The Rat Race BRISTOL Urban Adventure Race
The Sun Shines on the Bristol Rat Race - Again
Gary Vallance (Course Planner) / 03.07.2009
Mean Streets
As five o’clock approached, a short aerobic warm-up followed a few words of advice and encouragement, and the directing team of Gary Tompsett and Gary Vallance unleashed the masses onto the city streets.
From the new central Castle Park base alongside the vast Broadmead shopping centres, Mean Streets checkpoints were divided into classic locations for visiting “outziderz�, such as Cabot Tower and Christmas Steps, and a selection of new treasures in the east of the City for returning Rats and locals alike.
These new locations served up a real variety, including a graffiti activity in Stokes Croft, where teams collectively created a floral display with paints and stencils, a boxing checkpoint at the Riverside Youth Project and a climbing traverse of the Showcase Cinema wall. In the regenerated St Paul’s Park, the “Twinfly Challege�, had participants clinging to a whirling playground apparatus to the delight of local children, and bouldering wall challenges at Bristol Climbing Centre had teams on the tips of their toes.
Navigate, Elevate and Hydrate
Further south, more points were on offer in two mini-navigation stages: a simple “Park Orienteering� checkpoint showed teams around Windmill Hill; while in Temple Meads, competitors navigated through “The Dings� using a 19th century map for a unique “Victorian-teering� stage and had to Elevate-a-Mate to a lofty checkpoint hanging from a girder bridge over the River Avon.
Watery features included a randomly violent water fountain in Quakers Friars, a paper-boat race in Castle Park, but the “Three in a Boat� challenge in Bathhurst Basin was the most popular of the night. Teams of three splashed round a short course, crammed paddle-less onto one sit-on-top kayak. Whilst few ended up swimming, all welcomed the chance to cool off.
With no-one reaching all the controls, and with all participants bathed in sweat, the Saturday night “Mean Streets� class positions were decided, and the scene was set for a Sunday for tough racing to establish a clear winner from the “Weekenders�.
Nine2Five
With a new “Nine2Five� option for Sunday-only entries, the route-books were kept secret until the morning. Ninety minutes of map preparation and a few last words from the Directing Staff, and the teams set off on foot for a “Le Mans Start�, with a twist. Led by four Bristol Parkour Traceurs, participants stayed on their toes as the leaders split and reformed: scrambling, vaulting and running through an urban obstacle course via three essential “give-outs� to the next challenge.
SleepMonsters
