I’m nearly finished with the preview of the AR World Series events for 2010; I’ve now moved on to the late August race in the Lake District of the UK called the addidas Terrex race.

The Lake District, or Cumbria, is along England’s Western coast; nestled between Wales and Scotland, the Lake District is a popular tourist destination and home to all of England’s tallest mountains. The Terrex organizers have been planning races for 5 years and know this region intimately, so the event should be an exceptional 3-4 day tour (August 27-30) of all the area can offer.

From the folks that bring us the Untamed New England event, Untamed Switzerland is a 3-day alpine stage race. The race combines orienteering, trekking and snowshoeing through the heart of the Alps and is open to solo competitors or teams of 2, 3 or 4 people. The dates for this year’s event are April 9-11. The slideshow below is from the 2009 event.

February was a busy month for the Adventure Racing World Series, so my posts previewing the full 2010 AR World Series circuit of races took a break. Briefly, while we were away, three teams earned their tickets to the World Championships in Spain later this year:

• Team Ecuador Chevrolet won the race in Ecuador
• Craft Ukraine won the race in Poland
• The race in Argentina was won by Team Merida Laboratorios Abraham

The February numbers are available for the USARA National Rankings.

Presented By:

March 3, 2010

TEAM NAME/ POINTS
1. HoustonAdventureRacing.com/Hammer Nutrition 105.00
2. Trakkers 79.00

The third event in 2010 of the AR World Series, Xtremo6000 just wrapped up and here is a selection of images from that event. Look forward to an event wrap-up in the next few days.

Huairasinchi was the first event in 2010 for the AR World Series. Below is a slideshow with select images from this year’s event.

Thinking back on this years Huairasinchi AR world series race I am reminded why I love the sport of adventure racing. The thought of athletes finding their way through unfamiliar terrain on human-powered means for days on end and the unpredictability of racing through remote wilderness are enough to get a heart pumping.

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.

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 lin

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!

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

• 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.

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.

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.

After diving into debt to take summer school in Ireland during college Jason realized a life of adventure travel was his destiny. Today he has found adventure 25 countries around the world. The back country is where he feels most comfortable however. From sleeping under the stars on an African summit to hiking between villages along the Mediterranean he has been seeking out the path less traveled since he left the nest. Jason spends much of his time testing outdoor gear and writing for outdoor and travel magazines and The Outdoorzy Blog

Check out some of the images from days 1-3 of the Wenger Patagonia Expedition Race. Selected photos are by Walter Alvial, Tony Hoare and Will Gray.