Wadi Bih RELAY 2005 Results and Report
Race Report
Congratulations to all those who took part and completed the Wadi Bih relay
run this year.
This year's run saw a record turnout of 59 teams and eight individuals on
mountain bikes. Since its inception in 1993 the event has continued to grow
in popularity and offers a superb exhilarating day out in the rugged
mountain landscape of the Musandam Hajar mountains.
As is always the case with the Wadi Bih Run there is a degree of
uncertainty on the route as the Dibs side of the pass is frequently washed
out. This year was no exception with the reconnoiter ( carried out on
Wednesday prior to the run ) revealing 500 metres of the track having been
decimated by flash floods.
The weather was extremely kind to us though with almost ideal running
temperatures.
The major gremlin in this year's event was the tightening of security at
the UAE bolt border post, particularly since the political assassination in
Lebanon earlier in the week. We contacted the army personnel at the border
post prior to the run to try and arrange a smoother passage but to no
avail. However when the backlog of runners vehicles became too long it
appeared that they capitulated and eased the checks letting most people
through.
Apologies for the delay in sending out the results. No decent excuses
except that many of my previous trusty stalwart supporters had left me for
skiing holidays in the Alps or decided to run this year.
We remeasured the distances between checkpoints this year with a different
vehicle ( tachometer ) and found the distances to be slightly longer. This
resulted in a longer distance of just over 80 kilometres.
We have collated the results on the attached spreadsheet. This was
difficult as some teams did not finish due to being stopped at the border
and some teams did not hand in their time sheets at the end. In case of any
errors or omissions please e-mail me.
The traditional rivalry between Dubai and Abu Dhabi was present with the
Dubai Falcons team of Nick Anna Beryl, Antonio, Andy and Hennock running
superbly to beat Giant ( total ) team led by Jean-Luc.
The Czech triathlete Petra had a superb solo run to finish the event in six
hours 52 minutes faster than a lot of the teams.
An event of this nature requires a lot of preparation planning and has
input from a number of in help from a number of people . Thanks to:
* Barbara Corderoy for operating the registration table for the teams
* Alan Pimm smith for the booze run from the barracuda ( and he is
almost a teetotaller )
* Graham Rafferty for putting race information on the Dubai road
runners website and putting lonely runners in touch with each other
* Eric from the RAK cement factory for the marker signs ( although the
responsibility for their position and sequence remains mine )
* Sun & sands for supplying T-shirts
* Andy Whitaker for the art work on the T-shirts
* The Al Khayam restaurant for the red hot curry ( and a special
thanks for shipping it round from Dibs after the run finish changed )
* And many thanks to John Gregory who has been the mainstay of this
event over the years ( organising the first Wadi Bih Run in 1993 ) for
arranging and leading the partying on the Thursday evening.
* lastly but not least Barbara and Christina for helping putting up
with me
If anybody has any dramatic, interesting or humorous digital photographs
they have taken of the Wadi Bih run this year or over the years please
e-mail them to me. I am planning to set up a website for the Wadi Bih Run
and it would be good to have a gallery of photographs.
On the lighter side:
Thanks to Vioine for her suggestions to decorate each checkpoint when some
floral art or sculpture and place them in hard to find positions off the
track ..... ( will have to check with the Olympic mountain running
committee on this one )
A caution to Major Hayes for chasing & disturbing goats at the high point
of the run and expecting a batman ( from his military days ) to administer
a massage and pedicure . Every time I saw Major Hayes he was asking a
female if she wanted a date ... ( and that was just the goats ! )
Congratulations to John Gregory on having moved to a pseudo Roman bath with
turquoise columns in RAK ( where are the wenches ? ) believe it or not.
This after he stated several years ago and he was leaving and could not
organise the wadi Biyh Run in the future
It was interesting to note that of the few teams that experienced problems
at the border John Gregory's was one. Is this some sort of reflection on
his character and moral standing in the local community one wonders... or
could it have been the fact that he was smuggling through a female without
any travel papers.
Until next year On On ...
John Young
Best wishes
John Young