09 August 2007

Knowledge Solutions beat major brands to win source2sea charity race

Team of 6 race from the source of the river dart to its outlet.

A team of six from Knowledge Solutions, the leading provider of knowledge transfer and learning technologies, won a gruelling challenge to race from the source of the river Dart on Dartmoor national park to its outlet in Dartmouth, following the course of the river on foot, bike and kayak. The adventure race, called source2sea (www.source2sea.com) organised by First Ascent, is a team development activity that raises funds for the Marine Conservation Society and Kidscape.

The team, consisting of a cross section of the Knowledge Solutions staff, comprised CEO Adrian Palmer-Geaves, Marketing Manager John Cafferkey, New Business Development Manager Liam O'Meara, Developers Jonathan Hills and Gavin Bennette and Professional Services Consultant Tony Parr.

With the English weather on side - read raining and windy - the team battled through the bleak beauty of Dartmoor to find the source of the Dart on bike, proceeding to follow it across the moor in foul weather for a four hour cross-country run. Base camp was located in the heart of Dartmoor, where the twelve teams made camp for a brief respite from the elements and a hearty dinner.

The race was both a physical and intellectual challenge, with problem solving and lateral thinking required throughout the event. Day two featured 'Mountain bike scrabble', a twist on the classic thinker's favourite that waited until after a four hour race across the moor before frazzling the brain with word play.

By the time it came to kayaking down the Dart to Dartmouth on day three Knowledge Solutions were neck and neck with a team from a very famous soft drink manufacturer - let's just say they didn't take the Pepsi challenge - with only a few events to go.

As the sun came out it became apparent that the organisers had a slightly sadistic side by finishing with a run to the beach to find what looked like a set from 'it's a knock out': six drainpipes stuck vertically in the ground. On closer inspection small holes were discovered up the length of the pipe, the aim being to run to the sea, collect sea water in buckets - complete with more holes - and then fill the pipes. To keep the water inside the pipes the holes needed blocking with whatever came to hand. This meant thumbs, fingers and in one case mouth, much to the amusement of the sunbathing masses enjoying the spectacle as they lounged on the beach.

A supreme effort got the pipe full and team Knowledge Solutions dashed to the sea for the compulsory champagne spraying and team photo. Tensions were now running high as it was anyone's guess who'd taken first place. The suspense was maintained over lunch until, finally, the award ceremony took place, in reverse order, naturally. Team Knowledge Solutions were declared victors with a slim, but crucial, 27 point win over the nearest rivals.

Now it's simply a case of defending the title next year.