Norfolk Super Hero Challenge Posted by Sussanah back to HH news

This was the event I joined the Hotfooters to train for, all those months ago …. Briefly, you compete in teams of 2 and start with a 1 mile swim in the North Sea, with the incoming tide, a 5 mile kayak (2 ˝ for women and mixed teams), 38 mile cycle and 7 mile run (which finishes with 1 mile across salt marsh). Easy. I’ve done it twice before and completed it, despite getting lost both times during the cycle stage and adding several demoralizing miles, and I was confident that with my new partner, sister Harriet, I had a far chance of completing it again. However, as one of a tiny minority hoping to walk away with the ‘Zimmer Winner’ trophy (the combined ages must total over 100) time was not on our side. But we’d both been training hard and when we arrived at the Norfolk Superhero Challenge HQ, in the quaint seaside village of Burnham Overy Staithe, on a hot Thursday afternoon, we were looking forward to trying out our new swimming wetsuits and showing off our kayaking moves. Friday dawned grey and cool. We tested our wetsuits on the swim course, launching ourselves from Scolt Head into the fast-moving River Burn and finishing 30 mins or so later on ‘The Hard’ from where we would also be setting off on the kayaking stage the next day. The afternoon was spent driving the cycle route and memorizing the turn-offs where I had come unstuck the previous two years. Spirits were high during the obligatory safety briefing – although I did notice that the organizers failed to give us a weather forecast. We were more intimidated by the sheer volume of beefcake and the noticeable dearth of women competitors. Where were they? Never a good sleeper on the eve of a race, my night was even more disturbed by the howling of the wind and lashing of the rain against the window. Also the rapid drop in temperature. Stoically I tried to shut out visions of battling across the bleak Norfolk hinterland on my precious Mercian. And surely they wouldn’t let us even start if there was any hint of risk? Then I remembered two things: one, the whole ethos of the competition was to snub the crippling grip of Health and Safety requirements and two, the rules and regulations clearly state that the competition will continue WHATEVER THE WEATHER. Oh God. The weather was no better at 9 am the next morning when, with heavy hearts we trudged down to NSHC HQ to collect our timing chips and gather on The Hard to wait for our ferries out to Scolt Head. I think someone may have tried to start a rousing song or two but it was difficult to hear above the roar of the bitter North wind and the chattering of teeth. Half an hour later, once we had all gathered on the beach, we were given our orders to start and 110 potential superheroes plunged into the brine and set off towards Burnham Overy Staithe. At that point, miraculously, the sun came out and I began to enjoy myself. My wet suit was working, I wasn’t cold and all the hours of ploughing up and down Hereford Leisure Pool paid off. We both got back in respectable times, despite the crosswind that seemed determined to blow us all to Wells-next-the-Sea. And the first swimmer in was a woman – in 19 minutes. The next stage, kayaking, was a different kettle of fish altogether. At one point we felt as though we were trying to climb a cliff face using only our hands – but at least we weren’t suffering the same fate as some poor devils who appeared to be going backwards or worse, capsizing. The organizers had kindly allowed the male teams to take the same, shorter route as the women. And looking out to sea I’m not surprised – the size of the waves would have made Captain Haddock quake, whiskey or no whiskey. The cycling stage, despite being the longest, is the most enjoyable mainly because it takes in 38 miles of the prettiest, emptiest roads you can hope for. And of course, being Norfolk, it is relatively flat. I say relatively because the locals grumble about the steepness of some of the ‘slopes’ we went up, but we doughty Herefordians eat 3-in-1s for breakfast. All was going well. The only things that concerned me were the number of competitors we passed mending punctures, the thinness of my tyres and the fact that we were cycling on what were effectively roads made of flint. And sadly, within 5 miles of the end, my fears were founded. I had a puncture; we repaired it and carried on; I then had another, and another. At that point we admitted defeat and phoned the marshals who collected us and our bikes and took us back to the transition zone. Although we were no longer competing we continued on the run section, which had been shortened by a mile as the relentless wind was preventing the tide from going out which meant that the last stage, across the salt marsh, was still under several feet of water. The day finished with the now traditional Superhero party and awards ceremony. And although we weren’t amongst the Superheroes who went up to collect prizes, the team we nominated to win the trophy for competing ‘ in the spirit of the event’ (they helped us mend one of our frequent punctures, despite having already had 5 themselves) were so delighted we’ve all decided to do it again next year. Check it out on www.norfolksuperhero.co.uk