RAF TEAM GET TO GRIPS WITH ADVENTURE
The water that was up to my knees now splashes over my head. My legs
kick against the current after failing to find the river bottom. I’m attempting
to tow our (now mostly deflated) inflatable kayak upstream while my team
mates keep us moving in a straight line. Another boat scythes past us
having reached the checkpoint to return downstream, giving us a laugh and
a comment: ‘Pilots, are you?’ An Army team, of course. I lose my temper
and drag myself back in to the boat. I console myself with the thought that
at least we’re not wading through a frozen lake like last time....
Adventure Racing has been
around for quite a few years,
mainly in the US and Europe,
and mainly aimed at only the
fittest of athletes from other
sports like fell running, mountain
biking and orienteering. Over the
last couple of years however,
along with Triathlon, it has
started to become much more
mainstream. The event described
below is sponsored by Helly
Hansen and For Goodness Shakes
(also currently sponsoring RAF
Triathlon), and is aimed at all
standards of competitor. The
winners will take about 2 and
a half hours to complete the
course; those finishing last,
closer to 6, with up to 300
teams of 3 men and women
competing.
We start off with a 2 mile ‘jog’
to warm up which, with narrow
tracks ahead, means a flat out
sprint if you don’t want to get
caught behind the slower teams.
Having won the final race of last
season, this isn’t an option for us.
We come into transition to pick
up our bikes in 4th place, behind
3 of the sponsored teams - we
leave ahead of two of them as
they stop to put on their shoe
cleats. Having your feet attached
to your pedals gives you more
power, but I know I’ll be pushing
my bike up some of the more
technical sections so I prefer to
ride in my running shoes. Plus,
we have a high crash average
so it’s safer this way! Our team
has a strict ‘single-file’ policy
on the bikes after it all got a
bit too competitive on a fast
descent a few months back
which resulted in broken bikes
and early retirement
If one team member has a
problem it affects all of us. Of
course, this means we have to
12
www.rafactive.co.uk
www.rafactive.co.uk
communicate constantly and
effectively when it comes to
terrain hazards. Unfortunately
today is not our day as Granty
fails to emerge from a steep
sided gully. I hear a sheepish
‘umm...fellas...’ as he emerges
with his front wheel shaped like
a taco shell. Somehow his bike
is still rideable, and we limp to
the next transition area. A hilly
and rather painful 4 mile run
leads us to a large pile of paddles
and inflatable boats. We pick
carefully, finding one with a fully
inflated bottom so we won’t
have any steering problems. Half
a mile up stream, the current
takes us in to a particularly sharp
tree and we begin to sink...things
aren’t going well. I jump out to
tow the boat through the fairly
shallow water...
Having somehow made
it to the checkpoint in one
piece, the current carries us
RACING
By Flt Lt Ben Lonsdale
back downstream without the
kayak completely submerging,
and we stagger back through
a cow-trodden field towards
the hilly run back to our bikes.
Team work comes in to play
again as the 20 minute sit in
the kayak has left 1 (unnamed!)
team member barely able to jog.
We literally push him the final
2 miles to the final leg. There
are no hard feelings - we’ve
all been there too many times
before and experienced that
feeling of running on empty.
Only constant physical and
moral support (and a fruit and
nut bar begged from a spectator)
will get us back ahead of the
chasing pack.
Cruelly, the return bike route,
while shorter, takes us downhill
past the finish for another 500
metres before bringing us up
a technical climb to the final
transition. We drop the bikes
on the run and head for the
final challenges. One of the
sponsored teams is close behind,
having lost one team member
to a broken wrist during the
bike, but this is where we come
in to our own. We jump on to a
www.rafactive.co.uk
submit your article using www.rafactive.co.uk
pair of planks, sliding our feet
through the rope loops and set
off round the ‘ski’ course a la
Force Development. We shoot
ahead (after only once falling
flat on our faces in front of the
photographer), finally crawling
under a cargo net and over a
greased wooden slide to finish
5th place from 140 teams.
Result!
Adventure Racing can combine
trail running, mountain biking,
orienteering, kayaking, climbing
and abseiling, mountaineering,
and just about any other ‘ing’
you can think of, and most
events are open to all standards.
It suits the flexibility, fitness and
team skills of RAF personnel
down to the ground; Its also
great fun! So if you’re struggling
to stay fit or motivated over the
winter, this could be the way
forward. For further information
on Adventure Racing, please
contact Flt Lt Ben Lonsdale
(PTS-MTF-Synd3 or 95461
7041), check out the ‘RAF Race’
Facebook group.
Edited by Sqn Ldr Leigh
Posthumus
13