The adidas Terrex Adventure Race
Across the Bay
Rob Howard / 27.08.2010
Before the 06.30 deadline the buses carrying competitors arrived, which was a relief to the organisers as any hitch with their journey would be disastrous for their timings to cross the bay. Course Director Bruce Duncan had set off at first light to run out onto the bay to check for himself that the route markers were in place and he could follow them. These were laurel twigs set into the sand by the Guide and his team and they lead along the coast towards Silverdale before turning back west towards Humphrey Head where the first checkpoint was located.
This was big dog leg and naturally, being racers, the teams were looking at the more direct route right across the bay, but they were given stern instructions to stick to the marked route. Duncan pointed out a nearby land rover, its roof just sticking out above the sands as evidence of the dangerous nature of the sands. (Many vehicles are lost each year, mostly the tractors used by cockle pickers and these can disappear from view in a matter of weeks.)
The view out across the sands was extensive as it was a perfect, sunny day, with just a few clouds in the sky. Across the bay the Lakeland fells were all clearly visible and the sands, pools and channels shimmered in the morning light. They hills looked deceptively close but it was a false perspective and as teams ran towards them they would draw nearer only slowly.
Had a westerly storm been blowing, as often happens, this could have been a miserable start location, or caused the stage to be cancelled altogether due to the wind pushing up the already high tide. (The racers will have a full moon tonight.) But luck was on the side of Terrex today and there was an upbeat mood on the start line as teams enjoyed the location and anticipated the crossing and the race ahead of them.
There was not too much of a rush for teams to make final adjustments , register their Sportident cards and receive their trackers, which are much smaller than units used in the UK in the past. At 07.15 the countdown was complete and the race got underway with a long line of racers stretching out into the distance. For the spectators and media it looked more like a desert race in some respects, but there is still plenty of water on the sands and teams had to splash through pools and wade some waist deep channels, one of which was very fast flowing and needed some care.
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