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Race Report The third race of the Quest Adventure Race Series took the competitors to Wiltshire, the new home of Quest TGO. The Vale of Pewsey flanked by the Marlborough Downs to the North and Salisbury Plain to the south provided a stunning and challenging course. Pewsey Vale School was the race HQ for the day and provided an ideal location at the centre of the course and close to the Kennet & Avon canal on which the canoeing was staged. The competitors were blessed with ideal weather for racing – bright and sunny with a gentle breeze that kept it cool. A wet April, however, followed by a warm start to May saw the growth of the vegetation along the footpaths and bridleways become rampant, resulting in some footpaths & bridleways being swamped with vicious nettles. This not only presented the competitors with an additional challenge but also gave the course designer a painfully unpleasant afternoon putting the course out!! Many of our regular competitors i.e Team Goodman, Sacha Course Ltd, No Threat, Graham Crabtree & The Lost Boys were present. It was also great to see a good many newcomers. The race was also used by a number of teams from Lloyds TSB, Microsoft & Tibbett & Britten as their final preparation for the Microsoft Challengers Trophy. The One.Tel team are also in training for the Hebredian Challenge. The mountain biking took the competitors up on to the high ground boarding the vale. A superb effort saw Guy, Nicola and Tony from Babycham clear all but two of the mountain bike checkpoints. This was a challenging course but the teams that made it up on to the Plain boarding the military ranges were rewarded by some fabulous views. John Coppock took a nasty tumble whilst mountain biking gashing his arm. Despite this happening very early in the race, John bravely soldiered on and his ‘Itchy Feet’ team went on to come 2nd in the Novice Category. Team Goodman followed a completely different race strategy, mopping up all the canoe checkpoints and all but three of the running checkpoints. This was despite an unconventional route choice to get them to the canoe transition. This slight deviation did not cost them too much time but did result in them getting very bad nettle rash. The Quest marshals, however, had ample supplies of antihistamine cream to hand to sooth the pain! An intelligent route choice saw the Microsoft Kir Royale team pip the LloydsTSB Bella Donnas to the Women’s team prize. Tim Leggett & Mark Dodds from XXXX1 took the Men’s team category scoring consistently across all three disciplines. Later this year Tim & Mark are off to take on the infamous Southern Traverse Challenge in New Zealand. We wish them all the best! The Novice category was won by Anthony Evans who left his favoured ski’s behind to accumulate a very impressive 560 points which actually saw him come 2nd overall. Graham Crabtree put in another solid performance taking the men’s solo category with a score of 500. The overall winners were the present series leaders Toby & Sacha Fisher of Sacha Course Ltd. They produced a very balanced performance. They go from strength to strength and are now the team to chase for the £400 Series prize. Congratulations to everyone who took part and we look forward to see you all in the Brecon Beacons in June. RESULTS: Men's Solo - Graham Crabtree - 500 pts Men's - XXXX1 - 545 pts Ladies' - Microsoft Kir Royale - 370 pts Mixed - Sacha Course Ltd - 605 pts Vets - Team Goodman - 510 pts Novice - Anthony Evans - 560 pts
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Questars - in association with Quest "The Great Outdoors" Ltd. ®