Anna, Adventure Racer
During her first year at the RGS Anna became involved in adventure racing for the first time when she was invited as a last-minute replacement on the British team booked to take part in the 10th Raid Gauloises in the spring of 2000.
Alain Gaimard, a French professional mountain guide, founded the Raid Gauloises, the original adventure race, and the toughest in the world, in 1989. It is a long, non-stop, cross-terrain, extreme sports event, demanding exceptional technical skill in a wide range of outdoor sports as well as team spirit and endurance from the competitors, as Anna learned from her first experience of this type of race. It is a test of mental as well as physical stamina.
The 10th Raid Gauloises was 847 km in length and took place over 12 days across the Himalayas from Tibet to Nepal. Anna had no time to train and was given only a few hours to decide if she wished to accept the challenge. She realised that the team would have to withdraw if she didn't agree, so she thought, 'What have I to lose?' and accepted.
Her team was called The Salomon Pilgrims and her fellow team members were:
Ski Steve Sharp, aged 35 at the time, a sergeant in the Royal Signals in Gibraltar, and a trained mountaineering instructor and orienteering champion:
Russell Dawkins, aged 32, an optician and the model for Action Man's picture on the toys box (now paraplegic following a cycling accident).
Richard Inman, aged 31, an officer in the Royal Green Jackets:
Douglas Gillespie, aged 31, a golf course manager and keen yachtsman.
The back-up crew were:
Dave Freear, a partner in Pilgrims group, a risk management consultancy:
Roger Smith who runs British Lakeland Mountain Guides.
Each team had to have at least one female member. Anna must have felt some apprehension at the thoughts of the formidable challenge ahead of her in such impressive company. I was certainly excited but fearful, too, as I compared Anna's sedentary job with the men's action-filled lives and I worried about her asthma as I pondered on their high level of fitness. As ever, I was filled with admiration for this beautiful daughter of mine, rejoicing that others held equally high opinions of her qualities and abilities.
The activities facing them included trekking, mountain biking, hydrospeeding on the Sun Kosi River, canyoneering, canoeing, kayaking, horse-riding and whitewater rafting. Anna was really excited at the prospect of sampling all these adventurous and dangerous sports. She was also excitedly looking forward to revisiting Tibet and Nepal and she felt that her knowledge of the area and of the language would be an advantage to the team.
Along the route she and the other team members suffered severe altitude sickness and hypothermia and she developed bronchitis. However, they all endured and finished at 6.53 am on day 9, in 16th place out of 50 teams at the start, a tremendous result considering what they had gone through, sleep deprivation added to the other hardships. I was so proud of her indomitable spirit and brave heart in the face of such challenging obstacles.
Anna later told me that at one point along the route, as they led a horse across the high Tibetan plateau, she, Russell and Ski were suffering so much that they formed a human chain with the front man holding on to the horse, on which they'd placed their rucksacks. Richard was the only person fit enough to lead the horse while Douglas just about managed to stagger alongside.
Another time they huddled together in a small tent with a single sleeping bag between them and one of them literally in the fly sheet while the temperature outside plummeted to -30 degrees centigrade. After a short nap they woke to find it was snowing hard and they set off in a blizzard, feeling disorientated and losing precious time. At the next Check Point they had to be thawed out in a heated bus and Anna received treatment for her bronchitis from the medical team before proceeding.
A further crisis was in store for Anna and Russell when they were crossing a swollen river with their bicycles held above their heads. They were being swept away in the current and a Nepalese man dived in and rescued them. Anna said that local men sometimes lost their lives like this, but being very poor, it is a risk they take in the hope of earning a small reward. I never cease being horrified by her tales from abroad, although she seems able to put everything into perspective. In her late teens she was very supportive of my work for the Third World and she has always shown compassion for those in need.
Were I to dwell on all the dangers she has been through, I'd go crazy but I've learned to look on her achievements and personal victories and to feel pride in what she has accomplished in spite of the handicap she suffers from her asthma. Above all, I talk, talk, talk, bringing my fears into the open by telling people what I consider to be an exciting adventure story, so that it becomes like a dramatic reading from a book such as 'Scott of the Antarctic'. Thus I try to elicit admiration for brave men and women who set out into the unknown to explore in hostile environments, rather than brooding inwardly in fear and worry about my beautiful daughter.
Anna became hooked on endurance racing from then on, really appreciating the spirit of adventure and exploration and personal challenge of these big expedition races.
She became an active and enthusiastic member of the group of British men and women aiming to form a top international team in what is fast becoming a recognised sport. From then on, weekends and holidays were spent training and acquiring new skills. The dedication of all these athletes seems almost fanatical, as if each member is suffering from an addiction, yet, as I entertain them in my home from time to time, I recognise their sterling qualities and I feel as if I, too, am now part of this new scene. Anna tells me that all the mums are, like me, supportive. 'It must be something about the way you brought us up!' she'll say. Being so closely associated with them has opened up a whole new life for me. One of the things I admire most about these adventurers is the camaraderie that exists between them. For Anna this would be a big attraction, too.
My sister in New Zealand is the latest to become hooked as a supporter. One by one, all my friends and close acquaintances are being introduced to the Internet coverage of the different races throughout the world! Those who haven't yet embraced the new technology ask their children or grandchildren to find the sites and print pictures and accounts of Anna's exploits. Feedback includes E-mails from young people telling me that they've seen my daughter and been most impressed by her performances. Life at the age of 74 is anything but boring!
