December is here and if you followed either of the previous posts (the first one or the second one) on training for a big adventure race, such as Untamed New England, you’ll know that I owe you one non-physical, one physical, and one “Untamed Aspect” training suggestion for the new month.  My aim, as I mentioned in the previous material, is for you to arrive to the race start as prepared as possible and ready to make the most of your race experience.  I would consider this December material in tandem with the previous suggestions, as these monthly installments will create a cumulative body of knowledge that can help you to make the most of your time preparing for the race.

First up: a non-physical step you can take to prepare. Safety on the race course is your first responsibility, and a Wilderness First Aid (WFA) class will give you specific training for handling emergencies in the wild.  Everyone hopes they never need to use the skills developed through a First Aid class, but it isn’t a cliché to say that this measure can be a life-saver!  If you hang around adventure racing long enough, you’re bound to find yourself in situations where you, your team, or another team you encounter on the course has a need for your Wilderness First Aid training.  It’s only a matter of time.  Let’s hope it never happens, but you owe it to yourself to be prepared.  Typical WFA classes take 2 full days, and if you want to take backcountry safety training to a higher level you can do the 5-day Wilderness First Responder (WFR) class.  Truly, any medical training can be an advantage in a race, but these WFA and WFR classes are all about improvised care with the limited resources of a wilderness setting. Continue Reading

By Cyril Jay-Rayon

After completing an expedition length adventure race, you find yourself reliving parts of the race for weeks following such an intense experience. The journey you go through is so profound that memories percolate at random times after returning to normal life. You might be engaged in such a mundane activity as grocery shopping when a vivid memory pops into your mind. Sometimes you don’t know why the memory surfaces while other times you see the connection. The simple sight of an eggplant might trigger the memory of the purple bruise on your teammate’s leg after an unwelcome crash or the hallucination you had one night that eggplants were hanging from trees (I’ve had stranger hallucinations). The vivid memories that inhabit your mind bring back all sorts of emotions and feelings you experienced during the race. Joy, awe, satisfaction, exhilaration, camaraderie, disappointment, frustration, and pain are only some of the sensations that weave themselves into a tapestry of emotional ebbs and flows. During these long races on little sleep, it is not uncommon to experience emotional extremes in a matter of just a few hours.

The Gold Rush Mother Lode World Championship Qualifier was no exception in the sense that it brought about strong emotions. What was different though, for me, is that after the first day, only three emotions permeated my world and these were at the less enjoyable end of the spectrum, misery, frustration, and disappointment. I felt miserable because halfway through the race, I could no longer take full breaths, my throat was on fire, and coughing sent pain throughout my weakened body. I felt frustrated because my mind was still clear but my body produced no power, and I felt disappointment because I ruined my team’s chances of winning the race after leading it early on.
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The Untamed New England Adventure Race has opened registration for their June 2012 edition; the race website has been updated with the relevant details, but let’s run down some highlights:

1) It’s a 4-day race, one day longer than previous versions (for some background on this decision, read Breathe Magazine’s write-up on a conversation with race leadership)

2) It’s based from Northern Outdoors at The Forks, Maine — the same venue that worked with Eco-Challenge 16 years ago when it was run in Maine as part of the X-Games.  This is the only locale to ever host an Eco-Challenge East of the Mississippi, so it’s a special kind of place.

3) Race disciplines will have the usual mountain biking, paddling, trekking and for this year pack-rafting has been included, along with whitewater rafting.  Back-country navigation is a signature element of Untamed New England, and this year will be no different.  Expect lots of strategic route choices.  The rope(s) sections advertise rappelling, ascending, and a tyrolean traverse.

4) The race is once again a Qualifier for the AR World Championships; in 2012 this will be in the French Alps in late September, so teams looking to compete on the highest of international levels have this race to circle on their calendar.

The ExploreCompeteLive website is going to start running a regular segment on preparing for the Untamed New England, targeting teams newer to multi-day racing.  A good place to start is on the UntamedNE.com website, with a piece titled “So you’re thinking about Untamed New England…”.

The Untamed race slogan is “more an adventure than a race” and participants need to be ready for what Untamed New England can throw at them . . . that means serious wilderness, with real navigation, and handling the consequences of your race decisions . . . our goal is to help you arrive at the starting line as prepared as possible.  But you’ll never be prepared enough.

Finally, here’s a nice video clip Breathe Magazine did on the Untamed New England.  Let’s get pumped for those Fall races and workouts — and start thinking about June 2012!

A portion of the tagline for Atmosphere Raid the North Extreme (RTNX) reads “Real Wilderness.” After more than three days of racing the RTNX unmarked course in BC’s West Kootenay, participating teams have no doubt that they are being tested in some of the most ‘real wilderness’ imaginable. And they have to be prepared for it physically and mentally.

Challenging weather earlier in the week took its toll on some racers, leaving teams to deal with ill and injured teammates. In these cases, teams have to decide whether to rest and hope time heals; call for help, take care of the injured teammate and continue on as a smaller team; or, return to the last major transition area and withdraw from the race.

By Wednesday morning, four teams had faced setbacks that left them at TA3 at the end of the first paddle on standby to complete a shortened version of the course: Adrenaline Rush, Blue, HTFU/Sunovion, Nord Vrai, Suburban Rush. Cranksports Team Currahee, the last on the paddle, arrived at TA3 mid-morning, greeted by staff and Shaw TV and were able to proceed onto the shortened course in the afternoon. Though HFTU/Sunovion set off on the short course, they returned later that night to TA3 due to one team member being ill.

Custom Cellular had made it into the high alpine of Valhalla Park and were in second place when cold, wet weather, including ice pellets, exacerbated a previously existing medical condition in one team member, so they elected to return to TA3. The team arrived early morning visibly disappointed but safe. Pentahlondesneiges.com elected to move forward as a team of three from TA3 after some irreconcilable differences with a teammate. SOG was at CP8 Ice Creek Lodge when one of their members elected to withdraw from the race. The team moved forward as a team of three. Dancing Pandas, after 20+ hours in Valhalla Park, elected to return to TA3 and take on a shortened course so that they would be able to experiemce as much of the course as possible rather than risk missing a cutoff while in the Park. The Pandas rested at TA3 for a few hours and set off again at midnight. Climb4SMA (Torti) was at the base of the trail up into Valhalla when one of their team members fell ill and they elected to return to TA3.

The remainder of the field is working their way through Valhalla Park and into the rest of the course. There are incremental cutoffs in place at various CPs to expedite the flow through the course as the finish line cutoff creeps closer. This allows teams to continue to move through the course, experience its challenges, and make their way to the finish line unassisted.

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Mother Nature added an extra layer of complexity to the Atmosphere Raid the North Extreme day two challenges as racers worked their way through the Slocan Valley and into Valhalla Park. The weather fluctuated between brilliant blue skies and epic proportion downpours throughout the day and well into the night.

Current race leaders, Team WildernessTraverse.com are living up to their reputation as a team to watch during this RTNX event as they have a commanding lead over the next ranked team. Team WildernessTraverse.com were seen in Kootenay Lake paddling and testing out the demo canoes after Kaslo’s Welcome Dinner. WildernessTraverse.com were through the third transition and into canoes very early on Monday. Chasing after them are Team Custom Cellular and Team GearJunkies.com/Yogaslackers.

Meanwhile the remaining teams continued to work their way to the transition area at Retallac over the course of the day. A few gear, navigational and medical issues affected some of the teams, which caused several delays in the estimated arrival time for many. Some teams came into Retallac with a quick turnaround strategy; as the day wore on and the longer teams were out on course, the more transition time they would elect to take. Event medical staff kept busy attending to blisters, scrapes and bruises from the trekking section. The overgrowth of aggressive plants like Devil’s Club and Alder are making the treks very arduous in some places. Foot care is of the utmost importance during events of this intensity and these are early times as yet.

Local team Kootenay Kaos arrived at the paddle transition in Silverton after 9pm, in the dark, in the midst of almost monsoon rains, and to the supportive cheers of friends and family. They would have spent 5hrs on mountain bikes riding in less than ideal conditions and were preparing to trade their bikes for canoes to paddle 20km down Slocan Lake to the next transition. As they changed clothes, fueled and got organized for the paddle, more teams continued to arrive by headlamp in the dark, damp night. Despite the challenging conditions, teams’ spirits were amazingly high with anticipation of the paddle and subsequent stages that lay ahead.

As weather conditions deteriorated throughout the night, more and more teams were suffering from the side effects and were spreading more thinly throughout the course. A few teams lost racing companions due to injury so substitutes were made (or in some cases not) to enable teams to go on and complete the course as uncategorized or unranked. Some injured or sick racers elected to press on, with the commitment of first aid check-ins at each possible checkpoint and transition area.

At the Silverton transition, some teams opted to wait out the weather and get some rest before moving forward. Other teams were gone within 30 minutes.

The next series of challenges arise in the much-anticipated Valhalla Park area where racers will be visiting heli-accessible Ice Creek Lodge high in the alpine. And snow.

A year’s worth of training and preparation were put to the test today for 120 athletes from around the world as Atmosphere Raid the North Extreme (RTNX) kicked off at 10 am in Meadow Creek, BC. Blue skies and sunshine smiled down on the prominent start line arch as racers cycled though.

The introduction to RTNX was a lengthy, challenging mountain bike stage on a forest service road that gained 1000m of elevation over 15km. This seemingly short distance was taking some teams as long as 4hrs to complete due to the elevation gain. Such a challenge early in the race saw racers employing teamwork tactics to conserve energy. Stronger climbers towed weaker climbers, stronger riders pushed their teammates, and fatigued racers pushed their bikes up the steep inclines. With a 500km unmarked course to cover, racers will employ a variety of strategies like these to ensure each team member has the fitness to tackle the rugged terrain ahead.

A big factor in teams’ success yesterday was proper management of hydration and exposure to the sun. With temperatures climbing to normal summer highs and teams climbing to higher and higher elevation, heat from the sun became quite oppressive at elevation. One racer was overheard saying that it was “nice, beautiful weather for suffering!”

The first transition stage was located at Retallack Lodge, a cat-ski lodge located in the area of a former 19th century mining town. RTNX Base Camp relocated to the Lodge and awaited the first team’s arrival. Retallack provided very comfortable and welcoming accommodations for race staff and crew as they supported racers coming through the transition area. The first team arrived into Retallack at a little before 1am. Team WildernessTraverse.com spent approximately 30 minutes refueling, changing clothes and donning equipment to transition to a mountain bike stage in which they would eventually make their way, sometimes through snow pack, to the top of Idaho Peak, which is renowned for its vistas. From the top of Idaho Peak, racers will ride the historic Wakefield Trail, which zigzags its way down from the peak with extreme exposure, which can be an intimidating factor for some.

Teams will eventually make their way to the second transition area for a 20km paddle south on Slocan Lake from Silverton to Slocan City.

Team Nord Vrai is currently in Nelson, BC getting ready to start the check-in process for this year’s Raid the North Extreme. This team consists of 3 Coloradians and one New Yorker. This will be the first time this team combination will race together.

Who are the team players for this year’s RTNX?

Chrissy “The Greek Freak” Nacos
Age: 36
Biggest asset to the team: Chrissy greatest asset is her Greek determination. As a chemical engineer, let’s just say she is the “organized one of the bunch. This special skill is highlighted in everything from her final preparation including labels to her meticulous training schedule down to the minute. As a single parent with a full time job, we all know how challenging it is finding enough time to train. Yet she still crushes her team mates.

Lisa “Bone Crusher” Lieb
Age: 41
Biggest asset to the team: Bringing “Foxy Roxy – the Trek Top Fuel 99” – one hot Mountain Biking chick that can hammer. She is a professional mountain biking guide from Colorado who gets to ride incredible terrain on a daily basis. As an ex – Xterra Athlete, she has the ability to downhill while texting multiple people. Her experience base will come in handy as she is towing her boys up the mountains. Lisa has been known to practice crashes just to prepare for a race to toughen her up, thus the reason they call her the “bone crusher.”

Scott “The Mule” Cary
Age: 37
Biggest asset to the team: Lead navigator. He has spent time with local animal trackers, Indian spirit guides and other non orthodox ways of making sure we can successfully navigate the local landscape by all means possible. Scott has been known to find secret passage ways and short cuts just by tasting the land. Recent reports out of Colorado has confirm another sitting of Sasquatch, however we know it was just Scott in the back country. Although he tells us he has trimmed so he does not scare the local kids. Scott “the Mule” is known for carrying large loads and eating everything in sight, but don’t call him an a$$.

Keith “Krash” Ash Continue Reading

Anticipation continues to build for the 120 exceptionally fit and skilled adventurers who have signed up for the 2011 edition of Atmosphere Raid the North Extreme (RTNX). After a comprehensive registration process, including skills tests, racers received the course maps on Friday night and were given 36 hours to research and plot their strategies.

Today was the second and final pre-race preparation day during which the racers, their gear, and the entire RTNX Base Camp were relocated approximately 1 hour north of Nelson to the beautiful, welcoming Village of Kaslo. Here racers had access to their bikes and gear boxes for the last few hours; received SPOT tracker radios, which organizers will use to track each team along the course via GPS (the live tracker map is accessible at the Live HQ for the race www.raidthenorthextreme.com); and attended a final course and safety briefing where they had their last opportunity to ask questions and clarify concerns.

Later in the day, Kaslo Mayor Greg Lay walked throughout the waterfront Base Camp location, greeted racers, spoke with the local team, Kootenay Kaos, and extended a warm welcome to racers during the racer briefing.

Atmosphere RTNX made closer connections with the Kaslo community last night by partnering in a fundraising dinner with parents of a local group of 5th graders from JV Humphries School. The fundraiser contributes to sending the children on a school trip to Fort Steel Pioneer Village, approximately 4hrs away, near Cranbrook BC. The pasta and salad buffet was entirely prepared and served by the children’s parents. Anyone interested in supporting the fundraiser efforts can email sinclairjsarah@gmail.com

With full bellies and a tight timeline Racers donned headlamps and huddled around their maps until well after dark as it was their last chance to transfer additional information onto their race maps. Quiet time hit close to 10:30 pm as this would be the last solid night of sleep teams will see for several nights.

Tomorrow morning racers are transferred to Meadow Creek for a 10 am start.

Checkpoint Zero/Tech4o heads into Raid the North Extreme as the points leader in the Checkpoint Tracker Adventure Racing Series with the National Championship just a few months away.

Who are the team players for this year’s RTNX?

Michele Hobson, 42, Tough as nails competitor willing to drag the team to the finish line if necessary. Good with a bo staff.
Paul Humphreys, 37, Strong on foot, great team motivator, and ropes expert. Token kiwi of the team. Nunchuck expert.
Peter Jolles, 35, Lead navigation, strong mountain biking, and computer hacking skills.
Chris Brown, 37, Expert mountain biking skills, top notch navigation skills and long race experience. Can dance like nobody’s business.

What is your team doing to prepare for the big race?
Peter Jolles:

Most of our training has been as individuals as we all have different schedules and live fairly far apart. Most recently we used the two day Endorphin Fix as a training race. We learned a few key things there that we hope will help us in RTNX.

In a longer race you’ll surely need to catch a bit of sleep; can you talk about your sleep strategy?
Peter Jolles:

This race will be slightly difference from the other long races I’ve done, so I’m not really sure how we plan to address sleep. In past races we’ve pushed hard until we can’t go any further, and then take a bit of rest. That works in 2-3 day races, but in a longer race we’ll need more. I’m hoping that 2-3 hours a day will be enough to keep us sharp, but not slow us down too much.

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WEDALI, the 2010 winner of the USARA National Championship is on the ground in British Columbia and prepping for the start of tomorrow’s Raid the North Extreme. Justin Bakken sent his answers that he typed via his iPhone while traveling yesterday.

Who are the team players for this year’s RTNX?

Scott “Erl” Erlandson, 42
Team sweeper. Keeps everyone together. Stays awake to drive us home safely.

Fredrik Goransson, 35
Woods walker. Speaks in Swedish to the wildlife. Carries food in beard to “save it for later.”

Rachel Furman, 28
Whipper snapper. Bushwhacker. TA fire cracker.

Justin “Biz” Bakken, 31
Moonlit walks on the beach with map and compass. Can time travel.

What is your team doing to prepare for the big race?

We put on a Sprint AR two weeks ago to limit our training as much as possible. We did a lot of armchair AR involving watching RTNX DVDs, visualizing, and harnessing the power of hope. A little trekking, biking, and paddling to spice things up. We’ll be sitting in a car for three days to taper as well.

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The picturesque city of Nelson today played host to more than 120 racers from North America and beyond as they completed a detailed registration process and attended the Opening Ceremonies for the 2011 edition of Atmosphere Raid the North Extreme (RTNX).

Atmosphere RTNX, Canada’s premiere expedition-style adventure race takes place from July 23 to 31, 2011 in the West Kootenay region of British Columbia. Four-person co-ed teams will face extreme challenges including a rugged wilderness, team dynamics, sleep deprivation and gear failure as they bike, trek, paddle and use ropes to navigate more than 500km of unmarked terrain through the Selkirk, Purcell and Monashee mountains over six non-stop days.

The inherent risk in a race of this nature means teams must bring a high level of skill and endurance to the start line. Atmosphere RTNX designed a comprehensive mandatory registration process-including navigation and rope skills testing, bike and first aid gear checks, medical and insurance paperwork, and more-to ensure that racers have what it takes to safely challenge the course.

“A number of teams were exempt from some of the mandatory skills tests today,” said Race Director Geoff Langford, “which really speaks to the caliber of competitors attending this race. It’s going to be an exciting week!”

Following registration, teams gathered together for the Opening Ceremonies, which included a welcome from Trail, BC (the finish line location) Mayor Dieter Bog, race staff introductions, and a mesmerizing Cirque de Soleil style demonstration of “acrobatic yoga for adventure racers” by members of Team GearJunkie/YogaSlackers.
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After winning the 2010 Checkpoint Tracker Adventure Racing Championship, Odyssey Adventure Racing/ImOnPoint.org is heading to British Columbia for Raid the North Extreme. They are currently in 2nd place with the 2011 Checkpoint Tracker rankings and 3rd with the USARA National Rankings.

Who are the team players for this year’s RTNX?

Charlie Roberts, age 37.
Biggest asset to the team: Charlie is an excellent navigator, an incredibly gifted athlete and is very strong in all the AR disciplines.

Sara Dallman, age 42.
Biggest asset to the team: Sara is a fast racer and she brings the most racing experience to the team. She has raced all over the world, and that will be a huge resource to draw on as the race progresses. She will also be the team “doctor” watching out for all of us – especially late in the race.

Jen Moos, age 28.
Biggest asset to the team: Jen is insanely fast, extremely motivated and always positive. Whether it is in a TA, on the bike, paddling or on foot she doesn’t stop.

Shane Hagerman, age 41.
Biggest asset to the team: I am the Captain. That means I should have a cool hat. Unfortunately, I don’t have a cool hat and even if I did they wouldn’t let me wear it.

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Atmosphere Raid the North Extreme (ARTNX), Canada’s premiere expedition-style adventure race, is proud to announce a new media strategy that focuses on gaining maximum exposure for all stakeholders through a unique online experience that evolves in tandem with the race itself.

“Adventure racing is a dynamic and exciting sport and we have chosen to move away from our traditional media approach to develop a content-rich, in the moment, online experience including daily videos, blogs, social media feeds, and interactive message boards.” said Geoff Langford, Race Director for Atmosphere RTNX. “This bold new move allows us to share all of the race week excitement and drama with as many people as possible, as close to real time as possible.”

Atmosphere RTNX’s innovative media strategy will allow viewers to be immersed in many aspects of the race – from watching daily racer videos and tracking their locations on an interactive map, to catching a rare glimpse of behind the scenes action – as it unfolds. It will be the next best thing to being there.

The newly designed race week portal is now live at www.raidthenorthextreme.com with pre-race information and updates. Live action race feeds will commence with the crack of the starter’s pistol at 10 am on July 24th, 2011.

Atmosphere Raid the North Extreme, the six-day, non-stop expedition race, takes place from July 23 to 31, 2011 in the West Kootenay region of British Columbia. It will feature four-person co-ed teams from around the world as they navigate more than 500 kilometres of unmarked terrain through the Selkirk, Purcell and Monashee mountains. Teams will face extreme challenges including a rugged wilderness, team dynamics, sleep deprivation and gear failure as they bike, trek, paddle and use ropes to navigate their way to the finish line in Trail, BC.

ABOUT FRONTIER ADVENTURE SPORTS & TRAINING INC:

Frontier Adventure Sports & Training Inc (Frontier) is the leading adventure racing company in Canada, operating the popular Raid the North adventure racing series. Now in its 14th year of operation, Frontier has an international reputation for solid logistics, challenging courses and events built around the history and tradition of each region. Atmosphere Raid the North Extreme is one of just two qualifier events in North America for the Adventure Racing World Series to be held this year in Tasmania. Each Raid the North race always remains true to its slogan: Real Wilderness. Real Navigation. Real Adventure.

Collectively, team DART-nuun-SportMulti has some of the best experience heading into this year’s Raid the North Extreme. We caught up with Cyril last night as the team will be leaving for Canada today.

Who are the team players for this year’s RTNX?

Mari Chandler – 34
She drives the team on foot and on the bike and is the master of TAs. All the boys train to make sure they don’t slow Mari down.

Aaron Rinn – 32
The team’s powerhouse. Tows, powers the boats, carries all the gear and when we all falter, tows everyone and navigates. He’s an amazing route finder

Matt Hayes – 30
Navigator and all-around speedster

Cyril Jay-Rayon – 45
The old dude on the team. Navigator and loves the technical stuff, which the RTNX should have plenty of

What is your team doing to prepare for the big race?
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I caught up with JD Eskelson, captain of Team SOG, as he is making his way driving from Utah to British Columbia for the Raid the North Extreme. He has been training out west in preparation for the race which begins later this week. We also added a question in regards to the team’s food plan for the 6-day race.

Who are the team players for this year’s RTNX?

Captain: JD Eskelson, | U.S. Army Airborne Infantry, Europe (28+yrs) & Professional Ski Instructor | Age: 47
Teammate 2: Peter Dobos, Ottawa, Ontario | Pedorthist | Age: 43
Teammate 3: Julia Pollock, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | Banker | Age: 30
Teammate 4: Lee Mebel, Denver, Colorado | Sr. HR Manager | Age: 35
Our average age of 38.75!

What is your team doing to prepare for the big race?

JD recently raced the APEX 4 day AR in Switzerland and has been training at home in Germany with his 3 personal trainers (2 Chocolate Labs, Tolborona & Toffee, Father and Daughter and an U.S. Military Force Protection dog named Nora). Oh, plus training with his Wife, Robin Currently, JD’s travelling thru Utah, Montana and Idaho doing some high-altitude workouts too.
Biggest asset to the team: AR experience since 2002, Decision maker, Navigator, Motivator… Army cadences, plus poor joke telling and singing! Also, perseverance and dedication in racing & to team.

Julia starting the 2011 AR season off Julia raced the 26hr Rev3 Epic AR in April in Virginia winning 1st place 4 person co-ed then in May she raced the 10hr AR Yough Extreme in Pennsylvania winning 1st place 3 person co-ed, next in June she raced the 30hr The Longest Day AR in New York and won 1st place 3 person co-ed. Moreover, Julia followed that race by competing in the 48hr Endorphin Fix AR in West Virginia and won 3rd place co-ed 3 person! So, if she’s not adventure racing on a regular seems-like-every-other-weekend she’s out doing RTNX training on the hills, rivers and rocks in Pennsylvania.
Biggest asset to the team: Paddling Fiend and Motivator Mama… by keeping all us boys in line, awake and does not want to hear any whining. Also, good at Nav and telling bombastic bank jokes! Continue Reading

Pete Cameron, the captain for Atmosphere MOMAR, took a few minutes to fill us in on the preparations that he and his team have been making for this year’s Raid the North Extreme. The team had to find a replacement for one of their teammates after a injury sidelined him for this race.

Who are the team players for this year’s RTNX?

Leanne Mueller

Age: 35
Biggest asset to the team: She’s the best piece of ‘mandatory gear’ our team has for this race! She navigates, bikes like an animal (hence the nick name ‘Leanimal’), and is likely the strongest of us all…AR women usually are! Having given birth to a little girl only 7 months ago, she’s really happy how nursing her daughter has resulted in 10 lost lbs!

James Galipeau

Age: 31
Biggest asset to the team: What do you get when you combine a wrench, an unwavering positive attitude, and a deep chasm of staying power? You get 5’8” of pure James…priceless!

Jean-Yves Dionne

Age: 31
Biggest asset to the team: JYD’s biggest asset is his ability to drop everything, pack up loads of gear, and get to Nelson, BC with only 2 week’s notice. We’re lucky to have someone so strong and positive at the last minute after Todd’s back forced him to the sidelines.

Pete Cameron

Age: 35
Biggest asset to the team: Pete gets the team looking good in Salomon gear, all of the logistics sorted, and everyone to the start line on time…after that, we hope he can navigate as well as he thinks he can.
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Typical adventure racing teams opt for the 3 and 1 format with that including the female as the ‘mandatory equipment’. However, for this year’s RTNX, Erik Nachtrieb will be the team’s solo male as he is joined by Deb McInally, Jude Ultra, and Michelle Maislen to form Mandatory Equipment. The team will also be one the teams being followed by the production crew, New Edge Productions. Also, check out the team’s web series at the bottom. We have included the Trailer. A link at the bottom will allow you to view the rest.

Who are the team players for this year’s RTNX?

Erik Nachtrieb

Age: 41
Biggest asset to the team: Navigator, ridiculous bushwhacking, non-stop story teller and “the serious guy”.

Deb McInally

Age: 41
Biggest asset to the team: Team organization, pulls the bike train, attention to details, mechanic

Jude Ultra

Age: 28
Biggest asset to the team: The engine, keeps pace on foot, team singer/rapper, feeds the navigator

Michelle Maislen

Age: 36
Biggest asset to the team: Conflict resolution, navigation support, voice of reason
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by Pat Kinsella

With the Adventure Racing World Championships (ARWC) now just three months away, the planet’s best off-road multisport athletes are running out of chances to book their place in the sport’s biggest annual event, due to take place in Burnie, Tasmania, in October/November 2011.

In the last few weeks two additional names were added to the illustrious list of teams who are currently locked in to be on the starting line when the ARWC kicks off, when international qualifying events were run and won in Switzerland and Costa Rica.

Spain’s Columbia Spot team recently took out the 2011 Costa Rica Adventure Race when they crossed the finish line at the Hotel Almendros y Corales in Playa Manzanillo after prevailing in an intense battle with fellow Iberians, Thermocool Buff.

After negotiating the final stage – which included a 12km trek and a 27km mountain bike ride between Playa Negra and Playa Gandoca – Columbia Spot finished the 800km race with a total time of 82 hours and 30 minutes.

Difficult sea conditions and darkness meant some teams were prevented from completing the kayaking stage, which led to their times being neutralized and opened up a real scrap for third place, with home team Gropo Orosi Costa Rica eventually completing the podium.

And previously, in the alpine adventure-playground surrounds of Interlaken in Switzerland, team Silva Gerber Adventure (whose ranks now include ex-pat Kiwi Aaron Prince) won the APEX event, and promptly booked themselves a ticket to Tasmania. The race – which featured total elevation gain of around 15,000 meters – took place under the eye of the Eiger in the Jungfrau region of the viciously vertiginous country, and in the second half of the race, which took place at altitude, the weather gods turned against racers, serving them up a bitter cocktail of constant wind, rain, and snow.
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When I spoke with Masha Glanville, team captain of Dancing Pandas, she chuckled as she told us that the 4-person team has a combined age of 196 and over 40 years of expedition racing experience. Perhaps all that experience and wisdom will prove most useful at Raid the North Extreme.

Who are the team players for this year’s RTNX?

Thorlene Egerton

Age: 46
Biggest asset to the team: Navigation (one of the top navigators in Australia!), wisdom and she is one tough (and really nice) chick all around.

Peter Spagnoli

Age: 51
Biggest asset to the team: EXPERIENCE (12 years of expedition adventure racing, 30 years of ironmans/triathlons and 10 years of mountaineering), unbelievable calmness under ANY kind of pressure or stress, strength and humor

Michael Chastaine

Age: 51
Biggest asset to the team: EXPERIENCE (8 years of AR, 30 years of endurance racing – running and mountain biking), strength, navigation and humor

Masha Glanville

Age: 47
Biggest asset to the team: Experience (12 years of expedition adventure racing), strategy and head mom
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Our pre-race interview with Kyle Peter of Team Tecnu Extreme/StaphAseptic as they make final preparations for Raid the North Extreme. You can also follow them on Facebook.

Who are the team players for this year’s RTNX?

Leslie Reuter

Age: 41
Biggest asset to the team: Experience, Technical MTBing, Wisdom

Marco Amselem

Age: 26
Biggest asset to the team: Work horse, Laughter, Nutrition, CP bag spotter

Brian Schmitz

Age: 40
Biggest asset to the team: Logistics, Organization, Navigation, Pace setter

Kyle Peter

Age: 27
Biggest asset to the team: Navigation

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DART-Nuun-SportMulti finished 7th overall and the top American team

Team members Ryan VanGorder, Mari Chandler, Matt Hayes, and Kyle Peter competed in the APEX Expedition race in Switzerland May 25 – 29. The race covered miles of beautiful trails high in the Bernese Oberland region of the Swiss Alps. Incredible scenery, exposed ridgelines, big climbs, tough competition, and lots of vertical were all highlights of the race.

The race started with a 4 stage prologue in Interlaken consisting of two orienteering loops, a trotti-bike (scooter) section, and whitewater rafting. With 30 teams that were well rested and ready to race, the prologue was very competitive. With each section taking about 1 hour, there was a bit of rest time between stages. Each orienteering loop consisted of a couple checkpoints in some flat hay fields around the airport and then a climb and descent on a trail system on the mountains to the south of Interlaken. The trotti-bike section included four loops around the airport roads with teammates alternating loops in pairs. Whitewater rafting included about 10 minutes of whitewater (untimed) and about 20 minutes of paddling on a calmer section of the river. The temperature reached 85 deg F during the day, and with 20-20 hindsight I think many teams, including ours, would have lowered the pace a notch or two.

The race re-start had us on a short run through Interlaken to the first paddle section on Thunersee (Lake Thun). An out and back section on the west end of the lake let everyone see where they stood after a few hours of paddling.

After the paddle, we began an all night bike ride up the Kander valley where we had a short run up to the Oeschinenseee lake, and a good downhill back down the valley. We then rode higher in the mountains through numerous communities, farms, and ranches. The fast pace and heat of the first day hit Matt hard on this stretch. The team towed throughout the night, but it wasn’t until a few rest stops, including a breakfast recovery buffet at a hotel and a Nuun rehydration session that he began to recover and feel better. The end of ride traveled up the Lauterbrunnen valley, which had amazing shear rock walls lining both sides and numerous waterfalls from the cliffs.
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With only four-weeks to go before the race begins, Atmosphere Raid the North Extreme Race Director Geoff Langford offers a preview of top teams to watch.

“We have a competitor field with lots of depth and experience this year,” he says. “In adventure racing there are many game-changing variables that can alter the outcome of the race. Nevertheless, I think we can safely say that WildernessTraverse.com, WEDALI and DART-nuun-SportMulti will figure among the strongest teams.”

WildernessTraverse.com is captained by Bob Miller, 36 of Unionville, Ontario and includes Jakob Van Dorp, 27, of Wiarton, Ontario as well as Sarah Cromwell, 33 and Gordon Blythen, 36, both of New Zealand. With more than 10 years of experience in adventure racing, which includes acting as Chair of the Canadian Adventure Racing Association, Miller is expected to push his team to top standings at the finish line.

The all-American team WEDALI is also strong competitor in the field. They are the reigning champions of the United States Adventure Racing Championships in 2010 and have already won several smaller adventure races in 2011. Justin Bakken, 31, of Minneapolis, a member of WEDALI since it launched in 2003, leads the team.

Team DART-nuun-SportMulti, is another physically powerful US-based team, headed by 40-year-old Cyril Jay-Rayon of Seattle, Washington. The crew is made up of elite athletes who each have an extensive list of participation in long-distance events including triathlons and expedition-style adventure races like Atmosphere Raid the North Extreme.

Other teams who will likely show up on the leader board include Atmosphere MOMAR, Checkpoint Zero/Tech4o, Gear Junkie/YogaSlackers and Odyssey Adventure Racing – ImONPoint.org. But with a challenging racecourse and the elevated level of athleticism, it would be impossible to predict the first place winner.

To read more about all the teams competing in this year’s race, visit RaidTheNorthExtreme.com.