South Downs
- Last Updated: Wednesday 20 March 2024
We look forward to seeing you on Saturday for the first instalment of our 2024 Summer Adventure Race Series!
We had a final recce of the course last week and it was pretty muddy! It has been reasonably dry since then but still expect mud!
For those who have not raced with us before (or not raced with us for a while), we have put together this short video to give you a bit more information on what to expect (if viewing on a mobile device it works best when opened to full screen mode).
At the moment, the weather is looking dry in the morning with a chance of showers in the afternoon so it is certainly a day to plan for rain and pack a few extra layers, a buff and some gloves. It is also worth a final check of the forecast on the morning of the event.
We look forward to seeing you at Duncton Village Hall on Saturday for a day of adventure!
SOUTH DOWNS RACE DAY INFORMATION
All the information you need for a successful race can be found here:
regular race information
All our regular race information can be found here:
race numbers & Start times
You will need to know your race number in order to collect your race pack.
Each team has been given a start time window. This is based on which course you are doing, when your kayak time slot is, how long it’ll take most people to get to/from the kayaking and the fact the course closes at 16:45 (i.e. you must finish before this).
You can start any time within your start time window. But remember if you are kayaking early on, you will need to allow enough time to get to the kayak transition. Likewise, if you are kayaking towards the end of the day then you will need to allow sufficient time to get back to the finish after you kayak. You can only get to/from the kayak transition on bike.
kayak time slot
The maximum time allowed for the kayaking is 60 minutes for everyone.
NOTE: The kayak time slots are 70 minutes to give you flexibility but you must not exceed the 60 minute kayak time limit on the water.
Exceed the maximum permitted kayak time (60 minutes) – even by 1 second – and you will incur a 50 point penalty, so don’t go over!
If, for example, your kayak time slot is 11:30-12:40 and you get on the water at 11:35, then you must off the water and finish kayaking before 12:35 (i.e. 60 mins after you began kayaking) to avoid the penalty.
Your kayak time begins when you punch the kayak transition control to get on the water and your kayak time ends when you punch the kayak transition control again (i.e. a second time) to get off the water. Not punching the kayak transition control both when you get on and off the water incurs penalties, whether done intentionally or not, so please don’t forget!
You can only kayak within your kayak time slot (see the Start List). You must have finished kayaking (i.e. be off the water having dibbed the kayak transition control) before the end of your kayak time slot, otherwise you will incur a 50 point penalty.
So if, for example, you are in the 11:30-12:40 kayak slot, and you get on the water at 12:00, you’ll only have up to a maximum of 40 minutes in which to kayak as you must have finished kayaking no later than 12:40.
event base & timings
The event base is: Duncton Village Hall, Duncton, GU28 0JY and this opens at 08:00 (see below for full timings).
Your start time is based on which course you are doing, see below. You can start at any time within your start window, just make your way to the big blue start arch when you’re ready to start. Your race time (2/5/6 hour time limit) begins when you dib the start control and receive your checkpoint descriptions.
course notes
The layout of the course is such that…
- the transition point for the run and bike is located at the event base
- you can only bike once
- you can run as many times as you like
- you can only bike to and from the kayak transition
How long you spend running, biking and kayaking is up to you. But, if you’ve never done a Questars Adventure Race, it can be difficult to know how long to spend on each discipline. Below is a Course Planner’s Guide which gives a suggestion for how to structure your day depending on your kayak window. This is only a guide, the great thing about Questars races is that what you do is up to you! If you like running, you can spend more time running and less time biking (and vice-versa).
Equally, you do not need to use all of your time limit. If you have had your fill of adventure after a couple of hours then you can join us back at HQ for food, drink and to share stories of your navigation successes and failures!
