The village of East Dean in West Sussex, in the shadows of the South Downs, provided the perfect location for the first event in the Dynamic Adventure 2003 calendar. The long spell of colder weather had finally broken and the icy conditions that had made the chalky bridleways treacherous the week before a distant memory. The sky was clear, light winds and the promise of good temperatures for January set the scene for the event.

The event was a sell out, with 84 competitors entered and some having to travel from as far afield as Cardiff, Cheshire and Derby. The event had attracted a mixture of first time racers, those returning to improve upon their first attempts last year and the more experienced racers who were looking for an early opportunity to blow away the Christmas cobwebs in preparation for the new season.

The scene was set for a fantastic days racing, competitors arrived early to prepare themselves for a challenging course set in beautiful country taking in the South Downs Way. The first stage, a 2 hour run, certainly woke a lot of competitors up! Heavy conditions underfoot in certain areas were to favour those choosing to take a route choice anticlockwise around the course. Only three entrants cleared the course, each from the three categories. Dave Fryer was the first solo gaining the maximum 300 points available, Anthony Emmet and Tin McDowell were the only pairs to clear and Thomas Cook took the honours in the team category. There were also some impressive performances from Putney Speedos, Dynamic Adventure, Team 69, Kim Collison and Phil Stuart only dropping one checkpoint or receiving penalties for a late return.

The second stage, a 3 hour mountain bike section, was welcomed by many and the prospect off a dry course due to the chalky soil was inviting competitors back onto the course. However, the warmth of the village hall and copious cups of tea to wash down the fresh cakes proved too much for some. There were the inevitable late starters but the non competitive atmosphere meant that it was all taken with a pinch of salt. The weather continued to shine on the competitors but conditions were not what that had hoped for. The course was challenging but throw in some heavy clay and mud and progress was slowed! Nobody cleared the course with the top performers dropping 3-4 controls or arriving back late trying to fit one more control. The first solo was Kim Collison with 405 pts out of 450. The pairs was won by Phil Leavesley and Phil Jenner with 380 pts and Thomas Cook took honours in the teams category with 400 pts.

By now the field was starting to slit up with only the night navigation stage left. 90% of the field had registered for this stage by some minor injuries meant some has to miss out. Team HighFive withdrew due to injury and many other competitors teamed up together ensure they didn’t miss out. By this stage Linda Collison and Cherry Fryer were dreaming of their beloved kayaks and were missing the chance to pull back some points on a water stage although the weather had now turned and the rain came down to turn the roads and paths into streams.

However, the rain didn’t dampen the spirits of the competitors and many were eager to start the final stage, a 1.5 hr night navigation. The deteriorating weather conditions slowed many competitors and the course proved a challenging but rewarding proposition. Many competitors managed to find 3-4 out of the 8 controls available but again there were three clearances. Kim Collison and Phil Stuart took the maximum of 250 pts as did Anthony Emmet and Tim McDowell and Thomas Cook were again the top team with 215 pts.

As the final competitors returned to base and took refuge in the hall it marked the opportunity to revisit the kitchen and stock up with hot cups of tea and food. By now many competitors were able to relax and reflect on their achievements during the day. The consensus was that the course had been a great challenge and everybody enjoyed the spirit of the event.

At the end of the day the leader board stood like this (out of 1000 pts)

• 1^st place to Kim Collison with 945 pts (GOLD)
• 2^nd place to Anthony Emmet and Tim McDowell with 917 pts (GOLD)
• 3^rd place to Team Thomas Cook with 915 pts (GOLD)

Dynamic Adventure would like to thank North Face for sponsoring the spot prizes and HighFive for their support by providing competitors with essential energy supplements. Thank you also to my son who provided a bike wash service and judging by his now bulging wallet it proved very popular!

Feedback after the event was very much welcomed and informative and will be taken into account for future events. The March event has already generated much interest and given the fact that we had to turn people away for the January event we suggest you get your entries in early.

Simon, Nicky & Jonathan

Dynamic Adventure