 As dusk and drizzle set in over Plean Country Park, Stirling on Thursday 5 July, the 32 enthusiastic and excited teams assembled for the start of the BG Energy Challenge 2007 – UK. Having only arrived at Stirling University earlier in the day they were informed of the first twilight stage in the event briefing that evening.
A team member from The Structure Group said: “We were forewarned about a possible night stage by our team mate who competed last year, but it was still a shock on the first night for it to be such a physical stage. We had hoped that it would be more mentally challenging. We are trying to avoid the temptation to get excited because it's the first event!”
At ten o’clock the team captains eagerly lined up ready to launch into action as the starting shot was fired and even a false start could not stop many racing off to collect their information envelopes. Everyone was called back and as the gun fired, the much anticipated first stage was finally underway. With six checkpoints to visit and a total of 12 bonus and question points on offer around the course, the teams grouped together to plan how to efficiently use the 75 minute time allocation. It was not long before the first teams broke away and charged off in search of their first checkpoint.
With only the moonlight and their head torches to guide them, the teams navigated their way through undulating woodland and past the ruins of Plean Park House to reach the various check points. Once all the compulsory checkpoints had been visited the majority of teams split into pairs and ran off in search of valuable bonus points.
As the night drew on, the teams regrouped near the finish to complete the questions they had collected and with five minutes to go, they began to surge through the finish.
A member of Team Advantica, who are provisional joint stage one winners with Amec Natural Resources, said: “It was fantastic - I'm tired and a bit dirty but it was a great night out.”
Commenting on the stage results, Course Director Marcus van der Gaag said: “We were very impressed by all the teams in this first stage with one team answering all but one question. However, not all the teams dipped their electronic tags into the receiver at each checkpoint which meant that their hard work was not recorded and their points were not counted.”
The teams left Plean Country Park satisfied with their efforts and looking forward to whatever the next two days hold in store. They were all in agreement that if this was the start of things to come, they were in for a tough weekend!
|
