The first race of the year is over, although we should use the word race lightly as this weekend was more about having a focal point for early training or an excuse to meet up and have a few beers. So Team Iceds converged on Brockenhurst on Friday afternoon, pitched camp, well Sean and Fi did, and then repaired to the Forester’s Arms to discuss race strategy and work out just how early we had to be up on the morning, which was quite early as the race briefing was scheduled for 08.45. With that in mind, we retired back to the campsite just after 10 and so didn’t complain too much when Fi started breakfast at 7.30.
Getting to the race start was simple enough and we had plenty of time before our scheduled 10.10 start to plan our route, Somehow though the time slipped away. Fi took against her bike, which is made from the same depleted star material that Sean’s previous bike was and decided to rent one for the day, so leaving Sean to plot, Fi and I hit the bike shop. Then the hire shop. Then the newsagents for Mars Bars. Then to the bike shop for tyreweld and a new bladder for a Camelbak. Then another trip to the bike shop to try and locate a misplaced helmet (mine) and then finally a dash to the hire shop where I had actually left my helmet. We made it to the start with about thirty seconds to spare and set off.
The format for the race is simple. Each team is given a tag that they must use to check-in at various points, for this particular race you must start and finish on bikes with a running stage sandwiched between. You can do as many check points on bike or foot as you like, but you must do a minimum of one on foot and one on bike. If you hit a bike point on foot, or vice versa, you get penalised. You have five hours to do as many stages as possible and again get penalised for getting back late.Basically it’s orienteering with some mountain biking thrown in. Simples.
To make it slightly easier, you get your race pack with map well before you start so that you can plan your route in advance. It’s made trickier as when you start you get a piece of paper telling you what the points value of each check point is worth and which points don’t actually exist. I’m sure that if you’re taking this sort of thing seriously this would matter. As we’re just out for the run this didn’t matter too much for us. Though it was a tad annoying when Sean took us to a point that didn’t exist.
We set off keenly on the bikes, heading down a bridle path, where I almost immediately ran into trouble. The last time we did this event, all the cycling was done on cinder paths and I foolishly thought that my hybrid commuting tyres would be fine. I was wrong. This time we were’ doing semi-serious off road and I spent a lot of time going sideways. Somehow, though I don’t know how, I didn’t fall off, though both Sean and Fi did. Once we got off away from the mud and onto harder cycle tracks we picked up speed and managed to do about eight or so check points in two hours before transitioning to foot.
The running bit went fairly well, we hit seven check points and would have done better if we’d actually ran. We mainly didn’t run because the rain in the week before the race had made the going rather soft under foot and we thought not getting a twisted ankle would be a very good idea. With about 50 minutes ago, we got back on the bikes, picked up three more check points and made it back with about eight minutes to spare. Even managing a jog to the finish.
All in all we cleared almost 400 points and ended up in 26th place, which is exactly where we came last time. Nice to see that we’ve improved so much. The best news is that no-one broke anything, my idiotic knee didn’t kick in and Fi will have a new bike made of fairy spit and angel hairs by the time we do anything similar.
As true athletes we immediately embarked on a post-mortem, back down the Forester’s, and decided that chunky tyres all round would be needed for the next duel event, and that chunky footwear might also be the way forward. Although how much that will help in ankle deep mud remains to be seen. Another vital lesson was don’t buy congenial stranger’s a pint and then expect them not to want to reciprocate, particularly if they are Irish.
All in all we ran about four miles and cycled about 17. Actually we cycled more like 20 after trips to and from the pub post-race are included. If I include my various trips to and from the shops I can probably add on another couple. Most of it was off road and it was mainly bloody knackering.
Fun though.
