So, you think you have what it takes to become an adventure racer?
All you need is determination. We will help you with the rest.

Phatchicks.com, in partnership with RACEDAYRUSH, are hosting a contest where four selected participants will go through a 12 week training program in order to qualify for one of two spots on Team RACEDAYRUSH.com at Saucony RockstAR Adventure Race on July 24th 2010.

Eligible participants will be coached by phatchicks.com and will have periodic training sessions with members of RACEDAYRUSH. In addition to endurance running, general nutrition and overall fitness, participants will learn cool mountain biking skills, orienteering and paddling skills. Above all, the importance of teamwork, commitment, fun and overall enjoyment will be the theme of this contest.

This is a great opportunity for personal transformation and each participants blog will be a personal recording of their experience. Participants will blog at least once per week.
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The Poland Winter Challenge, Eastern Europe’s AR World Series event, is 3-4 days of skiing, mountain biking, orienteering, and rope challenges.  It’s hallmark is lots of snow and creative special rope tests (traverses, ascents, etc).  This year, the snow levels were less than expected but it’s proven a challenging race none-the-less.  The 2010 edition is  just wrapping up and the winning teams have arrived to the finish line:

1. It took 70 hours and 8 minutes for the Craft Ukraine team to win the race.  Congratulations to the winners!
2. 2nd place goes to AR World Series regulars AlpinePro Nutrend/Merida Czech Adventure Team, after 71 hours and 21 minutes
3. 3rd place has gone to Polish team Rakiety.pl (sponsored by a Polish outdoor shop — from what I can tell) 

This winter race had a decidedly spring feel as some of the cross-country ski sections saw teams carrying their skis instead of racing on them — a warm batch of weather prior to the race melted some of the snowy reaches of the southern Polish mountains.  This played in Craft Ukraine’s favor, apparently, as they confessed that they aren’t the strongest skiing team in the race.  Craft Ukraine earns the entry into the Adventure Racing World Championships, held in Spain in October 2010.

Complete results will trickle in over the next few days, so keep an eye on the Poland Winter Challenge website for more details and photos.  They also have some nice course profiles and English commentary about the race on their site, so check it out if you’re curious.

Additionally, they’ve just posted some YouTube videos and this one has an English interview with the Finnish team Omjakon about 4 minutes into it.  Anyone who has raced for a few days on very little sleep can relate to the quality of the conversation and the Finns sound like a team ready to reach the the . . . “finish” line.  Couldn’t help myself with that pun!
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We have selected some more images to follow up to our earlier slide show from Days 1-3 of the Wenger Patagonian Expedition Race.  Enjoy!

Selected images by Will Gray, Tony Hoare, Luis Espinoza, Valentino Saldivar and MIchael Clark.

Xtremo6000, the third event in 2010 for the AR World Series gets underway later this week. Check out some of the images from last year’s event.

The 2010 edition of the Wenger Patagonian Expedition Race came to a close on Friday night with an emotion-filled ceremony that involved a marriage proposal, a proud victory speech and a list of happy teams revealing their desire to return to Chilean Patagonia for the next race in just under 12 months time.

Over almost 600km of intense racing, competitors have experienced much of the virgin nature that Chilean Patagonia has to offer, from the wind-swept beach on northern Tierra del Fuego through rolling pampas, the climbing hills of the Karukinka reserve, the majestic Darwin Range and the choppy waters of the Beagle Channel.

Even getting back to the bustling regional hub of Punta Arenas was an adventure, taking 32 hours on a Chilean Navy boat to travel through the southern archipelago blessed with blue skies and uniquely calm waters – an experience that gelled the group of racers yet further.

“We have had an amazing experience here again,” said Helly Hansen-Prunesco captain Nicola MacLeod, speaking, as promised after their 2009 victory, in both Spanish and English. “This race was spectacular, the weather, the environment, the hills, the mountains, the starry skies. We have so many special memories.”

Although the weather was kind this year, blizzard conditions and extremely cold temperatures in the main trek made teams suffer for their wilderness experience – but the overriding emotion from almost all at the ceremony was that the privilege to experience this stunning region was well worth the endurance it took to get there.

Bruce Duncan, from Helly Hansen-Prunesco, put it best when interviewed on the trail right after completing the main trekking section of the course. “Chilean Patagonia is rewarding but you earn your view,” he said. “It’s beautiful out there, but to get to see it you have got to work hard.”

Each team was awarded their intricately carved wooden medals, one by one, with Japanese team East Wind receiving a standing ovation not only for their efforts to make it halfway across the world but also for the persistence that saw them keep going all the way to the finish line.

Helly Hansen-Prunesco also had the amassed crowd of teams, media and organisational staff on their feet as they lifted the Wenger trophy for the second consecutive year – the first team ever to do so – and the immediately promised at least some of them will return again in 2011.

But Jasson Magness, of team GearJunkie.com, stole the show after his team was presented with their medals – by getting down on one knee and proposing to his girlfriend Chelsey Gribbon. “I was going to ask at the finish line,” he said afterwards. “But I thought we were so out of it she might not remember she’d said yes!”

By the end of the evening, as the teams dispersed to leave this remote and spectacular region of the Earth, many were already talking of returning next year – as long as the organisation will have them. To protect the environment, places are limited to 15 teams – and indications are they are already in high demand…

2010 RACE RESULTS:

1. 1 Helly Hansen-Prunesco UK 126hrs 8mins
2. 16 Air Europa Bimont ESP 142hrs 46mins
3=. 4 Switzerland SWI 145hrs 6mins
3=. 9 Herbertz DE 145hrs 6mins
5. 7 GearJunkie.com USA 147hrs 31mins
6. 5 Untamed New England CDN 148hrs 17mins
7. 2 East Wind JPN 162hrs 20mins
8. 11 Nord Water FIN/SWE reached PC15
9. 12 Almost Famous USA reached PC10
10. 6 Terra Mundo Lontra BRA reached PC10
11. 3 Eddie Bauer USA reached PC10
12. 8 Almas Patagonicas CL reached PC10
13. 14 BOE Ejercito de Chile CL reached PC9
14. 15 Fast and Light UK reached PC8

The Wenger Patagonian Expedition Race saw competitors to take on sub-zero temperatures in the southern mountains of Chilean Patagonia this month and finished with a team of British adventurers retaining their title and six other teams making it all the way through the spectacular scenery for the closest podium battle in the race’s history.

British team Helly Hansen-Prunesco, returning after victory in 2009 to join a bumper field of 14 teams, performed faultlessly over almost 600km of kayaking, mountain biking and trekking through the remote and spectacular wilderness of Chile’s Tierra del Fuego and Isla Navarino, taking the lead midway through and finishing in just over five days and six hours.

Notoriously strong winds in the virgin wilderness of Chilean Patagonia caused the cancellation of the initial kayak across the Straits of Magellan and blew competitors off their bikes in the early stages but it was the tough trekking in the Darwin Range that created the biggest challenge, with the winners having to cross a fast-flowing icy river to make it to victory.

“It was an amazing race in an incredible part of the world,” said winning captain Nicola MacLeod. “In the early part, it was hard enough to walk with the bike let alone ride it. Then in the trek, when we had to swim, we got very rapidly swept downstream but fortunately we chose the right spot. The howling blizzard was really tough, but it was also magical.

“This year’s race has been fantastic for the scenery and spectacular surroundings. The high passes on the Paso de los Lagunas were amazing and at night we saw the most amazing constellation of stars we have ever seen, surrounded by a crown of mountains. It was a tough race, but it was beautiful up there. We showed persistence pays – which is the motto of this race in a lot of ways. There were some really high quality athletes in the field but there is no weak link in this team.”

This annual battle through the wilderness, which normally has a completion rate of between 30 to 40 percent, proved to be a true expedition for many teams but despite tough conditions an impressive 50 percent of the field managed to complete a course that traveled in the footsteps of Ferdinand Magellan and Charles Darwin as Chile celebrates its bicentenary.

Behind Helly Hansen-Prunesco several teams battled for the podium, with Spain’s Air Europa Bimont stretching out an advantage to finish second while German team Herbertz and Team Switzerland shared third after a time correction for a delay in crossing the Tyrolean in the middle of the course. Americans GearJunkie.com came in fifth, Canadian’s Untamed New England were sixth and the first Asian team to take part in the competition, Japan’s East Wind, completed the course to become the final finisher in seventh place.

The race is run with the aim of raising awareness of the fragile environment in Chilean Patagonia – and teams saw the devastation caused by the abundant beaver population at first hand. MacLeod said: “They have certainly altered the environment. It’s not what is needed and it has changed the whole ecosystem massively. You can see that when you go through it – there was dam after dam after dam.”

The race moved quickly through Tierra del Fuego during the early stages, with five different teams taking a turn in the lead, but the main 114km trek through the Darwin Range proved too tough for some as seven of the 14 starting teams dropped out through exhaustion or because they failed to reach the checkpoints in time.

British team Fast and Light was unable to begin the main trek due to illness and Chilean team BOE Ejercito de Chile also made it little further. Four others – Almas Patagonicas (CL), Eddie Bauer (USA), Terra Mundo Lontra (BRA) and Almost Famous (USA) quit as the mountains steepened after 30km while Nord Water retired after Tuomas Sovijarvi succumbed to the pain after trekking 90km with internal bleeding in his leg from a fall.

Those that continued on experienced freezing conditions in the high mountain passes and GearJunkie.com’s Jasson Magness said: “I have done a lot of backcountry expeditions and this really reminded me of that. There are no trails, anything goes and we just had to make it, no matter what we came up against – but the Guanaco trails led us in the right direction.”

Photo at right by Tony Hoare

This is the do anything, go anywhere jacket. The Patagonia Nano Puff Pullover is one of the most versatile pieces I have in my quiver of apparel. I have used this jacket in everything from snowshoeing to trail running to the monotonous task of shoveling snow from my driveway. It has also found its way into my carry-on arsenal. It is surprisingly warm and super lightweight. It stuffs into the left chest pocket though I have never used that feature. I always find myself just stuffing it into one of the bottle sleeves in my hydration or carry-on pack. I have also wadded it up to create a make shift pillow while flying to my next destination.

The 100% all recycled polyester shell has a wind blocking and moisture shedding DWR (durable water repellent) finish. It is insulated with 60g of Primaloft One which as we mentioned above makes the jacket highly compressible. The jacket is also recyclable through the Common Threads Recycling Program.

Some of the other features include:
• Deep center-front zipper allows for easy ventilation
• Elasticized cuff and hem seal out wind and trap warmth

The only feature that I have found that would better suit me in this jacket would be to have a full-zip front which they tell me will be available in late summer/fall 2010.

MSRP: $150

“PlanetExplore is an online community designed to help individuals and families learn about and participate in outdoor activities and events in their area. Powered by partner organizations that share our passion, PlanetExplore is a portal to the outdoors designed to inspire and enable people of all ages to become regularly active outside, and to develop the benefits gained through a connection to nature..” -www.planetexplore.com

On Saturday, February 13th, 2010, in New York City, The North Face (TNF) combined efforts with The New York Restoration Project (NYRP) to host the first regional event for PlanetExplore. Through the collaborative work of several volunteers groups, as well as these two aforementioned companies, the youth of the area had the opportunity to experience the outdoors in their own backyard via an all-day outdoors program.

The launch event was called the “Winter Warm-Up” and set up in Swindler’s Cove on the Northern end of the island. Activities included hiking, fishing, photos in Himalayan suits with an Everest back-drop, a variety of games and gear stations, hot chocolate & soup & smores, fun with insects and reptiles, athlete poster signings, prizes & giveaways, and much more.

Arriving in NYC on Friday afternoon, I met up with fellow TNF athletes, Heidi Wirtz (climber) and Tim Twietmeyer (enduro runner), to assist the PlanetExplore team with both the activities and the area outreach. Thanks to the tremendous efforts of organizers that include Brook Shinsky (TNF), Akiima Price (NYRP), the Aloft Group, and many more on-site staff, our team met some amazing young people, along with great volunteers and other friendly faces. Continue Reading

Acorn Earthroamer Boot

They call it the official footwear of relaxation for a reason, These shoes are great — really warm and comfortable! They are great for all day walking or lounging. They come up just past my ankle bone and aren’t the struggle to put on like many higher or floppier boots are. Though if you always think you should wear thick socks you may find the fit in front a little snug, just go up ½ a size. They’re so warm though that the socks aren’t really needed. They have enough ‘give’ that they would probably adapt if you insisted on heavy socks. The Earthroamer Boot features rough-out suede uppers or upper details treated to be water repellent. However, I have not worn them in rainy or snowy weather yet. I like the heathered felt for textural interest and its made from 50% wool and 50% recycled PET.

Product Features:

Shaft Height: 4 1/2″ (size 7)

Circumference: 14″ (size 7)

• Dual gored panels at the ankles and a convenient pull-on tab at the back for easy wear.
• Brushed sport mesh linings with Agion® boast antimicrobial and anti-odor benefits.
• Molded polyurethane footbed is removable and contoured with a reinforced arch.
• Unique rubber outsoles with hand-pressed natural jute for a durable finish.
• Enhanced heel cushion

Available in men’s (MSRP $100) and women’s (MSRP $95). Also available in a Moc (image below).

Okay, so when I first saw the Animas Quadracycle…I was perplexed. Then, I watched everything that it was capable of doing. I ride the Great Allegheny Passage (Pittsburgh to DC) each year on my mountain bike. I am wondering how the Quadracycle would perform over the 300+ miles? I do know one thing…you would definitely have right of way and other bikers would be scrambling to get out the way of this four-wheel, electric and human powered beast.

Check out this great video showing what the Quadracycle can do!

There appears to be a new sport on the winter scene!!!! I first ran across this video on the Chaco Facebook page. Even though it was posted in late 2008, this is the first time I had seen it. Joel and Tate explain the importance of ‘skootching’ in Nordic Snowboarding. Anyone that has ever been snowboarding knows what they are referring to when they mention the ‘skootch’. My favorite might have to be the treadmill scene on the board.

Enjoy!

A couple of days ago, I posted a mountain biking video to help pass the days while record snowfall across the states prevent most of us from hitting the trails except in spirit. This time, Kraig Becker over at The Adventure Blog had posted this video with some great paddling incentives to continue our longing to get outside. It is also the trailer for the upcoming kayak movie called Face Time (due out this spring).

Professional and amateur adventure racing teams from around the world will converge on Nord-Pas de Calais, a picturesque region in the North of France for five days of competitive stage racing from June 23rd through 27th. Organized by adventure racing legend Karine Baillet, Le Grand Raid features the standard AR disciplines in accessible format with a reasonable entry fee. A considerable cash purse has attracted top international teams to commit ahead of time, and the racing is sure to be competitive.

Registration and other information are available at www.legrandraid.org.

Thanks to Travis Macy for the heads up on this event.

I have spent my life playing sports. A product of the American Midwest, my youth is best remembered as an athletic menagerie of freshwater lakes, kayaks, canoes, cliffs, campsites, forests and fields of grass as green as any gracing the Irish countryside.

I grew up playing organized football – the proper ‘football’, not the American bastardization of the beautiful game – basketball, tennis, golf and whatever else I could do. I have splished and splashed in a good percentage of Minnesota’s 10,000 lakes, traversed the tributaries of the mighty Mississippi and camped, climbed and competed in her pine forests for most of my life.

After a short and, frankly, forgettable stint in Tokyo, I find myself in Dubai – following my professional aspirations and always searching for my next athletic endeavour. What I didn’t know when I arrived in 2007, was that the self-styled playground for the rich and (in)famous plays host to a burgeoning endurance/adventure sports scene. And thus, we come to the purpose of this column.

From where I live in Dubai, it’s a 90-minute drive to Abu Dhabi and an hour’s drive to the Omani border. Between Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Muscat – each of which boasts its own grassroots ‘Triathlon Club’ – the resourceful endurance athlete can find at least one race every month of the year, but racing in the Middle East takes a bizarre level of commitment.

Triathletes in Oman are mad. They laugh in the face of searing summer temperatures and uncomfortably tepid seas. Average summer temps in the Gulf hover around 105° and include choking humidity, yet the Omani racers return, month in and month out.

As for the UAE, it boasts the richest marathon on the international circuit in Dubai’s Standard Chartered run (www.dubaimarathon.org) and Abu Dhabi is slowly gaining recognition among endurance athletes with the Abu Dhabi Adventure Challenge (www.abudhabi-adventure.com) and the new Abu Dhabi International Triathlon (www.abudhabitriathlon.com).

My point is this: Few readers would consider the Middle East a hotbed of endurance athletics but I’m telling you, things are happening. Things are moving in the right direction and I’m on the ground bringing it to you – as both spectator and participant.

The point of this column is to be your eyes and ears. Consider it your first resource for a first-person account of all things running, swimming, biking and bivouacking in the Middle East.

If I’m a bit lucky and a few things fall into place, I’ll also get to rub shoulders with and compete against – if only for that first minute off the line – with the Richard Usshers, Rich Rolls and Jason Lesters of the endurance world. In the mean time, if you have questions about endurance racing or training in the Gulf, feel free to email me at xtremejourno@gmail.com.

Team Ecuador Chevrolet made it official today when they were first to cross the finish line. Welcomed by the cheers of an excited crowd they were hours ahead of the next elite class team. Rounding out second and third were Safety Smart Wear and Karen’s Adventure Briko, respectively. Club Montana PUCE pulled out the win for the adventure class.

Ecuador Chevrolet is made up of three Ecuadorians and one female Canadian. Carena Dean is that Canadian and she is making quite a name for herself in the world of adventure sports. With a serious strength on the bike she has been putting up top finishes in races such as the 24 Hour of Adrenalin World Championship. Carena and her teammates were all smiles as they crossed the finish line today. Popping the cork on the champagne on stage and doting on the amazing countryside they have encountered.

As Ecuador Chevrolet transitioned into checkpoint 21 several hours after expected I spoke with Carena briefly and asked if they had any trouble through the night. She winced and replied sheepishly, “We got lost.” Getting lost was nothing to be ashamed of however. Not only did Ecuador Chevrolet lose their way, but many teams had trouble with the night course delaying the finishes drastically. Teams are still coming in and are expected to come in throughout tonight and tomorrow.

The weather held for the teams again today with conditions remaining dry but hot. The race finale brought teams back to the lake where they checked in for the race. Arriving on bike, transitioning to kayak to find checkpoints, and capping the finish off with a run to the finish. The top adventure class teams remained close together and some even finished within site of one another.

As Huairasinchi wraps up, many here in Ecuador are thinking ahead to the other world series races this year. In this ever evolving sport new teams are consistently emerging. It will be exciting to watch the next moves of the phenomenal athletes from Huairasinchi.

Find all race rankings as they are reported at the official Huairasinchi site.

Randy Ericksen, the guy that brought us all of the Primal Quest Web Episodes, emailed me today to send me a much more relevant bike video (as opposed to the one I posted last night) for the general population (including myself). Randy won the Best Emerging Director at the 2009 Black Hills Fat Tire Film Festival.

Thanks Randy!

• British team the first to ever retain trophy in ‘world’s toughest and wildest race’
• Almost 600km of racing in the wilderness of Chilean Patagonia in over six days
• Conditions in Darwin Range too much for five teams and maybe more

British team Helly Hansen-Prunesco became the first in history to retain the Wenger Patagonian Expedition Race title on Monday morning when they crossed the finish line on the Beagle Channel after six-and-a-half days of exhausting non-stop racing through the spectacular wilderness of Chilean Patagonia.

The four Britons, who at one point had to swim a fast-flowing ice-fed river to stay on track, won the world’s ‘toughest and wildest race’ after a 600km course of trekking, kayaking and biking over the wind-swept pampas of Tierra del Fuego, peat bogs in Karukinka Reserve, snow-capped mountains and tree-filled canyons in the Cordillera Darwin and rough waves in the Beagle Channel.

They beat a field of 14 international teams to retain the Wenger trophy in Chile’s bicentennial year and team captain Nicola MacLeod said: “This is such a special race and it’s amazing to win it again – even more so because we have come back here with exactly the same team and beaten a high quality field.

“The route of this year’s race was tough but also spectacular and it took us through some absolutely stunning surroundings. We race hard, but we still stop sometimes to take it all in and it is obvious Patagonia is at the tip of a continent – big wind, big weather, big sea and big mountains. Everything is extreme but also beautiful.”

The race, which had a 30 percent finish rate last year, is made particularly tough by the unpredictable climate in this virgin territory – but this year’s conditions were not too severe and all the teams were able to complete a fast first half that ran the length of Chilean Tierra del Fuego and into the foothills of the Darwin range.
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As I look out the window here in western PA, I can only dream of the months ahead that will be snow free where I can once again saddle up and take to the trails. The last few weeks in the mid-Atlantic states have dropped record amounts of snow on the area. In the span of 5 days, we have received over 30 inches. Not that I am complaining. I have dusted off the snowshoes and blazed new trails.

A concerned friend sent me a link to this video from several years ago to keep me motivated for the coming spring.

Enjoy!

Here is a sample of the images taken at The Coastal Challenge 2010.

All photos courtesy of Lead Adventure Media

It proved to be a rough night for the race favorites and early leaders Buff Thermocool. Sometime during the night, one of the team members broke a collarbone. How the accident occurred is still a mystery but we will follow up on this as more information becomes available.

The injury is a huge development for this race. Not only is it a miserably unfortunate race-ender for Buff, but a race opener for the other lead teams, especially Ecuador Chevrolet. Made of up three Ecuadorians and one Canadian the team was a favorite but had a sizeable gap behind Buff late in day one. Day two however started out differently. Ecuador Chevrolet blasted into checkpoint twelve on bike around 9:30 AM. Looking confidnet as they rappeled from a flimsy bridge into rushing water the team emerged to cheering race volunteers, locals, and journalists. Once the team crammed energy food down and put their bike gear back on, they were off again for another bike section along a narrow dirt pathway.

The next team to come through checkpoint twelve was over three hours behind the new leaders. Also near the front of the pack are Safety Smartwear (Columbian) and Bosi (Columbian/Argentine). It is reported that both the other Canadian teams (Untamed New England and Milton Basement Racers) still have good positioning, but are at least 5-6 hours behind the leaders at this point. As we know from last nights tragic ending for Buff, anything can happen after dark, and especially in tough terrain like this.

Tomorrow it is expected that the lead teams will finish early at the same lake they checked in at three days earlier. Teams were looking miserably tired in the scorching sun of the lower valleys today. The higher elevation bike and trekking sections tonight may prove to be a nice respite from the blazing heat in this “not-so-rainy” rainy season. Continue Reading

Racers couldn’t have asked for more beautiful weather at the starting line. Teams gathered in the central square of Cotocachi just before dawn. Teams set out at 6:45 AM under partly cloudy skies and mild temperatures in the upper 60s.

The first discipline on tap was mountain biking. The race started and everyone was out of town fast until a slow 12 km climb to Culcocha where a stunning crater lake with a large island in the middle awaited. Teams then took to the water in tandem sit-on-top kayaks to find checkpoints placed around the lake. Some struggled to find their treasures but the lead teams had no problem and were out of the water long before the rest of the pack. Buff Thermocool took the early lead with Equipo Ecuador Chevrolet close behind as expected. There was a short lag, then other teams began to come in and make quick transition to bike. Wenger-Sigg and untamed New England were among the first to make the transition after the leaders.

The next section sent teams by bike up steep gravel roads to reach CP3. Then on to CP4 where they transitioned to foot for a 32.5 km trek. Locals in the tiny Andean hamlet of Apuela watched the teams emerge from the cloud forest in amazement. The influx of 44 off road vehicles and racers in funny clothing was something new for this town with three cobblestone streets.

Buff Thermocool cruised through Apuela and kept a comfortable lead of at least 20-30 minutes. The next transition was again to bike and on to the Tyrolean Traverse. Most support crews and journalists didn’t have a beefy enough 4×4 for the trip to the traverse. Road conditions were less than ideal. It is uncertain who emerge as the leader in the morning, but anything can happen in these lonely mountains after the sun drops. Each team is outfitted with a GPS transmitter in case of emergency. After driving 2 hours into these remote mountains, it is obvious the Andes are no place to get lost or injured. Continue Reading