Around 1,000 participants came, saw and ratified London in September, by taking on multiple challenges around the country’s capital and its infamous landmarks.
The London Urban Rat Race Adventure is one of a series of Urban Rat Races that are attracting the attention of a range of people, including adrenaline junkies, experienced athletes and those new to exercise. The Urban Rat Races aim to use a city’s natural attractions to conjure up an event that will allow competitors, either as individuals or as part of a team, to push themselves just that little bit more than they thought they could.
I was taking part in Sunday’s Nine 2 Five event with two friends in a mixed team, as challenge four out of twelve that I plan to complete within the next year. You can read all about it here on my blog.
The Course
The route was kept a secret until the event day, knowing only that we would be cycling around 60k, running 10k along with numerous other secret activities. When we arrived at the event village in Potters Field, next to the iconic Tower Bridge, we were given a map of London and a route. We then had to plan our route on the map as quickly as we could before the start of the race. We were also provided with a timing chip device, which we had to swipe at each station along the way to prove we had reached/completed it.
Our bikes were locked away in a secure compound. To release them, we had to run 5k around the local area to find how many Sunday Church services there were in the area, and use this number as a pass key to gain access to our bikes and make our way to the next check point. This was at the Isle of Dogs where we were provided with a different map and orienteering challenge involving another 5k run. Part of this included some rather dangerous boat hopping to access the timing chip station, which proved similar to the red balls in Total Wipeout.
We then made our way to the Docklands where we had to complete a circuit in the water on kayaks. After this we were back on the bikes to the Adizone area in Mile End where our soccer skills were tested, and together put through our paces on the outdoor park exercise machines. From here we cycled to the Castle Climbing Centre in Stoke Newington to take on some indoor climbing. The next timing chip station was at the Emirates Stadium where we had to cycle down the stadium entrance steps (as if our bikes hadn’t taken enough beatings!)
From Arsenal, we then had to navigate our own way through London’s busy streets to Lord’s Cricket Ground for the long awaited abseiling challenge. A quick stop off at the Imperial War Museum for some more climbing and then we made our way back to the start for what we were told would be the ‘final hurdle’. This involved making our way through an inflatable assault course then climbing what can only be compared to the gladiator travelator, which on top of being quite steep, was also covered in oil to make it very slippery.
The course in total involved 60k of cycling, 10k running, 3k kayaking, climbing, abseiling, circuits, soccer skills and a lot of laughing. The course took our team 5 hours and 40 minutes to complete.
Organisation
The organisation of the event from the pre-race communication to the event itself was spot on. Two weeks before the event, we received an informative e-mail including a kit requirement list, details on the event village, timings and transport options.
On the day itself, the registration process was nice and simple with lots of helpful staff to make the process quick and easy. There were marshals at the majority of timing chip stations that provided advice and much needed encouragement. However, some of the timing chip stations, such as at the Emirates Stadium, did not have a marshal ensuring participants completed the cycle down the stairs challenge, as well as other areas to ensure participants were completing the course correctly. This also posed a problem for my team, as our timing chip had broken and we relied on the marshals to note down our timings in order to prove we had visited the stations. This did cause a problem at the end in terms of proving our full completion of the course. Luckily we had been seen by other teams who could verify us reaching each station.
Would I do it again?
I certainly would. I would suggest doing this as a team rather than as an individual, as this is an event to test team work and provides a great platform for team bonding. I would be interested to try the other rat race series that utilise the cities’ unique characteristics and landmarks, such as the Glasgow Rat Race.
Good Points
- Good communication pre-event that made you feel as prepared as you could for secret activities (eg kits lists, timings, etc).
- Route incorporated infamous landmarks around the city
- Event village had a great atmosphere at the start and finish.
- Plenty of facilities in the event village such as food, water provision and toilets.
Bad Points
- Our timing chip broke on the first challenge and we were charged with a replacement. This also meant that we had to inform the marshals at each station of our number so they could log down our time. This slowed us down and caused confusion among staff.
- Too much distance between challenges. The event felt more like a bike challenge rather than an adventure challenge.
- Too few challenges. Some of the challenges were a bit dissapointing. For example; the climbing challenge at the Castle Climbing Centre was simply a four metre wall which you had to get across. This took everyone on average five seconds. We were then ushered through quickly for the next people. This was disappointing after a 15k cycle to it. The challenge at the Emirates stadium was to simply cycle down some steps, with no marshal to ensure completion.
- Participants did not receive a medal/completion certificate. Even though we won our category and came second overall, we received no e-mail to confirm this or any form of a prize.
Want to give it a go?
There is only one event left in the Race Race series for 2011, which is the Men’s Health Survival of the Fittest taking place in Cardiff, Nottingham, Edinburgh and London. If you want to find out more about this event and next year’s Rat Race series, visit www.ratrace.com
Clarissa Goodwin, Sportsister
The Women’s Sports Magazine
Image credit: Cliff Hide
