Training for a five day adventure race in the Outer Hebrides. It seemed like a good idea at the time…

By all accounts, it’s the paddlers who party. While the other competitors in the Hebridean Challenge consider themselves “athletes”, the sea kayak specialists are just “paddlers”, which gives them the excuse to stay up until the wee hours having a good time. A nice idea, which I will believe when I see it!

Somehow I find myself as part of a five person team planning to enter The Hebridean Challenge, a five day adventure race up the length of the Outer Hebrides, from Barra to Stornoway. (I’ll explain why I say “somehow” in a moment.) As I understand it, and I am still trying to get my head around what I’ve gotten into here, it’s a kind of relay race. There are sections of hill running, road biking, mountain biking, open water swimming and sea kayaking. Not every member of the team can tackle each section, because some happen simultaneously, but if more team members than necessary complete a section then they earn extra points. Please don’t take that as a definitive explanation of this event because I may discover I’m utterly wrong.

It started with a phone call to John Manning, the Deputy Editor of TGO Magazine, who I wanted to congratulate for just completing the Pacific Crest Trail. Instead, TGO’s designer Robyn Frew answered the phone, “Hi Simon – you’re a kayaker right?” (She’s a kiwi). “How’d you fancy being our kayak specialist?” Two days later I was committed to months of intensive training and considerable pain.

I rang Gordon Brown of Skyak Adventure who reassured me that I’d be able to earn my 4 star qualification before race day next July. He was twice Sea Safety Officer on this event in previous years, and explained I’d probably be competing against ex-Olympians. I had a momentary vision of everyone hauling their boats on-top of their vans while I was still in the Sound of Harris. “I don’t want to win”, I told him, “I just want to finish”. I clearly have some work to do.

So I’ve done what I swore I’d never do – I’ve hired a personal trainer. For the times I’ll be training, and the fact that most of it will be paddling my kayak, running or riding, this “yuppie” sounding thing-to-do should work out cheaper than a gym membership.

So far I’ve just done one session with Scott who has determined that “core stability” is the thing for me to work on first. Muscles, way below my stomach muscles, are protesting at having been rudely woken from their slumber. It’s now up to me to, gradually, get them fully alert. I’m also keeping a food diary, running to work, and this year Santa Claus might put a heart-rate monitor in my stocking.

However, with the exception of Robyn, I’ve yet to meet the rest of the team. In fact, we’ve yet to find our fifth member. Scott considered joining us, but after reading the synopsis of the race, felt he might be over-committed. I’ve read the CV’s of the two Edinburgh men who have thrown their lot in with Robyn and was rather stunned to realise that I went to University a month or so after they were born. Like Robyn, they’ve tackled Adventure Races before, whereas this will be my first, but I was reassured to learn that stamina builds over the age of 30. We’ll see…..