Friday, May 25, 2007
All is Revealed!
25 May, 1552hrs GMT – Nevis Center, Fort William, Scotland
The race briefing for the 2007 edition of the Adventure Racing World Championship (ARWC) has just finished. It has revealed an arduous course through the rugged western landscape of Scotland. With air temperatures ranging anywhere from 15 to -10 degrees Celsius; the waters of the rivers, lochs, and the North Sea at around 4 to 9 degrees Celsius; perpetually saturated soil; and with generally wet weather (including snow and sleet on the higher slopes) driven by high winds – Scotland is not the place to be ill-prepared, whether physically, mentally, or equipment-wise.
The race opens with a prologue section on the Isle of Rum incorporating a 700 metre swim and a 26 km trek, before camping overnight at a sheltered bay on the island’s north shore.
The first leg of the race proper involves a massive 65 km paddle from Rum to the mainland, including a micro-navigation stage on the neighbouring Isle of Eigg. Along the way, teams will paddle Loch Lohar, the deepest lake/loch in Europe.
A hike through the remote peninsula of Noydart will bring racers to the start of the first and longest bike leg of the route, a 138 km journey into the heart of the Scottish highlands. Along the way, challenges such as water jumps off cliffs, canyoning, and the Red Bull Aerial Exposure high element section, will test the nerve of participants.
Off the bikes at transition 3, two racers will swim a kilometer along the shore of the fabled Loch Ness, buddies by their team mates in an accompanying kayak. After that, a road section of Nordic walking before taking on the task of navigating some 30 kilometres through the remote mountains of the Monadhliath region, many of its peaks and ridges still blanketed with snow. The subsequent bike section includes a fairly technical but fun cross-country circuit – here, teams will be allowed to drop their bags and blaze the singletrack – before continuing on to the second major kayak leg. 60 km later, including three portages, racers will be glad to be rid of their boats as they proceed on the remaining trek and bike legs.
From transition 7, teams will traverse all the major peaks and ridges of the stunning Glen Coe, before dropping down to Loch Leven where they mount their bikes for the last time to reach the foot of Ben Nevis. As people familiar with the area may have guessed, the race then embarks on an ascent of Ben Nevis, the highest peak in the British Isles.
Finally, thankfully, mercifully – for the teams that make it this far - the race will then draw to a close with a finish in Fort William, having covered some 530 km of the best and most challenging aspects of Scotland’s rugged terrain.
Portaging efficiency will be key in this race, with an estimated 15-18 km of portaging, some of it over extremely rough ground. Snow travel is very likely, as is the possibility of encountering thick fog or mist. But it is even more obvious now that the care of feet will be critical to the success, if not survival, of all participants in this epic race.
The race briefing for the 2007 edition of the Adventure Racing World Championship (ARWC) has just finished. It has revealed an arduous course through the rugged western landscape of Scotland. With air temperatures ranging anywhere from 15 to -10 degrees Celsius; the waters of the rivers, lochs, and the North Sea at around 4 to 9 degrees Celsius; perpetually saturated soil; and with generally wet weather (including snow and sleet on the higher slopes) driven by high winds – Scotland is not the place to be ill-prepared, whether physically, mentally, or equipment-wise.
The race opens with a prologue section on the Isle of Rum incorporating a 700 metre swim and a 26 km trek, before camping overnight at a sheltered bay on the island’s north shore.
The first leg of the race proper involves a massive 65 km paddle from Rum to the mainland, including a micro-navigation stage on the neighbouring Isle of Eigg. Along the way, teams will paddle Loch Lohar, the deepest lake/loch in Europe.
A hike through the remote peninsula of Noydart will bring racers to the start of the first and longest bike leg of the route, a 138 km journey into the heart of the Scottish highlands. Along the way, challenges such as water jumps off cliffs, canyoning, and the Red Bull Aerial Exposure high element section, will test the nerve of participants.
Off the bikes at transition 3, two racers will swim a kilometer along the shore of the fabled Loch Ness, buddies by their team mates in an accompanying kayak. After that, a road section of Nordic walking before taking on the task of navigating some 30 kilometres through the remote mountains of the Monadhliath region, many of its peaks and ridges still blanketed with snow. The subsequent bike section includes a fairly technical but fun cross-country circuit – here, teams will be allowed to drop their bags and blaze the singletrack – before continuing on to the second major kayak leg. 60 km later, including three portages, racers will be glad to be rid of their boats as they proceed on the remaining trek and bike legs.
From transition 7, teams will traverse all the major peaks and ridges of the stunning Glen Coe, before dropping down to Loch Leven where they mount their bikes for the last time to reach the foot of Ben Nevis. As people familiar with the area may have guessed, the race then embarks on an ascent of Ben Nevis, the highest peak in the British Isles.
Finally, thankfully, mercifully – for the teams that make it this far - the race will then draw to a close with a finish in Fort William, having covered some 530 km of the best and most challenging aspects of Scotland’s rugged terrain.
Portaging efficiency will be key in this race, with an estimated 15-18 km of portaging, some of it over extremely rough ground. Snow travel is very likely, as is the possibility of encountering thick fog or mist. But it is even more obvious now that the care of feet will be critical to the success, if not survival, of all participants in this epic race.
