The Maltese Falcon, Adventure Race Report by Claire

MALTESE FALCON
A journey across the archipelago in a single day - running, kayaking & cycling.

A week has passed & I’ve had time to recover & reflect on completing my first ever adventure race. Here is my account on what proved to be a very memorable trip.

Louise, (my partner in crime for this event) & I arrived in Malta airport on Thursday afternoon & were met by our Rat Race hosts & a number of other participants who had arrived like us for the airport RV before being transferred to the ferry for our short crossing over to Gozo, the starting point for this adventure.
From the ferry we spotted hundreds of jellyfish! A swarm, bloom or smack or even a fluther (evidently) of jellyfish! We were assured by locals they were harmless & that they were often called fried egg jellyfish on account of their appearance (We were to swim with them later! )
We arrived at our hotel in beautiful Xlendi, booked for 2 nights although the second night would be a very short one!

We enjoyed a pleasant evening getting to know the other competitors and all the Rat Race support crew over dinner. 40 competitors in total, different ages & nationalities - Dutch, French, American & British.
The next morning was devoted to registration & collecting our adventure packs including our trackers & GPS navigation devices for the bike leg. The run leg gpx files had already been downloaded onto our watches. We were allocated our rental bikes - which could only be described as well used but robust MTB’s. Lu & I had decided not to bring our own bikes as had most of the other competitors so most of us spent the next hour or so getting familiar with the gears! Bikes sorted we had a couple of hours to enjoy the beautiful seafront & swim in the bay - being careful to dodge the (harmless) fried egg jellyfish!

Later we had the full event safety briefing, enjoyed an early dinner & then retired to bed ready for the 2.00 am alarm call before transportation to our head torch run start at 3.30am! 😱
At 2.45am with transitions bags labelled we assembled in the hotel foyer ready for our lift to the start.
We chatted excitedly in the minibus as we considered the journey about to unfold. There’s something very special about starting a race in the dark. With the countdown started head torches were switched on & we were off - straight into a fairly steep & long climb! The rush of adrenalin & excitement meant we set off at a pace much quicker than I could sustain & I quickly reminded Lu that if I was to cover the 15km within the 2 hour cut off time I needed to stick to our plan. Given the limited & interrupted training I’d had in preparation for this event that was a very slow pace/ jog 7.30-8.30min/km - (12-13min/mi).

Despite the concerns I’d had about the run it actually went well and we settled into a comfortable pace and found ourselves with a couple of other women running at a similar rate.
We made our way through the quiet & sleepy streets of small towns & villages with only the occasional sound of a cockerel or a barking dog disturbed by the sound of runners passing by. It was quite surreal.
The last 4km of the run was along a narrow & rocky path down to the sea. The first section called Cactus Alley - see pic!

This route certainly demanded more care & the pace slowed to a walk. Not only to avoid getting spiked but to negotiate parts of the path that passed close to the cliff edge. At this point 4 became 9 as 5 runners who had been ahead of us had missed a turning & had had to double back.
We chatted more now as we began to spot lights up ahead & realised we were close to our first transition.
The run was always the pressure part of the race - everyone had to make the 2 hr cut off (with a little slack) so that the kayaking leg could start at 6.30 on the dot. It also meant we had 30-40’ to take on some food & water & make ready our kayaks/ load any dry bags etc to be on the water at 6.15 ready for the group paddle. Because we were crossing a shipping channel from Gozo to Comino and then Comino to Malta we had to paddle as a group with our guides & safety boat.
Lu & I completed the run in 2hrs 4’ & discovered there were still some runners out on the route behind us but the organisers were happy that everyone would make the cutoff.
We quickly took on food & filled our flasks then got ready for the kayak leg.

This was simply magical, with the sun just about coming up, we got onto the water. Conditions were perfect, the sea was like glass & felt like bath water!
We made our way across the channel, in the main paddling in unison, no ships to disturb our tranquil crossing. Just 1.5 km & we arrived. We headed up to the tower at the top of the island to be greeted by the sun - perfect spot for sunrise photos! Then back to the kayaks & another 4.5 km taking us round 3 sides of Comino and then out across the channel over to Malta.

Just amazing - perfect paddling !

The last leg!

Onto the shores of Malta, our bikes racked & ready. But first a change of clothes & a chance to eat & take on water etc from the well stocked Rat Race pit stop table.
I was feeling really strong at this point & looking forward to this final stage. An hour later & I was feeling less confident. The temperature had risen & the sun was beating down with no wind. At 27 degrees & rising I felt like I was in a furnace! The first half of the bike leg had the worst of the climbing & my lack of fitness & poor prep was beginning to tell! The first big hill that the organisers had talked about was brutal - a steep, terribly rutted concrete lane - most people had to get off & push - I was no exception!

Lu was a star, clearly much fitter than me & able to make quicker progress but she stayed with me & pulled me along. Nevertheless I was mightily relieved to see a pit stop up ahead - I had drunk all my water & only had left water with electrolytes - I was definitely feeling dehydrated & over heated! The Dr with the Rat Race support team made sure I had some salt tablets, water & some salty snacks & I began to feel better quite quickly.

Back on the bike, with plenty of water & energy snacks and feeling revived we continued our journey. As we travelled further east the roads & lanes became easier with just the occasional short steep climb and as we neared the coast we welcomed a sea breeze. The miles disappeared & I suddenly felt a burst of energy - probably fuelled by the knowledge we were going to complete this adventure! I’m sure Lu never doubted it but given my starting point I hadn’t started this race with her same confidence.
After one last climb we rolled down towards the sea & St Patrick’s Pools & on through the finish line to be greeted by cheers from the Rat Race crew & those competitors that had finished ahead of us. Smiles & hugs all round, a super medal and even a cheeky beer! And then the best dip in deep limestone rock pools to cool off!
Everyone stayed at the finish to welcome home the remaining competitors.

This was a celebration of completing an exciting & fun adventure rather than recording who had 
crossed the line first or last, it wasn’t about PB’s or records or prizes and this made the experience even more special. I’m not against competition or racing, indeed I’ve been involved in sport competition of some kind all my life. But this was different & I loved every moment (well apart from the first half of the bike leg!! 😉 ).

All finished we were transported to Valletta & to a 5 * hotel where we enjoyed a celebratory meal before flying home the next day.

Adventure Race completed - would I do another one? Definitely yes, but next time I will be fitter! And the next one, how about kayaking and running around Santorini, Greece? Sounds tempting to me......
And now a big THANK YOU!
To Jenny, thank you for getting me to this particular start line. The treatment I received & the general advice & support you provided helped get me through a difficult few months of injury & illness. Despite 10 weeks without running & even a bout of Covid 9 days before the event you remained the voice of reason. Sticking to your exercises & your advice re my running plan with so little time to prepare really did the trick! Thank you!
And not forgetting Celine - another valuable member of team Blizard! Your Pilates sessions have made a huge difference to me and as someone who previously avoided such exercise I am well & truly converted! See you soon!