After a significant start event with the Dirty Weekend concept in the Scottish Borders in July 2008, the Lake District, Cumbria and Grizedale Forest Centre provided the venue for the second instalment of this adventurous collective of Mountain Bike event (Polaris Challenge) adventure race (ACE Race) and 12K Trail Run (Dirty Dozen).
In the run-up to this autumnal event, the course designs were continually affected by the thoughts of the various weathers that have been assaulting the Lakes this summer. Very wet weathers had threatened and caused the cancellation of numerous large events in the Lakes this summer. The irony has been that it's not the outdoors and activity that's threatened - it's the car parking and infrastructure. Detail Events had said in an early communiqué that this event would not be cancelled and that solutions would always be found to keep it on the rails. This was very prophetic. The actual event weekend was to become one of the most challenging ever. After a few weeks of wet, then dry - false hopes, then more wet, all event fields were one by one taken out of action for car parking and event venue. The final solution however, just about held up, and Grizedale did prove to be an excellent centre for launching the action. The dirty dozen trail run was cancelled in the week before as the constrained car parking arrangements did not fit the impending weather: For a tough running event with the majority as beginners, the weather might also have proved disastrous for the runners.
Friday was the last day of course rigging, and course planners Peter Strong (Polaris) and Paul Noble (ACE) happily concluded their control placements, and especially during such a gloriously sunny day. Meanwhile, event organiser Gary Tompsett had the weather forecast in his hand - 'widespread heavy rain and upland gales' was the crux of it, but with good weather forecast for the Sunday - there was some hope if day 1 could be endured. With everything installed in the event area, everyone just had to study their fully pre-marked maps and batten the hatches ready for the next day.
0800 Saturday: Nearly 400 Polaris Challengers, set forth into and beyond Grizedale Forest, collecting their control value 'giveouts' on the way. Already the rain had started. They were starting 6hrs of MTB navigation on some very rough territory. Although there are many forest roads close to the venue, these are criss-crossed by numerous steep and rocky bridleways, then further afield lay beautiful and famous trails at Tarn Hows and Claife Heights.
0930 Saturday: 85 hardy ACE racers, in various team configurations, mass started Le Mans style and ran to their bikes. Off up into the forest, and through many MTB CPs, their destination was the first kayak transition on the shore of Coniston Water. The kayak course was reduced to a minimum as the winds and waters of Coniston were escalating to offshore proportions, and the ACErs ploughed through waves with only a few having mishaps to reach their egress point, then to run on a circuit back to collect bikes and continue their day. The whole day of activity - all disciplines, was all held in an 8hr score format, and there were no simple answers as to the optimal route. Paul McGreal (solo) commented that; "As with all good planning, there was no obvious way of getting round - lots of choices all the time." Although appearing to be the strongest team, John Houlihan and Paul Currant were making a few mistakes, they inadvertently visited additional kayak CPs and tackled bigger waters on the way. They were on catch-up and being mercilessly chased by the Team Accelerate pairing of Dave Spence and Adam Marcinowicz and a silent but deadly newcomer - Michael Krajewski.
In the world around their competitive bubble; hour by hour, the conditions worsened.
1100 Saturday: With winds escalating and the rain in sheets the Polaris Challengers and ACE racers were reaching more remote ground. It was on this day also that the hardiest riders would attempt the famous Walna Scar Road and Dunnerdale - and as they would find, have trouble standing - let alone riding! The ACErs had a choice of bike drops in Coniston or Tilberthwaite, from where they accessed checkpoints on Wetherlam's slopes, deep gorges and activities in Hodge Close quarry. Anna Sloan battled onto the hill as a solo female from the Coniston bike drop. The mountain run/navigation stage has been described as the most brutal that many have had on a hill - a battering. The gorge paths looked down on 'becks' of Himalayan proportions, and the abseil takeoff was at first exhilarating, followed by silence as racers descended out of the maelstrom above. There followed a refreshing exit through a waist deep flooded mining tunnel.
1400-1600 Saturday: Polaris Challengers returned to a different looking finish and event centre. Their tents and equipment may or may not have survived the lashing gales, and vast pools of water and mud lay all around. The event centre marquees had been pinned in deeper by the Detail Crew and the site was still standing. It looked like Sunday would be on, but the sanity of the planned night stage was already being questioned by finishers.
Many of the roads were becoming impassable to cars, as larger and larger puddles and floods blocked the way. Numerous flooded cars were abandoned on the verges. For the cyclist, this added to the buzz of the whole day, as riders swooshed through puddles that sometimes submerged wheels whole. ACEr and renowned paddler, Paul Currant, described riding down 'a Grade 3 bridleway', so deep was the flowing water.
1630 Saturday: The ACErs were now rushing to finish and avoid penalty points, and vet racer Pete Robinson came across the line late, penalised but intact. They had had a serious workout. 8 hours of bike, kayak, run and abseil. The contents of their rucksacks had been well and truly utilised, and, we are sure - a few cafes in Coniston were visited. Although the ACErs were also asking anxiously about their night stage, they still seemed game. An hour later, for reasons of morale and safety, both night stages, due to go out at dusk, were announced as cancelled. The winds were still high and there had already been considerable windfall, floods, landslips and path erosion in Bogle Crag/Grizedale Forest - the location for the night stage.
The Polaris Challenge class contenders studied the overnight results, but knew not to rest on their laurels. The Polaris is well known for significant day 2 turnarounds.. In the mens competition veteran Bryan Singleton was very close to Chris Hope's lead. In the ladies competition Emily Brooks had a narrow lead over Janet Prier. Significantly, it did not look like pairs were going to trouble the soloists at this event.
With more hours now available, everyone could regroup for the predicted day of good weather on Sunday. Many abandoned their wet hovels and sought refuge in local B&B's, pubs, hotels and hostels. Most tinkered with their bikes and made good use of some fine mechanical help and spares from Grizedale Mountain Bikes. 2200 Saturday: The rains stopped. The night sky beamed bright with stars.
0800 Sunday: Action as normal for Polaris Challenge starts. There was, however, noticeably fewer numbers of starters, perhaps decimated by half, and certainly not attributable to the number of Polaris Challenge one dayers who would have finished after the Saturday. That torrential day had taken its toll. 0915 Sunday: The ACE racers buoyantly appeared for their second Le Mans start. Having survived the Saturday, their second day of Bike, Boat and Run was surely going to be a holiday. The sun cracked the sky, and they sped on MTB towards Windermere. Sadly, the one day ACErs had had their experience on the Saturday and were to miss the glory of Sunday.
1015 Sunday: The ACErs jumped into kayaks and glided across still waters to collect various CPs on islands before landing at Ambleside and collecting their special stage map - Ambleside Street orienteering, and a few more CPs over the stiff hill of Loughrigg. Once again, John Houlihan had steered into trouble and was by now riding singlespeed after trashing his rear mech. Accelerate knew this and maintained the pressure.
1200 Sunday: Returning with smiles from the quirky street stage, darting between hundreds of perambulating tourists, they came back to the kayaks. ACErs were certainly enjoying the contrast to the Saturday. A few more MTB CPs and it would all be done and dusted. After a continuous battle for the 'mixed team of 4' lead position it was at about this point that Team FGS, captained by Andy Wilson, had finally taken power and Gary Davies of New Horizons conceded it had been a great fight and wished FGS all the best. (FGS's eventual win may have helped them secure their supported team entry into the Abu Dhabi adventure race in December). There were also several all female teams in the Polaris and the ACE race.
1200 Sunday: The Polaris Challenger's were having similar pleasures on the trails and were now finishing after their 4 hour day, with the major result shift being an awesome second day by Janet Prier to clinch the ladies overall win.
1415 Sunday: The ACErs were headed to the finish after a 5 hr day from a score course that was tantalisingly only just clearable. Finish line reactions were fairly euphoric. There had been considerable conquests this weekend, by the organisation and participants alike. The determination was evident. And Dirty Weekend had lived up to its name once again.
See full stage and category results for Polaris Challenge and ACE Races on their respective websites.
Polaris Challenge - Highest Scorers;
Female; Janet Prier 704. Male; Chris Hope 931.
ACE Race - Highest Scorers;
Female; Anna Sloan 730. John Houlihan & Paul Currant 970.
The organisers would like to thank there partners; Cumbria Tourism and the Forestry Commission, National Park, National Trust, Coniston and Langdale & Ambleside MRT, Paul Noble (of GrizedaleMountain Bikes, Windermere Canoe & Kayak and Total Adventure), AyUp Lights, AMK, Sea2Summit, FGS, Buff, OMM, UAG, G4 and 220.
Fresh from the success of the inaugural Dirty Weekend multi-sport festival in the Scottish Borders 2 weeks ago, Detail Events have formally announced a second event for 2008. This will take place on 4th and 5th October in the Southern Lake District and will encompass an ACE Race, a Polaris Challenge and a Dirty Dozen 12k Trail Run, bringing these classic adventure formats alongside one another to create a bustling and action-packed weekend of multi-sport.
For the adventure racers, the proven ACE Race 2-day format and the Elite classes trialed at the new-look event in Scotland will remain. This will comprise an Elite course for teams of 4 Mixed, and Paired categories for Mixed, Male, Female AND Solo; with lengthened night-time activities and competitive "spurs" running alongside the ACE Race "Standard" course, featuring the same categories. Once again Detail Events will offer a one day event for those keen to upgrade from the traditional ACE Race 1 day events or Rat Races into something bigger, harder and faster, but who maybe feel 2 days is just out-with their grasp. Prizes will extend across all events, classes and categories.
Race Director Gary Tompsett says: "We turned the screw with the traditional ACE Race format for the Borders event, running the event in tough terrain with demanding courses. With challenging strategy decisions to be made it certainly grabbed everyone's attention, and with the Lake District we have an even more colourful palette to work from. Confident that we have a very adventurous platform for 2 Day racing, we are introducing the 'Teams of 4' category, and retaining the Solo category in both the Elite and Standard Classes. In this way, there is something for everyone - for the Solo to find their feet and really push themselves, and for teams to use the Dirty Weekend as a launch pad to tougher team events, potentially International ones.
Lake District local and well-known adventure racer Paul Noble (Total Adventure, Grizedale Mountain Bikes, Windermere Canoe and kayak) has been brought on board to plan the course alongside Tompsett. Noble hopes to liberate the very best of his "backyard" whilst striving to keep the event a racer's race at the front end and a solid day out in the hills for those looking for a fantastic way to spend the weekend. Paul adds, "The Lake District is one of the UK's premier outdoor playgrounds. Racers should prepare themselves for a demanding and exciting course that will combine well visited terrain with some hidden gems".
For the Polaris Challengers, bikers can look forward to the second outing of the new Polaris autumn "Light and Night" format. Last year's inaugural outing for the Light and Night received rave reviews from both Polaris aficionados and newcomers alike in the Yorkshire Dales and October's Polaris planners are hoping to replicate this strong outing with another classic here in the Lakes, with a very knowledgeable local MTBer steering the plans here. The Light and Night sees competitors start and finish at a base camp each day and features an exciting 2 hour night-time riding section, designed to really text navigation skills to the limit.
The Dirty Dozen trail run will again feature 12km of superbly aesthetic trails in some beautiful forestry, with a few bumps and grinds to keep it interesting and of course a fair bit of "gradient" to keep people on their toes!
England's first Dirty Weekend will take place from an event base in the Southern Lakes and is supported by Cumbria Tourism as well as event partners Ellis Brigham, Adventure Medical Kits, Sea to Summit and Buff. More partners are to be announced shortly.
Entry to the Dirty Weekend 2-Day ACE Race events are £80 per pair; offered up to 21 days before the event. Entry to 2-Day Polaris Challenge is offered from £69 per pair, with even lower entries for certain other classes, and entry to the Dirty Dozen trail run is offered at £19.
All event info can be viewed at www.dirtyweekendadventure.com or email Detail Events at info@allinthedetail.com.