- Friday 21 February 2025
The last race of our 2024-25 Winter series took us to Coleford in the Forest of Dean. A new spot for us to explore and a terrific area to race in. The course itself was the most challenging we have set navigation-wise, with lots of trails and false paths in the forest to test even the most experienced of navigators and the hills making strategy and route choice extra important.
In the week leading up to the event we spoke of cold and dry conditions, alas rain and drizzle made a mockery of the forecast. At least we were 50% correct…
With the weather being as it was, we were expecting a number of early finishes, how wrong we were! Penalties far outweighed rewards on every course with the bike-only course being particularly generous to our penalty column by picking up an average of 42 points in penalties each! There were some pretty impressive solo efforts with Mark Beigel, Dave Salter and the Sun Summoners (Rudolf Dreyer, Stefanie Paul) all joining the 100 club for penalties on the day! At the other end of the scale, Team Jaffa Cakes (Julian Howe, Albie Howe, Iggy Howe) had a perfectly timed race to finish in 2:59:54, just six seconds within the three hour time limit in the Taster category.
In terms of the races, most racers (59%) in the Full and Taster categories opted to run first on fresh legs. This is lower than normal, likely due to the weather encouraging more racers to run last where it is easier to stay warm.
Overall, it was a remarkably equal split with teams picking up an average of 1.45 points per minute on both bike and foot. This is down from normal and a reflection of the tougher racing conditions and the fact we had wanted to set a particularly big and challenging course for the last race of our Series.
Five teams managed to clear the run course, all using a different route to do so, with Campbell Walsh fastest in a time of 2:32, ahead of Iain Porter in 2:33, In Search of control (Eleanor Thackeray & Pollie Boyle) in 3:29, Paul Cantrill in 3:40 and Andrew Lewis in 4:53. Dan Thorby picked up 2.44 points per minute for the most efficient run of the day ahead of Campbell Walsh (2.43 points per minute) and Iain Porter (2.41 points per minute).
In the female categories, In Search of Control (Eleanor Thackeray & Pollie Boyle) had a superb run to clear the course whilst also picking up 1.77 points per minute for the most efficient run of the day, followed by Isabel Boyd (1.48 points per minute) and Sarah Russell (1.39 points per minute).
An impressive six teams managed to clear what was a big and challenging bike course with Nick Gracie quickest in a time of 3:14 ahead of Kevin Stephens in 3:35, Rob Smart in 3:40, Stuart Colvin in 3:42, Steph Gibbins in 3:54 and Nicky Griffin in 4:15.
Campbell Walsh had a great ride to pick up 2.48 points per minute for the most efficient bike of the day, followed by Michael Holloway (2.32 points per minute) and Daniel Thorby and Nick Gracie (both with 2.21 points per minute).
In the female categories, Steph Gibbins had a great ride to clear the course whilst picking up 1.84 points per minute for the most efficient bike of the day, followed by Nicky Griffin (1.68 points per minute) and Julie Banton (1.55 points per minute).
Our Adventurer of the Day award goes to Charles Brignall who took time out of his race to let us know about a deer that was stuck in a fence. We were then able to get the team of Forestry England out to check on it. Thank you Charles!
A special mention to Andrew Ford, Andrew came out to race with us in Berkshire and had something of a shocker – taking over an hour and a half to find the first checkpoint! He had a much, much better outing this time around in the run-only race to finish fourth in the Open category, just one point off the podium!
A special thanks to James Brown who went out and collected checkpoints on his cool down run and to Iain Porter and Alex Ward who helped with the pack up. Thank you!
We really like the Forest of Dean as an area and we hope to be back for a summer event in 2026.
Before then, our attention turns to our Summer Series which kicks off in April in Berkshire, we hope to see you there!
Full results can be found here and pictures here. High-res photos can be downloaded from here.
A summary of the results follows below.
Run-only (2 hours)
In the female category, The Glass Ninjas (Lesley Parry-Jones, Jade Smith) had a great race to win with a score of 183 points ahead of Alison White (143 points) and Abi Pack (140 points).
In the open category, Jonny Blair topped the podium with 239 points, just ahead of Oscar Sly on 234 points with Ben Pember completing the podium with 187 points.
In the mixed category returning racers Team M&M (Mike and Amanda Yorwerth) once again topped the podium with an impressive 262 points (the best score of the day) ahead of Team Directionally Challenged (Daniel O’Connor, Emma Clarke) on 248 points whilst Team Directional Daredevils (Anne & Andrew Kenchington) finished third with 202 points.
Bike-only (2 hours)
Team C Squared (Clare & Chris Gibson) once again topped the podium with 88 points ahead of Tanya Rumney on 75 points and the Plugga Ladies (Hannah Beeby, Rose Stephenson) on 60 points.
Duo Taster (Run & Bike 3 hours)
In the female category, Queen Bees (June and Julia Kingsbury) topped the podium with 205 points – particularly impressive as this was after having picked up 50 penalty points, apparently they were just having too much fun out on course! Kathryn Heppinstall continued her impressive series to finish second in 188 points ahead of Coffee and Chaos (Jo Witchard, Charlotte Swarbrick) in 150 points.
In the open category, Team Badger (William Paxton, Hermanus Henning) had a brilliant race to top the podium with 317 points ahead of Benjamin Law (305 points). Whilst David Rogers (220 points) snatched the final spot on the podium by one point from Ben Fowkes!
In the mixed category, Team Momentum (Sophie Bowerman, Richard Arthur) won the day with 266 points ahead of The Favourites (Adam Brown, Ezra Knott, Ellie Nightingale) on 248 points with Team BrigBings (Ben Bingham, Amy Bingham, Gavin Brigstocke, Lisa Brigstocke) making up the podium with 224 points.
Duo Full (Run & Bike 5 hours)
In the Open Teams category, Adam & Will Haynes topped the podium with an excellent 590 points ahead of Doctored Results (Simon Jennison & Graham King) on 570 points and the Milton Mavericks (Mark Lowden & Ian Ross) on 494 points.
In the Mixed Team category Team Volare (Daisy Lucker, Charles Nell) had a brilliant race to win with a score of 565 points ahead of Team Gill (Emma & Richard Gill) on 505 points with Team GTN (James Cunnama, Mark Threlfall, Heather Fell) completing the podium with 479 points on their first outing with us.
In the Female Team category In Search of Control (Eleanor Thackeray, Pollie Boyle) once again won the day with a brilliant 498 points ahead of The Mad Old Tarts (Maggie Salter, Liz Jones) on 375 points and Team C Squared (Clare Catto, Clare Adams) on 340 points.
In the Female Solo category, Stephanie Gibbins had a great race to win with a score of 480 points ahead of Nicky Griffin on 455 points and Julie Banton on 430 points.
In the Open Solo category, Campbell Walsh won his third race of the Series to win with a score of 717 points ahead of Michael Holloway and Daniel Thorby who were both tied on 685 points, with Michael taking second spot on the podium by virtue of a quicker finish time.
Vets Category
In the female category, Nicky Griffin topped the podium with an adjusted score of 523 points ahead of Pollie Boyle on 505 points and Maggie Salter and Liz Jones on 454 points.
In the open category, Adam Haynes topped the podium with a brilliant adjusted score of 732 points ahead of Nick Gracie on 638 points and Phil Haycock on 610 points.
The 2025 Questars Summer Series
Our Summer Series kicks off in Berkshire on Saturday 12 April with further events in May, June, July and September.
Anyone entering into any of our adventure races will be automatically entered into our Series Championship with each individual’s top four one-day results (or equivalent) counting towards the final Championship position. Full details can be found on our Series Championship page.
