County Kerry, Ireland
14 - 21 June, 2008
The Turas adventure race, the first full length expedition style race for Ireland and the newest race on the Adventure Racing World Series calendar took place on the 16th to the 21st of June in the counties of Kerry and Cork in the south west of Ireland.
After originally planning to compete in the Primal Quest race in Montana which takes place the week following the Turas, we switched to the Turas race for a number of compelling reasons. For starters, it would cost a lot less and enable us to include an extra race in our calendar for the year. Also, the prize money on offer was better, the competition looked indicative of what we would face in the Adventure Racing World Championships in Brazil later in the year and from all appearances the race organization were striving to provide a great racing experience for the competing teams. An added bonus was that seeing as we had failed to sell the kayaks that we had shipped across to Scotland for the World Championships last year we could use these for the Turas and possibly gain an advantage on the water with the New Zealand built Insomniac kayaks.
One team member would have to collect the kayaks from Scotland so having a sister in Edinburgh that I was keen to visit I put up my hand and left a week early to do some family catching up and collect the kayaks. Wayne, Brent and Anna would meet me 3 days before the race start in Killarney, Ireland near the race start in Dingle.
Getting the boats was an ordeal in itself but it eventually all worked out and I made it to Killarney to join the others who were doing their best to recover from the jetlag of their 30 hour journey from NZ. Onwards we went to Dingle and began the process of gear checking, buying food and all the last minute preparation that comes with expedition racing. We also met the rest of the teams and our competition. There was a strong kiwi showing. Team Adventure Sport NZ with Richard and Elina Ussher , Gordon Walker and Aussie Rob Preston were going to be formidable competition. Also Marcel Hagener and Jacob Roberts were racing for the French team Wilsa Helly Hansen who have beaten us three times previously. Buff (Spain), Crested Butte(USA), Lafuma(France), Lundhags(Sweden), Peak Adventure(Australia) and Aberdeen Asset Management(UK) were all teams capable of winning while the remainder of the 20 strong field would mostly be racing for the challenge of completing the course (although you never know when a new team will surprise the usual favorites).
Immediately the desire to make this a good race for the teams was apparent with 4 star B&B accommodation provided for the teams pre race. A welcome change from cramped hostel rooms! Unfortunately race day rolled around too quickly and before we knew it we were checking out of our plush digs at 5 in the morning for the prologue start in downtown Dingle. AR world series director Geoff Hunt was on hand with the starting gun to get the Turas (journey) underway. As with most prologue starts the pace was frenetic and legs and hearts were straining and we biked and pushed our way up over the centre of the Dingle peninsular. Bad luck struck Adventure Sport only 15 minutes in as Richard broke the chain on his bike and they lost touch with the front of the field as they stopped to make repairs. We settled into about third place as we approached the high point of the ride and soon got our chance to make a break. The leaders reached a checkpoint described as “top of downhill track” and then for some reason continued upwards. Figuring that despite there hardly being a formed track this must be the time to start heading down we quickly turned off and made our way down the tricky downhill and had opened up a 2 minute gap by the time we rode in to transition at the bottom of the hill. We maintained this lead over the following run over Mt Brandon and reached the first race stoppage with a small but confidence boosting lead over Wilsa. Adventure Sport had biked back to within 2 minutes of the leaders after their mechanical problems but lost time on the downhill section and finished about 12 minutes down. The prologue took a break for lunch before a 12km kayak race back to Dingle. We had planned to portage half of this paddle however this was forbidden moments before the restart so it would be a flat out test of kayaking speed. Having the fastest boats in the race showed through and we took out the kayaking by 2 minutes over Adventure Sport who were closely followed by La Fuma. Wilsa had some boat trouble so the final standing after the prologue put us 8 minutes ahead of La Fuma with the next 5 teams all within 20 minutes of the lead.
Next it was on to busses to take us to the race start proper at Schull in the very south west of Ireland. After ok’ing it with the race director we booked into a B&B for the night rather than pitching the tent figuring that good sleep now could prove very valuable in a few days time.
A later 10am start meant a little more time for sleep and getting organized in the morning and then we were off racing again on a 35km sea kayak interrupted by a 3 1/2km portage. The course was changed at he last minute due to deteriorating weather conditions however we were glad to hear that the revised ourse was just as long, just modified to keep the fleet closer to shore. Starting with a downwind run we enjoyed some exhilarating kayaking surfing the swells before rounding the Skeam islands and starting the long haul back upwind towards the portage. We slowly but surely started to put a gap on the rest of the field and by the time we reached the portage after about 3 hours of paddling we had nearly a 10 minute lead. Making a well practiced change to portage trolleys we jogged off across the peninsular just as Adventure Sport and La Fuma were pulling in. A bit of confusion finding the checkpoint at the end of the portage enabled us to gain an extra minute or two and the chasing teams were out of sight by the time we arrived at the next transition. Back in the field conditions were worsening and the slower teams were really starting to struggle. A couple of boats capsized in the rising wind and waves but all recovered and were able to continue.
Changing out of wet paddling gear and into running kit we started the orienteering section. Tough intricate navigation in confusing terrain provided a serious challenge however Brent was up to the task and led us from control to control as precisely as if he was following a GPS. This stage demonstrated how crucial good navigation can be as some of the tail end of the field were still out on this stage as night fell some 5 hours after we had continued on to the following 100km MTB stage.
Dubbed Archeo Navigation, the bike ride had a number of checkpoints all located on ancient ruins ranging from burial grounds and tombs to stone circles and walls. With biking being the teams relative eak point we were hoping just to minimize our losses on this mostly sealed road ride. By about 2/3rds f the way through the stage La Fuma and Adventure Sport caught us as were were passing through a village. Getting a bit confused with the roads on the map I mistakenly followed La Fuma onto the main oad through town which was an out of bounds road. Realizing my mistake I turned off after about 100 etres to get us back on to a parallel road which we should have been following. La Fuma carried on up the wrong road although must have turned back again a short time later. We carried on with Adventure port for a while before they managed to ride away from us. An hour or so later La Fuma came past gain having recovered from their error. Although our precise course would probably not show up on the tracker we decided we would own up to having strayed on to the out of bounds road in the hope hat our honesty combined with there being no advantage gained would reduce or eliminate any penalty that might arise. Putting that decision behind us we concentrated on making good time to the end of the stage and managed to catch Adventure Sport as they were searching for the last checkpoint.
We rode into transition and the middle of a huge party to find most of the race organizers standing there with a Guinness in hand. The race organization had made a big effort to involve the local community and each evening there was a party going on somewhere. Owning up to our mistake we were slapped with the maximum 3 hour penalty. We were unsuccessful on appeal however as we could serve the penalty immediately this was not such a problem as an upcoming dark zone was going to force all the top teams to stop for at least 6 hours anyway. In fact although they had no penalty to serve Adventure Sport also stopped for about 4 hours at this point to get some rest and wait for daybreak before starting the 60km trek stage. La Fuma were also to receive a penalty although they had already left on the trek and would serve it at the dark zone so in effect the penalty really would have no impact on the race.
Setting off on the 60km trek just behind Adventure sport and Wilsa we knew there was still a dark zone coming up and so planned to put in a solid trek with no mistakes but not to push too hard and hence save ourselves a bit for the restart where the race to the finish would really be on. That’s pretty much how it went, we battled through atrocious weather along bog strewn ridges and finished the trek some 16 hours later still behind Wilsa but having passed Adventure sport somewhere in the mist. The Berghaus jackets really proved their worth on this stage. We were comfortable throughout the stage with just a base layer under the jackets while some teams were having to resort to making makeshift clothing out of their survival blankets just to try and keep warm. To get to the dark zone we had an unwelcoming 2km swim which was not particularly enjoyed – especially by Marcel who was attacked by a Gannet! (and some people think birds are not intelligent)
It was still only 10pm on Wednesday evening so even after getting a hot feed at the pub and preparing for the following day we managed about 5 hours sleep before getting up for the 5am restart and coastal rowing stage. 7 teams had made it through to start at 5am for the race to the finish. Starting at 5 minute intervals in the order of arrival La Fuma were off first, followed by Wilsa, ourselves, Salomon Crested Butte, Adventure Sport NZ, Aberdeen and Lundhags. Although none of us had rowed properly before we were coached and urged on by our local cox Paddy and quickly started making ground on Wilsa and La Fuma. The weather had cleared but there was little time to enjoy the sunrise as we concentrated on keeping in time and not “catching crabs”. The hard work was worth it however as we managed to overtake Wilsa and catch up to La Fuma just as we pulled into the transition to mountain bikes. Off on to the bikes first we enjoyed some time up the front before being caught and passed by Wilsa and La Fuma as we headed up the first big climb. A good route choice coming off the mountain put us back in front again and although we were passed once more before the end of the stage we were not far behind as we transitioned and went off trekking on Valencia Island.
This short trekking stage proved to be a turning point in the race for us. A risky but ultimately successful route choice got us back into the lead once more and by the time we added a few more minutes on the following short kayak we were about 10 minutes in front. Before starting biking once more we received instructions that the zip line had been moved. With a map of the new location we saw that it was now on the bike leg and would add an extra 8km or so to the route. Although on our “weak” discipline again we were more confident of holding our lead as there were a few good sections of “hike a bike” and technical riding which would suit us much more than the predominantly road riding that we had had so far. Half an hour of carrying bikes up the side of a mountain was pretty tough but worth it for the exhilarating downhill that followed. Chased down the hill by the media helicopter we burst back out on to the main road through another party and started making our way towards the zip line. A flat tyre slowed us down by a few minutes but was quickly fixed and we arrived at the zip line with an eye on the watch to check our lead. Suspended high above the road we flew down the cable to a chorus of whoops and cheers and were soon back on our bikes and on our way wondering where the next team was. A few minutes later we passed Wilsa on their way up to the zip line – now nearly 30 minutes down. La Fuma were no where to be seen and as we returned once more to the main road it was obvious that La Fuma had either had major trouble or had missed the zip line and were carrying on to the next transition. The 2nd outcome was confirmed as we caught a glimpse of them in the distance on the next “hike a bike” and when we finally arrived at transition it was a distraught La Fuma who were preparing to return to the zip line – A return trip of about 3 hours which would effectively put them out of the race for the win. Unfortunately for the other Kiwi team, Adventure Sport, they made the same mistake and also had to return to the zip line.
Meanwhile we were into the penultimate leg, Canadian canoeing down the rivers and lakes in Killarney national park. A stunning trip through beautiful scenery on which we would have liked to linger however the race was still on and the finish was beckoning so we did our best to keep the boats straight and moving as quickly as possible. After a little difficulty finding the exit to the lake we finished with the canoes and completed a fun archery shoot before transitioning for the last time and heading out into the McGillycuddy Reeks for the final trek to the finish.
We now had nearly an hours lead over Wilsa and although their lights got pretty close as we completed the ropes ascent early in the trek we knew if we could trek solidly without making nav mistakes then the race was ours to win. The race organizers had saved the best to last and we were treated to a tough but spectacular trek around the rugged peaks of the McGillycuddy range. The progress was slow at times with some scrambling and almost rock climbing to get along some tricky ridges all the time looking far down to where we had been racing over the last day or so. Finally after about 10 hours of trekking we were back at the ropes for an abseil and a final 3km run to the finish. Amid cheers, smoke and spraying champagne we crossed the line as victors, thrilled with our first major international win and as always stoked to have finished another epic adventure.
2 hours later Wilsa crossed the line for 2nd place, followed by Salomon Crested Butte and Lundhags. La Fuma and Aberdeen rounded out the top 6 while Adventure Sport unfortunately had had to continue as an incomplete team when Elina became sick following the canoeing stage.
As always we owe a great deal of thanks to our major sponsor, Orion Health, without whose help we could not afford to race and all our other great sponsors, Berghaus, Thorlos, New Balance, Horleys, Day Two, Ems power cookies, Lupine, Leabank pharmacy who all ensure that we have the best gear and nutrition for our races.
Thanks to the Turas team for a great race in a fantastic country. We had a blast!