This race was my first adventure race & I must say I think I have caught the bug.
I really didn't know what to expect & I really didn't think I would be laughing so much about it.
But here goes this is what happened.
Once again I was very lucky to be competing for Team Buff Uk & originally we were competing in a ladies team of 3 but due to circumstances out of our control we were down to a Duo or as Team Buff uk called us a lovely dynamic duo . So who am I competing with ??
My best buddy Heather & it was a great pairing I mayhave the strength in the running stages , but we are both very similar on the mountain bikes & Heather is a super kayaker so we make a great pair & we are both mad & both tough as hell.
The race was been held at Cannock Chase which is a lovely beautiful venue only 10 mins car ride from my house.
The morning of the race was quite damp under foot & we were both looking forward to the muddy bike course & trying out our new HOPE F20 pedals www.hopetech.com & I'm sure nobody else has team pedals like ours .
Just in case you can't see we both have one pink Pedal & one Blue pedal ( team kit )
So what's the adventure race then ?
Well it's off road running , mountain biking , kayaking & a mini assault course.
I'm not brilliant in water so I wasn't really looking forward to that stage but we will come back to that later.
The race started at 10 am & the first section was a 5 k run , we started at a good speed & relaxed into the first leg making sure we didn't go to fast for the other stages.The course was a good mixture of tracks ,mud & a few hills too.
Next was the Long section MTb stage approx 20/25k & I knew we would enjoy this stage as we are both pretty mad when it comes to mountain biking & we do tend to go quite fast , I'm not convinced the other mountain bikers were expecting a rendition of I'm the king of the jungle through the tree section ( but I blame Heather ) as she started it & before anyone says were we taking this race serious (hell yes we were ) but you can still enjoy yourselves correct !!
I'm happy to say we passed a good few mens teams on the biking stage & we knew we were up there in the women's teams too .
Next was a 3k run down to the kayaking stage.
Now this was the stage I was least looking forward too , but in all fairness I think we did brilliant ,
Each team was given a inflatable kayak & 2 paddles & the all important life jackets !!!
Of course on this stage Heather was in charge & I was told to sit behind & leave her to it !! No that was never going to happen & we worked really well together with me copying the paddle strokes until about half way into the lake where I had cramp develop in my hips & I decided to lie in the kayak for a moment in pain ( Heather told me I sounded like a squawking tropical bird ) charming hey but come on it was painful lol.
A stretch & a few seconds later I was back paddling away , we were doing really well & we couldn't help laughing at a Team of 3 women who hadn't got a clue going around in circles. ( I'm sure they would still be there now if the rescue kayak hadn't gone out to them.
Anyhow I really must thank Heather with the kayaking and her steering was spot on and we passed quite a few teams on this section & mainly because I didn't fall in .
So once we were out of the water we had a 3k run back to the transition area for the last MTb section .
We literally had time for a quick drink and then it was back around a 5k technical biking section before we had the little assault course section which consisted of the following
Wooden Ski's these were great fun & between me muttering left right left and basically driving Heather mad we got into a great rthymn.
Then it was a very short 50metre sprint to the cargo net
I really wasn't liking the look of this so sent Heather in first lol,
The net was really heavy & I'm not too keen in been in enclosed spaces so I was really pleased to be following & luckily Heather held it up for me at the end.
This was also where my Buff got turned into a bizarre shape & I resembled a smurf for the last obstacle.
The only thing I can say about the greased up A frame is I've never laughed so much in all my life.
I think it took me four attempts to get to the top as it was so slippy & then trying to pull Heather up well it was like a comedy double act .( please note everyone struggled up this but when there are only 2 of you it's very difficult)
Me desperately trying to drag Heather up the greasy A frame .
Finally getting on the top .
All we had left to do now was slide down the other side to the finish.
Job done & our first Adventure race completed & we actually came in as 1st Female pair & 2nd Female team in a great time of 2hours 42 mins.
Yes okay I do look a little bit like a smurf in this photo & Heather your hair is fetching too lol, but all in all we had a brilliant entertaining race & it was great to race and represent Team Buff uk.
Once again I must thank www.buffwear.com & www.Sueme.com for all your amazing support in 2013 & I look forward to been part of a amazing team hopefully in 2014.
