7 Cerros Medellin Urban Adventure Race is Underway
In the Colombian town of Medellin, there are currently 23 teams racing across this concrete jungle in the 4th running of the 7 Cerros Urban Adventure Race.
The 3 day event began with an adrenaline filled boxcar descent down a steep and windy road cutting across one of the cities many forested parks. Teams ran to grab the first available boxcar and then had to maneuver their way through the chaos of two dozen boxcars trying to get by. Once they slipped out of the mass of competitors, the biggest challenging was controlling the rickety box cars as they reached speeds of up 20+ mph. They were greeted at the bottom with a checkpoint and were sent straight back up the hill in search of the next one. Racers then continued with lengthier trekking sections, utilizing the race maps that offered limited information, they had to find their way through a complex maze of streets, waterways, and tunnels to get to the various checkpoints.
Around mid-day they replaced their running shoes with bike cleats and got on a city bike track where they had 25 laps to complete before they could continue. Jaako, of Team Multisport (Finlandia) said, “I have never cycled on a track before and was afraid it would be boring, but every lap people cheered `vamanos Finlandia – Let´s go Finland` and it made it much more enjoyable.”
Other teams shared a similar experience throughout the race, as they ran past markets and soccer matches, the people would all stop what they were doing; and whether they had any idea of the adventure race or not, they would all invariably cheer them on.
Locals from Medellin competing in the race were even surprised to encounter parts of the city that they had never been to, while the other national and international teams got a crash course on the beauty of Colombia and the city of Medellin. Urban adventure races inevitably change your perspective of a city – while you might have normally continued down the street to a bridge over a shallow canal, you realize that you can easily just jump right over the water and get across much quicker or instead of taking the streets you might just recognize a great little singletrack on your way. In the end, these races have the ability to turn your every day city into an epic playground.
When I asked Team Finlandia how their experience so far has compared to other races they have participated in, their response was simply, “It`s better,” and then explained, “The temperature in my country right now is 5 degrees Farenheit. I like the weather here in Medellin.” As they explained further why they liked the race, I started to think about the poster I had seen around the city recently with the slogan that said, “the only risk in coming to Colombia is wanting to stay.”
An intereseting twist to the race was wwo unique disciplines were encountered in the race today: archery and shooting. Depending on how well teams were able to hit the targets, they were either given time bonuses or penalties, which would affect their placement in the race. A highlight on the course today was a ropes section that had teams rappelling in pairs down the outside of a stadium.
The international teams have been very competitive, initially taking many of the top places during the first stage. Team Multisport of Finlandia were the first to complete the first stage, arriving 2 minutes before Team Safety, Colombia´s top team and the champions of last year´s 7 Cerros UAR. However, a recent press release has indicated that team Multisport is being penalized an hour “for not complying fully with the requirements of the course in the different tests.” This drops them down to 8th place and puts Team Safety on top as they start the final stage tomorrow morning. In second place sits Tatoo 360 from Bogota, then Saferbo of Bogota, followed by Saferbo of Colombia/Chile taking up the third and fourth slots. Tronex (Colombia) picks up fifth, Trofeos Patagonia (Colombia) – sixth, and is followed by team Castilla y Leòn from Spain, Corazón Envigado, and Ropa Deportiva Suárez. Additionally, the Argentine team Cristagua Tierra Viva made an impressive showing, arriving in 3rd place, but were dropped way down after receiving a 5 hour penalty. More details will be posted tomorrow about the rankings as they come.
Teams had finished up the first stage early in the afternoon and are able to rest for the evening, before beginning the more challengin second stage that will run a straight 24 hours and get teams on difficult mountain trails, paddling kayaks, and presenting even greater navigational challenges. Additionally, tomorrow marks the start of the individual events, bringing some of Colombia´s best professional athletes to compete in cycling and adventure course.
Related posts:
Loading ...
