. Our strategy was to race easy and have fun, and if we were doing well to increase the pace closer to the end of the race.
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