Hay, good looking

“The best strenuous indoor fun ever,” said one competitor of the Renault Kangoo Indoor Adventure Race Champs that took place this weekend at the Ordnance Survey Outdoors Show. Dominating one bustling edge of the sell-out show, purposely placed adjacent to the woodland outside the NEC hall, was an arena of gladatorial proportions. Zip wires, climbing walls (some
rotating), abseils, scramble nets, bike and paddling simulators, bike ramps,
rumble strips and the infamous “Jacob’s Ladder” climbing frame.

24 teams of three worked their way through three hour heats on Friday and Saturday for a six team final on the Sunday, lasting a full four hours. By now, the event commentator, USE’s very own Rory Hitchens, was well versed in all the team names and disciplines and added great info to the developing frenzy of action. Several of the teams knew each other well, and fierce rivalry developed in the heats, with competitors throwing themselves at the
obstacles with unnerving impact. There were collisions on zip wires, falls,
sprained knees, broken bike parts and some fantastic bruises.

It wasn’t all indoors…

The course comprised four stages (Simulator, Technical, Speed and Endurance) with the Endurance stage taking place in the surprising
woodland alongside the NEC.

The eventual winners were the mighty Team Saab Salomon (Ben
Bardsley, Morgan Donnelly and Helen Jackson) clearly making an impression
over the others, including the rather precocious highest score qualifying
Team of One.Tel Hebridean Challenge.

The course was expertly designed by Phil Humphries of ACE Races, and we
would expect to see a bit more of this sort of thing at an Exhibition Centre
near you in 2003!

Pics (c) www.sleepmonsters.com – full report and more pictures here.