ITERA - Presented by Open Adventure
A Journey Through Wales at ITERA
Gary Davies (Team Endurancelife) / 10.12.2014
In August 2014, Team Endurancelife competed in the ITERA Adventure Race, the UK round of the Adventure Racing World Series. The course planner was no other than 2009 AR World Champion Tom Gibbs.
The Team
Ben Turner and I decided to team up together for the first time for a multi-day expedition race; the ITERA in my home country of Wales. Others from within the Endurancelife squad were unable to race in the ITERA race due to other commitments so we started scratching our heads on who we could recruit from outside the squad to race with us. We were quick to secure Phil Scarf’s services who we recognised as a strong dependable athlete over long distances. We later secured Outi Kamarainen as the team’s female member after a strong recommendation by Phil and a very tough weekend training session in the Lake District which proved she had both the mental and physical ability to finish a multi-day expedition race; albeit it was going to be her longest race by far.
As the foursome had never raced together in a multi-day race before, expectations before the race were realistic. Were we top 10 contenders or were we mid-table candidates - who knew? Only time would tell.
Team preparation
In the few weeks leading up to the race, training had gone well for all team members. However the three male members aggravated some parts of their anatomy with over-use injuries. I had to take a fortnight off training and have frequent visits to the physiotherapist (plus icing twice daily) to give a quad tendon a fighting chance of healing. Ben had a sore left ITB and Phil had a stiff Achilles. Not a great start!
Prologue
The prologue was located in Cardiff and included a 10km run and two laps of the International White Water Centre in Cardiff Bay. The team recognised that short stages & high speed was not our strength so we ran the course within our limits. That’s not to say that we didn’t feel tight quads and hamstrings for up to 2 days afterwards!
Day 1 (Monday)
The race started in Caernarfon Castle with a short run and then a paddle through the Menai Straits. Due to high winds the race organisers had to shorten the paddle stage with a take-out at Bangor instead of Conwy. We took to our mountain bikes and cycled to Conwy along the North Wales Path. We did a short orienteering stage in Conwy Castle and then headed to Bethesda where we zipped down the longest zip line in Europe. It wasn’t as scary as a bungee jump.
From Zip World we cycled to Llyn Ogwen and had to disassemble our mountain bikes, pack them away in boxes and prepare for a long trek stage. We ascended Tryfan, then Glyder Fawr and descended to Pen y Pass before nightfall. We made a small navigation error leading to Glyder Fawr but soon forgot about it. The checkpoint on Crib Goch was removed by the organisers due to the high winds so we had a choice between the Pyg Track and the Miner’s Track. We chose the Miner’s Track and arrived on Snowdon around midnight which was very blustery.
Day 2 (Tuesday)
We continued on foot in the dark to the next checkpoint on Yr Aran with some great navigation by Phil Scarf. We then descended to Beddgelert and passed through Nantmor before our ascent to the summit of Cnicht. I did the Cnicht race a few years ago so I knew what to expect. We made a minor navigation error on the ridge but soon corrected it and got to the summit. The next checkpoint was on Moelwyn Mawr and we decided on the shorter route between the two but this involved a big descent to the Croesor Valley floor and then back up then other side. In hindsight we probably should have gone round. The final leg of this long trek stage was to Maentwrog in the Dwyrod valley. We’d been on our feet for 14 hours and trekked 41km with 3500m ascent, the majority of which was through the night.
The next stage was a paddle on the Afon Dwyryd to Portmeirion. The lower reaches of the river were tidal so we had to decide when best to go. We stopped for about an hour to restock on supplies and then decided to head off before high tide. This enabled us to paddle on deeper water and avoid the sand banks however it did mean that we were fighting the tide and also a strong headwind. So we had to paddle very close to the banks to make any form of progress. To warm the cockles we decided to stop at the Builder’s Cafe at the Pont Briwet construction site where we had warm soup. It was a great call because we left there full of energy and with good spirits in tough conditions to Port Meirion, where we did another short orienteering section through the Portmeirion estate.
The race had intended to continue in a kayak along the coastline to Barmouth but the winds were still too high. So we crossed the estuary from Portmeirion to Llechollwyn and assembled our mountain bikes for a journey to Barmouth.
The next stage was another long trek stage through the night. We ascended Cadair Idris in daylight. I brought some of Dawn’s home-made fruit cake with us which went down very well. I was interviewed by the media crew in both English and Welsh too. The next section to Foel Ddu was in the dark. The checkpoint description was marked on a wall with the description “indistinct wall”. It took a very long time to find this and it was made even more difficult as another team had hidden it beneath a rock. L
Day 3 (Wednesday)
We had yet to sleep during the race apart from a 30 minute nap at Portmeirion and had planned to find some shelter somewhere near Abergynolwyn. We found a farm shed during the early hours of the morning and crept inside trying not to wake the occupants of the nearby farmhouse. The shed had insulation boards which we used as mattresses and got 2 hours of shuteye in our sleeping bags which we’d carried with us.
Feeling fresh we passed through Abergynolwyn and climbed Tarrenhendre in the dark then ascended an unnamed peak after sunrise in the rain. The 40km long trek stage with 2500m ascent concluded with a descent to Machynlleth where we had to pitch the tent and sit in it for 10 minutes to demonstrate to the organisers that we’d complied with the kit requirements. We grabbed some food, assembled our bikes and headed out on the longest stage of the race which was 210km long with 4000m ascent. We headed over towards Nant-y-Moch Reservoir and followed the Syfydrin Trail picking up checkpoints along the route. The weather turned wet and cold during this part of the race and my team mate Ben had lost his waterproof coat which was of great concern. So we hoped that we would come across a shop where we might be able to buy one. Unfortunately, the Trail Centre didn’t sell clothing. We continued to Devil’s Bridge where we had to run down to the arch bridge to collect a checkpoint.
We made some enquiries at a shop in Devil’s Bridge and bought a yellow raincape for Ben. Hardly breathable but at least it would keep the rain out!
We continued to Cwmystwyth and through the beautiful Elan Valley to the Visitor Centre where we had to get off the bikes and do a 12km orienteering stage. We returned to the Visitor Centre and decided to eat a hot meal and grab about 2 hours sleep before heading out just before midnight.
Day 4 (Thursday)
This was the most memorable day of the race for me as we endured some tough weather conditions but managed to keep moving along the long course. Many teams decided to drop some checkpoints and were therefore “short coursed.”
The day started with a ride during the early hours in darkness beside Caban Coch and Claerwen Reservoirs to a checkpoint in Strata Florida. The rain was heavy and cold and we had to cross the upper reaches of the Tywi River 17 times in Tywi Forest. The stream was in spate and turned into a fast flowing deep river which made crossings very difficult, particularly with a bike. We were almost washed away on several occasions in crossings where the water level was above our waists. We had to lift the bikes above our heads and carefully sidestep along the rough river bed. A Dutch team were racing beside us and refused to help their female team mate across one of the trickier sections so one of our team mates helped.
We joined the main road not too far from Devil’s Staircase just north of Llyn Brianne. It was still dark and all of us were saturated and very cold. Some team members wanted to drop the next checkpoint and head to Llanwrtyd Wells to try and warm up but I managed to convince them to continue. Both Phil and Outi were suffering from mild hypothermia at this point; Phil had gone very quiet and Outi said she was very cold. So we climbed a steep hill to try and warm up but this failed because all our clothes were wet. So I decided to get off our bikes and do some exercises including burpees and arm swings. These seemed to work. We managed to warm up Phil with lots of hugging and we managed to find some dry clothes for Outi, so we stripped her down and changed her clothes. This worked too. The next problem was that there was a very steep descent on road which would of course cool them down further so we decided to go down slowly.
Both Phil and Outi came to life on the ascent through farm fields near Pen Y Gyrnos and into the Doethie Valley. We continued across the Llyn Brianne dam and had to do a long hike-a-bike up a common, then push our bikes through deep ferns before arriving at Abergwesyn. We rolled into Llanwrtyd Wells and decided to stop at a cafe to grab some hot food. We bumped into another team which had short coursed due to the inclement weather. We were also on the tails of another British team who we seemed to exchange places at regular intervals.
At this point we knew that we were in the top five to ten teams in the race and we were motivated to keep racing as best we could.
We continued to Builth Wells and then onwards to Glasbury where we were glad to exchange a saddle for a sit on top kayak. We kayaked down the Wye River to Hay on Wye where we used a historic map to orienteer around the town. We then jumped back in the kayaks and headed down the Wye to complete the 30km paddle section in Bredwardine. We were very tired at this point and pulling the heavy kayaks up the steep banks and to the trailers was hard work.
The next section (Stage 8) traversed the Black Mountains to Talybont on Usk. We crossed back into Wales after a tricky section in New House Wood where the trails didn’t seem to match the map. We hit the road on the western side of the wood and it took us a while to work out exactly where we were.
There was a lot of route choice on this stage including shorter more direct trails with less ascent/descent or longer road routes with more climb. We chose to ride a section of the Three Rivers Ride (in the dark) which was more direct route between two checkpoints but this turned out to be a very muddy slow and rocky trail. I won’t be riding that again!
We were all very tired by this point having had only 4-5 hours sleep. One of the funniest moments for me was when Phil Scarf kept questioning Ben’s navigation persistently. I remember thinking that I would have punched Phil if I was navigating at the time but Ben handled the situation well as he always does.
Day 5 (Friday)
We arrived in Talybont Village Hall just after midnight and decided to sleep before the long trek stage. We got 1.5 hours sleep in the tent and managed to eat some hot freeze dried meals. Outi was in considerable pain by this stage as her feet had deteriorated significantly. Ben decided to take some time and tape up her feet to enable her to continue the next stage.
We left the Village Hall at 4am and headed towards my favourite cairn in the Brecon Beacons which is Carn Pica. I knew this area of the Brecon Beacons like the back of my hand so I led the navigation on this section; not that I needed to use the map much!
I took the racing lines over to Cribyn in the mist and ascended Pen y Fan. As we arrived in Pont ar Daf, a burger van had just opened and served us some tea and breakfast baps. Mmmm! We then continued to Fan Fawr and then down to Ystradfellte Reservoir. Outi was in considerable pain at this point and was struggling to walk. It dawned on us that we were no longer able to “race” head to head with the other teams in similar positions. Our new focus was to get Outi to the finish line, preferably on the long course. So we resorted to various motivational and persuasive techniques to keep Outi moving.
We trekked down the Afon Dringarth valley to Cwm Porth where we had to complete a short caving section where the river goes below ground. Luckily the water levels weren’t that high and didn’t go above my groin! However it wasn’t easy as the cave was very low in height.
We then continued down the valley to collect checkpoints at two waterfalls including Sgwd yr Eira which was very busy with people. We then headed to Pontneddfechan for the final transition of the race.
Outi’s feet were causing her significant pain so we decided to sit her down next to the medic to see to her feet and do everything else for her like assemble her bike, get her foot and clothes etc. We left the transition after 5pm for the 75km ride to Cardiff.
I had anticipated that we would arrive in Cardiff before midnight but oh boy was I wrong!
We ascended on a trail parallel to the Rhigos road and had to pick up some checkpoints on the Skyline Trail. We then headed south-east on Sustrans route 47 which was far rougher than I had remembered. This wasn’t good for Outi’s feet and she had to endure some more pain even when she was on the bike.
Navigating the Sustrans Route to Llanwonno and Ynysybwl in the dark was harder than I had anticipated with several forks on the route. In Ynysybwl I got totally disorientated and actually did a full loop of a housing estate! A few other teams did the same. The route to Pontypridd wasn’t easy to navigate in a sleep deprived state either.
We arrived in Pontypridd and I thought it would be a doddle to cycle to Cardiff Bay from here as I had done it several times. However the Taff Trail through the park was closed in Pontypridd and the race organiser had made it clear that we weren’t allowed to use any A or B roads. So we were going around in circles in Pontypridd trying to find a way to rejoin the Taff Trail on the other side without using main roads! We managed it in the end.
Our pace dropped significantly after Pontypridd because of the tiredness. In hindsight we probably should have had a quick sleep somewhere to rejuvenate which would have enabled us to move faster. However we continued very slowly to Castell Coch and then to Penarth Marina, over the Barrage and to the finish near the WMC, Cardiff Bay at 2am on Saturday.
We finished in 6th position overall and were only 6 of 36 teams to complete the full course. I must admit that I shed a tear when I crossed the finish line. I was delighted with our team performance and very proud of Outi in particular to continue pushing her aching body to finish. My wife Dawn was there to greet me as was Tom Gibbs and James Thurlow to congratulate us all.
I’ve had plenty of time to reflect on the race and can honestly say that we exceeded expectations and competed on a level footing with some very good international AR teams. Each team member contributed significantly to the performance and management of both themselves and others which was a pleasure to be part of. I was proud to be captain of such a great team.
I would like to express my sincerest thanks to our supporters including Endurancelife, Montane, CLIF Bar and 2XU. Team Endurancelife would also like to express their thanks to the race organisers, support team, volunteers and our friends and family. You all enrich our lives.
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