"Quest Wales 2018" by guest author Ann Horan

Guest Author, Ann Horan, reports back on her successful cross-channel adventure race, Quest Wales.

Arrival

Anyone who has visited the rural village of Betws-y-Coed, nestled at the edge of the Snowdonian National park, raves about its beauty. I knew Quest Wales was going to be a very special event ever since I’d pencilled it into my diary back in January. Located just one hour from Holyhead, my Orwell clubmate, Luke McMullen offered to drive us both across on the ferry. Luke takes a strategic, calculated approach to his training and racing so I knew the logistics of the trip were in safe hands. Rosy Temple decided to jump on board in March so we had a fully packed car as we made our way to the ferry on the Friday before the race.

After a few dodgy turns in the O’Connell St. area, we made it to the ferry with 15 minutes to spare. We were just about to purchase some overpriced hot beverages from the restaurant when my phone rang. It was Barry Cronin on the other end and I could hear the loud wails of a discontented baby in the background. Barry calmly explained that the East link toll bridge had been up and they were waiting at the wrong end. Barry is one of the calmest individuals I have ever met. If I were ever trapped in a burning building or in a similar crisis and could have one companion I would choose Barry. Barry was travelling to the ferry with Greg Dillon and his brother John and all three of them had now officially missed the boat. They would have to wait until 9pm to get the next one. The ferry crossing was fairly uneventful after the initial drama and we arrived in Holyhead on schedule.

We set off in search of our accommodation and as we drove closer to the village of Betws-y-Coed we looked out the car window in awe at the beauty of the rugged, sparsely populated, Snowdonian landscape. We dropped Rosy off at her plush, 5 star hostel, located 5 miles from the village and continued on to our own B&B. We were greeted by our host who was not at all keen on us bringing our bikes indoors. The prospect of leaving our precious steeds outdoors for the whole night, at the mercy of the elements, was incomprehensible. After much pleading and eyelash fluttering (Luke’s lashes of course) the host agreed to store two clean bikes in his cellar.

Race Day

People approach races in different ways. I start to feel nervous and excited from as early as a week in advance of a big race. This drives me to leave no stone unturned in pre-race preparation but by the time race morning arrives I have entered what one of my sisters describes as the ‘verbal diarrhoea’ stage. This involves incessant chatter to any poor individual who has the misfortune of being in my company. Luke is ordinarily funny and good humoured but on race morning goes into silent, intense, focused mode. This was a serious clash of pre- race personalities so I tried to stay out of his way for the most part as we got set to leave the B&B and roll down to the start line.

The Quest registration tent and bike-racking area were set up in the village green, a perfect location for the carnival atmosphere that lay in-store. The sun was out unexpectedly and I had to shed my base layer to account for this. Quest Wales starts off with a 6km run up a tough steep mountain trail towards Linc Parc lake. I hadn’t bothered to warm up and was surprised at the speed at which the female field took off. I calculated that I was in 6th place as I power hiked up the steep incline. In a lot of ways the first stage of these adventure races can be the hardest as competitors jostle for positions trying to put their stamp on the race. As we finished the first running stage, a quick and efficient transition allowed me to overtake two females. I jumped on my bike and was lucky enough to almost immediately find the wheel of a man wearing cycling shoes. I stuck to his wheel like glue for the first 4km out the road until the road kicked upwards. I could see Jill Horan up ahead. I was making ground on her. She dismounted her bike as the gradient got too much. I continued on a bit further but eventually chickened out too and dismounted. On hindsight I reckon I could probably have made it up without dismounting. As the surface was good and I managed to cycle all the remaining steep sections. I was in second place very briefly before another female whom I didn’t recognise powered past me on the descent. This girl was an experienced cyclist evidently as her bike handling on the rough terrain was excellent.

Coming into the kayak section I was in 3rd place and was relieved to be given a single kayak. The kayak section was short and was over all too fast. Before exiting for the run I stopped and guzzled water loudly from the water tank much to the disapproval of kayak instructor Brian Keogh as he observed me. Twenty seconds wasted .. tut tut!! Words of encouragement and a brief synopsis from Brian of the terrain that lay ahead and I was off on the 11km run. It wasn’t long before Jill powered past me on the steep uphill fire road. I could only watch in awe as she quickly disappeared from view. I was all on my own for most of this run and for the first time had an opportunity to really relax and take in the picturesque wilderness surrounding me. As I returned to transition I could see that the strong cyclist who had passed me earlier on the descent was only a minute or so ahead.

The second bike ride was not as hilly as I had expected and included a very steep downhill section before a busy main road. For safety reasons, we had to dismount and run for 800metres. As I ran down this steep section my toes pressed painfully against the front of my runners and I worried about losing control of my bike. I visualised the chaos that would ensue if my trek Emonda broke free from my grasp and took off on a solo descent of the hill. On reaching the junction I quickly mounted my bike and headed back towards transition in the village green. It was on this section that I felt the familiar painful cramping sensation in my left adductor muscle. I get this cramp in almost every adventure race I do. By now I know how to alleviate it and it never really hampers my performance. In some ways it is almost satisfying as it serves to remind me that I have entered my pain cave, emptied the tank and left absolutely nothing out there.

Back at the village green it was disheartening to see the winner of the race Killian already there.. Finito! while I still had another 7km to run. Running up the hill on the final run I met club mate Luke descending at speed followed shortly by Barry. Barry gave me time splits of 40 seconds and a minute and a half on the two girls who were ahead of me and within catching distance. I thanked him but as I huffed and puffed up the hill was not at all confident I could close the gap. Looking around at the breath-taking views of Liyn Elsi lake in the last 4K I began to really enjoy the race and soak up the beauty of my surroundings. This feeling of contentment didn't last long alas! Not far ahead I spotted the lady who overtook me on the bike section earlier in the race. I tracked her down like an animal creeping up on its prey. As a primary teacher, one of my favourite essay titles for my students is ‘The Day I Became Invisible’. I usually get entertaining stories of pranks played on friends or visits to the cinema and sweet shops. Today I wanted to make myself invisible and creep past my competitor unnoticed and on to the podium. Too late, I had no superpowers to employ! My heavy breathing alerted her to my presence. She looked back and her pace quickened considerably. I quickened my pace to match hers. With less than 3km to go it was ‘race on’ for that final precious podium spot.

The last 2km section of the race was a continuous downhill and was steep in places. At the very end of a three or four hour race running downhill at speed hurts. At this point I was elbow to elbow with my opponent. Now was not the time for exchanging pleasantries so neither of us spoke. As we ran along in stony silence I psychologically prepared myself for what was to come. I knew that whoever was willing to suffer the most would make it over the line first. I told myself that I was the stronger runner as I had been the one to catch up with her. I had to make one move and I had to make it count. I accelerated down the fire road creating a gap. I ran as hard as I could extending the gap with every step. My feet were burning with pain as they hit the hard ground. I was relieved when the road flattened out on entering the village and eventually turned left for the finish line along the soft grassy football pitch. At the finish line the MC announced that I was indeed third lady in the expert route and I was pleased with this confirmation.

Climb Hills, Then Podiums

The sun was smiling down again and everyone was in high spirits. My Orwell clubmates Luke and Barry had finished 2nd and 3rd in the men’s expert field and John Dillon from my Kayathlon team, was feeling very pleased with himself having won the challenge race after a shaky start.

Betws-y-Coed is an ideal location for a race such as this. Picture Dingle on a much smaller scale. I can really see Quest Wales increasing in popularity year on year. The village is well set up for tourists and has a good selection of local accommodation and eateries for varying budgets. There are endless options for activities to do the day after the race too if you manage to get out of bed after the post race celebrations in the Royal Oak. Plans are already being hatched for next year’s trip and I can’t wait to go back!