Team Profile

We started out with 3 accountants and an engineer and it’s been an eventful 6 months leading into the race with the loss of our original female member (Gill Brett) due to injury following the Lakes 2-day, drafting in 2 subs for the Swift (Pete and Keith, both competing in other team for the Sting, good luck guys).

Having now been very lucky to recruit the services of a top quality athlete into the team, in the form of Rosemary Byde(2011/2012 Open 5 Female Solo winner) the bar has been raised and it’s up to the others to step up to the plate and perform…. So we are now 2 accountants, a statistician and an engineer, all looking to break free from our desk jockey roles and have some fun in the great outdoors.

Having two Scottish members now in the form of Andy Brown and Rosemary Byde, there is national pride at stake here and on home turf. There is also a good fun local rivalry with Stirling Tri team, with about equal results in the O5’s, they managed to beat us in the lakes, so we’ll have to see how things go in our own back yard…

Andy Brown – I’m based in Stirling, having moved to the town after 5 years in Killin, and before that New Zealand, where I enjoyed adventures in climbing, kayaking and mountain biking, for many years. I’ve been doing O5’s and others for the last 4/5 years and MTB XC before that. I enjoy the combined sports and having to think a bit as well as navigating; perhaps that’s my veteran status.

David Mortlock – I’m based in Harrogate, have been doing Open Adventure races and others for some time now, 7/8 years and really enjoy following Andy round the hills – maps are not my friend! Similarly looking forward to swimming the rivers of Scotland as most water based activity ends in a dip.

Rosemary Byde – I’m based in Edinburgh, “As the last minute addition to the team I haven’t had time to worry too much about what’s coming up, or even to meet all of the team! I’m very happy to have an engineer on hand to fix any mechanical problems with my bike, but as the statistician I like working out how far we’ve gone, how fast we’re moving and how long it will take to get to where we’re going … I also love to have my nose in a map! I’ve never done such a long event before and I’m counting on a summer of triathlon training to get me through. I’m really looking forward to what the race will bring and won’t stop until the very end!”

Paul McGreal – Rosemary thought she was a ‘last minute’ entrant arriving a month ago, but Paul exceeded that achievement by joining us just 7 days before the race. He is a replacement for another, injured, Paul. He is a seasoned ‘adventurous race organiser’, but with plenty of races under his own belt. We tracked him down on a paddling holiday in the Western Isles – when David heard about this, there was no letting Paul change his mind! This
addition also increases our team Scottish-ness, which is just a bonus!

We would like to thank Acoustic and Vibration Technology Ltd, Steve Mottershead for his kind donation to our adventures.