Adventure Race World Championship 2007: 2 Sleeps to go This coming Saturday, Fort William in Scotland plays host to the beginning of the Adventure Race World Championship. 50 teams of four, consisting of some of the world?s top adventure racers will take on some of the most fantastic wilderness Scotland has to offer. It is anticipated that the race will take the winners six days with little or no sleep, and is likely to encompass a whole host of treats; the ARWC is set to visit some of the finest Highland and Islands. With all competitors now in town, today saw event registration, a massive sports hall full of kit and teams being tested on essential outdoor skills required for the adventure ahead. The weather for this introduction was typical for Scotland, with the cloud and sea entwined for the best part of the day. Teams being assessed on their ability to abseil and prussic were coming back as wet as those who had been kayaking. On the plus side, it looks as though the notorious Scottish midge is yet to get its full bite.
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| The planetFear team checking items into their kit transition boxes |
On the water, it was the New Zealanders looking strong. Keen to show that they don?t need to perform kayak rescues as they can Eskimo-role their tandem kayaks! On the other hand, some of the UK teams, who are well known for being good navigators, are wishing for the clag to stay on the hills for just a few more days.
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| Team Inov-8 GORE-TEX demonstrating rescue techniques |
To enable kit to be packed, and there?s a lot of it, teams received a very brief outline of what they can expect over the coming week. Saturday?s prologue alone looks daunting; with a 700m swim, a 26km trek/run with an estimated 2460m of assent, and an enforced overnight camp. For the rest of the week there?s kayaking, micro navigation, more trek/run, mountain biking, water jumps, aerial exposure, more swimming, canyoning, ropes, scrambling and 9 transitions where spectators and the assembled media hope to catch up with the competitors.
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| The planetFear team perfect their paddle technique in some late sunshine |
Ultimately, there?s no doubt that this ARWC will put on a show to be remembered and with an early 65km kayak stage on the cards, the rumour amongst competitors is that the Small Isles could be the first port of call.
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