Home News Adventurous Fun in the Cotswolds

Adventurous Fun in the Cotswolds

Last Updated (Monday, 07 November 2011 21:41)

Tuesday 6 September 2011

The fifth and penultimate event in the 2011 Questars Adventure Race Series took place on Saturday in clear weather conditions.

The event was variously described by participants in their post race feedback as :

'a fantastic event - great course, great atmosphere, great people!'
'fun, challenging and very worthwhile'
'a brilliant day out. Exploring new terrain with good views - great fun.'
'fun, energetic, fulfilling, great value event'
or simply ' funtabitastic!'

At the pre-race briefing teams were welcomed and advised that they had ahead of them some great terrain to explore on foot, bike and on the water. The north Cotswold Hills, countryside and villages made for very varied terrain with a lot of off road biking and trail running and great views.

Free energy

What’s more teams were told to look out for and enjoy copious amounts of free energy boosting food liberally distributed all around the course….wonderfully plump blackberries were in every hedgerow. MuleBar again provided participants with free pre-race energy bars or energy gels.

Teams from all across the UK and further afield took part, including three from Lithuania. The weather was kind, with good conditions for adventure racing.

Those teams with early kayaking slots headed down the short route to the nearby kayak transition point. Once on the River Avon teams quickly adapted to the moving water, to locate upto six bankside checkpoints.

Splendid panoramic views

The trail run stage kept close to the river for a significant section. Riverside checkpoints drew the runners along the Avon before deciding whether to head back to base or take to the slopes of Bredon Hill in search for the highest value checkpoints. Those that did brave the heights were rewarded with splendid panoramic views.

Joe, Stephen, Hugh and Kyle of the Capita Symonds adventure Racing Team achieved the accolade of not only clearing all six kayaking checkpoints within time but also visiting all 15 trail checkpoints - quite an achievement. But this left them with time only to visit one of the biking checkpoints.

There were even more points available to the mountain bikers with checkpoints scattered over a wide area. Many teams reported that the ride up Bredon Hill was very tough but this was rewarded with exhilarating descents. Every one of the top teams took different routes when collecting the biking checkpoints. So again it goes to show that the fourth discipline of Questars events – making key strategic decisions about which checkpoints to visit, in which order and with which route - is as important as fitness, stamina, technique and transitioning quickly.

Top honours strongly contested

As ever top honours were strongly contested. Husband and wife team Dan & Lenka Straka were amazed and delighted to win the Questars Duo event. David Husband fought off strong challengers Sally and Simon, who teamed up as The Bishops Cleevage, to win the overall Questars Trio Novice event.

In the Questars Trio Masters event three of the top four places were taken by Veteran teams ie the over forties, which goes to show that a bit of experience and stamina can overcome some of the younger competitors. Kevin Stephens lived upto his team name of Hilllbilly by conquering the Cotswold Hills in some style and amassing a winning margin of over 50 points.

Feedback from participants was sought on the day's event and judging by the quotes above it was greatly enjoyed by all.

There is just one more event in the 2011 Questars Adventure Race Series. This is a Q2 The Quest Challenge weekend event. It's on 1 & 2 October and will be based from a delightful riverside location in the heart of Thetford Forest in the Breckland area on the Norfolk/Suffolk borders.

For further details and to enter online please visit www.questars.co.uk