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The Course

Rob Howard / 26.08.2010

So, what is the route, for the first adidas Terrex Adventure Race? The full distance is estimated at 400km and takes place within the Lake District National Park. The stages are as follows: (no official distances are given as teams can take their own route and no controls are mandatory, but some estimates are included).

The race begins with a prologue in Keswick which is a short 4 leg relay including street orienteering, running, run and swim, and run and bike. This is expected to take less than an hour for the winners and time differences will be multiplied by 3 and carried on to the full race to be served out at the first transition.

<b>Stage 1;</b> Run across the sands of Morecambe Bay to Holker Hall. A unique opportunity to race cross the dangerous shifting sands of the bay. Distance estimate 24km.

<b>Stage 2;</b>Mountain Biking in the Western Lake District (11okm). There are three special challenges within this stage. The first is Orienteering over a 5.5km course with 400m of ascent and 8 controls. Any missed have a penalty of 20 minutes. The second is a canyon scramble and jump in Church Beck and the third a mountain bike orienteering course over 13km with 500m of ascent.

<b>Stage 3;</b>Kayaking the length of Coniston Water. This will be during the night and the transition closes 4am on Saturday.

<b>Stage 4;</b>Trekking. 4 to 5 hours from Coniston Water to reach the YMCA Lakeside where there are tents erected and tea and toast waiting.

<b>Stage 5;</b>Kayaking. A much longer kayaking stage, this time on the UK’s largest lake, Lake Windermere. The route takes teams almost twice the length of the lake as they head south, then north to the top of the lake, then back down again to the Windermere ferry. This is an obvious short cut option for teams not taking on the full route but there is no point arriving before 06.30 as they have to take the public ferry across the lake and it does not open until then. Also the lead teams are not expected until a couple of hours later and any other waiting teams cannot leave ahead of them.

<b>Stage 6;</b> Mountain Biking. A short linking stage to get team s into the Langdale Valley

<b>Stage 7;</b> Mountain Trekking. This is a 16 hour trek through the central Lake District, crossing many of its famous peaks. There is a rock scramble at the start of the stage and a jumar ascent up Eskdale Buttress.

<b>Stage 8</b> Mountain Biking (7 to 9 hours). This includes some hike-a-bike onto the high fells and a long descent along the High Street ridge. The route takes teams to the northern end of Ulswater.

<b>Stage 9</b> Kayaking on Ullswater. Teams paddle the full length of the lake to Patterdale.

<b>Stage 10</b> A long and testing trek over the Helvelyn range, mostly on exposed ridges. Estimated distance 21Km.

<b>Stage 11</b> Mountain biking (75km). For the leaders this is likely to be a night time ride to the finish line.

<b>Stage 12</b> The final stage for those still with sufficient time to undertake it. The stage starts with a 1.5km orienteering stage with 12 controls, each carrying a 20 minute penalty if missed, the a canoe orienteering stage on Derwent Water. Checkpoints must be done in order and this final stage will test the concentration and navigation of the tired teams.

The race finishes at Keswick Moot Hall in the centre of town.

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