the Abu Dhabi Adventure Challenge
Words: Fiola Foley
Photos: Martin Paldan (www.martinpaldan.com)
In December 2009 two Irish teams took part in the multi-day adventure race, the Abu Dhabi Adventure Challenge. Such is the popularity of the race (and the size of the cash prize purse) that top world teams like Quasr Al Sarab, Wilsa, Buff, ADCO and La Fuma even forfeited participation in the World Championships in compete in this desert race. Fiola Fiola, a member of Irish AR Galtee fills us in on what makes the race so special and how Irish AR Galtee and Sleepmonsters finished 16th and 20th respectively.
In the words of my teammate and well-known Irish adventure racer Eoin Keith, “You are racing from the minute you put your foot on the plane to the moment you cross the finish line.”
Arriving in Abu Dhabi was relatively uncomplicated for the two Irish teams – Irish AR Galtee (Chris Caulfield, Eoin Keith, Brian Keogh and Fiola Foley) and Sleepmonsters (Paul Mahon, Ivan Park, Taryn McCoy and Peter Cole). In contrast to what lay ahead of us, we spent the entire first day at a fabulous 4-star hotel, the Rotunda Park, going through mandatory gear checks, kayak and bike inspections, accreditation and organising our equipment for the race.
I barely scraped by one of the gear inspections as my windstopper was underweight (the requirement was 280g and mine was only 170g). But as the organisers were French, a wink of the eye and a joke about Thierry Henry sweetened them up and they allowed me to use it if supplemented with a gilet.
We also had a mandatory briefing that evening where all teams were present. The funniest part was when organisers us if any team members would like a buoyancy aid for the 900m swim the following day. Both Taryn and I looked at our feet when we realised that all the guys on the Irish teams had their hands up. So the girls would be doing the towing on that section!
The Abu Dhabi Adventure Challenge began with a Le Mans start on bikes up and down along the esplanade overlooking the beachfront. This bike leg was only 15km and then we then transitioned to a 10km run, followed by a 900m swim, a 3km kayak, an orienteering challenge on an island and finally a kayak back to shore by. This entire prologue took about 3-4 hours at a pretty intense pace and was then followed by 30km kayak to a desert island where we set up camp for the night.
Irish AR Galtee fared really well on the bike, staying in the peleton and up in the front of the pack. When we transferred to foot we were also going well and estimated we were near enough to the top 10 teams approaching the water.
Then disaster struck. I knew we weren’t a team of strong swimmers but we took to the water like stones. No amount of goggles, buoyancy aids, webbed gloves or snorkels could help us keep us up with the 15 or so teams that passed us.
We eventually made it across to the other side after much pushing and tugging, and hopped into our kayaks. A furious in-house battle between us and Sleepmonsters ensued and they beat us to the post. Not such a great performance for Irish AR Galtee in the beginning of the race but a good reality check.
After an hour’s break we set off for the 30km kayak. I was paired with Brian and Chris was with Eoin in the other boat. We started off at a good pace and decided to opt for a different route to the majority of teams which was in part sheltered by a breakwater. This was definitely to our advantage and coupled with some efficient use of the sails on the kayaks, we arrived in 13th position to the island. We were delighted!
The setting for our camp was spectacular – crystal blue, tropical water surrounded a little sandy island. We tucked into some expedition freeze dried food packs which were delicious and we even got a visit from Ironman World Champion ’05, Faris Al-Sultan, who shared some jellies with us for dessert. The next day was due to be a lot more serious involving an 80km kayak with orienteering checkpoints to be picked up along the way.
Day 2
After a good night’s sleep, we packed up our gear, loaded up the kayaks after strawberries and porridge for breakfast, we set off on the second and last kayak stage. This was one of the longest and toughest sections of the entire event and it felt like it would never end.
Unfortunately we weren’t as successful as the previous day. There was a significant difference in speed between our boats which compromised our average speed and we had to use a tow line for most of the seven hours. We dropped down to 18th place. But one of the great things about adventure racing is that there is never much time to dwell in the past. You just have to focus very much in the moment and prepare for the next leg.
Day 3-4
Without doubt, the most intimidating stage of race was always going to be the desert trek which consisted of 110 punishing kilometres, six mandatory checkpoints and a number of optional bonus checkpoints in between. It was our objective to ‘clear the course’, that is, pick up all the checkpoints.
It was also mandatory to take two breaks during the trek of eight hours in total, and it was up to each team to decide how they would distribute those eight hours – whether they would take two hours and six hours or four hours and four hours. We opted for the latter, to take the first break early in the day to avoid the heat of midday sun and then to keep going as far as we could until we needed the next break.
We started at 7am with a mass start and a frantic pace off the line. Chris, who had competed in the race last year, had warned us about this and told us that last year he blew up after the first few hours because they ran with the pack and the pace was too fast to sustain in the heat. We tried to distribute the weight in our backpacks as fairly as possible; Chris and Eoin took more weight than Brian and I as we had never done such a long trek. When the gun went off, it was like a stampede and we ran on a dirt road for the first few kilometres until we turned off into the desert.
We stuck to our strategy and this was one of the best team decisions we made in the entire race. Many teams raced through the heat of the day without taking a break and by the time night fell they were exhausted, with many opting for the short course and compromising their chances of staying competitive. There were moments when we too questioned whether or not to take the shorter route but Chris and Eoin, the two more experienced members of the team, were convinced we would make all the cut off times and, no matter how bad we were feeling, we could still finish the entire trek and do well.
There are moments during a long stage like the desert trek when every athlete feels incredibly bad. Our feet were blistered, we couldn’t see straight, we felt like lying on the ground at every opportunity and wishing someone would drag us instead of having to walk another step. What I wouldn’t have done to have been picked up by one of the television crews in their 4x4s and transported to the finish! But as bad as you feel, it is when your teammate reaches out to you and helps you that you know you must continue. There will also come the time when you can gladly repay that favour when he is in need. That is what it’s all about – give and take.
It took us 32 gruelling hours to complete the desert trek. We came in 12th place out of all the teams, just two places behind the top professional teams and one place behind the Danish Team Summit against whom we had been racing for the last six hours. We were so proud of our achievement and we were delighted when we saw our Irish counterparts, Team Sleepmonsters, arrive in just behind us.
Day 5
I had been longing for the day I could wake up and know that I just had to sit on my bum all day long. However, it was never going to be THAT easy! Another early start and the fifth day of the Abu Dhabi Adventure Challenge involved an 80km biking race on desert roads and tracks which was broken into two stages. The first was a 30km prologue to a desert resort hotel followed by a break of an hour before a mass start and the remaining 50km. Sounds easy, right?
It was one of the most uncomfortable rides I have ever done. We got a puncture in the first leg and were dropped by the peleton. We survived a crash and rode through a sandstorm so strong that we couldn’t even see. The road was full of holes and cracks which numbed our hands from all the rattling. We were forced to dismount and push the bikes through sand every few minutes during the second leg.
Some of us hit the wall. Some of us screamed at each other. There were moments when we were going so slow I thought we would never get to the finish. The only moment of respite came when we were at an all-time low on one of the last hills and looked up to saw the Danish team, against whom we had been battling since the desert trek for 12th place, just ahead of us. One of them was pushing his bike. It was like a Godsend and just the incentive we needed to race the last 5km to the finish line.
When we crossed it ahead of them, Beatrice, the girl on the Danish team, came up to me and gave me a huge hug saying, “Thank you so much for racing us. It was so hard, but fighting against your team was just what we needed to help get us to the line.” It was so reassuring to know that we weren’t the only ones who were on their last legs!
Day 6
The last day of racing consisted of a 13km orienteering stage at 5am followed by a 21km and 1,000m by Via Cordite WHAT DOES THIS MEAN ascent up the Jebel Hafeet mountain. After all the teams had regrouped, there was then to be a 30km bike ride and a 3km run to the finish line.
By this stage it was clear the that Richard Ussher’s team Qsar al Sarab were favourites to win with another Kiwi team, ADCO in second place.
Many teams had trouble sleeping before the last day. A strong gale blowing around the campsite made it impossible and many of us only got about two hours kip. Not ideal preparation.
The orienteering race started in the dark, on a rock field. It was very challenging underfoot with sharp rocks everywhere and a lot of competitors had trouble with their footwork. I had an asthma attack midway brought on by a respiratory infection which had been aggravated by the sandstorm the previous day. I was very glad to reach the base of the mountain climb as I knew the pace while climbing would be steadier.
Again we raced against the Danes all the way up the 1,000m mountain for four brutal hours, catching them in the last five minutes and arriving at beginning of the bike leg at the same time and inside the cut-off. We knew we were in with a great chance of coming in 15th place. However luck again was not on our side, I got a puncture which forced us out of the bike peleton and thus, out of contention.
There was nothing like the emotional rush and relief at crossing the finish line. Despite all the hardship it was an amazing event – first class accommodation, real food at the end of every day and breakfast in the mornings. Lying around and chatting with other teams on Persian carpets in Bedouin tents in the desert every evening added a special social element often missing in expedition races where sometimes the only interaction you have is between your team and a paddle or a bicycle.
Chris, Eoin, Brian and I had put so much time and effort into preparing for this race and we achieved what we set out to do; we raced to our maximum potential. Had we had more luck (and fewer punctures) we may have achieved 15th place but that is the luck of sport.
The Abu Dhabi Adventure Challenge
Words: Fiola Foley
Photos: Martin Paldan (www.martinpaldan.com)
In December 2009 two Irish teams took part in the multi-day adventure race, the Abu Dhabi Adventure Challenge. Such is the popularity of the race (and the size of the cash prize purse) that top world teams like Quasr Al Sarab, Wilsa, Buff, ADCO and La Fuma even forfeited participation in the World Championships in compete in this desert race. Fiola Fiola, a member of Irish AR Galtee fills us in on what makes the race so special and how Irish AR Galtee and Sleepmonsters finished 16th and 20th respectively.
In the words of my teammate and well-known Irish adventure racer Eoin Keith, “You are racing from the minute you put your foot on the plane to the moment you cross the finish line.”
Arriving in Abu Dhabi was relatively uncomplicated for the two Irish teams – Irish AR Galtee (Chris Caulfield, Eoin Keith, Brian Keogh and Fiola Foley) and Sleepmonsters (Paul Mahon, Ivan Park, Taryn McCoy and Peter Cole). In contrast to what lay ahead of us, we spent the entire first day at a fabulous 4-star hotel, the Rotunda Park, going through mandatory gear checks, kayak and bike inspections, accreditation and organising our equipment for the race.
I barely scraped by one of the gear inspections as my windstopper was underweight (the requirement was 280g and mine was only 170g). But as the organisers were French, a wink of the eye and a joke about Thierry Henry sweetened them up and they allowed me to use it if supplemented with a gilet.
We also had a mandatory briefing that evening where all teams were present. The funniest part was when organisers us if any team members would like a buoyancy aid for the 900m swim the following day. Both Taryn and I looked at our feet when we realised that all the guys on the Irish teams had their hands up. So the girls would be doing the towing on that section!
The Abu Dhabi Adventure Challenge began with a Le Mans start on bikes up and down along the esplanade overlooking the beachfront. This bike leg was only 15km and then we then transitioned to a 10km run, followed by a 900m swim, a 3km kayak, an orienteering challenge on an island and finally a kayak back to shore by. This entire prologue took about 3-4 hours at a pretty intense pace and was then followed by 30km kayak to a desert island where we set up camp for the night.
Irish AR Galtee fared really well on the bike, staying in the peleton and up in the front of the pack. When we transferred to foot we were also going well and estimated we were near enough to the top 10 teams approaching the water.
Then disaster struck. I knew we weren’t a team of strong swimmers but we took to the water like stones. No amount of goggles, buoyancy aids, webbed gloves or snorkels could help us keep us up with the 15 or so teams that passed us.
We eventually made it across to the other side after much pushing and tugging, and hopped into our kayaks. A furious in-house battle between us and Sleepmonsters ensued and they beat us to the post. Not such a great performance for Irish AR Galtee in the beginning of the race but a good reality check.
After an hour’s break we set off for the 30km kayak. I was paired with Brian and Chris was with Eoin in the other boat. We started off at a good pace and decided to opt for a different route to the majority of teams which was in part sheltered by a breakwater. This was definitely to our advantage and coupled with some efficient use of the sails on the kayaks, we arrived in 13th position to the island. We were delighted!
The setting for our camp was spectacular – crystal blue, tropical water surrounded a little sandy island. We tucked into some expedition freeze dried food packs which were delicious and we even got a visit from Ironman World Champion ’05, Faris Al-Sultan, who shared some jellies with us for dessert. The next day was due to be a lot more serious involving an 80km kayak with orienteering checkpoints to be picked up along the way.
Day 2
After a good night’s sleep, we packed up our gear, loaded up the kayaks after strawberries and porridge for breakfast, we set off on the second and last kayak stage. This was one of the longest and toughest sections of the entire event and it felt like it would never end.
Unfortunately we weren’t as successful as the previous day. There was a significant difference in speed between our boats which compromised our average speed and we had to use a tow line for most of the seven hours. We dropped down to 18th place. But one of the great things about adventure racing is that there is never much time to dwell in the past. You just have to focus very much in the moment and prepare for the next leg.
Day 3-4
Without doubt, the most intimidating stage of race was always going to be the desert trek which consisted of 110 punishing kilometres, six mandatory checkpoints and a number of optional bonus checkpoints in between. It was our objective to ‘clear the course’, that is, pick up all the checkpoints.
It was also mandatory to take two breaks during the trek of eight hours in total, and it was up to each team to decide how they would distribute those eight hours – whether they would take two hours and six hours or four hours and four hours. We opted for the latter, to take the first break early in the day to avoid the heat of midday sun and then to keep going as far as we could until we needed the next break.
We started at 7am with a mass start and a frantic pace off the line. Chris, who had competed in the race last year, had warned us about this and told us that last year he blew up after the first few hours because they ran with the pack and the pace was too fast to sustain in the heat. We tried to distribute the weight in our backpacks as fairly as possible; Chris and Eoin took more weight than Brian and I as we had never done such a long trek. When the gun went off, it was like a stampede and we ran on a dirt road for the first few kilometres until we turned off into the desert.
We stuck to our strategy and this was one of the best team decisions we made in the entire race. Many teams raced through the heat of the day without taking a break and by the time night fell they were exhausted, with many opting for the short course and compromising their chances of staying competitive. There were moments when we too questioned whether or not to take the shorter route but Chris and Eoin, the two more experienced members of the team, were convinced we would make all the cut off times and, no matter how bad we were feeling, we could still finish the entire trek and do well.
There are moments during a long stage like the desert trek when every athlete feels incredibly bad. Our feet were blistered, we couldn’t see straight, we felt like lying on the ground at every opportunity and wishing someone would drag us instead of having to walk another step. What I wouldn’t have done to have been picked up by one of the television crews in their 4x4s and transported to the finish! But as bad as you feel, it is when your teammate reaches out to you and helps you that you know you must continue. There will also come the time when you can gladly repay that favour when he is in need. That is what it’s all about – give and take.
It took us 32 gruelling hours to complete the desert trek. We came in 12th place out of all the teams, just two places behind the top professional teams and one place behind the Danish Team Summit against whom we had been racing for the last six hours. We were so proud of our achievement and we were delighted when we saw our Irish counterparts, Team Sleepmonsters, arrive in just behind us.
Day 5
I had been longing for the day I could wake up and know that I just had to sit on my bum all day long. However, it was never going to be THAT easy! Another early start and the fifth day of the Abu Dhabi Adventure Challenge involved an 80km biking race on desert roads and tracks which was broken into two stages. The first was a 30km prologue to a desert resort hotel followed by a break of an hour before a mass start and the remaining 50km. Sounds easy, right?
It was one of the most uncomfortable rides I have ever done. We got a puncture in the first leg and were dropped by the peleton. We survived a crash and rode through a sandstorm so strong that we couldn’t even see. The road was full of holes and cracks which numbed our hands from all the rattling. We were forced to dismount and push the bikes through sand every few minutes during the second leg.
Some of us hit the wall. Some of us screamed at each other. There were moments when we were going so slow I thought we would never get to the finish. The only moment of respite came when we were at an all-time low on one of the last hills and looked up to saw the Danish team, against whom we had been battling since the desert trek for 12th place, just ahead of us. One of them was pushing his bike. It was like a Godsend and just the incentive we needed to race the last 5km to the finish line.
When we crossed it ahead of them, Beatrice, the girl on the Danish team, came up to me and gave me a huge hug saying, “Thank you so much for racing us. It was so hard, but fighting against your team was just what we needed to help get us to the line.” It was so reassuring to know that we weren’t the only ones who were on their last legs!
Day 6
The last day of racing consisted of a 13km orienteering stage at 5am followed by a 21km and 1,000m by Via Cordite WHAT DOES THIS MEAN ascent up the Jebel Hafeet mountain. After all the teams had regrouped, there was then to be a 30km bike ride and a 3km run to the finish line.
By this stage it was clear the that Richard Ussher’s team Qsar al Sarab were favourites to win with another Kiwi team, ADCO in second place.
Many teams had trouble sleeping before the last day. A strong gale blowing around the campsite made it impossible and many of us only got about two hours kip. Not ideal preparation.
The orienteering race started in the dark, on a rock field. It was very challenging underfoot with sharp rocks everywhere and a lot of competitors had trouble with their footwork. I had an asthma attack midway brought on by a respiratory infection which had been aggravated by the sandstorm the previous day. I was very glad to reach the base of the mountain climb as I knew the pace while climbing would be steadier.
Again we raced against the Danes all the way up the 1,000m mountain for four brutal hours, catching them in the last five minutes and arriving at beginning of the bike leg at the same time and inside the cut-off. We knew we were in with a great chance of coming in 15th place. However luck again was not on our side, I got a puncture which forced us out of the bike peleton and thus, out of contention.
There was nothing like the emotional rush and relief at crossing the finish line. Despite all the hardship it was an amazing event – first class accommodation, real food at the end of every day and breakfast in the mornings. Lying around and chatting with other teams on Persian carpets in Bedouin tents in the desert every evening added a special social element often missing in expedition races where sometimes the only interaction you have is between your team and a paddle or a bicycle.
Chris, Eoin, Brian and I had put so much time and effort into preparing for this race and we achieved what we set out to do; we raced to our maximum potential. Had we had more luck (and fewer punctures) we may have achieved 15th place but that is the luck of sport.
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