The inaugural WCAD (wc/ad pronounced: wikad) long course adventure race took place this past weekend at the iconic Gravity Adventure Festival, just outside Kleinmond in the Western Cape.
The series, which is aimed at promoting the sport of adventure racing, includes 3 x 100km events, and 1 x 250km event to be held early 2012. Race director Quintin Smith said “there is a fine line between making a race like this too hard for novices, and too easy for seasoned racers. I think that we got the balance just right in the Palmiet Race judging from the racers feedback”.
The course was as varied as one could ask for, with white water tubing, paddling, MTB, running, hiking, rope work and micro navigation all included in one action packed day. The Kogelberg biosphere played host to all of these activities, and racers were privileged to have access to some of the most pristine fynbos reserves in the Western Cape.
The field was larger than originally anticipated with almost 40 teams lined up on the start line. Of this, there were 21 official teams that finished and 13 teams who withdrew at some point during the race. The majority of these withdrawals were due to lack of navigational experience, and not an excessively difficult race course.
The mixed pairs category was won by veteran racers, Evan Price and Tatum Loftus/Prins of Team 110, in a lightning fast 9hrs40, 2nd place went to Robyn Ferrar and Paul Hatfield of The Way Across. 3rd place in the mixed category was a hard fought battle and Team Diabetes’s Adventure.com, Darol Howes and Kathy Harpur finished in 13hrs12.
The opens Men’s category was won by Team Energy, Mark Loftus and Trevor Ball in a solid performance coming in just under 12hours. 2nd place went to the Swanepoel Brothers, Jeandre and Niel in 12hrs8mins. Team Kelfords Racing wrapped up the podium position, with Nick Carkeek and Kevin Flanagan finishing in a respectable 13hrs13mins.
Race organisation made the decision not to pull racers off the course, and allowed all teams to race until they finished. Bringing up the rear were the aptly named Mixed Magic and Team GoSlo, finishing in a mammoth 18+ hrs.
In the true spirit of adventure racing, once finished, pros and novices all partied the night away, sharing beers and war stories at the legendary Gravity Adventure Festival After party.
A big thank you to our series sponsors, Capestorm and product sponsors Karrimor, Quantum Adventures, Imazine, Spur and Black Diamond.
For further info contact:
Quintin Smith
WCAD Racing
084-870-5579
info@wcad.co.za