UAE Teams Savouring Every Abu Dhabi Adventure Challenge Minute

Local Squads Look To Overcome Gruelling Endurance Test

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With a record number of UAE teams entered into this year’s Abu Dhabi Adventure Challenge - the gruelling, six-day multi-discipline endurance race - competition for local bragging rights was always going to be fierce.

Of the original nine teams signed-up for the event, only eight made it to the Abu Dhabi start line on Friday, as one was forced to retire at the 11th hour due to illness.

Even with home advantage on their side, and the ability to train in the vast and diverse landscapes on offer throughout the emirate, from the rolling expanse of the Rub Al Khali to the archipelagic coastline that stretches from Mirfa in Al Gharbia to Abu Dhabi city, the UAE teams knew only too well what they would be up against, as a record 50 top squads from 18 countries took their marks.

Now at the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA)-organised event’s halfway point, two of those local squads are relishing the experience of competing alongside the planet’s top endurance athletes as they run, swim, canoe, kayak, mountain-bike and climb 426kms across Abu Dhabi’s breathtaking landscapes.

As amateur racers caught in a pack of serious contenders, the Palancas and the Monaqasat teams have now come to terms with the magnitude of the challenge.

“Even if we are currently in last place, we are truly proud of what we’ve achieved,” said Palancas’ Harold Roberts, a British engineer. “And even if the gap between us and the rest of field widens, we’ll never think about giving up.”

And with the UAE’s populace largely made up of expatriates from almost every corner of the globe, its international cast of team members is determined to proudly carry the host country’s flag to the finish line.

“We will do everything we can,” promised another Palancas team member, Harald Oeverland, a Senior Operations Manager from Norway. “And we will do it with minimum mistakes. The most important thing for us is to stay healthy.”

Speaking at a special bivouac on the edge of the Liwa Desert, in the emirate’s Western Region, Palancas’ Eric Smith was realistic about his team’s chances. Apart from being non-professional athletes, a lack of team preparation was the biggest challenge facing the UAE-based squad.

“The team is not prepared for this mammoth undertaking, it is immense,” admitted Smith, an Engineer from the US. “Only Harald and I are in a very good shape. Our main problem was to figure out how to actually work in unison, as a team, but when we finished the first day, it was a really great feeling.”

As expatriates living and working in the UAE for a number of years, the first two days of the Adventure Challenge have already provided unforgettable experiences.

“The hardest discipline so far was the mountain biking section all the way up to Jebel Hafeet. I have driven on this road before but on the bike, I began to wonder how many bends there were until the top,” said a smiling Jacqueline Ferguson, a Business Analyst from the UK, who makes up the female quota required for every mixed-sex team.

For Smith, he never really expected the Challenge to be this difficult yet has been extremely impressed by the emirate’s natural wonders and the tremendous support from the local authorities.

“On the mountain bike section, because we were at the tail-end of the field most of the time, we almost got lost as we entered a roundabout,” said Smith. “But the moment the police turned on the lights and showed us the right way, we immediately felt safe.

“This is truly a well-organised event and we feel very well-protected. And for that, we are extremely happy to be part of it.”

While Jean-Marc Laventure, team captain of the Monaqasat Team, expected the Abu Dhabi Adventure Challenge to be hard, he and the rest of the team never believed it would be so intense, stage after stage.

“We are learning day by day,” said Laventure, a Dubai-based Investment Banker from the UK. “Every discipline except mountaineering is quite new to me.”

Such was the enormity of the task ahead of them, Monaqasat’s Tanya Johnston was thinking of giving up after the triathlon prologue in Abu Dhabi city.

“I really had some problems with the canoeing section and with the tremendous speed of the city wide triathlon,” said Johnston, a Finance Executive from New Zealand. “Every five minutes I wanted to retire, but now I am very happy and I am really enjoying the race.”

For Elliot Webb, a British Pilot and Flight Safety Instructor from the UK, the Jebel Hafeet mountain bike section was both a punishing and memorable experience.

“I am quite familiar with the road and the Mercure Grand hotel close to the top,” said Webb, Monaqasat’s fourth member. “So I was looking ahead the whole time and eagerly wanting to be really close to it. Yet it seemed endless! I like mountain biking but not on an uphill road. That was horrible. Nevertheless, I will never forget this experience.”

The gruelling six-day endurance race, now in its third day, started with a punishing 94km mountain biking section to the stunning five-star Qasr al Sarab Desert Resort by Anantara in Liwa.

After the mountain bike section, the race then takes in 116kms of desert orienteering over two days through the Rub al Khali desert – or Empty Quarter – the world’s largest uninterrupted body of sand, the size of Holland, Belgium and France combined.

Billed as one of the world’s toughest and hotly contested endurance races, the Adventure Challenge continues to attract a growing number of athletes to the emirate. Domestic interest in the event also continues to grow, with a record eight UAE-based teams entered in the fourth edition – running until 15th December.

The Abu Dhabi Adventure Challenge was conceived by ADTA to globally promote the emirate’s burgeoning credentials as a world-class adventure leisure destination and to showcase Abu Dhabi’s vast natural beauty. Following the event’s opening day, racing fans will be also be able to cheer on their country’s teams at the finish, which takes place on Abu Dhabi’s Corniche public beach for the first time, on Wednesday (15th December).

ADTA works closely with a number of governmental and commercial bodies to successfully stage the Challenge, including General Head Quarters of the Armed Forces (GHQ); Critical National Infrastructure Authority (CNIA); Abu Dhabi Company for Onshore Oil Operations (ADCO); Abu Dhabi Police; Al Ain Traffic Police; Abu Dhabi Customs; Ministry of Health; Abu Dhabi Beaches; Abu Dhabi, Al Ain and Mirfa municipalities; and Emirates Palace.

To find out more about Abu Dhabi Adventure Challenge 2010, please log on to: www.abudhabi-adventure.com.
 

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