Angie here m'loves.....
So there I was, sat one evening looking at dates and planning the year
ahead when Jenni came across the Haglofs Open 5 series.....
We were pretty excited straight away, it was new and we were inexperienced in this type of thing but thought it sounded fun and that we would have time to get fit for it. We entered the Yorkshire Dales event which started at Threshfield, only 2 hours from home.
A few weeks passed and race day came,
Jenni rocked up at my house at 6.30am(!!) and we made our way over through all the twisty weaving little roads. As we drove into the car park it
was full of lycra clad athletes limbering up. It didn’t make us feel nervous at
all!!! Yeah right!
Got ourselves to registration and figured out the format
of the race. We were given 2 maps, each covering different areas, one was the mountain bike route
and the other the run route. Each route has checkpoints laid out across the mapped area,
some points are worth more than others and the aim of the game is to collect as
many points as possible within the 5 hours.
Before the start we sat and planned which routes to take, however as you leave the start line you are given a list of
checkpoints that are not getting used which means you have to quickly adjust
your route on the fly. We decided to start the run first and covered approximately 12 miles collecting all but two checkpoints. Girls done good!!
We ran into the transition area, quickly changed shoes and
got our helmets on. Away we went off up a big climb onto the moors, trying to
remember to keep drinking as my legs were cramping up. It probably didn’t help
that I was on a borrowed bike that was too big for me either. Time was ticking and we
had two hours left after getting slightly lost at one point, made it
back to base with 10 mins to spare, phew! No time penalty for us!
It was such a relief that it was over, we both lay on the
grass catching our breath and relaxing after a five-hour relentless race, our
first adventure race complete and with massive grins on our faces!
It turns out we got a 4th place in the female
pairs category. How cool is that! We’ve definitely been bitten by the bug and
are hungry for more, it’s such a great concept and the not to mention the
scenery was amazing!
See you next time….
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