The Rat Race LONDON Urban Adventure Race
Capitol Punishment
Dave Spence (Team Accelerate) / 28.09.2010
Four weeks on from the adidas Terrex race, the London Rat Race seemed a great opportunity to test the state of our recovery and have a fun weekend's "speed signtseeing" in the centre of London.
About 900 people turned out across the Saturday, Sunday and Weekend categories of the race, from serious Adventure Racers to first timers and two rather sore looking blokes in mankinis!
The Saturday evening stage is a 2.5 hour run around checkpoints and activity controls around the city centre, with navigation on an A-to-Z map and the control locations given out 90 minutes before the start (but with control values picked up after starting). With 26 controls mainly spread west and north of the start and limited opening times on the controls nearest the start/finish, we plotted out a two loop plan that we thought we might be able to clear in the time available.
Running hard off the start line, and checking only that there were no dummy controls, we headed south and then west, picking up 5 controls and completing the first activity control, a scramble net at the Imperial War Museum, before crossing the river at Waterloo. We headed west to Saville Row to find a suited Nick Gracie and then north beyond King's Cross demonstrating on the way that karaoke and busking don't feature highly in our training. Heading back south towards the river with half the time gone it was time for the first tactical decision and we dropped one of the three 5 point controls to be able to make it back to the start area controls before they closed.
Over the Millennium bridge after pool, bar football and circuit training stops and we were back near the start with a half marathon and 17 controls behind us, 45 minutes to go and legs that were starting to remind us how long it was since we'd run this fast for this long on concrete (and that 4 weeks maybe isn't a lot of time to recover after an expedition race).
A climbing wall traverse, a roll through some fountains and a "bouncy castle" obstacle and we were heading back north over Tower Bridge, stopping for John and Caz to beat the cramp in my calves into submission before a last loop through the City of London.
Grateful for Caz's skill with a golf club at the driving range (one day we'll find a sport she's no good at but we've always failed so far), it was a final sprint (OK, fast jog) to the line to finish with a minute to spare and 445 points out of a maximum 450. Team Barry were closest behind in the male pairs on 440 with ASM chasing in the mixed team class on 395.
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