Moriston River Race

This is the event that many of the UK’s prominent river runners were looking forward to; a progression from the organisers of the Etive River Race onto a tougher section of white water with guaranteed levels from the dam. James Fleming, Giles Charter and their crew have to be congratulated for bringing this event to the scene so successfully, as it was not that long ago that quite a few of us were chatting hypothetically about a MRR as the perfect place for a top end UK extreme race.

Alex Lumsden on the sweet boof ledge in the middle of the run.

Before the safety briefing at 10.30 there was an hour of practice which claimed one dislocated shoulder and a couple of swims. The safety briefing itself was more of a ‘Chopper Read’ style pep talk in how to man/woman up in the event of any injuries, short of getting your head taken off. In the build up to the event it was clear that most question revolved around the mandatory first drop on the left side of the island… a chossy V shaped drop, which since a shift in the rock bed in 2007 has claimed it’s fair share of shoulders and offers a seemingly never ending variety of outcomes. The race got off to a roll at 11am with 2 minute intervals between paddlers, by racer number 25 there had been at least three swims and a couple of cracked/crumpled boats. Between Ian Letton, Dave Martin, Callum Strong, Johnny Hawkins and myself we must have changed our choice of line on the top drop about 20 times, as some very strong paddlers were getting caught in the small hole at the base of the drop next to the left wall, taking a good chunk off their time, while relative newcomers to the run were being subbed-out in the middle of the V and popping up with a boost in the right direction towards the next rapid, stirring a cheer from the crowd.

Mark Mulrain on the ramp at the top of the final Graveyard section

My first of three runs was not one of these smooth lines, opting for the riskier but potentially more rewarding right line off the first drop, I topped off an ungraceful dismount with a moment upside down and polished off my turd of a line by doing some time against the left wall. Fortunately I made up some time and it was the combined time of your first two runs which put the top twenty through.

Just above the last rapid looking to make up time.

Looking closely at the top twenty paddlers there was 30 seconds separating them… a fair gap on a course averaging a time of around 3 mins 40 sec. But then there was a host of easy mistakes which had been made by some very good paddlers. From the seal launch ramp (which due to a fence, meant you had to position sideways at the top and turn to slide down as the buzzer went) landing you with a foot and a half gap either side between rocks, and then just as your arms are tiring, plenty of fine lines and angles making the difference between hitting fast or slow water forced you to to keep a lot of power and concentration. For their final runs, the top twenty was very much a game of who had learnt from previous mistakes and who still had something left in the tank.

 Thom Brown charging a sweet second run.

Being well out of practice in a boat this last year, I’d had two quite bad first runs, but between them both I figured I’d made just about every mistake possible – from screwing up the start ramp and the first drop, to hitting rocks and cutting across a flat eddy – so I knew where not to go in the final and had my eyes set on good lines while I felt like I still had quite a lot left in my arms, thanks to gym training over the last six months. My start and top drop weren’t as smooth as I’d have liked but still felt quite fast and the rest of my run felt strong down to the last stroke… and I was so focused on the finish line that I didn’t notice the swamped boat of Martyn Butler pinned on a rock just to my right in the last rapid, after a swim in his final run setting off just before me. I knew that Pete Scutt would still be charging in the final but former slalom racer Tom Wakeling was my bet for the win and behind them completing my top five would be Thom Brown and Rory Woods (who had smashed the finish line more impressively than anyone) with a secret hope that I might sneak in there.

On the middle boof ledge.

In the end it came down to less than 1.5 secs between first and third place. But vacating the gun club in less than an hour meant that prize giving would be held at the BA Club in Fort William at 9.30 so we were left in suspense for four hours while we all scrubbed up and ate.

Dave Martin cruising for the finish line on his second run.

The final placings for the top five were:

1st Pete Scutt

2nd Matty Nicolas

3rd yours truely

4th Tom Wakeling

5th Thom Brown

 

Fastest male time was Pete Scutt with 3.15.36, fastest female time was Sandra Hyslop with 3.25.39 and fastest junior time was Thomas Findlay with 3.39.29.

All in all it was a great event that lived up to expectations and hype so fingers crossed we’ll see it again next year for more speedy lines and carnage!

Many thanks to David Baldwin and Kacie Culshaw for these images!

Ed