Day 4 - To the Finish

Charlotte Hattersley / 27.08.2013

It was 4.30am when the first team left the final day's start in Northallerton - it was dark, and quiet - except for the fire engine sirens to empty the already empty streets - they also provided a wake up call for some competitors.

The first leg was a swift ride to Swainby, along mainly quiet roads. The sunrise rewarded the early racers, although a minor disaster was averted when it was recognised that camera & photographer were in separate places as he stopped to photograph riders heading towards the sunrise. Team Total Adventure also had a small nightmare, as they forgot the rucksack which contained their tracker, and so had a penalty of 10% of their stage time added for this leg.

A steep descent into Swainby thankfully didn't catch anyone out, (including the racer who managed to avoid it by coming in from the north), and competitors transitioned to the run over Carlton Bank & Clay Bank. King of the Mountains was the ascent of Carlton Bank, and won by Family Duncan - Haglofs with an impressive lead of 5 minutes over next placed adidas TERREX Prunesco.

Meeting racers as they descended Carlton Bank, then general consensus was that the views were stunning - lots of happy faces today, although that was perhaps part relief that the end was in sight.

Clay Bank was the transition from foot to mountain bike, followed by free route choice to Whitby. Once again navigation skills became crucial, as riders trackers demonstrated some interesting choices - even straight out of the transition. Again the weather was stunning, with the sun being strong, although one rider did comment, "It's too (insert appropriate adjective) hot! - and why do I have to work so hard?"

Punctures were the order of the day for Wayne Elliott, who opted for a cyclo-cross bike for the race, swapping road & off-road wheels according to the stage. Slick tube changing skills meant he didn't lose too much time, but he definitely gained frustration.

And so to Caedmon School in Whitby, which most competitors chose to access via the Cinder Track, a cycle route which runs from Whitby to Scarborough, and usually sees more sedate riding than it did today. Transition teams had a luxurious time, with cafe, toilets, and picnics on the school playing field. This was the site of the second tracker being left behind - Chris Hope of adidas TERREX Prunesco making a swift return to collect it from Tom Gibbs who had ridden the previous stage.

The teams & solos ran along the coastal path to Whitby, which was scenic and very warm - and competitors needed the traditional dip in the sea in order to cool down afterwards.

Racers were welcomed in by a growing crowd of supporters, and were cheered over the line as they "dibbed" for the final time and received their medals. Comments which have been repeatedly made by newcomers to the UK adventure racing scene are that everyone is so friendly, and the finish was evidence of this, as the teams who were in early waited to cheer in their rivals & fellow-racers.

Anthony Emmet, at the prize-giving, paid tribute both to support team, without whom the race would not be possible, and also the friendly, social nature of the race, despite it's competitiveness, as, with the reverse order starts, "you see everyone" along the route.

Mark Birkett was the final male solo racer home - two years ago he watched the previous Coast to Coast race, and decided he wanted to compete himself, despite never having done anything like this. Despite some navigational errors, and a hard race, he made it home to huge cheers, and a few tears. Mark was raising money for Diabetes UK (http://81.19.63.6/Mark-Birkett).

And final female solo home was Helen Leigh - who definitely demonstrated endurance & sheer determination, following her crash coming into Kirkby Stephen. Numerous bandages & dressings not withstanding, she completed the course and refused to give in.

And the results? The full details for the analysts among you can be found here http://live.openadventure.com/results/index.html.

The winner of the team category was adidas TERREX Prunesco, in a total of 21 hours, 26 minutes. They were over two hours ahead of second placed For Goodness Shakes!, who were just 20 minutes ahead of third placed Total Adventure - despite the tracker penalty as previously mentioned.

Anthony Emmet won the male solo category, in 22 hours 43 minutes, followed by Steve Fisher in 23 hours 27 minutes. Ken Maynard was third, in 26hours 55 minutes.

And although Sally Ozanne has led the female solos from the front throughout, there was some jostling for position behind her over the four days. However, the final placings were Sally Ozanne, 25 hours 25 minutes, Clare Dallimore 28 hours 28 minutes, and Sarah Davies, 29 hours 59 minutes - only 33 seconds ahead of 4th placed Sue Fisher.

Sue and husband Steve, second in the male solos, have raced in every edition of the Coast to Coast Race, including the test edition 5 years ago. In 2009, they ran a relay, swapping care of their son Arthur at each transition. In 2011, they repeated the relay, but along with toddler Arthur were the twins Robyn & Stanley. This left them with "unfinished business" and so they have returned to race once more as solos (thanks to, as Sue described it "Team Granny").

Photographs, tracker routes, and full results are available on live.openadventure.com. Come and join the conversation on www.facebook.com/openadventure. And we hope to see you again at another race.

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