Terrex Sting - Stirling

NAV4 / Distant Horizons 

- Dave Atkinson, Louise Wilkinson, Sharon McDonald, Joe Faulkner

We had a ball. The terrain we covered and the countryside we saw made for a very enjoyable journey. Expedition racing is often like a big game of patience – sometimes it works out and sometimes it doesn’t. Sometimes the first moves you make don’t help and you can undo it....

Our prep had gone well – basing ourselves at The University and having an apartment for the four of us really paid off and we were well rested and prepared.  The prologue wasn’t quite the smooth affair that we had hoped for; Sharon had severe attacks of cramps from the frantic dash downhill on the trail run and I was nursing a knee injury and not wanting to run anywhere. Doubly annoying, I over shot an Orienteering control when going very well for a good ‘clean’ run and had to re-locate losing a good five minutes along with a very confused young lady who was helping me look for a different control. Hey-ho.... it’s only the prologue!

OK, Monday Morning - Let's Race

Monday Morning Start and a 10km run. It was good to see Mountain Hardwear ease into the race just as we did.  Exped racing is all about pacing (or so it should be) and so we adopted a steady pace for the first MTB ride. I was shocked at the speed of some teams coming past us on the road, each with one or even two team members working hard to stay on the wheel of their team mates, at the back of the groups that formed. Typically we tend to over take them with good navigation, but perhaps we had the pace wrong and they the strategy right? Was this a stage race in disguise?

Good things come in small packages. Rowing is easy – if you have two people with the same sense of rhythm and stature. Dave and Sharon were our key rowing pairing.  We had decided to drop two early MTB controls both located on cols which would require ‘hike-a-bike’ sections and accept the 2x 90mins penalties.  The alternative was a quick spin up the glorious Sustrans trail along the old railway line which put us at (Trans 1) Killin well up with the leading (full course) teams, and in much better shape for the trek stage to come.

Trekking is our forte and we cleared this with ease, enjoying the Tarmachan ridge in daylight and meeting Adidas Terrex coming the other way, and shortly afterwards FGS. We rightly assumed Mountain Hardwear were ahead of us and going clockwise on the trek, hence their is no correct way to do this stage.  A quick exchange of ‘Well Done’ to both teams and then into the darkness passing several slower and less navigationally able teams who had short routed the trek. We cruised back down into transition to snatch some sleep before the 3.00am opening of the Loch Tay paddle stage. Unexpectedly we later learnt we had a 46min time credit for clearing the stage and arriving early; a factor we hadn’t expected.

Loch Tay

Initially paddling on the Loch was great fun, as it was very dark and calm, with a small moon and a long way to go. Paddling with torches off was mellow and surreal. Our paddling skills are good, especially our technical moving water skills (thanks to Distant Horizons, for coaching and training input) although we suffered during the cold dawn of a flat water paddle on Loch Tay and the inevitable ‘sleepmonsters’ which required a twenty minute power snooze on the Loch shores. Here, I tried to develop the technique of sleeping with my thumbs up as whilst it was nice to know that other teams and safety crew were concerned for us in our four man bivi-bag, we didn’t need rescuing or assistance, and their constant – ‘oh look another team ... are you OK’ prevented any proper sleep.

Lesson 1 – don’t ask a team who are sleeping – 'Are you OK?' 
Note to self – find a more secluded spot and take a big sign saying ‘We are OK’ ?

The River Tay was great fun. It was raining fairly heavily during the river section and it was a relatively  high level and so easier than our recce trip (by complete chance we had done this section before) Dave and Wilko are a regular paddling partnership and having paddled miles together they work really well, look great and take some excellent lines. Sharon also proved to be an excellent ‘bow person’ and although we hadn’t paddled together as a pair before the race, she dug in and performed excellently.  We all enjoyed the fast descent and arrived in Aberfeldy in good spirits, especially as we didn’t need to paddle the Grandtully rapids like last time we were here.

MTB to Bruar

Another quick transition and we were off on the bikes on what became an irritating beast of a climb over a col. It was the sort of track that you would cleanly ride on during a day ride but not in a race of this nature, in our condition.  Overall our pace was good; steady and sure with clean navigation and only a quick puncture repair to interrupt us. 

Next stop – Falls of Bruar and The Canyoning stage.  Due to a slow loch paddle and sleep stop, we had slipped towards the back of the ‘peleton’ but had a comfortable amount of time to do this stage in an hour or so, rather than take the four hour penalty.  Canyoning (ghyll scrambling in reverse) is a fairly perverse occupation although the benefit is that you get a good wash. It is a very dramatic gorge, and with quite a high water flow quite demanding at times, but there is always the nagging doubt that a careless knock to a knee of ankle could have serious consequences. It is fun, but doesn’t require a great deal of technical skill, unless of course you are required to over come fears and traumas such as Sharon’s previous accident which has left her suitably nervous and guarded.

As I say, the advantage is a good wash, so suitably refreshed it became apparent that we should ride the ‘short’ MTB section up the River Tilt valley, as we did not want to be chasing cut-offs and the penalties for missing next control on the ‘long’ route seemed justified. We had a good ride up The Tilt.  I realised I was riding my new full –suss bike in the dark for the first time, the team were riding well and in good spirits on a route which climbs steadily, and we passed one or two teams who seemed to be having a hard time.  Navigationally interest was maintained as we didn’t actually have a map for the middle section and there was a 12km section between the maps we had on the map boards. This was due to us originally intending to ride the long route, hence we had packed the short route maps away.  However, it is a massive valley, generally straight and difficult to veer from and I’d first walked this way thirty four years ago and a few times since.  The Falls of Tarf are a very distinctive land mark and featured on the next map section and so our arrival gave us a true fix of where we were.  It was now the wee small hours of a very dark night. The terrain over the watershed became more broken, boggy and tedious but we plough on passing another team who were hesitant in the wilderness. We appeared to ford the river several times before beginning the descent down in the Dee valley and the obvious features of Linn of Dee and then Mar Lodge.

I must mention that The Team were magnificent during these last few hours. I was out in the front, navigating and pushing the pace but aware that we were getting cold; there was a lot of unspoken communication as we knew we just had to get to Mar Lodge to get warm fed and sleep.

Mar Lodge

At Mar Lodge I needed sleep – good sleep and so the tent went up and we slept for about 90mins. I do find it difficult to sleep during races, especially in transition.  I woke to find Dave and Sharon raring to go on the Orienteering stage, and as better runners they took on the bulk of the 10km(?) course with Wilko and myself dong just two controls in an out and back route.  Overall it was a good plan. Wilko and I were back early and had time to sort ourselves out, change the tube on the suspect slow puncture, and fettle all the gear, including food for the incoming Dave and Sharon. It was during this time that were learnt Mountain Hardwear head pulled out of the race and Kim and Alex had taken over three hours to clear the ‘O’ course. With a time penalty of just 2.5 hours we had clearly made a strategic mistake but I was more worried how Dave and Sharon would feel and what mood they would re-appear in. Suffice to say they came back buzzing from a good run, and we took only positives from the stage.  Our overall stop involved food, drink, sleep and recovery and set us up for the next part of the race.

The next stage was a long MTB over Mount Keen, with the first part being a very enjoyable picturesque ride down The Dee valley passing Balmoral, and onto Ballanter. A good lunch was call for at Ballanter – excellent cafe bistro just by the river, and we bought some bike lube, got some air into Wilko’s dodgy tyre thanks to the nice shop keeper and his track pump. Oh and bought some more recreational drugs..... (Solphodine Plus)

Passing the short cut option to Glen Muick, I had a sense that we had chosen the wrong option for T6-7 in terms of racing strategy but we didn’t want to miss out on biking over Mount Keen, and it was too late to reverse our decision as the bike boxes had already gone to House of Mark.  We had a good ascent, again passing teams, although it was sad to see Ben ‘Monkey Boy’ Shannon suffering with an injury which would result in a ‘DNF for him and Shona Robertson.  A nasty cold squall prompted a brisk and amazing descent to House of Mark, and we were all going well. Another efficient transition, lubricated by a very nice and luxourious  fried egg but set us up for the start of the big trek.

Trek of Darkness and Bogs

Initially we seemed to go well, but as darkness fell the navigation wasn’t easy and I was struggling to cope with a lack of sleep. One or two poor lines convinced us to have a sleep and so we put the tent up (well just the one Lazer) and tried to get some sleep. Another team came past us, think the glow of lights was a checkpoint before carrying on into the gloom. Sleep was difficult; Dave can sleep anywhere and is as  warm as a radiator, soon pushing out the ‘zzzz’s. Sharon managed some sleep but Wilko gets cold easily and I was on the outside, trying to keep us from sliding down the hill and increasingly spooning with Wilks to try and get her warm, Indeed lying on top of her seemed to work the best!

Trek Part Two – Big Sunny Cairngorms

Just before dawn we packed the tent away and proceeded at a better pace and very efficiently. Unfortunately the next control, (25B) had been taken away by a previous team under instruction from the race control, as they thought we had passed by. But, it was a difficult thing to accept, it did affect our morale but we didn’t waste much time but it indicated that were very much at the back of the field and our race plan was going too well.  We went strongly through Glen Muick and up to Lochnagar passing another team and an ad hock pairs.  Just before the descent into the corrie of Lochnager we made the difficult decision to bin the scramble as it just appeared that the time involved would be greater than the penalty. It was then confusing as to whether the adjacent controls were ‘valid’ .... but the weather was good, scenery stunning and we took a fairly direct line to Glenshee and the safety control on the road crossing. Our mood was good. We were managing blisters and ailments well, still eating good food, and descended to Glenshee fast. Here, the Race Director was offering teams the option to bike from here over to Aberfeldy rather than do the last section of the trek. However, we are strong at trekking and believe in doing as much of the course as possible (even if it transpires that a short route option is more pragmatic) Off again on the west side of Glenshee we completed the trek with some strong lines through difficult terrain before an horrendously steep, wet and boggy descent into Glenfernate and the last few kilometres to transition.  Fortunately, our navigation was good and relative to other teams we were in good shape; Wilko’s blisters were getting bad but were containable and we were soon off on the bikes for what we thought would be a quick tarmac spin to Grandtully.  Unfortunately, the sleepmonters kicked in and I sent several minutes convinced I was on solo cycle touring on the island of Mull before waking up and getting a grip. The last bit of this ride over into Grandtully was a nightmare as it was difficult to find the start in our befuddled state and the trail was a lot worse than expected.

Sleep; Paddle The Tay

Our planned sleep time had been eroded to just another 90mins in the tent but did set us up for the last long paddle section down the Tay.  Once again we were paddling well, with good technical skills but we were slowing due to tiredness and somewhat due to motivation. It was an enjoyable paddle; scenic and not to boring on the flat bits.  We opted to bin the Orienteering stage at Dunkeld shortly after starting it as I decided it would take more than the 1.5 hours penalty awarded to it, especially in our sorrow state. I was humbled by Wilko’s effort to get out there armed with her trekking poles but it just looked too technical, and my choice of foot wear (crocs and wetsuit socks) not suitable for the off-road terrain. Team ‘Scarfe’ were just finishing and I think Jackie said they had taken 1hr 20mins, so I think it was a ‘good call’, even if it was not very satisfying.

MTB to Stirling Finish

Back on the river the enjoyable paddle continued past some very grand houses until a relatively sudden arrival in Perth.  Another quick transition (paddle bags and team ‘wet’ bag really helped through out) and we were out on the bikes for the undulating ride mainly on small roads. This was a pleasantly and surprising good section. The tarmac ride allowed use to ride close together and enjoy each other’s company rather than battle single track stuff. We were able to help each other and navigate on the move very efficiently.  A last little hill over and into Stirling was a fitting finale, but too much speed and complacency led to a small error as we dropped into Bridge of Allan opposite the Cafe Bistro we had eaten lunch in nearly a week before, so we had a couple of kilometres along the road instead.  The full course team Salomon / Running Free came alongside us on the proper route and we rode with them for a while before pulling back and letting them have the moment of glory on the finish line. We cruised in a few minutes later, all in good spirits, a little battered and sore, but overall pleased with our expedition.

This was a very good team performance with a good application of skill, strategy and pace. It wasn’t our finest result but that’s somewhat irrelevant. We had a great time and went to some amazing places. We will go back and complete the bits we missed certainly the MTB ride into Glen Feshie, and it has inspired me to get back into the bigger mountains on bike and on foot.

Many thanks,

Joe Faulkner

NAV4 / Distant Horizons

Terrex to Dragon's Back ....

OK, 'Terrex to Dragon's Back' ... just one long transition.

Twenty year's I was lucky enough to be part of the original Dragon's Back race and now, in thirty minutes, I leave to drive to North Wales to start part two - DBR 2012.  It's got to be done, if only because there was unfinished business twenty year's ago; my partner, Steve 'Dubie' put his foot down a rabbit's hole on the last afternoon of racing and he had to hobble and hop the last few miles to the finish at Carreg Castle. This was not quite the finish either of us deserved and we missed the Saturday morning presentation at The Castle, as well as losing a few places in the overall standings. Still, the majority of it had been wonderful.

This time one week ago, I was eating copious amounts of food in a post-Terrex recovery and two weeks ago, I was busy packing and preparing for the five day Terrex adventure race, with my three team mates. That required the packing of 4x personal bags, one team bag, one team paddle bag, a 'sixth' canyoning bag, and 4x  bike boxes and suss out which of these items would be going to nine transitions over five days of continous racing.  Now I just have one relatively small overnight bag, one small day rucsac and one even smaller lunchtime  'drop' bag (with my sandwiches in it) and it's me against the mountains.

Less is More .... Dragon's Back Race is no less of an adventure than Terrex; it will be different, just me and the mountains of Wales ... oh and some other 'athletes'  (I just 'love' that word!) .  Sure, some will be racing  but the majority of us will just be looking to finish at Carreg Castle and enjoy the journey down the spine of Wales.   I'm glad it's only ever twenty year's.

Apart from being a little jaded from Terrex I'm really looking forward to putting one foot in front of the other, travelling over some tremendous mountains and getting to the finish line having had some fun. There are no short route options at DBR, no controls you can drop and take a penalty; it has to be completed.

I doubt I'll be able to update facebook or twitter or even phone home.... hmn, remarkable.

Joe

A steady week's training

A very busy couple of weeks  - some excellent days with clients on rock, mountains and fell, especially a great day with Phil and Ellie focusing on navigational techniques for fell running and mountain marathons.

Also busy with a steady week's training in readiness for Terrex Sting and with The Dragon's Back Race also looming large shortly afterwards.  Had a good run out with Wilko and Sharon McDonald, our new team mate for Sting as a replacement for Pete, who had to stand down with a vulnerable ankle problem. We'll miss Pete greatly; he's such a good guy but this race is out of reach for him at the current time. Good to see he has entered the Wensleydale Tri, which will suit his powerful hill climbing ability on the bike after a quick dip in Semer Water. I'll be there to cheer him on.

Much time being spent on my new full-suss bike bedding in the new transmission and gears, but also out on foot.  Seriously lacking a running speed at the moment as Exped racing doesn't really require much speed so this weekend's Borrowdale race will just be a training 'jog' sandwiched between other sessions....

Soo much to do....

The Dark Side

Expedition Racing is all about highs and lows and this week has been no different.

Ok, The good stuff first! It has been my birthday this week and with nothing really special planned I've enjoyed a week of doing a variety of new things or things I haven't done for a while.  Apparently, I've moved over to 'The Dark Side' when I took delivery of a new full-suss MTB, my first full-suss but peer pressure eventually gets to all of us.  So riding that has been different .... and takes some getting used to.

I enjoyed a very special birthday-day - entitled a nice 'Gentleman's Ride' - Martin and myself enjoyed a road cycle loop, from home near Penrith and around the Skiddaw and Northern Fells. We had a leisurely stop for coffee and cake at The Filling Station on the out skirts of Keswick (highly recommended as a bike friendly cafe) and second stop at Hesket-New-Market. Fortunately, we timed it right so that The Old Crown was closed and we had to endure excellent soup at the village shop cafe instead. It was a good thing the pub was closed otherwise the cycle home may have been a bit different ... in the back of a car, no doubt.  The evening was rounded off with an excellent meal at The Brantwood at Stainton with Hesket Ales and some stunning Shiraz Merlot.

Another 'first' for me was the bike ride up onto The Peninnes and an unexpected 360 degree panorama over The Eden and Teesdale valleys; I'd seen it many times before but not from this particular vantage point and under such auspicious circumstances. This was the day we lost a team mate from our NAV4 race team; not a pleasant experience but also a very wise one given the nature of the injury involved. Pete will be sorely missed as he has so much to offer but not at the current time.

So, we have a new team mate on the near horizon .... and it feels good. I'll write a bit more once we clarified a few details and can 'go public' and report on the build up to Terrex Sting.

NAV4 Adventure are currently re-building for the future; we value continued support from Distant Horizons and will be looking to grow and strengthen our race squad over the Winter ready for 2013, with a range of skill and training opportunities for everyone. We'll also have some adventures outside of races and events.  If you'd like to be part of this development get in touch...

Joe Faulkner
www.nav4.co.uk

Keeping Warm When Racing

So, bit of an unusual outcome for NAV4 at Terrex Swift with a DNF due to injury.  Overall a positive experience with a great route set by Dave Johnson, it’s just a shame we didn’t do it justice.

A steady start and efficient pace on the paddle and bike sections, we cleared the Malham trek and Kilnsey abseil with the intention of a strong finish on Day Two. Unfortunately, the harsh cobbles of Whernside didn’t agree with Pete’s ankle, and so a very reluctant phone call was made to race HQ which resulted in us being whisked back to base and an ‘early bath’. They say, ‘Honour is the better part of valour’ .... and the early finish gives rise to some interesting review issues. Hmmn...

Expedition racing is all about highs and lows and ‘the journey’; reading various blogs will often have you thinking people were in different races, which in some ways they can be, given the timescale and distances involved. Once again, one of the most prevalent issues at Swift was the many people that suffered with cold and hyperthermia.  Although there was an unexpected wet and breezy night section it was not at all extreme, and anyone who got into difficulty in these conditions really needs to take stock and sort themselves their gear, and their team mates out!  Granted we were expecting a relatively warm and mild night but it worries me that so many aren’t learning the lesson or applying a little thought into what they need to do in order to survive, enjoy and complete an Exped race.

Terrex Swift was just a Two Day race; Terrex Sting will be five days, and in some ways more as the prologue will make it feel longer.  Our NAV4 / Distant Horizons team decided to travel light and fast at Swift, forgoing our traditional tented sleep and to test the ability to race for 48 hours without anything more than a couple of power snoozes, using our bothy bag. However, this won’t be our strategy for five days racing at Sting!

The other topic of conversation seemed to be our relatively light sacs, and even lighter kit bags, but we were warm and cosy because we were all wearing good layers of thermal clothing. I’m a firm believer in the ‘less is more’ approach and it simply isn’t necessary to have a full change of clothes and foot wear for each stage of a race. There are many reasons for this; primarily it leads to unnecessary changing and inevitable faffing at transition, secondly there is more gear for the hard working event support teams to move (time and money on the entry fee) and less washing to do when you get home!

So, does having less gear mean you get cold?  No, because I wear and carry plenty of good clothes and equipment.

Some (very) Common Mistakes

Inappropriate Gear – 'Simply not having another layers available'

The gear you wear to run around your local park in is not suitable for trekking in the mountains. Get Real! You need many more layers; full length leg and arm wear, you will not be going at your normal running speed but that of a tired and cold person, and probably a tired, cold and sleepy team mate. The  media are very good at selling us base layers and skinny lightweight waterproof shells; after all, that is what most of us need most of the time.  However, the clue is in the title – ‘baselayer’ and ‘shell’.  Don’t be guilty of a lack of  ‘IMP’ – Important Mid-layer Performance.

Mandatoritis – ‘Just taking the bare minimum that the rules specify, or ... even worse trying to under cut it!'  

Race organisers only specify the absolute minimum on a kit list so as to keep the teams safe and alive. This list is also aimed at not burdening elite fast and competent teams unnecessarily.  But, most of us are not elite teams and so carrying an extra base layer or  mid layer fleece, over trousers, woolly hat and gloves and a pasty won’t make a huge difference to our speed, but it will help you finish (which I assume is your overall objective?)

As a race organiser myself, I’ve often seen people packing just the minimum according to the race rules, and trying to under cut this in some bizarre macho ritual.  Why do they do this?  Take what you need to be warm at toasty, and be realistic as to how long the stage will take and the pace you will be doing. Taking the bare minimum as specified in the race rules means a lack of forethought.

Carrying on Coldy Regardless - 'Not Stopping to put additional warm layers on'

No-one wants to stop and slow their team down, but ‘I’ll be OK’ ... really means ‘I’m getting steadily colder’.  If you’ve got a team mate who appears under dressed and getting slower they need to put more clothes on. This is the early stages of hyperthermia; the body will be burning energy trying to keep you warm, and not have so much to propel them forward. So in the long run it’s a waste of time and energy.  One of the biggest factor is this:

Premature Jacketation –  ‘ Putting a waterproof jacket on over a tee-shirt and then getting progressively colder ‘cos you don’t want to stop and put a mid-layer on’.  We’ve all done it – you set off in a tee-shirt, it starts to rain so you put your waterproof shell on. Initially you are Ok, warm and going well, but later you slow down (or have a puncture) and its still raining. You get colder, your base layer and shell aren't coping but the magazine reviews were great and they cost you a lot of money, ‘but you’re Ok if you keep going...’  er, no.

Wrong! – add a mid layer before you get cold. Stop, get your sac off, get your mid-layer ready, then jacket off, mid-layer on, jacket back on – wahey – all done in a few seconds and possibly on the move if on foot and a team mate helps you.   Still cold? – put your over trousers on – assuming you’ve already got your wooly hat at gloves on.   And eat some more food....and then keep moving

Poor Transition Technique

Effective transitions are an advanced skill but not rocket science, but could fill a blog of their own. Again common mistakes often seen: coming in saturated wearing light weight shell and base layer, stripping off to put dry base layer on, wet lightweight shell goes back on so that within minutes the dry base layer is damp and meanwhile you’ve lost a lot of body heat doing it. Overall gain - ten minutes lost and you are no warmer. The better option would be to add a good mid-layer over the damp base layer quickly, get the heavier weight waterproof on, a dry hat and then get back out there with hot food inside you. Don a Synthetic ‘Belay Jacket’ whilst you do so, and maybe insulated over trousers as well. 

'Downitits'  - it might be trendy it might be sexy, but ...

Do Not rely on Down insulated garments in a multiday wet weather race, even if they are shelled with a water repellent treatment.  Down is useless when it is wet.


Wet but Warm - Good Gear Works


Experienced racers will only change clothes when necessary, and not just because they can. Good outdoor clothing is designed to be warm when wet and will dry quickly once the rain stops, or you come out of the river and get moving, especially with the appropriate layers added and adjusted. Seven days in the same quality base layer is not unusual.

So .... I could go on but I won't - much of this is common sense and some experience. It’s taken me a long while to write this, not least because I’ve been busy since Swift with our NAV4 Adventure Dawn to Dusk 100km ultra, and supporting a 170km cyclosportive, and organising an evening fell race, all of which were done in poor weather, either very wet and windy, or claggy and wet. Thus, these thoughts above are drawn from these experiences and observations (with thanks to AndyM and Fi at D2D) and a lifetime of experience.

The Dawn to Dusk had people running for 15 hours in very wet conditions and yet no-one was cold – why? Because they all wore the right combination of layers.

Please Remember Two Things :

1) There is no such thing as bad weather – just inappropriate clothing

2) Conditions at Terrex Swift were not extreme ... be prepared for much worse at Sting!

Joe Faulkner
NAV4 Adventure
www.nav4.co.uk

Big Weekends

Just had a great l-o-n-g weekend teaching Off-Road Running skills to a great bunch of people. First off, we were based at Plas-y-Brenin with the Dragon's Back Race team and Trail Running Magazine relay team.  Excellent sunny weather was nice, but er .... not so good for teaching 'poor viz' navigation. Hey-ho, too bad, but well done to everyone who got well stuck into some mighty difficult night navigation courses, showing true determination with some nearly missing last orders! A tough and demanding weekend with much energy being drained by the heat, and the loss of an hour's sleep as the clocks Sprang forward.

Seriously great to meet and talk with some fellow Dragon's Back racers, and to reminisce a bit about the original 1992 Dragon's Back Race, but also to be able to offer some advice and guidance to DBR 2012 racers.  I'm really looking forward this year's epic event now.

On Monday I was in Shropshire and the coaching on the beautiful Longmynd with just one student, Jen, who will become a natural fell runner now that we have cleared away some compass phobias and got to grips distance, scale and speeds.  Shame about the sun tan weather ... good that she likes tea, (and beer apparently.)

On Tuesday I worked with a  AR team of four and the agenda was a mixture of running and biking, with 'nav strategy' and 'route choice' being key issues.  Team dynamics was also explored, with a skills audit and action plans being made towards some BIG races this year. I'm sure they'll all do well and look forward to our follow-up session, 'AR Rope Skills' and review.

This weekend I'm on a train/bike trip down to the Open5 in The Peak District. I'm looking forward to exploring Dovedale, some more coaching and racing on Sunday, followed by a UK Adventure Racing Club Committee meeting.  Then a quick bike back north; should be fun!

Looking forward to meeting up there.

Joe
UKARClub Chair

Skill Development

I had a great swim today - felt lethargic - and nearly went back to bed whilst waiting for the car windscreen to defrost (but felt good about deciding not to bike there instead) .  Living just one mile from Ullswater means it feels totally criminal to swim inside during all but the winter months, so I've just joined our local Tri club so I can get some indoor swimming done before the regular outdoor swimming season begins.  Swimming up and down in a pool is not very exciting, although sharing a lane with Shaun, Tom and 'Shelley'* makes it more interesting, and I thank them for it. At the end of the session it was great that Lucy, the coach coming across and asking me how my session had been and 'was I focused on a particular forth coming Tri?' As the 'newbie', this was great, or she had some stroke feedback for me.

I've not got any Triathlons planned as such, well not at least until The Big 'Bad' Ben in September, a good shake down after Terrex Sting, but it did get me thinking about training goals and skill acquisition.

As adventure racers, just like fell runners, we are notoriously bad at skill acquisition and we rely heavily on our stronger disciplines ... mainly because they are more enjoyable and give us a greater buzz!    I'm guilty of it myself but have relished the occasions when I have paid for 'proper' MTB skills coaching, despite having very competent MTB riders in my circle of friends and teammates.  Good quality coaching doesn't come cheap but  is an excellent investment for future enjoyment, reward and success, so I've decided to make the most of time in the pool ... and take the plunge so to speak!

Whatever your goals - working on your weaknesses is the quickest way to improve your performance.  One such example of this is our NAV4 Paddle Club.  This was set up as canoeing was our weakest team discipline in our last big expedition race. Since entering the Terrex races this year we've learnt that we will be paddling Open Boats, rather than kayaks; an even weaker skill so with much to learn. Having discovered a great local provider (Distant Horizons) we've done a deal where UK AR Club members get coaching and boat hire for just £40 - and absolute bargain!   The only problem is that you need to get booked up and committed now, in order to reap the benefit, and regular monthly attendance will pay dividends.  Places are limited, and with a 4:1 ratio of students per coach the session must be pre-booked.  The next session is this coming Sunday, 11th March, 10-4pm on Ullswater, and we have a session planned for the second Sunday of each month through until July. It's not profit making, in fact Paddle Club is heavily subsidised and runs at 'cost', but I've negotaited this deal for UK ARClub members ... and so it is a bit of a 'use it or lose it' situation.

So, you can either stop reading now, drop me an email because you want to come along to Paddle Club, or carry on reading what is a blantant plug for our Navigation skills coaching, as I need to re-coup some lost earnings somehow.

NAV4 provide training in Navigation and all manner of things to do with adventure racing, mountain marathons and mountain sports, and have done for around fifteen years. I've enjoyed working with loads of people on our NAV4 'Masterclasses' over many years.  Masterclasses are basically a day specific to you and your needs, on a date by arrangement, whether it is just you One-to-One, or up to three friends as well.  Our maximum group size is usually four, or based on a 4:1 ratio.   The hardest part of booking any course tends to be finding the right date, so get sorted now.

NAV4 One Day Open Navigation Courses 

More recently we started offering one day 'Open' courses for those who don't want to book a Masterclass, but do want to join a small group (maximum group size four people) for some quality skills coaching.  I've just set some new dates for March, April and May; including some mid-week days and some in Shropshire rather than our usual Lakes based home venue, so as to make it as accessible as possible.

Take a look at our website, think carefully about your AR performance and then write yourself some goals.  If a skills audit or development isn't listed then I suggest something is missing from your training plan!

AR Rope Skills - Abseiling and Belaying and stuff ..
And finally .... I'm looking to stage some AR 'Rope Skills and Certification' days so watch out for more info.  Please don't be the 'numpty' who 'forgets' how to abseil during the next race. Get some training, get some real practice in real situations and get certified; you owe it to yourself and fellow racers.

* 'Shelley' isn't her real name, but she reminds me of a Shelley I know and until I have the chance to talk to her properly without coughing and spluttering it will have to do.  'Sorry, Shelley and thank you for taking the lead.' 

Ok, rant/plug over -  'race hard - smile lots' - I look forward to racing against you soon.

Joe
UK AR Club Chair
NAV4 Adventure Race team - aka Cannycrocs