adidas TERREX Race News | Day 3

Day 3 Summary

A day which dawned with most teams out trekking in the mountains in torrential rain, ended with the majority of teams out in the mountains once again, but this time under clear skies with temperatures dipping down to 4C on the tops. 

At the start of the day exhausted and sodden teams were resting up in Langdale or finishing off the long trekking stage through heart of the Lakeland peaks.  It had been a night of constant rain and high winds, making movement and navigation difficult and many teams has tales of searching for checkpoints or helping exhausted team mates back down to the transition.  Phil Humphreys of Exposure Joystick has a severely swollen ankle, but was able to go on but for Mick Kenyon of Team Haglofs the race was over.  His team mates had helping him down after he developed an inflamed eye and was struggling to see, and Race Director James Thurlow made the call that he should go off to hospital for a check up.

It seemed at the time that the rain would never stop, but by mid-morning the sun was out and teams were on the next cycling stage, riding northwards along the High Street ridge, although some teams opted to stay low and on the roads.  Those who went up onto the ridge found the climb hard but the reward was a ride along the tops with sweeping views either side and a rapid descent that put a grin on all the competitors faces. 

Race leaders adidas Terrex were the first to ride the ridge after an overnight 2 hour sleep in a church.  On the tops all were blown out of their saddles, but it didn’t slow them too much as by now they had a 5 hour lead over their closest rivals.  The only other teams still racing the full course were Accelerate and planetfear.com and they remained close to each other until the transition at Pooley Bridge at the end of the ride.  

Here teams got into their kayaks for the final time to begin the paddle down the length of Ulswater and Accelerate were quicker in transition and on the water than their rivals, who are working wonders to get their novice racer Sally Ozanne round the full course and in contention for a podium place. 

By mid afternoon both these teams were setting off on the final trek of the race, which took them up onto the Helvellyn range.  By nightfall the slower teams were on this trek while the front runners were on the final cycle stage through the Skiddaw Forest and the leaders were closing in on the finish in Keswick town centre, where they are expected in the early hours of Monday morning.