Red Bull Northern Exposure
The last team are back
Rob / 16.04.2002
As the final evening sunlight caught the Northern Corries Team Ratho Quarry came into the finish, running up hill towards the lodge. (The finish had now moved again.) They even managed a good sprint and were all smiling and happy to have made it.
Kate Cullen managed to keep a straight face as she told the TV cameras “I’m not too tired and haven’t had a hard time at all, I didn’t know what the others were moaning about.� The interviewer seemed to take her seriously! Ruth Martin was in the disbelieving stage. “I just can’t believe we’ve done it. You do the first bit trying not to think about 72 hours, then the next bit, and so on. I’ve done things in this race I’d never have thought of doing. You just get on with it.�
Not surprisingly Thor Egerton thought it was the toughest thing he’d ever done, and said he was going back to swimming! He continued, “You see TV coverage of guys doing the Eco Challenge or Raid Gauloises, and they do some really crazy stuff, but here we are. As a first experience of adventure racing it’s been great.� Rob Priestley added, “It’s the team work that counts, we all needed each other. I had some real low points, like this morning at about 3am on the bike when my feet were like blocks of ice. On my own I’d have stopped.�
Almost all the finishers on this final afternoon are all new to AR, and it’s a credit to the organisers that they’ve adopted common sense rules, allowing medical assistance and the use of radios to get advice, and doing all they could to keep as many racers going as possible. The volunteers too have played a crucial part, always helping and encouraging.
Everyone involved will get together tonight for the race party. A huge marquee has been filled with sand and the invites are to the Glenmore Lodge Beach Party ……
SleepMonsters
