Team Sula Sgeir - Pindos 2001 Report - 2001 Results - Pindos 2000 Report - 2000 Results - 2000 Press Release

"We were finished! We had done brilliantly on the last day, lost only 32 minutes to Team Salomon and extended our lead over the other teams. Second place was ours! After three hard days of adventure racing to finish second to Team Salomon was no mean feat - they were hand picked professional athletes who were the best that Greece had to offer!"

Pindos Crossing 2000

14 teams and 14 individuals had gathered in Kalambaka, Greece for the three day adventure race. Teams and individuals had to mountain bike, run and paddle the same 150 mile route which included over 5,000m of climbing. Each team was made up of four people and each leg of the race had to be done in pairs (who had to finish together as the slowest time of the two counted). Most teams had two specialist cyclists and two specialist runners - we had four people who could either run or cycle - a perfect combination.

Three weeks earlier Graham and I had no idea that we would even be competing in the race! How had we got there and found ourselves teamed up with Sakis and Dimitri?

In 1998, Sula Sgeir (Gavin Earons, Murdie Campbell, Graham Meeks and Shirley Hay with Ian Hay and Donald Thomson as backup) had won the Western Isles Challenge. They returned in 1999 to defend their title but it was not to be, Graham had a serious crash on the first day (he still has a souvenir metal plate in his wrist!), Shirley ended up in the same hospital and the rest of the three days were spent fighting the race and each other. Despite these problems we won the Veterans Prize and the Local Prize as the first local team home. The Local prize was provided by Leader and turned out to be a trip to Sweden or Greece to compete in another adventure race. Sadly, the fact that the team came from different parts of the hall to collect the prize told a story - team Sula Sgeir was finished and there was no way we would be competing with the same team members again! Neither the Swedish nor the Greek races took place in 1999 so the prize was to be carried forward into 2000. As Murdie could not get time off work for the Greek Race, we were planning to go to Sweden in July 2000.

In 2000, a new team Sula Sgeir (Gavin Earons, Murdie Campbell, Janet Smith and Donald Thomson with Graham Meeks as backup) competed in the Western Isles Challenge and again won the Veteran and Local prizes. At the prize giving we learned that the Swedish race was not going to happen in 2000 and suddenly the pressure was on for us to enter the Pindos Crossing 2000 race in Greece - it was only three weeks away! Sadly Murdie still could not get time off and we suggested that we enter a mixed Scottish and Greek team in the race. Leader liked the idea and Carola Bell in Stornoway and Nikos Manoussakis (Greece), both of Leader, helped us organize car hire, accommodation and our two Greek team mates (Sakis Pitenis and Dimitrios Kassiaras). We organized flights for ourselves and our mountain bikes and a few days later we were in Greece for the Pindos Crossing 2000.

Pre-race

With two mountain bikes, tools, spare parts as well as clothes for the race we had some trouble keeping close to the baggage limit! But we left Stornoway Airport at 3.30pm. and three flights later found ourselves wandering around the Acropolis in Athens at 8.00 in the morning! Welcome to Greece!

We then drove for 6 hours to Kalambaka, in the Meteora region, which was to be our base for the race. It was a lovely drive and we could not resist going for a swim in the Mediterranean on the way. Kalambaka is an amazing place - the town lay nestled at the foot of a range of 600m high pinnacles. Each pinnacle seemed to be topped by a Monastery - the area was used in one of the James Bond movies. The scenery was fantastic!

Pinnacles above Kalambaka

Over the next three days we explored the area and tried to get used to our new surroundings. At high noon on the first day we cycled 11K up a series of hairpin bends (in 35 degree heat!) to a height of 900m. On the way we saw terrapins, lizards and vipers but the most terrifying encounter was with the local goats! The goats were not the problem but the dogs that guarded them - three dogs which had been trained to protect the herd from wolves and bears decided to attack me - luckily the goatherd heard my screams and eventually called the dogs off! No wonder the beer at the taverna at the top tasted so good!

That evening we went to the village of Kakoplevri which was where the race was to start. The scenery was beautiful all the way and the village people came out to meet us. Luckily one man had lived in Australia and was able to act as an interpreter. We had a lovely meal and enjoyed the traditional atmosphere of a rural Greek village. Sadly, just as in the Western Isles, we were told that the population was aging and that most of the young people left the area, indeed the country, to find work. This was an evening to remember!

Registration

We made our way to the campsite in Kastraki where we had to register and perform some tests to prove we were capable of competing in the race.

We capsized hot dog canoes and retrieved bottles from the bottom of the pool. We cycled round a short but very technical mountain bike course. At the time, we thought it was more difficult than anything we would meet in the race - we were wrong! Then came the abseil test. Back in Lewis we had arranged for Tim Pickering of Sgòr (climbing and abseiling company) to teach us how to abseil - but we had not realized that we would have to rock climb half way up a pinnacle to get to the start of the abseil. As I watched other teams climb the sheer cliff I was apprehensive to say the least. Dimitri flew up in bare feet and abseiled down - no problem, then came the good news, only one team member had to do the climb - Graham and I were off the hook!

Then we had our first problem, our local driver was young and impetuous, he seemed oblivious to the Greek Highway code and drove through red lights, crashed gears, went the wrong way down one way streets and generally scared the living daylights out of us. Graham and I were not happy. Then he decided to park the 4X4 - easy you would think. Unfortunately, he chose to park it, with two expensive mountain bikes on the roof rack, under a low tree. The bikes and the roof rack were both slightly damaged. I had a word with Sakis and 10 minutes later we had sacked the driver. The two person relay format of the race meant that we did not need another support person anyway as there would always be two team members in the vehicle.

Sakis had looked at the opposition and reckoned we would do well to finish in the top half of the field. Maybe he thought Graham and I looked too old to be competitive - Sakis was 25 years younger than me!

We drove up to Kakoplevri and pitched our tent at the pre-race campsite. All meals were provided during the race and we were very impressed by our first meal from the race catering corp.

Day 1

Up at 5.30a.m. for a 7.00a.m. start. We had an excellent breakfast and picked up our packed lunches before we packed up our tents and made for the start line. Sakis and Dimitri were doing the first leg - a 4K run up a hill (+600m) with a 12K run down the other side (-400m).

Graham and I cheered them off and set off for what turned out to be the most exciting drive of my life. I joined a small convoy of support vehicles and we found ourselves on a very narrow, very rough and occasionally very steep, forest track. I loved it (but I was driving), Graham was less enthusiastic!

Having negotiated the worst of the track and managed to avoid knocking the bikes off the roof with the overhanging trees we found the track blocked by a newly felled tree - there was no way back or forward. Was the race in trouble before we got started? Luckily the foresters were nearby and soon had the tree cut and dragged out of the way. Onward to the first change over.

Team Salomon were first to appear out of the woods, followed over the next 20 minutes by a few of the individuals then suddenly Sakis and Dimitri were there! Graham and I set off on our first mountain bike leg - 40K to Aoos Lake with several climbs the highest of which was 500m. The first long climb took us up a forest track and into a high plateau with some isolated farms. Very nice, but farms meant dogs and we were attacked again. Just before Graham could use the firecrackers Dimitri had given us to scare any dogs off, my shouting had the right effect and the dogs returned to their flock. Leg one and already we were under attack - so much for the organizers assurance that all the farmers on the route had been notified and that all the dogs would be kept chained up! Graham and I were going well and after a bit of show boating for the passing motorbike cameraman we settled down to a good steady pace over the next series of rolling ridges. After a short tarmac descent we headed along a good track for the final 6K to Flega mountain and the changeover. Suddenly we were passing people and we were elated to arrive at the changeover in second place. Things were looking good!

As we neared the bottom of the climb, streams were overflowing across the track and it was clear from the stench that the local sewage systems were not coping with the deluge! Graham took a tumble but was unhurt. Suddenly we were at the bottom and we started the 11K climb (+750m) up a forest track. The lightning bolts were hitting the valley all around us and I was terrified. A passing marshal insisted it was safe and indicated we should carry on! Easy for him to say as he sat there in his van! As we ground our way to the top of the climb, I had to make a couple of tricky route calls with little help from the last of our disintegrating waterlogged map. The storm continued and fear drove me onward and upward. As we came out of the trees we heard Sakis and Dimitri cheering us on and we set off with renewed energy on the terrifying 5K descent (-400m). Terrifying because of the storm, the steep terrain, my blindness and hypothermia but most of all because by now our brakes had been worn out.

Sakis and Dimitri were saved further efforts because the organizers had to cancel the last mountain leg because of the thunderstorm. They quickly arranged alternative accommodation - we camped in an unfinished hotel!

We finished the day in 9 hours 16 minutes, good enough for second place. We were 1 Hour 18 minutes behind team Salomon but 1 Hour 41 Minutes ahead of third placed Team Aigle - not bad for a team with three old codgers in it!

After an excellent meal and some running repairs to our bikes, we went up into the village and were again very impressed by the hospitality of the local villagers. A fine end to what had been a very long, difficult but enjoyable day.

Day 2

We had originally planned that Graham and I would do the hills and Sakis and Dimitri the mountain biking today but, over breakfast Sakis and I decided to stick with the same strategy as Day 1. Graham and I would again do the mountain bikes legs while Sakis and Dimitri would do the running.

The day started with a mass start on mountain bikes. A short 3K shallow climb allowed Team Salomon and ourselves to break away from the bunch before a fantastic 34K descent (-400m) down a tarmac road - now that was exciting! Graham and I arrived at the changeover in second place just a couple of minutes behind Team Salomon!

The whitewater canoeing and canyoning legs had been cancelled because of the downpour and Graham and I did not have a clue what they had been replaced with! Sakis and Dimitri set off on a 16K run down a forest road and we followed in the 4X4. The drive along the track, high above the river, was very scenic - without the stress of the first day!

All too soon Graham and I were back on our bikes for what was supposed to be a 7K tarmac road section (+400m) climb. But after a long climb into a stiff headwind, we descended a long way (including an interesting section through an unlit tunnel) before beginning another climb! It seemed to go on for ever but eventually we reached the top in second place, about 15 minutes behind Team Salomon.

Sakis and Dimitri set off on their 8K run over a mountain (up 330m but only 80m down the other side!).. Graham and I had to drive round and after a beautiful drive we parked the car near the top of the mountain. Team Salomon came off after fighting off some angry dogs and minutes later Sakis and Dimitri arrived! How had they caught up so much on Team Salomon? Turns out they chose a very direct route!

Graham and I grabbed our bikes and tried to chase down Team Salomon on the 13K descent (-400m) through a very rough and rutted forest track. Just as the camera crew arrived to film our chase, Graham skidded to a halt - he had a puncture. A couple of the individual competitors passed as we fixed the puncture and a few minutes later we were back on the chase. I was finding it impossible to use my middle gears (I found out later that several cogs had been torn off my middle chainring) but Graham didn't care as he raced off in pursuit of the individuals! With limited gears available, I struggled to keep up and by the bottom of the descent I was exhausted. The final part of the leg was a 4K shallow climb on tarmac, Graham kept up with the individual rather than stay with me and made his point by passing him just before the finish. At the end, I made my feelings clear too! Our team performance was not helped by racing against someone who wasn't even in the same race!

All told, a very successful day - we were again second on every stage behind Team Salomon. We took 6 hours 45 minutes for the day to Team Salomon's 5 hours 39 minutes. Perhaps more importantly we had beaten Team Aigle's by 1 hours 4 minutes and were secure in second place.

Another delicious meal was followed by more running repairs to our bikes and because of the thunderstorms we were packed off to a hostel and a bed for the night - luxury!

Day 3

Our game plan now was just to finish, take no risks and make no mistakes - we were so far ahead of third place that we could afford to cruise to the end.

Graham and I were finally let off our bikes and had to climb the only mountain of the day (1,900m high). We followed Team Salomon for the first mile or so up a continuous climb through the forest. My plan was to take a different route from the others and hopefully come out of the forest ahead of the rest. Initially all went well and we found the path I was looking for. It was not very clear and Graham kept heading back to the left where the other teams were. I kept shouting "stay to the right" but Graham led us through the jungle to the left and eventually brought us out behind some of the teams on the original track. We passed all bar Team Salomon and three individuals before the summit and, as Graham kept on saying, we would have been closer if we had followed their route - but, as I kept saying, we could have been ahead if he had followed mine! We will never know.

The view from the summit was sensational with narrow ridges leading off in all directions. We had a wonderful run down the mountain - including being followed for a mile by the only friendly dog we met in the whole race! We finished the leg in second spot and passed on to Sakis and Dimitri who had a fast downhill 10 mile run through the forest.

The changeover was in Koromilia and the locals looked on in amazement as more and more support vehicles invaded their village. Team Salomon were first through followed by a couple of individual competitors then Sakis and Dimitri.

Graham reckoned the next section was the hardest of the whole race because the forest track had been turned to soft clinging clay which made it impossible to cycle all the way - everyone had to get off and push at some point. We slogged our way slowly up the 400m climb passing the solo competitors on the way. What a relief it was to clear the final climb and begin the 900m loose gravel, hairpin descent.

t was fast and furious - especially as Graham again insisted on chasing down the only individual competitor who was ahead of us. What was that game plan we had - take care and avoid accidents?

We hit the final tarmac descent and Graham hammered on until we had passed the first individual. We cruised up the final hill and were cheered into the changeover area by Team Salomon and a sizeable crowd of locals.

The next leg was the climb and abseil - Dimitri had been chosen to do that. After a lengthy wait (with the clock stopped), he flew up the climb and down the abseil while we drove round. Dimitri was so quick that he beat us round and the final 500m to the finish turned into a bit of a farce! Dimitri was sprinting for the finish, we jumped out the car, shouted at him to wait and took off after him. When Sakis had parked the car, he realized we had gone the wrong way. He took us the scenic route to the finish! We ended up crashing through thick thorny undergrowth, falling down a ravine and arriving at the finishing line from the wrong direction! Much to the consternation of the marshals, camera crew and local photographers. After 150 miles we had got lost in the last 500 metres!

We were finished! We had done brilliantly on the last day, lost only 32 minutes to Team Salomon and extended our lead over the other teams. Second place was ours! After three hard days of adventure racing to finish second to Team Salomon was no mean feat - they were hand picked professional athletes who were the best that Greece had to offer!

Sakis Pitenis, Graham Meeks, Gavin Earons and Dimitrios Kassiaras at the finish

Conclusion

The Pindos Crossing 2000 race was a fantastic experience. The countryside superb, the organization spot on, the people were friendly and I cannot wait to take Sula Sgeir back there next year. Donald, Janet and Murdie are in for a real treat! Unfortunately Murdie will not find much canoeing in the race, so he will have to develop his hill running and biking skills! No problem!

Many thanks to Leader for putting up the prize and to Carola Bell in Stornoway and Nikos Manoussakis in Greece for the assistance they gave.

I hope that Team Salomon and the winning individual have an equally enjoyable time when they come over here next year to do the Western Isles Challenge - that was their prize for winning the Pindos Crossing 2000.

Race Account by Gavin Earons

Map of Route