James Lea-Cox and Shelly Hufner, along with two racers from the UK (John Pattinson and Daniel Murphy), took part in the recent Raid in France, an AR World Series event. This is what James had to say about their race.
So Raid in France… Well we should have realised that the challenges of merely getting to the start line would be a sign of things to come.
The Raid is a very technical race with specific requirements when it comes to gear and skills. We spent much time before the race going on courses, acquiring skills certificates and buying gear most of which we thought was a bit over the top. We were glad we put in the effort though because when the course was revealed we were faced with a technical and fast moving 592km beast consisting of 20 legs and 20 transitions not forgetting a prologue and a 35km pre-race cycle to an overnight bivouac spot.
We started off well enough until Dan come down with a recurring virus from a paddling course a month before. This was made worse by dehydration. The race doctor was helpful recommending coke, rice and bananas… Now which adventure racer carries rice?
A few hours of sleep and Dan was on his feet ready to lead the charge on a long trekking section. This involved clambering and bushwacking up a gorge as a warm up. And to make matters worse a storm hit in the first 10km and the weather went pear-shaped. This set the scene for the rest of the race. We finished the hike but unfortunately missed the first cut off and had to be ‘shunted’ up the course. We were thoroughly pissed off about this as we felt the cut off was unreasonable and the fact that only 10 teams made the cut off added to our frustration.
Through the shunt we missed the first canyoning section but got to go through the second canyon which was great fun and involved a fair amount of rope work. Thank goodness for wetsuits! This was followed by a short hike and canoe (those damn single paddles!) before we heading off on a trek through the Cévennes National Park.
This is a beautiful part of France, very rural with hardly any people. Unfortunately the weather took a turn for the worse and we did not see much more than rain and mist. We came off this hike in a soggy state after bivvying in a broom cupboard of a ski chalet.
We headed off on a soggy bike ride having just made the cut off. This section had very tricky nav thanks to old maps and non-existent tracks.
Also the Raid adopts a back-to-nature approach and therefore crossing tar roads can only be done at authorised points and this usually involves going through storm drains. In this case we had to climb back up the mountain after a path we were banking on did not materialise and we hit the tar road. Luckily we found an alternative after climbing back up the switch backs and we were soon in transition.
It was then back on foot for a short hike in the mist. Dan’s virus came back and we came off the trek feeling a little worse for wear. It was at this point that we were told that the race was on hold due to the weather and that the authorities had closed some of the rivers we were supposed to be paddling down due to flooding. Roads were also closed so the race organisation could not get to transitions and the next leg’s caving section was flooded. We were told we had to cycle on the road to the next transition. Instead we decided to sleep where we were and managed to squeeze all four of us into a two-person tent.
We were picked up the next day and driven to a weird looking gymnasium where we had to stay put until the race organisation had decided how to proceed. After breakfast at a local café we were informed that at 03h00 the next morning we would be picked up by coach and driven to the Camargue on the coast where we would complete the last two legs of the race, a horse ride and a beach run.
Teams were a bit despondent but considering the situation there were few complaints and we whiled the time away with coffee and catching up with our friends from Team Lakes Multisport at a local restaurant. 3am came and we had a three-hour bus ride to the coast. Start times were seeded and we had a eight hour wait, so we went sightseeing and even watched a film about the establishment of Saint Louis’, King of France, first port on the Mediterranean.
Our start time came and we had a lovely horse ride through the salt marshes of the Camargue and even spotted some flamingos. Then it was a short beach run to the finish line. We finished around 8pm on Friday night and what with all the cut offs, weather (so much for sunny southern France), sickness and changes to the course we finished in 16th (or 17th, not sure on this!) as an intact team. Only three teams finished the full weather-shortened course.
The last day was spent packing up and relaxing before we enjoyed the closing ceremony and dinner. Oh and the sun came out.
Our team raced well together and while we had many highs and lows we came out smiling despite not completing the full course. John Pattinson, Shelly Plumb and Dan Murphy, thanks for an awesome experience. I think we should go back in 2016 to show the French a thing or two. And I am definitely going back to the Cévennes. France is definitely ‘magic’ and the racing terrain is amazing. Chapeau to the race organisation and the 150 volunteers for a stunner of a course. A pity about the weather but considering the circumstances it was a great race and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Also thanks to Helen Murphy for all your support while following the course, sending out reports and being the friendly face at some of the transitions!
Some thoughts on the course: It was a technical course which is great as I think many races out there are exchanging the technical aspects for long slog out sections. There were just too many legs and transitions. Many of these legs could have been combined. We struggled to make sense of it and I don’t know how the race director managed to pull it together. To do well at this race you have to have an incredible quick transition time!
Making sure you have the right gear and food at the right time is also a complex thing to get your head round. You are given two resupply barrels which you only see twice on the race and then you have your bike box, mountaineering crate and paddle bag. You need to spread your food and gear around all of these, all of which have weight limits. The barrels for example cannot weigh more than 35kg. They weigh 11kg on their own so you are limited to 6kg each. Not much at all and when it came to the weigh in we had to ditch a lot of food. Bike boxes and crates also have limits so you have to move weight around as the race progresses.
In line with the back-to-nature philosophy we did not come across many shops.
Cut offs… there were loads of them and we felt they were way too tight.
So was the race too hard? Well maybe within the cut offs specified but if they weren’t as tight, then no. The weather was the deciding factor though and you can’t control that!