Sport & Fitness

Country kicks

Adventure racing
If you’ve previously run a marathon or tackled a triathlon and are searching for a new challenge, then adventure racing could be what you’re looking for. Once you’ve tried it, you may never consider getting from the start to the finish of a race in a mundane manner again. Like so many other adrenalin activities, adventure racing considers itself to be the ‘fastest-growing sport in the UK’ – and the enthusiastic take-up of events such as the now-annual Rat Race Urban Adventure Series (08704 103245, www.ratraceadventure.com), in Bristol, Manchester and Edinburgh, is certainly testament to the sport’s popularity. Sadly, however, there are no plans for a London Rat Race at the moment.

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The format of adventure racing varies from event to event, but usually involves elements of such fast-paced and physically demanding activities as mountain biking, kayaking and climbing. Questars (01380 831388, www.questars. co.uk), one of the major organisers of adventure races in rural areas from Hampshire to Wales, runs a three-leg race, which consists of trail running, mountain biking and canoeing. Since we’re talking about distances of up to 24 miles for each section, these events usually take place over a couple of days. And it’s no easy competition.

Working in teams of up to four people (often made up of friends and work colleagues), the participants’ aim is to visit as many checkpoints as possible along a pre-marked course, collecting points up to a maximum of 1,000. Questar holds races between April until October – and places tend to fill up quickly. Check out the Questar website for details of forthcoming events, which are also advertised in Running Fitness magazine. Sleep Monsters (www.sleepmonsters.co.uk) is another online adventure racing community.

Canyoning & coasteering
Canyoneers follow a running river as it travels – often at rapid speeds – through a rocky gorge. Like coasteering, the experience is made up of multiple activities, hence no one should expect to get from A to B without jumping off a few cliffs, swimming through some white water
and plunging into a fair number of rock pools. Add to this a few rock slides, waterfalls and some incredible scenery, and it’s easy to see why canyoning is simultaneously one of the most challenging, draining and rewarding adrenalin sports around. It’s not without risks, but life jackets and helmets are worn by all, and experienced guides know the routes inside out.

ProAdventure (23 Castle Street, Llangollen, Wales LL20 8NY, 01978 861912, www.proadventure.co.uk) organises weekend canyoning courses (also called gorge walking) in North Wales, but it’s worth going the extra mile(s) and capitalising on the advantages of Nae Limits (14 The Cross, Dunkeld, Perthshire, Scotland PH8 0AQ, 01350 727242, www.naelimits.co.uk). This company has exclusive use of the spectacular Craighall Gorge in Scotland – two miles of the River Ericht at its most rapid.

Similarly, coasteering is not so much a single outdoor pursuit as an amalgamation of many. Participants – wetsuited and booted, and buoyed up by an inflatable life jacket – follow the edge of the land hugging the coast, climbing, scrambling, cliff jumping and sea swimming. The sport was developed in Pembrokeshire and is a mainstay of activity organisers around that area. Visit the Adventure Wales website (www.adventure.visitwales.com) for more information, including a database of accredited operators.

Surfing
Surfing is an exhilarating sport, currently experiencing a surge of interest. And dedicated surfers aren’t put off by Britain’s wintry shores. The nearest breaks, in North Devon and Cornwall, require a pilgrimage from London (with a gruelling 4am start to catch the best and least crowded waves), although the introduction of flights from Stansted to Newquay has helped.

Many enjoy the solitary nature of surfing and prefer to head off on their own or with just one or two other people. But there’s no getting away from the fact that, apart from the occasional angry flash of localism, this is one laid-back, sociable, egalitarian sport. Follow surf etiquette at the line-up (don’t drop in on other people’s waves, avoid getting in other surfers’ way) and you’ll maintain the friendships you made while wrestling into your wetsuit in the car park.

Alternatively, get involved with the London Surf Club (www.londonsurfclub.com), which meets on the last Wednesday of every month,
or join one of the excellent weekends run by Big Friday (01637 872512, www.bigfriday.com), which take place during summer and autumn – you can opt for one of the company’s surf and accommodation packages or simply catch a ride from London to the coast on the surf bus.Meanwhile, the Cornwall-based company Wavehunters (Oceans 11, The Terrace, Port Isaac, PL29 3SG, 01208 880617, 0870 242 2856, www.wavehunters.co.uk) specialises in providing short-break surfing trips tailored to the needs of landlocked Londoners.

For kit, visit Low Pressure (23 Kensington Park Road, W11 2EU, 7792 3134, www.lowpressure.co.uk), London’s top surfing shop. The store also produces the excellent Stormrider guide to surf spots in Europe and is a source of lots of useful information. For more information, contact the British Surfing Association (International Surfing Centre, Headland Road, Newquay, Cornwall TR7 1HY, 01637 876474, www.britsurf.co.uk).

Urban Thrills