Asia adventure trip Part 1: The Race

         “Have you thought about becoming kitesurfing instructor and earn money by teaching? Kind of cool life right!” asked me Rune during our now rare games of Magic. “Hmmm…actually I haven’t” I replied and focused on the game. “You can run a kite school or a water sport centre” he added, but I was barely listening. When I got home the next day, I started thinking about what he said, then thinking a bit more and then I realized that it is an excellent idea. Some kind of backup plan J No surprise that in a week I booked a kitesurfing instructor course in Thailand and was going on another two week holiday! Sponsored almost entirely from the 2012 leave, but I was sure it was worth it.

          “Hmm…maybe I can search for some adventure races in the area too…once I’m going there” I though and started googling. “Wow…100km ultra trail marathon in Borneo…that’s close…never done anything like that…but fits the schedule nicely…so let’s do it!!” I decided and arranged for a small detour!

           The Most Beautiful Thing is Malaysia’s first 100k Ultra Trail Marathon. I would prefer to do a real adventure race, but getting team mates and all the logistics is a big hassle, so I chose this as an easy solution. Did I say easy? I was never even close to running 100 kilometers in a single go. I ran one classic marathon so far and completed 90 km hike in two day during Abu Dhabi Adventure Challenge. I felt like that I would probably get to the finish, but had no idea when and how! So on the beautiful Saturday morning, 5^th of November, I stood on the start line along with 80 other ultra marathoners. Mount Kinabalu on the horizon, nice dirt track ahead…perfect day for some running J 5…4…3…2…1…GO!!! And I was off…

             My strategy was to forget about the others, run to finish and enjoy. And at the first kilometer it was exactly like that. I started with easy pace 10 km/h. Around 10km it started to be a bit hillier so I was walking up a lot and running down and flats. “Man…like that I will never get there…I have to start running up the mild slopes also” I decided and started slowly passing runners on uphill still keeping my pace. From the Coast to Coast race I learned how easily you can lose time on check points and transitions, so I was shortly stopping only at every second check point to refill water and was eating power bar every 1.5 hour while on the move.

            At around 30km I started to feel pain in my legs and felt tired. Fortunately the terrain changed to nice narrow trails through grass fields, forests and jungle using several hanging bridges to get across rivers, so I forgot about the pain and was enjoying the run still keeping my pace. But when I got out of jungle onto a wide gravel road along the river I was finished. My legs were in big pain and I couldn’t run. It was on 39 km, so I decided to rest and walk 2km to CP 4 and see what would happen next!

             “Do you know how many guys are in front of me?” I couldn’t resist and I asked the time keepers at CP4. “There is him” he pointed to a guy next to me I caught on the steep uphill to the village, “Then him” showed another guy just entering the CP, “And there is one more ahead. You are second!” he added. “What???” I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. But this information together with a bit of rest I got during the last 2k somehow gave me the power to push forward. And I started pushing hard.

        There was nothing much flat to really run, but I at least kind of stumbling/jumping downhill and was walking quickly up. Now I think it was my strength, because I was walking much faster up than many others. At CP 5 at 50km I had 5 minutes lead over my pursuers. I ran into the CP, signed up, grabbed a water bottle and was off again. I didn’t know that there was food available. That’s probably why I haven’t seen them ever again J

          Further and higher I was getting and narrower and more technical he trail was becoming, more strength, speed and fun I had!! Surprisingly the 15km jungle section around CP6 and 7 was the best part of the race. 20 centimeters wide trail cut into a steep grassy slope slowly winding up the valley, muddy path full of roots through a jungle bottom or a downhill slalom in a thick cover of trees and bushes wiped out all pains and refueled me with fresh energy. I was running fast and enjoying it with full breaths. Just wonderful feeling of complete freedom J

          There was food on CP6 and CP7 (they were both the same place), but I resisted a boiling stew or fresh pasta and only grabbed a couple of bananas and ran away. “What?? Am I running the wrong way?” asked me a guy going up to CP5 when I was heavily running back down to CP8, which was the same place as CP4. “No no. You are right. 5km to your checkpoint. I’m already running back!” I replied. “Aaaaha…OK…so you are first then?” he continued. “I’m second. There is one guy in front” I shouted back over my shoulder. Just before CP7, at CP6A, I knew that the leader was 15 minutes in front and because I didn’t pass him yet, so he had to be still somewhere ahead.

          “No no…I’m second” I told another girl going up. “Cannot be! I’m sure you are the first one coming down I’ve seen” she replied surely. I didn’t believe her much, but this information gave me an extra push to CP8 where I would find out the truth. What I didn’t know was that the leader was sitting at CP7 having his stew when I rushed in, signed up, grabbed a banana and was on the move again in less than one minute! So when on CP8 at 75km I was told that I’m the first, the time for the final step came! 25km to the title!

          Power bar, anticramp tablet and sack of electrolyte I was saving for the finish came in and I was running down the river to start the final uphill. I started walking up with a good spirit, but when curve after curve were passing I was slowly losing my enthusiasm. After 45 minutes I was finally on the top and was stumbling down to CP9. I thought that it was over. But when I saw the orange tapes pointing up another super steep climb, I started to break down. Walking up, whole legs in pain, swearing aloud…the climb was endless! After another 30 minutes I was KO. The climb claimed me! I wanted to run the nice flat gravel road on the ridge top, but I couldn’t. Eventually I made couple of quicker moves, but that was it. And when the night came, descent became same steep as the climb and when the route marking tapes spread to one every 300 meter bringing navigation uncertainty, I was down! Shouting into the night, wobbling slowly down on loose stones wanting to stop and rest in every abandoned hut along the way. I was desperate. But I never stopped moving no matter how dire I felt. I kept going. These were one of the longest 10km in my life. After the neverending 2 hours I made it to CP10 at 90km mark. I sat down, refilled water, had a coke, took a deep breath and set off for the last 10.

           The route became a bit flatter, so I managed to increase the speed by running some portions. I smelled the finish, but was thinking more and more about how far behind can the others be. I knew I was going slowly and I knew that if somebody catches me now I wouldn’t be able to keep up. That was what my brain was telling me. My body had a different opinion!

             When I reached a village school I knew was very close to the finish, I got stuck in the garden unable to find out where the trail went next. “Ahh…it’s you!” I heard from the back. I turned around and responded “Ahh…Anthony! You caught me at last”. What happened next was not my decision. It was a decision of my body which acted independently to my mind! “The trail goes to the left” one lady showed us a way and Anthony ran for it and I closely followed. The trail led into the jungle again and just when we got in the trail split. Anthony went right, but stopped because it was a dead end. I saw marking on the left and took the turn and lead. Once nobody was blocking the narrow trail I sprinted forward. And I was really sprinting. All pain vanished in second, senses sharpened and I was leaping through a night forest only with my tiny headlamp with all the speed I got. Roots, branches, boulders, streams or hanging bridge…nothing slowed me down. It was a real suicide run. One wrong step and all would have been lost! 

       After a kilometer the forest ended and I saw torches marking the way around some houses. “Come on!! BE HERE!!” I shouted still in full speed. And really…after another 500 meters I saw the arch. I jumped though the finish line with fist high in the air. Unbelievable!!! Not only that I made it to the finish, I won the race!!! Anthony took it easy and finished 7 minutes behind. Other guys came one hour later, but at that time I was almost on the way back to the hotel. 

        I don’t know if 13:47:30 is a good time for trail ultra. It was definitely tough, but when I woke up the next day after 10 hour sleep, went downstairs for breakfast and just saw one guy coming back from the finish after nearly 30 hours out there, I had to think that he was tougher! He didn’t give up. And that it is all about. Keep going and don’t give up. It’s worth it to be in the finish and the feeling pays for everything. And if you are good (or lucky) the prize pays for something too J

One week in a year

          One problem with all holiday is that they are never enough. Four weeks of leave a year is not much and apart from that Qatar is one of the countries with the least number of public holidays. We have only 7 days a year. So its five weeks a year! One week for small single days off, three week expedition holiday somewhere around the world and we have one week left do go home L

          Because with all this racing I just couldn’t fit everything I wanted into these five weeks, I cheated and took leave form the next year! But even then I after I came back from Coast to Coast I had only one week to spend with my parents, Jan and see my friends back home. Not enough, but I think we made the most of it!

         During summer there are many more possibilities what to do we went bouldering to Vesec, a small locality next to “my city” Liberec. I don’t have to tell you how badly I sucked after giving up climbing for more than a year, because there is really nowhere to climb in Qatar. And especially on razor sharp granite rock I basically didn’t finish a single boulder. Next time J

      Then we went for a day 80k bike ride around the house. Picturesque clouds on azure sky, green grass and forests and couple of nice single track descents reminded me how riding bike can be diverse and different!! Sliding silently through smooth forest paths, crossing streams and mud pools or climbing up the road between the fields cannot possibly be boring. In contrast to that, everyday riding through the same yellow dry flat wasteland, jumping over same stones everywhere you go and not having the need to shift gears more than twice per hour can be a bit dull. Here…we had a great time increased by stopping for a beer and ice cream on the way J

          When we started to miss driving the car again we went to Frankenjura, one of the most famous rock climbing areas in Europe. Jan was going there the whole summer, so he knew that without a 1000 page climbing guide with description of 10 000 routes, we would be lost! And it was well worth it, because we found many beautiful routes and had two days of excellent climbing. I still sucked, but a bit less than last time. Limestone, big holds and overhangs suits me definitely better J

          With couple of days I spent at home with my parents and having a drink with old friends from high school, there was soon only one day left. We, actually it was only me, wanted to go to the Czech highest mountain, where I still haven’t been!!! But because the forecast was bad we chose to go for a shorter hike onto another mountain Smrk, which was closer, lower and where we both haven’t been yet. The weather was not that bad so we enjoyed the hike a lot. Especially me, still being amazed by all the green color around me, hills with not a single flat place in the sight, rivers with waterfalls…just beautiful and exciting.

          It was nice to be back and I realized that I enjoyed it much more than in winter. I really don’t miss winter and snow in Qatar! So I’ll be definitely back next year…don’t know for how long…but a week for sure J

Coast to Coast adventure race 2011

The purpose of all the holidays is the same…to relax, forget about all the troubles and enjoy your time. What is different about the holidays is how you relax ;)

When I landed in Prague at 11am, my brother Jan picked me up and we went straight home, but there were no chilling out or cold beers. We packed some more gear and at 7pm we were already driving to England. Why the hell we were driving 1500k to Lake District? Because we had a race to do!! That’s how I relax J

 Adidas Terrex Coast to Coast adventure race is a four day multi discipline race, when you in 4-5 consecutive stages every day run, bike, kayak or swim through unknown countryside (for me unknown, but for some local heroes quite familiar!) for more or less 6 hours without break. For the most of adventure races you need a team, which is quite difficult to get, especially in Qatar, so I chose this race because it was possible to go solo and it was also a good opportunity to find out how good and fit I really am…competition was tough! And because you have to bring your own bike, kayak and be able to move between the transition points and change the gear from stage to stage, I needed a car and a support person who would drive meanwhile I’m racing. That explains why Jan took his car and we extended the race for two 24 hour road trips J

So on that day we smoothly crossed Germany, Belgium, lightened up for couple of Euros in the Euro tunnel (never go there without pre-booking your ticket!), rented a green kayak in Leeds and crashed for the night in a scout camp in Lake District. We had luckily one extra day for additional preparations so we managed to buy a smoke flare in Windermere, to realize that our kayak spray deck is too small, to buy another spray deck (I got it one hour before the start from a guy from Windermere kayak shop who I called and who was by chance in the media coverage team coming for the race) and to scout the bike route for the day one a bit. We met up with my friends Andy and Jake doing the race too and that was it. The time came to make all the training worth it. LET’S RACE!!!

Day 1

My goals were to finish. This was not an objective, I simply had to do it…no questions about that. In the back of my realistic mind I thought to finish in the first half from the 19 guys in my category. In the back of my dreaming mind I wanted to on the podium, which obviously vanished just at the first day!

I brought a good weather from Qatar with me so the race could start with 10.5k sea kayak section. Everybody lined up in the old harbor in Whitehaven and when there was a zero on the clock, passed the buoys and headed along the cliffs to St. Bees. I had a 5m long sea kayak which I believe was reasonably fast, but I couldn’t compete with guys with elite surf ski boats which were flying through the waves like sharks. I was not very comfortable with the new boat, especially on the wavy sea, so I was a bit struggling and I finished somewhere within the field.

Our first transition was flawless. Jan took his role more than responsibly, and when I jumped off the boat in the racing mode flooded with adrenaline I heard exactly what I needed: “Leave the boat, run to the flag to the bike…” He followed me up, reminded to put on the race jersey and punch “Transition out” and I was off again in less than 4 minutes. Not perfect 1 minute like the leaders but not bad for the beginning.

The next 30k road bike section I knew from the previous day so I was fast. We thought that doing the race support would be easy, that Jan would have time to follow me, make pictures and take it easy. When I came to the next transition just couple of minutes after him, we saw that we were wrong. So for the rest of the race, except for one sad section during the second day Jan was same busy as me driving, loading and unloading the boat, assembling the bike, filling camel bags, preparing clothes, giving orders and making sure I don’t forget anything…with basically not time to spare J

The next section was 5.5k kayak on the lakes Buttermere and Crummock water with a 1k portage between them. I took a bit complicated route and with 25kg kayak on my back it was quite painful. I felt a bit cheated when I saw videos of the surf ski guys lifting their boats like feathers and running with them on their shoulders.

After the next transition and with the racing field quite spread up I was heading on foot up 700m to Robinson with little company. Seeing another 3 days of racing ahead I was not going 100%, but almost. But when I got to the top and started to run down 13k to the finish I decided to slow down a bit more. All the hills were so steep that going up you had to go on all four sometimes and you can imagine how hard is to run huge boulder steps down. So after a while, when I started to feel my knee I took it a bit easier.

There was one surprise at the end yet, 400m of swimming through freezing lake. With the final energy boost of a Turbo snack I jumped into 15 degree water without thinking and actually came out on the other side also. I started shaking, couldn’t speak, but put on the shoes and ran the last 1.5k to the finish. Without a jacket Jan left there for me, I would have been turned into ice I guess!

The first day was over and it was tougher than I expected. If somebody heard me saying that 6 hours of racing is a piece of cake, I was wrong! But still, I managed to finish 8^th in my category and was 11^th overall. There were some really crazy guys in “Men solo” which were just out of reach, so I focused more on keeping the guys behind me in check, especially Tarquin who caught me on the running stage and was 7 minutes back.

At the camp we spend couple of hours with preparing the gear for the next days, studying map in which I terribly failed, eating whatever was around and after the race briefing we went to sleep.

Day 1: Time 6:22:12, Distance 65km, Elevation gained 1760m

Day 2

Another advantage of being fast was that you could sleep longer. So with staggered start every 4 minutes from 6am and with 35 slower racers behind I was on around 8:20 with Tarquin just 4 minutes ahead. First 9k road bike stage was lightning fast and with a blink of an eye I was already paddling on Thirlmere 6k down south. I caught Tarquin at the beginning of another brutal ascent to Helvellyn during the next 15k running stage and in the same time I was caught by Adam who was 7^th and starting right behind me. I outran them a bit on the way up…and then I screwed up!!!

Navigation is usually one of the most important things in adventure racing and this race was no different. Only difference was that the route was known several weeks before and it was the same as the Coast to Coast 2009. Therefore the local and returning racers almost didn’t need a map. They just knew where to go. Here was my disadvantage. The navigation in this race was quite easy, going on public footpaths and ways often marked or well visible, so during the first day I had no problem and up to the top of Helvellyn was smooth also. That was probably why I lost a bit of focus and concentration, didn’t check the map and followed the team just ahead of me. Two mistakes in the same time. They went the wrong way and when they stopped to check the map, I said “The lake down there is the one from the map…only dried up!!” Silly right? When I checked the map in the evening, I immediately found that dried up lake with a dam there…just in the other valley!! So I don’t have to tell you how I was crawling in the mud, wet grass and dense shrubbery across the ridge back to the correct side and how I lost around one hour by doing that!!

In the transition areas there was a screen with GPS tracking of the competitors showing their position. When I reached finally the transition point, Jan knew everything. “I screwed up there!!” I said quietly. “Have I lost a lot?” He sadly nodded. But as a real support he added “Jiri!! Let’s go!! The race is still long…come on!!!” With all motivation lost a paddled 13k alone across the lake dreaming “How nice would that be to catch Tarquin on the bike and finish same as him”.

We planned well the road bike section and picked a good route, so after the kayak and pushing the bike over a steep hill at the start I was flying 30 km/h average speed to the 44k far finish. You will probably not believe it, but dreams sometimes come true…even the racing ones. So immediately after when I crossed the finish line and turned back I didn’t believe my eyes!! “Tarquin!! What the hell are you doing here…” Apparently I was not the only one who made a navigation mistake that day J

At the end of the day the cards were on the table. Adam on 7^th was 1.5 hour ahead and Chris on 10^th was 1.5 hour back. It was just between me and Tarquin still separated only by 10 minutes.

Day 2: Time 7:08:08, Distance 85km, Elevation gained 1930m

Day 3

I was getting tired. I though kayaking would be my strongest discipline, but because kayaking in summer is almost impossible in Qatar I didn’t train much and without surf ski type boat I would be slow anyway. Then I thought I would gain some time in running, but my legs now were hurting, sore, heavy and I was running slow. I also thought I would be good in mountain biking but going steep up and down on gravel or wet mud was not exactly my style and I was going quite carefully (read “slow”). So to my surprise it was the road bike sections on mountain bike with road tires where I was gaining and was faster. Day 3 was exactly like that.

First 20k running section through flooded meadows, streams and tons of black sticky mud, I took too easy and a lot of people gained on me. I tried to speed up from the highest point down following a guy who was 3^rd in standings, but he ran away also. Adam caught me at the end of the stage, which didn’t help at all. The following section on mountain bike I really felt I can’t find strength to push harder. The track was bumpy and tricky, I was a bit afraid to go faster and when I did, I lost it right away with some small navigation error. 

After we changed wheels came the road bike part again. With straight forward navigation I somehow managed to find energy, speed up and finish the stage couple of minutes faster than Targuin. Everybody was getting tired I guess!!

I didn’t feel good about my performance that day. “I could have fought more and should have done it!!” I admitted and I promised myself to give everything the last day and defend my 8^th position and try to gain something in the overall ranking.

Day 3: Time 5:41:43, Distance 89km, Elevation gained 1180m

Day 4

Still 13^th overall I had the luxury of starting 7:30am in contrast to the last guys going off at 5am!! In the middle of the initial 17k road bike section I caught the 2^nd best lady and during the next 14k running stage I overtook couple of teams. I was trying to go as fast as I could but I was feeling that there is just little energy left. I passed couple of more people at the beginning of the 31k MTB stage, but then I lost my map, due to not very smart design of my bike map holder. “Shit!! I have to try to follow up somebody or wait until somebody catch me up and shows me the way!!” I though. I didn’t have to wait long for the solution. “Hi Adam” I greeted second of two Middle Eastern competitors in the race. “You don’t have a map?” I asked. “No!” he replied. “But you know where you are doing?” I asked again. “Yes!” he said clenched in the aerobars and fighting against the head wind. “Next left” he added. “Thanks Adam” and I rode forward.

At the end of the stage, during fast downhill section Adam overtook me and disappeared on his fat MTB tires together with couple of teams in my sight. I chose to have road tires and was cautious. “Alone without the map…not good” I thought when I arrived to the village where the transition should have been. Luckily I remembered a bit from map and with help of a typical car with kayak on the roof coming from the right, I turned right and found the transition. Jan had ready a new map for me and within a minute I was climbing a steep hill of the last 22k stage of the race.

I tried to give everything what I had, but there was nothing!! No energy gels, power bars or Turbo snacks helped and I was riding like a ghost to the finish. Whole day Jan was telling me that Tarquin is was couple of minutes ahead, so what was my surprise when 6k before the end he passed me from behind. “I took a different route” he said and kept going. I tried to follow, but I just couldn’t. Fortunately he was not gaining much so I could have stayed calm when he caught green on the road crossing and I had to wait J

The last 600m meters to the finish Jan ran with me. He diplomatically didn’t cross the finish line, but he made it too. We made it!! After 24 hours, 14 minutes and 24 seconds and 320km of racing we were on the other side of England. We finished 8^th in Men solo category and 12^th overall, just 45 minutes behind 3^rd ranked team and being 10^th overall out of 47 racing formations, 14 hours ahead of the last one, but over 2 hours from 7^th and 5 hours behind the overall winner!

Day 4: Time 5:02:56, Distance 84km, Elevation gained 1640m

I was happy that Andy and Jake camped with us until the next days to have some energy for our long drives home. We were all super tired, but only physically. Mentally we were fresher than ever and already making even tougher plans for the next year J

You don’t have to ask me…It was definitely worth it and if possible I will do it again in two years and if I liked adventure racing before, after the race I was hooked!!! I was also happy that Jan liked his role and didn’t regret joining either…but next time he’ll be on the track also!

See you soon again in another adventure J

You can check out the Google Earth view of the race route in case you plan to do it in 2013 :)

http://bbs.keyhole.com/ubb/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=1443442#Post1443442

Busy summer

            It has been a while since my last blog post, my last race or since the last time something extraordinary or exciting happened. Why? Simple…the summer came down to Qatar!!

When summer months come to any of the Middle Eastern countries everything slows down. It’s too hot to stay outside of air conditioned space, so almost everybody take their holidays. Then the rest of the people are waiting for the Holy Month of Ramadan when literally everything and everybody stop. Shops and restaurants are closed, bars are closed, offices are closing early, decisions are postponed and the whole country hibernates. Did I say everybody? Of course I meant everybody except me J My summer was busier than normal! I was working, studying and training full time…to spare time left.

Yes…you’ve heard correct…I’m studying! I signed up for Project Management certificate online from University of California. I have to do six courses to complete the certificate. In each of three terms in a year I can choose to take one 12 weeks of two 8 week accelerated courses. For the summer term, because I thought I would have plenty of time I took two fast ones when you have weekly homework, assignments, message board discussions and projects for 8 weeks in a row (actually 16 for me) with 2 day break in between. Lot of work!

Apart from that I had to start training hard for my racing highlight of the year, the Coast to Coast Adidas Terrex race in England at the end of August. It is a four day multi discipline race from the west coast of England to the east, 300k of trail running, biking kayaking and swimming.

So from the beginning of May until the end of August I was working from 7:30 till 5:00, doing homeworks 10-15 hours a week and training the rest of the time. OK…I still had my Thursday Magic night and a few week days when I fell asleep, got drunk or watched movies, but still…I was really busy J

But I have to admit that I couldn’t have chosen a better time to do all this. With little temptation and disturbance from the summer world around I had the peace to concentrate and finish just in time all what I’ve planned!

So on the 23^rd of August I sent the last email to my colleagues with the list of what they should follow, cleared the last item in my TO-DO list, switched off the mobile phone, packed my 20kg hockey bag full of sport gear and when I heard “Please close your laptop we will be landing in Prague”, I hit the SAVE button of my final project for the last time…and then I was ready to enjoy my holidays J I was free!! 

Racing Qatar 2011 - Going adventure

That day after the Abu Dhabi adventure challenge something clicked in me and I got really excited about the whole concept of adventure racing. Several days of long distance racing on foot, bike or kayak through usually unknown, unexplored and wild territory. Depending only on your map and compass puts you beyond marked tracks and the whole thing become personal. I felt that this is the right sport for me. I like endurance events and I like running, mountain bike and kayaking and here I can do all. I like exploration and here I will be put exactly into a position of a scout. I like competition and this is just all about challenges J

        “So let’s give it a try” I said when I came back from Christmas holidays and I wrote down to Google search “Adventure race”. And from there came my 2011 racing plan. As the main event I chose Adidas Terrex Coast to Coast 4 day stage adventure race in England in August. “What? I have to have an English kayaking certificate for this?” I was looking surprised at the race requirements. “Hmm…what to do” I said at the end. “But I really want to do this race, so I guess I just have to get it!”. And where is the best place to go, when you cannot do it in Qatar? England of course. “But I just can’t go there only for that” I thought. “Let’s do also something else once I’m there”. And that’s how I signed up for Questars Q2, two day adventure race in Dorset on the south coast of England. “I will need a holiday anyway!” J

         So on April 14, I took my hockey bag full of sport gear and flew to the old continent. The first stop was in Bristol where I arranged with watersports coach Joe a kayaking training to get UKCC Star 2 certificate that I can ride kayaks and canoes. I was thinking that I would be paying just for that piece of paper, but during those four hours I actually learned couple of new things and was happy that Joe didn’t just take my money and gave me a stamp after seeing that I can paddle forward! So we played under unusually sunny sky with various crafts in cold and still water of a small river just outside of Bristol lined with trees and with a wye, doing capsizes, rescues and several paddle techniques. Perfect day and great fun!! After he took me to a train station and I left southwards to Dorset.

         I was lucky to “hitchhike” a taxi standing next the station to the intersection from where it was just 5k to the race base camp. 5k is nothing with small backpack, but not with 20 kilo bag on your shoulder and English drivers let me feel it hard when not picking me up hitchhiking for more than half of the way!! But at the end one nice driver took me up to the campsite, so I had enough time to put my tent, enjoy hot burger from the food stand and get decent sleep. I had some racing to be done!!

The race morning was quite typical. I got my hired bike delivered at 9am, so with trying to fit all gear onto it, breakfast, race breefing and general race packing and preparations I was running almost last to the start with no time to prepare or think about what I’m going to do there!! They gave us the map for the first 200 minutes MTB stage before, but the time for kayak stage we received after the start and also there were two additional checkpoints (which I couldn’t mark to the map because I didn’t have a pen. I had to remember!) and some additional rules announced, so all strategy from evening was worth nothing.

So I just took the bike, with bike computer fitted loose inside the map board (I didn’t have ties long enough) hanging only on two of three supports (because I didn’t have time and tools to fit it on properly) and just start riding south to the optional checkpoints. Fortunately the navigation looked quite easy, when I stopped and focused on the map because it was so shaking, so found first checkpoint and after I asked some other racers where were the optional again, I found those also. “Damn…how do I continue?” I asked myself on the second optional. I didn’t think that I wouldn’t have time to go around the mountain as the best way, because I had to be in 30 minutes at the kayak section. Simple route planning mistake. So I turned back and rode full speed to the other side of the map to the sea J I managed to collect couple more points on the way and arrived to the transition point exactly the minute my time for kayaking started. Incredible!!

Kayak was super easy on flat water and in 15 minutes I was done. I left the others on the sea struggling to keep going straight and continued biking. After some more collected checkpoints without major problems I probably relaxed my concentration a bit because suddenly I found myself on the golf Course. “Purbeck Golf Isle? There is nothing like this here” I wondered looking checking map around the spot I wanted to be. “Whaaat!!! I’m here??? Cannot be!!” and I was screwed. I kept fighting and rode as fast as I could back to find the point I wanted, but with some additional searching it took me 35 minutes instead of 10 to get there. Novice!!

What to do. I still had some time so I continued to most expensive point and was coming back riding on the top of a ridge collecting more of the expensive ones. When I got to the before last I realized  that I had really little time for getting back and not suffering penalty for late arrival. So I rode steep downhill from the ridge on stairs for people going up, joined asphalt road and was sprinting back to the camp. And again…I incredibly managed to arrive only 70 seconds late. Very strange, how can you possibly do it after 3 hours, 2km kayak and 55km bike…just strange!!

There were 2 categories in the race, Masters and Novice. When I registered I really didn’t know what to expect, how good are the guys in England, how good I’m in comparison with European competition. The criteria for being Novice was “to attend not more than 3 adventure races” which I complied with and because I don’t like competing where I have no chance, so I chose the safe side and signed up as Novice.

      And I was quite surprised when I saw results after the first stage, where I was first Novice with 443 points (out of 550) and 13 points ahead of the second. Among Masters I would be 13^th. “Even with half an hour error I came first?” I was asking myself while eating everything what was around me to get calories for next stage starting in 2 hours. “But good” I smiled. “I just keep going and maybe there is a chance J”

2.5 hour second stage was only running, my stronger discipline, because you go slower and have more time for good navigation. And exactly as I though it went. I started running in a spiral around the camp from the furthest and most expensive points around and closing in. I had strength enough so running the ridge and forest trails was quite easy and fun. I collected first activity point where you had to tie knots and also the second where I had find a secret checkpoint, which was luckily just around the way I wanted to run anyway J Just before the finish I realized “Wait, I still have 5 minutes…let’s try to find No.19” which was the closest to the camp. So I went off the trail jumped a barbed wire and was on the road where the checkpoint should have been. But which direction!! “Right or left?” I thought quickly. “Heey there it is!!” I heard somebody shouting from my right. Simple J

      I finished my around 25km stage comfortably 1.5 minutes before the clock with 376 (410) points, which was the third best score overall!! So not only that I kept my first place between novices, but I also increased my lead for another 59 points.

I was really wasted after this stage, so I went to my tent, put all my clothes, lied down in the sleeping bag shivering cold and started eating. Energy bar, energy gel, milk rice, bananas, muesli bars…just everyting what I found around!! After an hour I went for a burger to the stand and then lied down again.  There was one more stage to do.

       Stage 3 was 1 hour 20 minutes and 10 k of night running. Just before the race I bought a super powerful MTB light, which can be used for running also. So when we started I lid the forest (it really shines like a car J) and easily found all checkpoints in the best time out of all 1:01:21, also because a lot of locations I already knew from the previous stages. I didn’t do the activity, because it was something with letters and guessing a word, and I might even not have known the word, because I’m not English native speaker, so I skipped that. I was in running mode and not in thinking one anyway J But I was the second best overall anyway, I gained another 21 points of lead and I went to sleep with optimistic feeling “Man…I think I can do it!!!”

The last stage 4 hour stage (5 hours for Masters) was everything combined. “OK…let’s play it safe. Just to control the race” I ordered myself and started with running, which were sure points because I couldn’t get lost. Getting lost and losing time was the only way how I could possibly lose the race. It was not the way how to collect maximum number of points, but “What is home, counts” I ran to the furthest running points along the ridge (after the race I found out that nobody else was there that day J). But after around 2 hours and another 20km of trail run I felt I was just too tired and running too slow so I went to transition and changed to bike. I collected couple of bike points on the way to kayak transition, collected all kayak points in 30 minutes and…and I realized “OMG…I completely forgot about the activity point!!!” When I got back to the bike and the map I immediately checked where the activity point actually was. “Damned!! It’s on the other side of the map!! I was just 2km from the point during the run and it’s on the top of the ridge!! Stupid!! Novice!!” I swore and started sprinting back to the AP. 

I had 15 minutes left when I got to the top. I was not really in the mood of searching in the map for “Giant’s hall”, “Tumuli” and various ranches, so I was a bit struggling. “It’s the end of the day anyway” said the race marshal on the checkpoint. “I don’t care!!” and he helped me to find the secret location on the map and gave we extra points for completion J

“Once I here, let’s collect one more. If I come 5 minutes late it’s still worth it” I said and went down along the ridge. I came 2.5 minutes late, but it didn’t matter at all. I won the Novice stage with 454 (810) points, 94 point ahead of the second!! And then I was the winner!! “WOW!!...I made it” I cheered and opened a beer I brought for the end of the race and was carrying whole way up to here!! Then I looked at the overall standings and counted “If I had that one extra hour as Masters had, I could have collected 100 point more and I would have been 4^th overall”. “Maybe I really am quite good” I thought. “But there is still room for improvement and I can be and want to be better!!” I closed the subject and went for price giving.

It was great feeling standing there in my ENVAC racing shirt, your name said aloud, getting a certificate, winning 40 pounds of vouchers one online sport gear store (really valuable prize ;) and having the photo for official web. I don’t know if you can have enough of winning, but I definitely don’t and I’ll try next time again J

I wouldn’t mind to race the next day again, but everything has to end. So I asked Andy and Jake if they can give me a lift to the bus station and after Fish&Chips and couple of ciders and took the bus to Gatwick airport and Emirates plane back to Qatar.

       If it was worth to fly that far for 3.5 days? Hell yeah it was!! Another unforgettable memory, trophy, experience and fun. Please give me more…I’m really looking forward to coming back for Coast to Coast and go another adventure…living adventure…being myself J

Racing Qatar 2011 - On the winning wave

Short Friday Intividual Time Trials were originally organized by road bikers, but because mountain bikers wanted to have fun also, there has been introduced MTB category with separate offroad track. But one time trial showed that going across all those stones and bumps alone and only against time is not the fun we were used to, so instead of having second ITT we changed it to normal MTB race with mass start, still on the same track but with 5 laps instead of 3. And the race could begin!!

I started again from the middle, I don’t why I’m still doing that when I know that now tactic will stop me from going full speed no matter what! So with my usual speed “Go 5 laps and die” I caught Davy on the lead in the first quarter of the first round and followed him until the second half, because I just couldn’t pass him on that stony technical part. But once we got onto the second half of the track which was pretty straightforward dirt road, I overtook him and took the lead. Davy kept the pace for the rest of the lap but then, as he said “…then it was time for me to let go of the “Beast from the East”, that’s how they were calling me after the Zikreet race J So I was alone in the lead again, just passing people one even two rounds back.

“Juhuuu…” I shouted with clenched fist in the air when finishing the last lap. “Jiri..don’t stop…one more round…” scorekeepers yelled at me. “What? It can’t be…I did 5 laps!!” I responded in disbelief. “No Jiri seriously..one more to go”. With no watch, bike computer or GPS I couldn’t argue, so I kept going. I should have been dead by now, so was going much slower.

“Hey Jiri…you do one extra lap?” asked me one rider when I was overtaking him. “Hey Jiri…you do a lap of honor?” asked me David when I overtook him. And then I realized that I was right. I really did 5 laps and was sent to the sixth!! And then I got a puncture ripping the tire and tube apart.

“OK…whatever…I guess this is a price for winning last 3 MTB races J” And not giving much chances to the others. This time I finished 54:36, 3 minutes ahead of the second.

Racing Qatar 2011 - On my ground

The next QCR MTB race on schedule was the famous Zikreet Rambler in the beautiful “Film city” peninsula with high dry cliffs, rocky hills, sandy roads and plenty of dirt tracks to play on. I volunteered again to help built and mark the course so some of the technical sections were creations of my twisted mind J I arrived on spot at 2am to be able to wake up at 6am and help putting flags and be 100% ready at the start line at 8am. This was quite rare that I was not doing anything on the last minute. I should try to do this more often, because I felt great…emptied, hydrated, motivated, excited!!

BANG!!! And 80 bikers started for a 32k course. I’m very bad race tactician. I just can’t go easy, stay with the lead, see how it goes and then attack. My strategy is different. I start right away with tempo “Finish the race and die” going basically 95% with little reserve for chasing somebody who is faster than me. I push on the other’s nerves by forcing them to keep up from the beginning, which few are used to, or see me disappear, which is kind of frustrating!! I always have the intention to change this, but it just never works and I push forward as hard as I can. “I can always slow down” I say, “Let’s see how far can I go!!”

This race was no difference. I started in the middle of the field, but quickly progressed to the front, where Davy was leading the pack. I overtook him and he tried to keep up for 1k more, but then he fell back. And I then was alone, in the lead, on my playground!! I helped to build the course and I did it twice before the race so I knew exactly where to go and could focus only on cycling. Initial short technical sections I overcame fearlessly with adrenaline in my eyes and the rest was just basically straight flat sandy and rocky track, which is exactly where is my biggest strength!!

So after 10k at the first checkpoint I had 6 minutes lead J And then there was the finish, 1:19:22. The scorekeepers were almost not yet ready for somebody’s arrival, so I had time to get my camping chair, camera and comfortably sit in the finish line to take pictures of the others. First of them arrived 13 minutes after me J

Racing is the best training and I felt I improved a lot in since my first race. Actually I improved to such position that the “Weekly QCR newsletter” was saying “…and JIRI won the MTB race…no surprise here” J