Abu Dhabi Adventure Challenge- Team Blackheart Report

Well better late than never. We've been pretty busy since returning from Abu Dhabi over a month ago. Here is Damon's report from the race. Thanks again to the organisers of the Abu Dhabi Adventure Challenge for a fantastically well run event. Thanks to our sponsors who make it possible to travel the globe chasing the dream. 
Over to Damon...

With 2010 fast coming to an end, Rob  decided that he wanted to fit one more race in for the year and convinced me to join him for the Abu Dhabi Adventure Challenge (ADAC), a 6 day race in the United Arab Emirates. Over the last 3 years, the ADAC  has established itself as one of the premier races on the calendar, attracting the best teams from around the world. I was struggling to justify the trip to myself (and Fleur) after having moved from Sydney to Melbourne, enjoyed a 3 week holiday in the Swiss Alps, buying a house, car and starting a new job, all in the previous 3 months – but I somehow managed it! (She has just informed me that I never actually got permission from her, must have forgotten to have that conversation…). Rob had an easier solution to the leave pass dilemma, he invited his partner Kathryn to race with us. Our fourth member was Luke Haines, a mate from Geelong, who would be new to our team.

Unlike most adventure races which are non-stop, the ADAC is considered a staged raced with breaks at the end of each day. The first 2 days would consist of a mix of disciplines including cycling, swimming, running, canoeing and rope work, with the final 4 days including some monster 100km+ desert trekking and kayaking.

Day 1- 22km Adventure Triathlon

Starting with a canoe/run/swim prologue at the Abu Dhabi Corniche, we were to show our complete lack of canoeing skills, but luckily there was a bit of running also, including going through the sheik’s palace, a massive complex covered with manicured lawns and gardens, where we were able to make up some places. Only 3 of us had to complete the 900m swim, with Luke opting to walk around the beach with our gear while we swam. Halfway through the swim I realized I probably should have done some training for this as I tried to ignore the girl overtaking me breaststroking. We managed to hang on to our position after some more running and canoeing before finishing back on the Corniche in 20th place. We then jumped in the buses for a 3 hour drive out to Al Ain, Abu Dhabi’s 2^nd largest city, for the afternoon’s activities. We picked up our bikes, more water then headed off in a mass restart for a 30km ride to Jebel Hafeet. With 50 teams of 4 in the race all riding together, it was hard to keep track of teammates in the jostling of the bunch. Only a few km’s from the start, one rider went down hard and slid along the hot mix in front of me. I had just enough time to avoid him and think how much that would have hurt, before I realized it was Rob. He got back up relatively unscathed, but soon found he had a broken spoke and flat tire. Where was the donkey when we needed him? The next problem was that our main repair kit was with Luke, who was still with the bunch disappearing ahead at 40km/hr oblivious to our problems. Luckily we had a tiny emergency pump and tube and were able to get back riding, although we wasted at least 10 minutes in the process and more importantly, lost the comfort of the peloton. We managed to catch up with Luke who had dropped back and rode together for the remainder of the ride to the transition. The final section for the day was a rocky run up Jebel Hafeet and abseil back down and run into camp. We ran quite well and caught back up to a few teams, but still ended the day pretty disappointed with our result.

The camps were fully catered, both dinner and breakfast, and we were pleasantly surprised by the feed the put on. There was plenty of food and drink to go around for everyone. Camping the first night next to Jebel Hafeet, we could see the lights at the top, almost 1000m above us. Tomorrow we would have to run back to our bikes, ride up to the top, run and abseil down and then run back up again.

Day 2- 6km run, 20km MTB, 10km run and ropes

We struggled on the first 5km run, which included a neat crossing of a rocky ridge, and collected our bikes already 5 minutes back from the leaders. A short section of dirt road led us back to the bitumen and the big climb to the top, which would take us over an hour. On finally reaching the top, we filled up with water and headed off into the rocks. Our running form had returned and we moved quite well again to the beginning of the fixed ropes course. This was one of the highlights of the race for me, with fixed ropes installed down through a gully in the mountain and then up another. It was a spectacular descent, however the slow progress along the fixed ropes had caused some bottlenecks around teams and it was a relief to hit the final abseil and get some space at the bottom. Having little information about how long this section was, we had underestimated our water requirements and were running low. Now entering the heat of the day, we really suffered on the long climb back up. On nearing the top, we were all out but somehow managed a final burst to run into the finish to devour some cold drink and chips (thanks Chris). We had performed a little better today, finishing in 12 place and 15th overall, but our slow progress along the ropes had lost valuable time.

Day 3/4- 94km MTB, 110km Desert Trek

The next 2 days would see us trekking over 100km’s through the massive sand dunes in the desert, but first we had to complete a 90km ride to get there. We had to be self sufficient during this time and would only be supplied with water at checkpoints along the way. Starting at 4am, we rode the first couple of hours in the darkness, loaded with food and gear for 2 days of racing. Alternating between a good surface, to potholes and sand covered sections, to entirely disappearing at times, this ride took us 5 ½ hours to complete, over an hour behind the leaders. Now in the heat of the day, we ran off to collect 6 compulsory checkpoints, with the option of collecting a further 4 CP’s if we had the time. With a 6 hour bonus for every optional CP, they were worth going for, however there were cut-offs and a compulsory 8 hours break along the way you had to keep in mind. The dunes were like an oven and at the first opportunity to stop, we opted to have a 2 hour break. The 8 hours compulsory break had to be taken at a CP at a maximum of 2 locations along the way. Most other teams seemed to have the same idea and there were a few of us competing for the shade of the organizers vehicles. Starting off again in the afternoon, the conditions were much nicer and got better during the night, but we were still travelling a lot slower than I’d hoped. Navigation at this point wasn’t much of an issue as there were plenty of tracks in the sand to follow. The dunes were incredible, bigger than any I had run before, like mountain ranges with ridges, gullys and peaks, seemingly never ending. 

The satellite photo’s we were given to navigate by showed sections of salt flats and it became obvious to join the dots between the CP’s and salt flats to travel faster, but that usually meant a huge climb back up the dunes at the end of each flat. We stopped earlier in the night than hoped for our remaining 6 hour break, sleeping in our tent and bivvys. There was a cut-off at 10am the next day at the final compulsory CP if you wanted to go for the last optional CP. Several hours before this cut-off it looked like it could be a close call for us to make it so we picked up our speed a bit, but as the sun rose, so did the heat. We made some good time, but the dunes coming into the last CP were enormous and we ended up missing it the cut off by over an hour, meaning we had to head straight to the finish. Only 9 teams made it to the CP in time to go for the last optional. It was now stinking hot and we’d been trekking for over 24 hours. Kathryn opted for a “short cut” over a final, massive dune range she could see in the distance at the endof a salt flat, which would lead to the finish. In a bit of a low spot, all I could see was a wall ahead of us and I got a glimpse of Rob’s future life as I pleaded with her to take another route and was promptly put back in my place and told to harden up. It felt like the biggest, steepest dune we had crossed so far and I was on hands and knees to get up it, but I did what I was told. On rounding the top, we found some energy and were able to jog in to the finish at 3pm, in 34 hours, in 9th place, now 12th overall. Our trip across the desert had been about 105km. Helping ourselves to the cold drinks and pasta supplied at the finish, we jumped back in the buses for the 3 hour ride to the Maffi coast, where we would be sea kayaking over 100km back to the finish.

Day 5- 130km kayak over two days

We were woken early in our tents by strong winds and the announcement came over that the start would be delayed. Not long after, the decision was made to cancel the days kayaking stage due to the strong winds. With much of the route being off shore it seemed like the right decision was made. The day was spent hanging around the beach and local shops, which sounds much more relaxing and enjoyable than it actually was. We were notified in the evening that the kayaking would restart the next day back in the city after another bus trip.

Day 6- 33km kayak

The wind had only died down slightly the next day as we drove back to town. The new kayaking course was going to be 3 laps of an 11km course along the Corniche. We had about a 10 minute gap to catch the French team Vibram Lafuma in front, with a lot more time to the next team behind. We had a crack at catching them but they were too aware of how close we were and kept a close eye on us for the 3 laps and we ended up maintaining our relevant positions.

After the 6 days of racing, we finished in 12^th place. Having the kayaking cancelled was a disappointing way to finish what was an excellent event, but the fixed ropes course over Jebel Hafeet and desert trekking made up for it. Our result was not what we’d hoped, but it was a very tough race and competitive field. The catering was fantastic and I think I may have actually put on weight during this race. Thanks to my teammates for racing with me. Apologies to Kathryn, who was amazed/disgusted that I’d still not had a shower the whole week, even though they were provided for us every day. I was just trying to make Rob look as good as possible before he finally seals the deal!


Thanks to Shotz, whose electrolyte tablets proved a winner once again as we popped them into litre after litre of water to keep hydrated in the extreme heat. Thanks also to our other sponsors – Blackheart, Salomon, Aussie Butt Cream and SILVA.

Team Blackheart at the finish

The Winners- Team Thule Adventure