Over the weekend the Gold Rush Mother Lode Adventure race came to a close with Team Tecnu Extreme - Staphaseptic taking the win. The team, which consists of racers Liza Pye, Brian Schmitz, Kyle Peter, and Marco Rossini, finished more than four hours ahead of second place Team Gearjunkie.com/YogaSlackers and Dart-Nuun, who took third place.
The four-day long event was conducted on a 307 mile (494 km) course through the Sierra Mountains in California that provided plenty of challenges to go along with the breathtaking scenery. The coed teams of four hiked, mountain biked, and paddled, while their navigational skills were put to the test. They even faced a 600-foot rappel along the way as well.
The Mother Lode was one of just two North American qualifiers for the Adventure Racing World Championship, which will be held in Tasmania this November. With their win, Tecnu Extreme has earned an automatic entry into that race, which will feature a 700km (435 mile) course and more than a week of racing.
Congrats to Tecnu Extreme on pulling of the win and good luck in the AR World Championship.
Yesterday, the Mother Lode, a 4-day long adventure race, put on by Gold Rush AR, got underway in the Sierra Mountains of California. 16 coed teams set out on the course from Bridgeport and are now racing across more than 275 miles (442.5km) of tough mountainous terrain towards the finish line.
The race is a qualifier for the AR World Championship, which will take place in Tasmania in November, and has 200 points on the line for the Checkpoint Tracker race series as well. The Checkpoint Tracker Championship will take place in Kentucky in October, and a number of teams are still scrambling to qualify for that event as well.
You can track the standings and locations of teams online by clicking here and following updates on both Facebook and Twitter. At the moment, it appears that Dart-Nuun is in the lead, followed by Team Lupus Extreme and Tecnu Extreme/Staphaseptic in second and third respectively. Racing is expected to continue throughout the weekend, with winners being crowned on Sunday.
The Gear Junkie is always delivering great previews, reviews, and news on the latest equipment from top gear manufacturers. Testing all of that gear can be a real challenge however, which is why it's great to take advantage of any opportunities to put new equipment to the test. One such opportunity came a few weeks back, when Team GearJunkie/YogaSlackers took part in the Expedition Idaho adventure race. Anyone who has ever done an adventure race will tell you that the sport can be incredibly tough on your gear, which is why you want to make sure you have high quality stuff. With that in mind, a 7-day, 500-mile long race, makes for the Ultimate Gear Test, pushing new equipment to the limits.
Some of the new items that the GearJunkie/YogaSlackers were able to test while in Idaho for the race include a new emergency space blanket from Adventure Medical Kits, a bright and powerful headlamp from Fenix, and a new mountain bike from Ellsworth. Over the course of the race, the team had the opportunity to really put this gear through its paces, and they share their thoughts on these items and more. Most of the equipment is available now, but some are prototypes that won't be available for awhile yet. It is all practical gear as well, meaning that any one of the items could find its way into your gear closet in the future.
Whether you're an adventure racer or not, there are some good items to keep on your gear radar in this article for your own future excursions.
This past weekend, the Thunder Rolls 2011 Adventure Race took place in my old stomping grounds, near Oregon, Illinois. The race is a 24-hour, 100 mile event that pulls in good teams from all over the Midwest, and is part of the Checkpoint Tracker Race Series. One of the teams competing in the event was Rock Racing and they've posted a fun race report, including photos and video, sharing details of their experience.
The real fun started Friday evening, when the teams had their pre-race meeting where they received their maps, passports, and instructions. What astounded me from this report was that they were told that there were 55 checkpoints to be located out on the course. That's an incredibly high number of CP's for a 24-hour race. I'm not sure we had that many in either of the two Primal Quest races that I was a part of. Anyone who has competed in an AR event will also tell you that means an awful lot of plotting points on the maps before you even start the race.
The race actually got underway at midnight, with teams rushing off into the dark, moonless night. The race report gives more details on what it was like out on the course, and it is a good read for beginning racers or those thinking about starting up in the sport. The video below also gives you an indication of what it is like to race at the Thunder Rolls, which looks like it is a good regional race and a perfect example of the often grassroots nature of adventure racing.
Adventure racers planning on competing in the Checkpoint Tracker Championship, to be held in western Kentucky this October, may want to get their registrations in today. Not only is the field for the event filling up very quickly, today is the final day to get the early registration discount.
The race is scheduled to take place on October 21 in the Land Between The Lakes and will feature a 100+ mile course designed to challenge the teams with plenty of mountain biking, trekking, paddling, and more. Currently, registration for the event is $250 per person, but after midnight tonight that price goes up to $275. That entry fee includes registration for the Championship, pre and post-race dinners, a limited edition Checkpoint Tracker Championship fleece, a Checkpoint Tracker hat, maps from MyTopo.com, and more.
If your team is looking for a great event to compete in this fall, than you should be strongly considering this race. Not only is the setting going to be a remarkable place to compete, but this will be one of the premiere races in North America for the remainder of the year. Most of the top teams in the country will be on hand, so it is a great place to test your skills, and above all else, it should simply be a fun weekend.
Hurry and register now before the price goes up at the end of the day.
A new expedition length adventure race is scheduled to take place next year in Queenstown, New Zealand, one of the top adventure destinations on the planet. The race, which is called GODZone Adventure, will be put on by 100% PURE Racing, and is apparently part of the AR World Series.
The race will take place from April 7-14, 2012 and will consists of coed teams of four competing on a course that is 450km (280 miles) in length. This will be an unsupported race, meaning teams won't need a support crew to lug their gear around for them, and will involve the usual AR disciplines of trekking, mountain biking, and kayaking.
GODZone Adventure marks the return of adventure racing to New Zealand, a country where the sport can trace its origins. In fact, this will be the first race of its kind on Kiwi soil since the Raid Gauloisis kicked off the expedition race craze back in 1989. That is FAR too long for New Zealand to go without a major AR event in my opinion.
Organizers of the event believe the fastest teams will take between 3-4 days to finish the course, but other teams will be allowed as much as 5.5 days to navigate their way through the different stages. The race will include navigation, ropes courses, a few other surprises as well.
It looks like races are starting to nail down their dates for 2012 already. This has been a busy year for adventure racing, and it is far from over, but teams and race organizers are already looking ahead to next year. 2012 has the potential to be even better for fans of the sport.
Over the weekend, the Expedition Idaho adventure race came to close after six long days of racing through a stunningly beautiful course in Northern Idaho. The 500+ mile competition featured challenging trekking, paddling, and mountain biking sections that pushed teams to the limit all week long, while still offering them a fantastic racing experience to match any other on the planet.
When the race got underway last Sunday, there were 13 teams in the field, but as the week progressed, it became increasingly evident that this was a two team race. Teams Thule and Seagate jumped out to early leads, and never looked back as they pursued one another through the backcountry all week long. In the end, it was the international team of Thule that crossed the finish line first, with the Kiwi's of Seagate claiming second place. Team Bones, an all American squad, took third, rounding out the podium.
While the course was most certainly a challenging one, the race organizers were keen on making it fair as well. As a result, all the teams that entered the race also completed it, although some finished unranked due to dropping a teammate along the way. A few were short coursed as well, but it is rare in adventure racing to have all the teams cross the finish line, as inevitably it seems that some get caught in a time cut-off or physically can't continue. It's a testament to the race organizers that they put together a course that is, by all accounts beautiful and very tough, but was still fun and fair for the racers.
Speaking of the finish line, I teased a few times this week that the race had a unique finish in store for the racers and that turned out to be very accurate. The final leg of the race, as you'll see in the video below, was a steep trek up to Silver Mountain Resort, which just so happened to be holding its Silver Mountain Blues & Brews music festival at the same time that the teams were finishing. As a result, there were more than 2000 fans on hand to welcome them home, giving the finish line a feel that is very different from most expedition length races like this one. It seems the racers apprec
iated the reception, as I'm told many of them stayed around to enjoy the atmosphere, even after they had been racing all week long.
By all accounts, Expedition Idaho was a very successful race, especially considering this was its inaugural run. I'm told that logistics went very smoothly and teams arrived at Checkpoints and Transition Areas, to find their gear boxes waiting for them and often hot food available as well. There are already plans in place for the race to return in 2012, with some great ideas on how to enhance the event even further and provide new, unique experiences for racers and fans alike.
Congratulations to all the teams of course, but also the staff that put on the race. You should all be very proud of what you've accomplished. Now go get some rest. I'm sure you sill have a lot of sleep to catch up on!
Update: Here is the official rankings for all the teams in the race.
1) Thule 2) Seagate 3) Bones 4) Light & Motion 4A) Team Gear Junkie/Yogaslackers 5) Team SOG 6) Team Gramicci 7) Team Florida Xtreme 8) NYARA 9) Gung Ho 10) Topo Adventure Sports 11) Train Chicago Studios 12) Team Idaho
The Expedition Idaho Adventure Race continues into its fourth day today, with teams continuing to navigate their way through a tough course in the wilds of northern Idaho. The racers have been going nearly non-stop since Sunday morning, and there is a real battle shaping up at the top of the leader board for who will eventually win this race.
At the moment, Teams Thule and Seagate are pushing each other to the limit at the front of the pack, with the rest of the teams chasing further back. The lead teams have endured long treks and mountain bike legs, intermixed with some paddling and "special" challenges, that included having to build their own raft and starting a fire without matches or a lighter. Team GearJunkie/YogaSlackers, who are racing unranked due to the loss of a teammate, and Team Bones are in third and fourth place respectively.
The race hasn't gone without its mishaps. While the elite teams at the front are chugging along, some of the others have had their struggles. For instance, Team Idaho made a navigational error that put them 50 miles off course, while one racer crashed on a mountain bike section and had to be airlifted off the course.
When it's all said and done, the teams will have raced for more than 500km over a six day period, and organizers of the event are promising them quite a welcome at the finish line. I don't want to give too much away yet, but I can say the finish should be unlike any other in adventure racing.
Follow the action on the Expedition Idaho website, blog, and Twitter feed. There is still plenty of racing to go, and I think there will be an epic battle between Thule and Seagate before its all done.
As I mentioned last week, the Expedition Idaho adventure race got underway yesterday, with 14 teams setting out on a six-day, 500+ km race through the spectacular northern Idaho backcountry. After unveiling the course to the athletes on Saturday, the flag officially dropped on the race at 10 AM yesterday morning, and it has been non-stop racing ever since. You can read all about the pre-race preparations and the start, on the official Expedition Idaho blog.
As of this writing, the official leaderboard has been deactivated as not all of the SPOT Satellite Messengers that the teams use for tracking are working properly. However, as of last night, the top five teams were Thule, which has about an hour lead on second place Seagate at the time, followed by Team Bones in third place. Light & Motion was in fourth, with Team GearJunkie/YogaSlackers in fifth. The Yogaslackers are also racing unranked, as they have had to drop a teammate due to illness. Hopefully all SPOT devices will be reset today and the live leaderboard will return to the website to keep us informed of what is happening out on the course.
As noted in a blog update, the weather is expected to be good all week long for the race and it seems the stage is set to make this a great event. The race organizers warned the teams that there would be good old fashioned challenging navigation to go along with the trekking, paddling, and biking that they are all use to, and it seems that has been the case so far.
Be sure to follow the race live on the website and through Twitter updates. Also, checkout the Expedition Idaho YouTube channel for some great videos from the event, the the one below, as well. It seems the race is off to a great start, and the staff is doing a great job of keeping us informed about what is happening as well.
The Expedition Idaho adventure race is set to get underway this Sunday near Coeur d'Alene. The race will send teams of four on a 500+ km course through the rugged backcountry of northern Idaho. As usual with adventure races, the athletes will trek, mountain bike, paddle, and navigate their way through a course that has been described to me as "stunningly beautiful."
The race will run for six days and promises to have one of the most unique finishes in the sport. I don't want to spoil the surprise for anyone yet, but lets just say that race director David Adlard has put a lot of thought into making the teams feel very welcome at the finish line.
Live coverage for the event gets underway tomorrow, and is being handled by Checkpoint Tracker Race Central. That means you'll get excellent coverage of the event and be able to track the location of the teams in real time, as they make their way through the challenging course that has been co-designed by adventurer racing legend Mike Kloser. Expect updates from the field to be posted on the race's blog as well as the official Twitter feed.
Good luck to all the teams competing in the race. Have fun and enjoy the scenery. Also, good luck to all my friends who are involved in organizing and running the race as well. It'll be a very busy week, but I'm sure it is going to be a big success.
The Raid the North Extreme adventure race took place in the Canada's West Kootenay region in the final week of July. It was a six-day long, 500+km race that put coed teams of four against one another on a very grueling and intense course. Sprinkle in some bad weather, and the racers were literally pushed to the limits.
While at OR last week I had the opportunity to speak with racers who were at RTNX and it seems that the race was plagued with logistical and management challenges, and while they weren't exactly happy with how the event played out, they had few complaints about the course itself. The video below not only gives you a glimpse of how beautiful things were there, but some of the various mountain biking, paddling, and trekking challenges they faced while competing.
While I've been mostly occupied with the Raid the North Extreme this week, another event was taking place in Europe that is definitely worth a mention as well. That's where the Red Bull X-Alps 2011 was taking place, which is a very unique race that is a demanding test of endurance, skill, and nerve as well.
For those who haven't heard of it before, and I'm one of them, the X-Alps is an event that pits endurance athletes on a non-stop race through the Alps, starting in Salzburg, Austria and ending in Monaco. Participants in the competition, and there were 31 of them, must travel either on foot or by paraglider. Yep, you read that right, foot or paraglider. So, as a result, you have athletes running through the mountains, carrying their paragliding gear with them, while also scrambling to higher heights, so that they can launch themselves into the air and use their gliders to make progress.
The race got underway on Sunday, July 17th, and yesterday the first competitor crossed the finish line. That was Swiss athlete Christian Maurer who managed to glide the final 60km (37. miles) to the finish and land on a floating platform especially created for the event.
The rest of the competitors are expected to filter in between now and tomorrow, bringing a close to the race for 2011.
To find out more about the event, and see Maurer's winning ride, check out the video below.
While most of the teams are still out on the course, the winners of this year's Raid the North Extreme have been crowned, as Team WilernessTraverse.com came across the finish line early this morning, to claim the victory. Congratulations to the team, which consists of Captain Bob Miller, Jakob Van Dorp, Gordon Blythen, and Sarah Fairmaid, on the impressive win.
The rest of the podium has yet to be decided, although it does appear that Team Wild Rose has a firm grip on second place at the moment. They're on the final mountain bike stages, and will transition back on foot later in the day, as they make their way to the finish. Behind them, there seems to be a battle brewing between DART-nuun, Atmosphere MOMAR and Tecnu Extreme/StaphAseptic for third place, while the Team GearJunkie/YogaSlackers, the only other team on the full course, seem to be MIA from the leaderboard at the moment.
This year's RTNX is being run in the West Kootenay region of Canada's British Columbia. The 500+km (310 mile) race promised "real wilderness" to anyone who signed up, and it seems that most teams have gotten all of that and more. With only six teams still competing on the full course, and 15 others going unranked, it appears that the race has lived up to its billing. It also seems that the teams are having a great time and are enjoying the course, despite having poor weather conditions early in the week.
Good luck to the rest of the teams. Get home safe!
We're now several days into the Raid the North Extreme adventure race, which is taking place as we speak in the West Kootenay region of British Columbia. With more than four days of racing under their belts, the teams have already had to endure some tough challenges. In fact, the course is so tough that only six of the 30 teams racing have a chance at completing the full course.
As of this writing, Team WildernessTraverse.com seems to have a commanding lead, and are currently on foot and steaming towards the next Transition Area, where they'll climb on their mountain bikes for the last leg of the race. In second place, and chasing hard is Team Wild Rose, followed by DART-nuun in third. At this point, the only other three teams who have a hope of completing the full course are GearJunkie/Yogaslackers, Team Atmosphere MOMAR, and Tecnu Extreme/StaphAseptic. There are also 10 teams that are continuing unranked at the moment, most likely due to a team mate dropping out of the race.
The full course teams will cover more than 500km (310 miles) by the time the reach the finish line on Saturday. The race has been a tough combination of trekking, mountain biking, and paddling, with plenty of navigation mixed in as well. There is still a lot of miles to cover, and with serious navigation involved, anyone can get lost, but at the moment, the trailing teams will be hard pressed to catch WildernessTraverse. They seem to be running a good, solid race with few mistakes, and as a result, they've built a comfortable lead. For now.
The Raid the North Extreme adventure race got underway yesterday with 30 teams setting off on a 500km (310 mile), six day race through the West Kootenay region of British Columbia. The coed teams of four will now trek, paddle, mountain bike, and navigate their way through the beautiful and demanding Canadian backcountry.
As I write this, the teams are roughly one day into the Raid, and as of now Team WildernessTraverse.com is in first place, having passed through Checkpoint 4 on the course as they continue on their mountain bikes. Behind them is Team Custom Cellular, although coming on quickly is Team GearJunkie/YogaSlackers. Each of the lead teams still have a ways to go on their bikes before transitioning to the kayaks for the first time.
Race headquarters has a host of live feeds to help keep you updated on the race as it unfolds throughout the week. Not only is there a running Twitter feed, but you'll also find a live leader board and a course tracker to show you where the various stages begin and end, as well the current locations of all of the teams. It is a slick interface that gives fans of adventure racing the opportunity to follow the action as it unfolds, while also keeping them up to date on the current standings in the field.
Look for the fastest teams to start arriving at the finish line on Thursday or Friday of this week. It seems that at the moment, weather conditions are good and the course is a beautiful challenge for the athletes to enjoy. Stay tuned for updates as the race continues throughout the week.
Earlier today, Checkpoint Tracker Adventure Racing and Swiftwick, a company that makes compression socks and sleeves, announced that they are extending their partnership. As part of the deal, all of the racers taking part in the Checkpoint Tracker National Championship in October will receive a pair of Swiftwick socks and sleeves for use during the race. The offer is open for anyone who registers before August 15th, and the gear will be shipped to them ahead of time to it can be throughly tested prior to the October 21st Championship.
Has anyone used compression socks or sleeves in their training/recovery? I first saw the athletes using them at Primal Quest, particularly after race was over, and they all swore by them, but I've yet to invest in a pair for myself. I'd be interested in hearing reports from others who have used them and how they aided you.
Also, this is a good sign that sponsorships are starting to return to adventure racing. The past few years have been lean in that department, but the sport seems to be on a great trajectory at the moment with some excellent races taking part all over the world. Hopefully this bodes well for more sponsors getting on board in the near future.
Back in early May, the Expedition Africa adventure race took place in South Africa. The 500km long event sent teams of four out into the bush on one of the most challenging course in AR this season. In the end, Team Merrell Adventure Addicts claimed victory after 63-hours of racing. They were shadowed throughout the race by a camera crew, and the video of their race is now available for fans of adventure racing everywhere.
The video, which you'll find below, was produced by D4 Productions, a company that specializes in filming outdoor endurance events such as EA. Of course, the only way to film an adventure race is to get out there and do it yourself, carrying a camera with you the whole time no less. As you can see from the video, this was no easy task for the athletes or the crew that followed them.
Make sure you have plenty of time to watch, as the video is 52+ minutes in length. Kick off your shoes and get comfortable for this one, it's worth the time.
Registration for the 2011 Checkpoint Tracker National Championship is now open, allowing teams to sign-up for the event, which will be held October 21st of this year in the Land Between the Lakes Recreation Area in Kentucky. The race will be a 24-hour event that will pit the best adventure racing teams in North America against one another on course that is more than 100 miles in length.
As an incentive to register early, race organizers are giving away prizes to the first three teams to register and pay their entry fee. The first team to do so will receive limited edition Checkpoint Tracker jackets, Headsweats, and stickers. The second team will get Checkpoint Tracker arm warmers, a Brooks-Range UTM Plotter Pro, CPT stickers, and a 50% discount on any Tech4o watch. The third team to register earns Checkpoint Tracker t-shirts, the UTM Plotter, and stickers as well.
Entry fees are just $250/racer, which includes registration, pre- and post-race dinners, and plenty of swag. It also gives you the opportunity to compete in a great race, in a great setting, against some of the top adventure athletes in North America. The field is limited to 400 racers however, so be sure to get your entry in as soon as possible. To register for the event, click here.
Fans of adventure racing will have yet another chance to catch a race on TV, provided you're lucky enough to have Outside Television in your market. The network has announced that it will begin showing the video of the 2011 edition of the Wenger Patagonia Expedition Race on July 6th at 1 PM.
I've been fortunate enough to have seen the video, and I can attest to its quality. It is a fantastic film covering not only this particular race but also doing a good job of capturing the spirit of adventure racing in general. Considering the remote nature of Patagonia, and the unpredictable weather conditions there, it is remarkable that producer Brian Leitten was able to put together such comprehensive coverage of the event. You can watch the trailer for the video below to get a glimpse of what you can expect.
If you're luck enough to have Outside TV, set your DVR's for July 6th at 1 PM. You'll be glad you did!
News from the world of adventure racing continues to roll in, as we march towards some big races that are yet to come this year. Like the Raid the North Extreme which will be held in British Columbia's West Kootney region at the end of July. Last week, organizers for the race announced a partnership with Canadian gear retailer Atmosphere, naming them their title sponsor for the event. The company will promote the race in their stores of course, as well as provide gear and contest prizes for racers and volunteers alike. The RTNX will cover more than 500km and is set to take place from July 23-31.
Congratulations are in order for the Thule Adventure Team, who claimed victory at the Le Grand Raid, held between Calais and Lille, France this past weekend. It is the second major victory for the team this year, who also took place at the Huairasinchi, Ecuador back in March. The Thule Adventure beat out second place Kiwi team Wilsa AFG and Buff Thermocool, who crossed the finish line in third place.
Finally, the latest rankings for the Checkpoint Tracker Series have been released following a full weekend of racing that saw Team Tecnu Extreme/StaphAseptic win the Endorphin Fix in West Virginia. The race saw some top teams go head-to-head and served as a great tune-up the RTNX, which is now less than a month away.
