My first solo Adventure Race started at stupid o’clock in the morning (4am) and ended at 9pm. It was the Haglofs Open 5 series (note the 5 – it’s key to the story)

I’ve done Adventure Racing before – as part of a mixed pairs or women’s pairs but never solo. It’s something I’ve always wanted to do and felt like a true Hero as I strode off into the Shropshire Hills, clad in lycra, map in hand and clock ticking (forgot my watch so set my phone alarm - school boy error!)

Adventure Racing is all about endurance, navigation and time maximisation – I know this! My only true goal was to finish within the allocated 5 hours and avoid losing points due to time penalties!

Weather was awesome, fellow competitors pumped, bike oiled & checked, the course was fantastic and I loved the whole day and I''m still buzzing with endorphins.

I did the run first and clocked up the miles with ease, selected the highest point value checkpoints and even stopped to have a chat with a few walkers (a little too cocky in hindsight!) Then there was the cycle leg, I refuelled, donned helmet and headed back into the hills ‘to wrap this baby up’. All I needed to do was collect as many points as possible, wait for my phone alarm to go off (set for half an hour before 5 hours expired) and then turn tail and head for home…easy peasey!

What I forgot to calculate in is that when you’re tired you tend to make bad judgement calls – especially when you’re still a novice and unfamiliar with the ways of the wise. Hungry for more points, instead of turning around and heading for home I tried to bag another couple of big ones. BIG MISTAKE..I suddenly found myself as far away from ‘home’ as I could get without dropping off the map and although a bee-line seemed easy and obvious – the reality was a lot harder. The track never seemed longer, boggier and more isolated the more the minutes clicked past, my legs had nothing left in them, the power gels and drinks didn’t seem to be touching the sides and I was loosing valuable points.

I was last in (I think - when you get to a checkpoint and the marshalls are there collecting them – it’s a fairly convincing sign you’re the last!) and by the time I clocked in and the results rolled out of the machine – my ‘zero status’ was confirmed in black and white..

Rachel Kearns - Competitor No. 269

Class: Female Solo Score: 0

..but never fear I am now more determined and figure I can’t do any worse! Bring on the next one..