I can’t believe that the World Championship are just a little more than a week away. Are we ready? Physically, I think we are. Logistically, we’re definitely a little behind in terms of getting our gear cleaned, inpected, and packed but we’re well on our way. This will be another mad rush to get everything done on time while still managing to take care of the rest of our lives and get enough sleep. But, as is always the case, we’ll pull it off.

The team for this year’s World Championship will be the same team as last year: Jen Segger, Aaron Rinn, Aaron Matzke, and myself. In 08, we placed 6th and were thrilled with our result given the depth of the competition. We had a solid race with limited mistakes. This year, we obviously hope to break the top 5 but there are so many unknowns in the sport that we simply don’t know what will happen. We’ll focus on managing what’s within our control like preparing well before the race, managing sleep during the race, supporting each other continuously in the heat of competition, making sure we move as fast as navigation permits, staying effiicient in transition areas, and making sound strategic decisions. All the other stuff, we can’t control like the speed of other teams, the weather, a mechanical breakdown (although we can make sure everything works well before the race). If we focus on ourselves, we have a good chance of achieving our goal. But, even if everything is perfectly prepared, disaster can await you around the next corner. How well your race is going can change hour by hour. You just have to be ready for the unexpected and be adaptable. Continue Reading

Most teams will begin their travel to Portugal within the next few days in preparation for the AR World Championship event. We caught up with Cyanosis team captain Nicholas Mulder before their departure. This will be there first World Championship race since 2005. Ryno Griesel, Debbie Gerrand, and Clinton Mackintosh make of the rest of the team. Here is what he had to say as they prepare to return to the ARWC stage.

Have you raced at World’s before? If so, how did you do?

Nicholas: Cyanosis made its debut at World’s in New Zealand’s Southern Traverse in 2005. Unfortunately, until now we have not had the finances and logistics in place to attend any others. We had a very interesting race… it was a big eye opener for us. We finally missed a cut-off on Day 4, but over those days we learned almost everything about racing at the international level.

What is the origin of the team’s name?

Nicholas: The ‘Cyanosis’ team name came to be in 2004 when we formed the original team. At that stage, almost all the squad members had jobs in the medical field, so there was a quite a bit of fondness for this medical term. We thought it would be an interesting and unique team name.

Continue Reading

The 17th edition of La Ruta de los Conquistadores is two weeks away. The drum roll can be heard and fireworks are in place for the arrival of some of the best Mountain Bike racers in the planet.

With much euphoria and enthusiasm the 17th edition of La Ruta de los Conquistadores has been carefully handcrafted for racers from all over the world. Over 200 mountain bikers from 17 different countries will be part of this year’s edition.

Many high caliber racers will pace Costa Rica’s dirt roads this year. Amidst the favorites are racers such as Tinker Juarez, Jeremiah Bishop and an entire delegation from Team Monavie-Cannondale. The team is brewing an amazing initiative, collecting funds thru the sales of Tinker Juarez’ favorite coffee blend to help a local organization that works with young kids with cancer. You may reach them thru their website for more information on how to be part of this great idea.

But Monavie-Cannondale is not the only team preparing ahead of time for the race, three-time Vuelta a España winner Roberto Heras with Team Giant has been training hard to conquer the 17th edition of La Ruta.

Like Roberto other riders such as Mart Trayter, Federico ‘Lico’ Ramírez, Bingen Fernandez, Ben Bostrom, Deiber Esquivel, Manuel Prado and Louise Kobin amidst many others which are considered some of the best mountain bikers in North, Central and South America, as well as Spain and Europe in general will be pacing the Costra Rican mountainous terrains to cross the istmus from the Pacific to the Caribbean coast.

La Ruta has recently upgraded to a brand new website, much more information may now be found on a user-friendly interface with many videos and galleries of past races, scouts and Mountain Bike news in general. We encourage you to visit the website and be part of La Ruta’s community of worldwide riders.

Coverage of the race will be seen on all major online and printed magazines, as well as on our website throughout the race.

“It’s not about making it to the finish line, it’s about working with what you’ve got, giving it all your might and surviving the adversities that you might come upon along the way. Lending a hand to someone else, a sip of water, a spare tube, a word of encouragement, a friendly smile… while you compete against yourself… that’s the true spirit of La Ruta.” Román Urbina C.

Photos courtesy of J. Andrés Vargas

From Press Release

After coming off an impressive win at Primal Quest Badlands this summer, Team OrionHealth.com is preparing to head to Portugal to defend the title that they took back to New Zealand last year. Team captain Wayne Oxenham spends a lot of time traveling with his day job but took a few moments to answer a few questions for us in our continuing interviews with some of the teams heading to the AR World Championship early next month.

How psyched are you to race in Portugal this year?

Wayne: I’m still very busy at work, trying to get ahead of the load before taking the next 2 weeks to race in Portugal, so haven’t had much time to get too psyched yet. I’m sure the excitement will kick in as soon as I do some packing and head to the airport. I can tell you what I’m not looking forward to … that’s 30 hours of travel to get there.

What other international races have you competed in? How are they different?

Wayne: Over the past 5 years we’ve raced in a number of different countries including Australia, Brazil, France, Scotland, Ireland, Sweden, USA, UAE and China. All the races differ simply from a cultural and terrain perspective, but also from a course focus perspective, some race organisers like to have plenty of transitions and short legs, others like to send us off for days at a time on one leg. Some of the non-core sports that are included are also a key difference, with such things as camel towing, inline skating, glacier crossing, caving, open water rowing and even jigsaw puzzles.

Continue Reading

Top Results for USARA Nationals:

Coed Division
1. Granite AR
2. Granite AR-1
3. IMONPoint.org
4. Wedali
5. MOAT
6. BikesPlus – Little Rock
7. nuun – FeedTheMachine
8. Proformance Physical Therapy II
9. Team SOGKnives.com
10. Alpine Shop
11. Vignette
12. Green Paw / ClubScrub.org
13. Verve Continue Reading

New Hampshire based adventure racing teams, Granite AR and Granite AR-1, set off to Pilot Point, Texas last week in hopes of bringing home the United States Adventure Racing Association (USARA) National Championship trophy; a dream amongst all adventure racers, a dream amongst the newly formed team, a dream that came true for six dedicated athletes.

It was a lofty goal set by the newly assembled squad as the trip was originally aimed at being a building block towards the foundation of Team Granite AR’s future. Teammates Dave Lamb (Kingston, NH), Chad Denning (New London, NH), Jennifer Johnson (Bethleham, NH), Melissa Coombes (Pensacola, FL), Erik Grimm (Pittsford, NY), and David Romilly (Kensington, NH), met in the unseasonably cool Texas arena for what turned out to be a race designed for speed.

24-hours in length, the race incorporated approximately 110 miles of mountain biking, 20 plus miles of windy and choppy paddling, and 10-20 miles of intense trekking. The term trekking, used loosely here, involved ducking, bobbing and weaving around pencil length thorns and barbed wire branches.

A race for the ever elusive checkpoint, otherwise known as CP, was the name of the game. Collected in a particular order, the 42 CPs outlined the Texas course and offered a distinct type of connect-the-dot scavenger hunt for the 62+ teams that competed in the event. No GPS units allowed, each team had to navigate the Texas country side using nothing but a compass and map. Continue Reading

Web episode number 2 from Primal Quest Badlands.

Top 18 Results for USARA Nationals (Unofficial):

1 & 2. Granite AR
3. IMONPoint.org
4. Wedali
5. MOAT
6. BikesPlus – Little Rock
7. nuun – Feed the Machine
8. Proformance Physical Therapy II
9. Team SOG
10. Alpine Shop
11. Vignette
12. Green Paw / ClubScrub.org
13. Verve
14. Berlin Bike
15. Checkpoint Zero / Inov-8
16. MOAT 2
17. Mystic (CITGO) / Gray Goat Multisport
18. Tahoe Truckers

MASTERS
1. Eastern Mountain Sports Monster Masters
2. Proformance Physical Therapy

A colleague in New Zealand sent me this video of a local kayaker taking to the river he normally paddles to try some of the same rapids on a jet ski. The waterfall that he is jumping off of is on the Kaituna River near Rotorua NZ and is the worlds highest commerically rafted water fall (Tueta Falls) which is 7m (21ft).

Last night was the nationwide premiere of ‘Race Across The Sky’ which highlighted the Leadville 100 race this season. The event next year is scheduled for August 14.

We caught up with Troy Farrar, president of the United States Adventure Racing Association, to talk about the history of AR and where the sport is headed.

How did you get started in Adventure Racing?
I got interested in the 90’s after seeing the first Eco Challenge. We saw it and said wow, that’s something we have to do. Financially and job wise it was not possible at the time so I decided to produce an event that was accessible for the average weekend warrior. All of my friends said, “You are crazy, no one will sign up for 24 hours of tromping around in the woods!” That was all the challenge I needed, so I put my head down and started designing my first course and we started Terra Firma Promotions.

So you started as a race director?
Yes, but we were also racing in a lot of the events that were out there. You need to understand this was during the birth of AR in the US. In those days there were only 10-15 adventure races a year around the country.
Continue Reading

We will be posting a new web episode each week from the 2009 Primal Quest Badlands race.

Check out number 1.

On September 9, Tellman Knudson left New York City’s Battery Park to run 3,200 miles across America. Others have run across America. However, the thing that sets his quest apart from similar journeys is the fact that he will be doing it barefoot! If successful, Knudson will be the first person to run barefoot across America.

His goal is to raise awareness and money ($100 million) for homeless and at-risk youth. According to statistics on teenage homelessness, over 2 million youth (between the ages of 12-24) will experience one episode of homelessness each year and over 100,000 youth sleep on the street for 6 months or more.Knudson has set this monetary goal to help create programs to reduce those risks, help get them off the streets and rebuild their lives. Continue Reading

The 5th annual Coast 2 Coast event took place this past weekend on the island of Trinidad. I was in Trinidad last year for the event but was unable to compete due to having been in an altercation with an automobile which compromised my ability to train. However, I spent a great week with some great athletes from around the world along with a phenomenal race staff.

The Tropical Power Coast 2 Coast 2009, the Caribbean’s premier Multi-Sport Race, took place last weekend, October 17 and 18, along Trinidad’s picturesque North Coast. This year marked the fifth anniversary of the race, in which athletes competed in three disciplines – trail running, cycling and paddling.

Day 1, which began at the Toco lighthouse on Trinidad’s north-east coast and ended at the beach by the Marianne River bridge in Blanchisseuse, comprised two stages – a short run to Salybia Beach, from which point racers cycled 40 km to Matelot, and a 32 km trail run though Madamas, Tacaribe and Paria to Blanchisseuse. In the Individual category, Clarance Tobias crossed the Day 1 finish line first, in a time of 4:21:48, followed nearly an hour later by Jason Lane (5:18:44), Robert Sharpe (5:26:24) and Paul Carter (5:55:52). In the Relay category, the team of Cantius Thomas, Roger Smart and David Hackshaw crossed the Day 1 finish first, in a time of 4:42:00, followed by Erle Rahaman-Noronja, Robert Cadiz and Colin Wilson (4:53:51), Jason Costelloe, Johan Sydow and David Gibbon (5:19:55) and Ashe Holder, Dave Esdale and Mark Thomas (5:55:47). Former Triathlon champion Diane Henderson and her relay partners Scott Farfan and Peter Dickinson finished the day in a time of 6:08:47. Continue Reading

We are still following up with teams following Primal Quest about their mandatory gear for the race in South Dakota. We followed nuun-FeedTheMachine leading up to PQ focusing on their training for the event.

Primal Quest Mandatory Safety Equipment:

Backpack: Miwok pack from Gregory Pack’s Active Trail line
Headlamp: Light & Motion’s Stella 200L with headstrap.
Lightweight Long pants and Long-sleeved shirt: Arc’Teryx Palisade pants and Rho SL shirt
Waterproof shell jacket and pants: Arc’Teryx Alpha LT jacket and Alpha SL pants
Thermal undergarment top and bottom: Ibex Woolies crew and Woolies bottom
Fleece top: Arc’Teryx Rho LT
Lightweight to medium weight full fingered gloves: Arc’Teryx Gamma SV gloves
Sunglasses: A varied selection of Rudy Project glasses. I used the Noyz
Shoes: Vasque Blur SL
Continue Reading

I must say, I do like happy endings, and with SPOT Messengers out there, the odds increase exponentially.
Ed Cooley, a nature photographer, went out on a hike to photograph Twin Falls for a series on `Arkansas Beauty` and while scouting a good spot to shoot – he slipped and fell 10 meters to the bottom of the creek, suffering serious injuries. Fortunately, he recently got a SPOT Messenger and pressed the emergency button 30 minutes later. A rescue crew was assembled within an hour or two and were able to make contact with Ed about 4 hours later. They eventually got him out of the woods and he was flown to a hospitable where he is in pretty bad shape (open book pelvic fracture, broken collarbone, shattered ankle), but is alive.

If you want to send him an email to wish him well: ed@traviswilliams.net
or catch him on twitter when he gets better: http://twitter.com/edcooley

Here is the story as told by his son in law Travis Williams (from his blog):

First of all, our family would like to thank everyone for their prayers and support through this difficult matter.

My father-in-law is a nature photographer that has traveled all over the United States and was currently working on a series of Arkansas’ beauty. He left his home in Rogers at about 3am Thursday to go to photograph Twin Falls in a remote area of the Ozark National Forest. The falls are located about about 3 miles from where he parked but the terrain is very rugged and it took him 2.5 hours to hike in.

Shortly after arriving at the falls he was standing on a bluff at the top of the falls scouting the location and a way to hike around to where he would take some pictures. The ground was very wet from all of the recent rain and the bluff crumbled below him causing him to fall 30ft to the creek below. This was around 2pm.
Continue Reading

Last month, Pittsburgh was the host city for the G20 Summit. To kick it off, Venture Outdoors wanted to see if a team of riders could ride the 335 miles from Washington, DC to Pittsburgh, PA in 24-hours in time for the official opening of the Summit. They began the journey at 6pm on Tuesday, September 22 and rode along the C&O Towpath and Great Allegheny Passage and arrived in Pittsburgh on Wednesday morning. This is a short video of the journey.

Ben Saunders, 31, is a record-breaking long-distance skier, with four North Pole expeditions under his belt. He is the youngest to ski solo to the North Pole and holds the record for the longest solo Arctic journey by a Briton. Since 2001, Saunders has skied more than 1,500 miles in the high Arctic, which he recently worked out equates to two percent of his entire life living in a tent.

Saunders is currently preparing for three pioneering expeditions between 2010 and 2012: solo and unsupported speed record attempts on both Poles and the 2011/12 Scott Antarctic Expedition, the first return journey to the South Pole on foot, and the longest unsupported polar journey in history. Ben and his team mate Alastair Humphreys depart for Antarctica in late October 2011.

Saunders and his partner, Alastair Humphreys, 32, plan to trace Captain Scott’s route to the South Pole and back – about 1,800 miles – pulling sledges. Their only equipment and food will be what they take from the start.

“It just appealed to me as an unfinished challenge,” he says. “There aren’t that many big journeys left undone.”
Continue Reading

Stars and Stripes in Utah

Last weekend I raced the 24 Hours of Moab which was also the USA Cycling 24 Hour National Championship for 2009. After a long, hard, successful season, I elected not to race Moab as a solo. The course is physically very brutal, my season has been going strong since February and I have accomplished more than I set out to do this season. So, I let myself relax a little on this one and teamed up with Colorado mtb pro and good friend, Gretchen Reeves as a women’s duo team. Gretchen has a long, impressive resume in cycling and is a blast to hang out with. My biggest fear was that she’d be significantly faster and I’d be a disappointment. It turned out we were a perfect match up.

The weather in Ketchum turned horrendous, so a group of us headed down to Moab 6 days early for some warm riding and hanging out. It was a luxury to have that much time to settle in, stake out transition territory for the race and hit some classic Moab trails. A big posse of friends from Smith Optics, Salomon and other Idaho friends were also racing, so we staked out a huge transition area for about 35 people. As the weekend drew closer tents, motor homes, campers all started to roll in and spring up to form the city of about 5000 people who turn out for the event. 

My mechanic Jason checking out his custom designed computer lap timing system before the race.

The course is a 15 mile loop that’s very technical for the first 6 miles and then high speed sand surfing for the remaining 9 miles. The shifting sands change the nature of the course every year and even change the lines from lap to lap during the event. It’s a course that requires a ton of power for the sharp climbs and strong technical skills to stay safe and on top of your bike. Gretchen and I were disappointed to find out that there were no other duo women’s teams entered in the race. However, we did find out that all duo pro teams would be scored together for the prize money, so that meant the men’s teams and the mixed teams were fair game for us. It would have been easy to ride a couple of laps, then just hang out and win the championship jersey. Gretchen and I are too competitive for that, so the race was on regardless of gender. Gretchen was game to tackle the first lap which includes a running start with a horde of people in the sandy desert. As you can imagine, air quality and traffic on that first lap are intense. She ripped a great first lap and came in with the 2nd fastest women’s time of 1:12. We tagged off, exchanged the baton and off I went.

I was amped to not let Gretchen down and rode hard. I passed the first place women’s solo rider on that lap, so I was in the lead for all the female riders. Our team was 7th in the duo pro category after 2 laps and 42nd overall.

Gretchen and I had super compatible lap times and were riding the same speed almost to the minute. Jason, my mechanic from Boise, was there juggling 5 bikes at once and keeping them all running. Karoline and Chris from home brought their camper and supplies to take care of the nutrition, moral support and cowbell ringing. The race was unfolding smoothly and around midnight we had moved into 5th place in the duo pro category. It was awesome to “only” be racing for 12 hours, so after each lap, I would have a lap to rest while Gretchen raced. The off time went way too quickly and it was a little hard to stop and start repeatedly and go from full gas to full recovery and back again.


This is me, prepping before one of my laps.

The weather was crisp and dropped into the 30′s at night, but it was perfect for riding. Moab has a reputation of serving up sandstorms, flash floods or intense heat. We had none of those things and I was relived. The biggest risk seemed to be the ever-shifting sands and trying to find a way to keep pedaling through it. Each lap, the lines would change or get blown out, especially during the night laps as more riders were walking or missing the narrow path that was established. It took a lot of focus to stay on top of the bike without slowing down too much or having to walk your bike.

I was lucky enough to get both the sunset and sunrise laps and some killer views during those times. Overnight our consistency had slowly moved us up and by sunrise we were battling it out for 2nd place in the duo pro category. The first place team was a men’s team that was way out in front. Gretchen and I had been going back and forth for a number of hours with a mixed team and exchanging 2nd and 3rd placing. I started calculating how many laps we could still get in before the cut off time and figured if we were fast enough, we’d just have time for 9 laps each. Gretchen finished her 9th lap at about 11:40, so that meant I had time to do get out for one more lap and try to keep us in 2nd place for the duo pro category. I had no idea how far back the next team was and I knew their faster rider was up next. I churned the last lap as if I was being chased because I thought I was. As it turns out, the other team did not do their final lap, so we had our placing sealed before I even started the last lap.

2009 National Champs! Women’s Duo team of Gretchen and Rebecca


I was really glad that Gretchen and I made a race of it and battled it out with the men and mixed teams. It’s way more exciting to have some incentive and motivation to ride hard. I was really happy with my performance after a long hard season. I had not geared up for this race and my training leading up to it was less than perfect. Despite that, my times on that course were faster than ever and I was able to ride sections of the course that I had previously walked. Moab is the race that launched my endurance mountain biking career four years ago and it was really rewarding to come back to the same course and use it as a measuring stick for how far my riding has come. It was also fantastic to beat all the men’s and mixed duo teams except for one. Of course, being a National Champion for the third time is also a huge reward!! I now have 24 hour solo, duo and four person National Championship titles!In the end, we rode 18 laps (9 each) for a total of 268 miles and over 24,000 ft of climbing. We were first in our division, 2nd in all duo teams and 24th overall out of around 400 teams. For those interested, you can search complete results and lap times here: http://www.grannygear.com

By Rebecca Rusch

With an overall increase in distance to 428km, this year’s Abu Dhabi Adventure Challenge will be longer, tougher and even more exciting than ever.

Abu Dhabi City, with its skyline of tall, modern buildings interspersed with delicate minarets and elegant seafront promenades will repeat its role as urban showcase for the event by hosting the opening act of this six-day adventure epic. On the 4th December this flourishing cosmopolitan metropolis, offering all the attractions associated with a vibrant capital, is the perfect venue for a triathlon-style opener that involves 34km of running, cycling, swimming and sea kayaking to Lulu Island. The pellucid waters of the Arabian Gulf, an essential in the race itinerary, invite the keen kayaker and are studded with pristine desert islands bearing ancient vestiges. Later that same day, the teams begin a 110km sea-kayaking leg that will take them west around the coast and past the 27 square mile cultural and recreational haven of Saadiyat Island. A natural beauty spot, this international tourist destination will host 5-star resorts, immaculate sandy beaches, lagoons, a wildlife reserve and the only seaside golf course in the region. A vibrant cultural district, housing some of the Middle East’s most audacious architectural gems and extensive art collections, is also under construction. An island bivouac is envisioned for the teams, in preparation for the following day’s racing on the water.

And for desert, the teams will travel to the Rub’ al Khali (Empty Quarter), the world’s largest expanse of unbroken sand with dunes so tall that they attract visitors from around the globe with only one objective in mind: get to the top. Here, only three hours from Abu Dhabi City, a 2-day struggle across 120km of dramatic and uncompromising desert will constitute one of the most challenging stages of the race, where the teams must manage water, effort and itinerary choices to best effect. As if that wasn’t enough, this is the home of the legendary “shouting sands” (Za’eeq al Raml), a phenomenon that local legends often describe as evil spirits trying to disorient travellers and draw them deeper into peril… but a trusty compass and reliable map should keep the racers safe from any interfering djinn.

On the 5th day, the teams take to the saddle to cover a punishing 95km biking stage. Split into 2 legs, the first 40km section, from the heart of the Liwa desert to Hamim, includes a cameo appearance for the luxury, five-star Qasr Al Sarab desert resort, due to opens its doors to guests this month. The race will “check in” at this unique, authentic Arabian retreat with a quick detour through the palm-shaded grounds. The 54 remaining kilometres will take the racers from Hamim along an itinerary close to the Oman border. From the finish line of this section teams will go to Al Aïn for a bivouac at the foot of Jebel Hafeet.

The city, otherwise known as the “Garden City of the Gulf”, thanks to strict planning rules, limiting the height of new buildings, has a feel of intimacy and an abundance of pleasant parks, age-old markets and cultural attractions, including the Al Aïn National Museum, which houses temporary and permanent collections illustrating the history of emirate.

After a night camping to the east of the Jebel Hafeet range, the teams will steel themselves for the final day’s racing that starts with night-orienteering section followed by a trek up the jagged slopes of the mountain range which, at 1,340m, dominates the surrounding area and is one of the UAE’s highest peaks. A technically demanding rope works section will give the teams a stunning view across the fertile plains studded with date farms that reach the outskirts of Al Ain. From the top the competitors will cycle 37km into the city centre of Al Ain. The final 4km will be on foot with the teams sprinting through the popular Public Gardens, where a large cosmopolitan crowd comes at weekends to picnic and play, to the finish line at the Jahili Fort, one of the country’s most important historical monuments and the largest castle in Al Ain.

In a race renowned for the quality of its course set in a country celebrated for its hospitality and cultural heritage, longer can only mean better.

Live race coverage and information at www.abudhabi-adventure.com

What is adventure racing? Not many people have any idea. In fact, when I try to explain it, the response
I usually get is a blank stare or a nodding of the head in such a way that I know they have no idea what I’m talking about.

So when our son, Thomas, told us he was coming to New Hampshire from California, along with his three teammates, to race in the “Untamed New England” Adventure Race, we jumped at the chance to see him again and to also see what adventure racing is all about – close up. Off we go, my wife (Ann) and I, to northern New Hampshire to take a look.

Even though our son is a veteran racer, with him living on the west coast and us on the east, we just have not had the opportunity to see him perform in person. I’ve seen the pictures, but pictures do not tell the real story.
Thomas and his teammates “Track Me 360” from northern California raced against some 50 plus teams through the untamed parts of northern New Hampshire, Vermont, and Maine. The teams came from New Hampshire, Connecticut, North Carolina, Pennsylvania,
Vermont, Massachusetts, Virginia, New York, Maryland, Maine, New Mexico, Arizona, the United Kingdom, Portugal, Australia, South Africa, and the Canadian provinces of Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia.

Ok, so it’s a race through the wilderness of New England, you might say – now I get it. Well, no, I don’t
think so. It is not just a race; it’s a test of all of a person’s physical and mental capacities. First, when you enter the race the only information you get from the
race committee is when the race is, where the starting line will be, and when to be there. In this case it was
up on the cliffs of the Balsams Resort in Dixville Notch, New Hampshire.

The pre-race literature also tells you to bring your mountain bike, paddles for kayaking and canoeing, your climbing gear to get up and down the side of a mountain,
a sufficient amount of food, clothing, repair kits, edicines, and orienteering skills because you are going to be out in the wilderness for almost three days of nonstop racing.

Once you arrive at race headquarters on race day, all you get from the committee is a set of topographical
maps made specifically for orienteering. These maps show accurate and detailed terrain variations and
are used by the racers to plot their path to each checkpoint they must pass to stay in the race. So, with
about an hour or two before race time, you have the maps, but they don’t show the checkpoints. You
get a separate set of instructions that gives you certain coordinates for the checkpoints that must be found on the orienteering maps.

Check out the rest of the interview:
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He has his place in history — Greg Kolodziejzyk currently holds two records in the Guinness Book of World Records. Greg is an ultraendurance athlete, 12 time Ironman finisher and has qualified to compete at the Ironman world championships in Hawaii. He has completed over a dozen marathons and qualified for Boston marathon twice. No person has ever traveled
farther under their own power in one day on land or water than Greg.He owns two Guinness World records for human powered distance: in July of 2006 he pedaled his human powered vehicle 647 miles (1041.24 km) in 24 hours, and in September of 2008, Greg pedaled his human powered boat 152.3 miles (245.16 km) in 24 hours.

A page in the Record Books was something he dreamed of from a young age. But, his journey has taken this adventurer to the absolute limits of human power. And,
he hopes his journeys will bring attention to some important causes in Canada and across the world…
obesity and the environment!

Currently, nearly 2 out of 3 North Americans are overweight or obese and this epidemic is costing Canadian tax payers nearly 5.8 billion
dollars a year in health care. One of the major causes of the obesity epidemic is our sedentary lifestyle and our increasing reliance on the automobile. Canada burns 2.5 million barrels of oil per day, and in the process, we are damaging our environment beyond repair.

“I want to inspire people to get active. Not only is using your human power good for the environment, but most importantly, it’s good for YOU!”

— His next goal: 3000 miles across the Pacific Ocean by human power!! Greg now plans to turn his passion for human power to the sea in a challenge he calls “Pedal the Ocean”.

Greg will set out to accomplish what no person in history has ever done: to pedal 4500 km across the Pacific Ocean from Canada to Hawaii in a specially designed human powered boat that he calls “WiTHiN” – in less than 40 days. WiTHiN will be a fully faired self-righting pedal powered boat capable of high speed in good conditions and maintaining way in adverse weather conditions. The
boat will be performance optimized for continuous power output and weekly provisioning requirements.
WiTHiN will incorporate modern materials and technology to ensure a lightweight craft without compromising safety and overall performance. WiTHiN -Prototype is
a proof of concept boat based on a 2- man kayak hull that will enable rapid development of the technology
required to make WiTHiN viable.