DAR Endurance Event
My First Adventure Race
Mike (www.justonegear.org) / 30.01.2009
So what\'s this all about?
Here\'s the lowdown on the Dynamic Adventure Race Challenge. Basically it\'s an intro to Adventure Racing (AR hereafter) that anyone with a modicum of fitness and navigational awareness can attempt. \'Real\' AR\'s such as the Southern Traverse often span days, teams traveling hundreds of kilometers by foot, bike, kayak, attempting challenges set by the organisers along the way. Sleep deprivation and physical exhaustion are essential factors. Strategy and cunning are watchwords. Organization and teamwork under intense pressure is critical.
And so to the New Forest...
After quite a few days of preparation the big plastic bins were loaded into the car, each according to discipline: one for the first run, one for the bike, and one for the last run at night. Overpacking on clothes is a boon, as coming back after each event to a dry change of kit was lovely. The thought of climbing back into wet thermals or - shudder - socks after getting nice and dry doesn\'t bear thinking about.
The extremely helpful Russ Mockford at Hargroves Cycles, Winchester was critical to my success. I popped in on Friday to pick up some GO bars and some NUUN isotonic tablets, and ended up getting a 30 minute sports nutrition consultancy for free. Russ advised taking along 2 prepared meals of rice or pasta to scoff during the 1hr transition between events, as well as nibbling a GO bar and squeezie every hour. And a sort of turbocharged Milo for bedtime, plus - oh joy - having a Snickers bar stashed away for a rainy day...and boy did it rain....
Departing home at 7am on a Sunday is always lovely. Very few others about, some rather loud Neil Young, and the anticipation of a day\'s adventure ahead.
The race HQ was in the Thorney Hill community centre, on the southern edge of the New Forest. The infectiously-enthusiastic Simon from Dynamic Adventure Racing was on hand in a raincoat to welcome arrivals. For someone who does this in his spare time (Simon\'s a university business lecturer by trade) the level of professionalism from him and his team was outstanding. I could not fault the organisation or atmosphere, and I\'ve organised a few large events myself in the past. Inside to the registration desk, and all my stuff was ready to go - a pre-marked map showing the control points for all 3 courses, plus race number, plus punch card and descriptions and points for each control. Oh, and loads of safety pins, rubber bands and free sponsor\'s squeezies for those who forgot to pack enough. A few of these tucked away were to be a godsend some 5 hours later.
SleepMonsters
