ITERA Ireland
ITERA Comes to Close
Rob Howard / 22.08.2016
ITERA Ireland finished today with the last teams getting a reward for staying out on the course for longer – the chance to race in the sunshine! Yes, the sun came out as the last few teams crossed the line in the afternoon, the very last of all being DAR Dingle.
The local team were the 9th full course team to finish, so Race Director James Thurlow almost succeeded in getting the 10 full course finishers he wanted. Given the extreme weather to have 9 teams complete the full course and a further 7 a short course was a remarkable success for the teams themselves and for the race organisation. There were another 13 non-competitive finishers and only 4 complete retirements, which is testament to the race’s determination to get as many finishers as possible.
The race wasn’t without its controversy as Godzone Mountain Hardwear’s second place was protested against by SWECO and AGDE Raid Aventure, who felt they benefitted unfairly from an overnight time out due to missing the last ferry across the Shannon Estuary. There were arguments on both sides and jury decision, made by experienced racers and volunteers, was that the result should stand as Godzone had not broken any rules, but with some reservations that it wasn’t perhaps the fairest outcome.
At tonight’s prize giving ceremony SWECO generously called up ADGE to the stage to share their 3rd place position. Nick Gracie of Godzone paid tribute to Warren Bates who completed the whole race with a fever (having been told by a doctor not to start), and all the podium teams paid tribute to the efforts of the marshal and organising team who had made the race possible.
Race winners FMR said they are a young team and hope to have more adventures around the world, and that they’d enjoyed racing closely with their French compatriots and SWECO. They added the race was worthy of Shackleton!
Sadly, James Thurlow also announced that he is stepping down from expedition race directing, at least for the near future, due to health issues which have affected him in recent years and during this difficult race. His passion for adventure racing and the expertise he has built at Open Adventure will be sorely missed and everyone at this race and on the AR World Series hopes he can soon make a return to full health and to expedition race organising.
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