Endurancelife Coastal Trail Quest
Windy Conditions For the First Endurancelife CTQ
Will Turner (Endurancelife) / 17.11.2008
As the early morning gale force 8 winds howled through the host village of Worth Matravers, the event race base was soon dismantled and registration was re-located to the enchanting host pub, the Square & Compass Inn. Many participants were already well acquainted with the pub (and its cosy log fire, lively folk band and tasty pub-brewed cider) having spent the previous evening in there, warming up for the event!
On receiving their course maps, riders carefully planned out their route. Some were intent on clearing the course, others just contemplating their route out of race base! From the field of 110 riders, there was a real mix in levels of experience and sporting backgrounds. It was great to have so many newcomers to the fantastic sport of mountain bike orienteering.
Despite the howling winds, the rain mostly held off and riders were treated to many spectacular views over the wild Atlantic Ocean and the Purbeck hills. Some check points were located down at sea level, taking riders down bridleways and tracks to some of Dorset’s finest coastal highlights; Kimmeridge Bay, Chapman’s Pool and Durlston Head. Others were high up on the ridgeline, demanding some challenging climbs with fast, technical descents.
The short score participants completed their event spending 3 hours out on the course (and in many cases more!). A prize giving soon followed, awarding the highest scoring participants with top quality medals and Endurancelife cash prizes.
Simon Hall and Ken McCormick came out on top in the team category with a winning margin of only 2 points and a score of 160 points. James Watson, the only cyclo-cross rider on the day won the solo category with a total of 155 points. This was a highly respectable performance from James who, like many other participants had completed a difficult coastal half marathon the previous day.
Soon after, the medium score trailquesters started to return from their days’ efforts, splattered in mud and visibly windswept. Most had a tough but a thoroughly enjoyable day and some high scores were being registered. Solo category runner up Alli Northcott (Team Inov-8) described the conditions experienced: “The last few miles were hard. The wind seemed to have increased and it was pretty much uphill all the way. Some of the gusts meant I was hardly making any speed over the ground. What should have been a comfortable fast ride to the finish was a hard, time-consuming slog�.
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