We have asked another athlete, Jayme Frank, to blog on Adventure World about his training, race reports, nutrition, recovery and more. Follow along over the coming months with Jayme as he shares with our readers his tips on what works and what does not from training to competition.

Following a lifetime of basketball that ended when I graduated university I decided to give adventure racing a shot – seems logical right? You can thank Mark Burnett and Eco-Challenge for that. Between 1998 and 2003 I pretty much became an adventure racing addict competing in races from 36 hours to 6 days. I raced across Canada, the US and even into Brazil and Switzerland. Highlights include multiple top finishes in Canada’s toughest race, the Raid the North Extreme, winning the Raid the North Series Championships and competing in the inaugural Discovery Channel Adventure Racing World Championships.

After 6 exhausting, stressful (but totally enjoyable) and very expensive years of racing my mind and body needed a break. That break ended in 2009 when I finally got the itch to get back into competition. This time things would be a little different, gone are the multi-day races and teams; I decided to come back and race in solo sprint style adventure and multisport races (toss in the odd trail race too) on a more local front…for now. Who knows where this next foray into things will take me.

I’ve been back for just over 4 months and have a very busy September coming up. I’ll be racing 3 of the 4 weeks in some great events. I’ll be sure to have some great race reports coming soon!

I’ve also started my personal blog to chronicle my return to racing. Check it out at http://can-i-get-an-encore.blogspot.com

You may remember the story we did on Jordan Romero last year within the pages of Adventure World (he was also on the cover). Jordan is a 13-year old that has set out to climb the highest peak on every continent. He has already achieved the highest peak on 5 of the 8 (some consider Australia the continent and others consider all of Oceania as the continent…therefore, there are 8 total). His achievements thus far include Kilimanjaro (Africa), Kosciuszko (Australia), Mount McKinley (Alaska), Aconcagua (South America) and Elbrus (Europe). After they were thwarted from their most recent quest to conquer No. 6 due to political unrest in Indonesia, Jordan and team went to Mount Rainier (Washington) for a little practice for the upcoming season ahead. Below is a report from Paul Romero:

A last minute postponement of the planned climbing trip to Indonesia (Summit #6) & amp; we found ourselves instead at the Summer Outdoor Retailer show in Salt Lake City then direct from the show to Washington state, home of one of North America’s prominent mountains, Mt. Rainier. Civil unrest in Indonesia near Carstensz Pyramid has temporarily halted all climbing in the area.

At 14,400ft., Jordan yells over the howling wind “3 down, 47 to go!” Jordan’s referring to his next mission to high-point the U.S. (standing on the highest point in each of the 50 states).

Jordan’s standing on top of Rainier, the massive free-standing mountain that commands tremendous respect and has claimed the lives of many who tried to reach it’s peak. So, though Jordan still sees it as training for the 7 Summits, he’s now bagged three of the U.S. High-Points; Washington’s Rainier, California’s Mt. Whitney and Alaska’s Mt. McKinley.

The Rainier team consisted of Jordan, 13, soon to be in 8th grade at Big Bear Middle School, Karen Lundgren, team Mom and videographer, and Paul Romero, Father and team guide.

It was a gorgeous drive into the national park in our stealth black rental Dodge Charger, latte in the cup holder, windows down and the radio playing all the right 70’s sing along tunes that even Jordan’s knows. Check-in, permits, pack the backpacks and the mission is underway. The team set off from White River, the eastern flank of the Mt. Rainier National Park. It’s a fairytale start with flowing creeks and waterfalls of glacier water, wildflowers in full bloom, white puffy clouds and high spirits. The sun was just right. Things just clicked getting this trip started.

We’d been anxious to get some climbing in. Other than some local training hikes, Jordan had not been on the serious end of a rope since our winter ascent up the Mountaineer’s route of Mt. Whitney, one cold, snowy winter day in February. He’s been using his time wisely, diversifying his skills and life experiences with mountain bike racing, stand up paddling, kayak racing, multisport racing and back country skiing just to name a few.

A 5 hour approach to the high camp was a fair bit of work, our packs were busting at the seams with gear, food and water. Rainier has a fierce reputation and we came ready for anything. We start at 4400’ and climb 5000’ just to arrive at the camp. Our strategy is to bed down at sunset, sleep for a few solid hours and ‘pop up’ at midnight for the expected 7 hour summit push. Setting up the camp was a great test of teamwork and patience. Thunderstorms made their expected visit, and gusting wind made set up entertaining…for anyone watching. Karen leads the effort, Jordan holds down a corner and duck squats to hide from the ripping wind. Our shorts no longer warm enough, we crawl into our sleeping bags, thaw out our appendages, eat and set alarms for 1 a.m. Paul’s plan – midnight start; Jordan’s vote 6 a.m. start – - the compromise 1 a.m.

Sleep turns into only a bit of relaxation as 60 mph winds pound our tent and blow so hard the roof of the tent bows down to our faces. ALARMS!! gear on, and secure the tent so it’s there when we return.

Once outside the tent, we see dozens of lights climbing the face – climbers that were a little more eager and who now have at least a 1000’-2000’ jump on us. Like it or not the competitive nature in all of us surfaces and we feel like we need to catch up. It doesn’t take long and we’re making new friends and having chit chat in the darkness. In the past, Jordan was always greeted with astonishment at ‘the kid’ on the mountain. His recent growth spurt and with the typical mountain gear on, he looks like the average 5’7” ‘guy’ on the mountain. No special idle chat about his age or background. He was 12 years old 1 week ago, but at a glance those days appear years ago.

Jordan like any 13 year old would prefer to stay in bed and “sleep-in”. This morning he shows his maturity and ability to be a rock solid teammate. It’s up, packed and into the blaring wind we go.

Nearly 6000’ stand between Jordan and the summit of Mt. Rainier. Conditions- not optimum, the warmth has created tremendous melting and crevasses are prevalent. Jordan has plenty of respect for the situation, but our recent mishap at Everest just a few months ago drives home the point that every single crevasse deserves full respect and has the potential to end life. The focus is good, and the uphill movement is brisk and consistent. We’re roped together, walking onto the glacier in the dim, narrow glow of our headlamps. The scenery won‘t change till the sun brings us new energy and a view of where we’ve been and where we’re going.

The altimeter spins like a slot machine, we chomp away at the vertical feet, dodging crevasses, meeting and passing teams and thoroughly enjoying the predawn peace. Then, the dreaded visitors. The guys nobody likes – - the sleep monsters. It’s the twilight just before the sun officially pops up when we find these guys. Jordan occasionally comes to a crawl and I see him 40’ uphill of me shaking his head…trying to avoid nodding off. It‘s hard. Jordan says, “Dad, I’m super sleepy”. Paul’s not exactly ready for a round of Jepoardy and doesn’t have any brillant advice other than ‘just push on’. He turns to Karen. “What do you do in these situations?” To which Karen responds… “count to 50 steps, then start over and do it again”. Neither of our pearls of advice offer much comfort. It’s one of those things you gotta figure out what works for you and wait for the sun. We push on.

The route is twisty and turny and offers plenty of variety. Some dicey snow bridges, some exposed traverses and a few steep 50 degree faces… and always the crevasses – just enough to keep things interesting. The off/on thunderstorms, wind and dark clouds finally give way to an unbelievable blue bird morning. As glorious as it gets.

We approach 13,500, around 1000’ left to the summit. Like a spill gate opening, the weather hits the mountain with amazing force. We’ve heard about the rapid changing weather of Rainier but from this high up, you can see anything coming for miles. Now we know what they mean. It just happens, just appears. In minutes we are in the middle of pea soup thick weather, 30-50 mph winds and the temps are dropping. The summit is close, nothing treacherous between us as the summit except some additional vertical feet of climbing.

Suddenly we’re on the summit. We can barely talk over the roar of the wind. Jordan’s chattering about the remaining U.S. highpoints before we even have a chance to take in the current accomplishment. “Three down and only 47 to go!” he hollars over the wind.

Stefan Simanowitz meets a team of adventurers as they set off on a death-defying kite buggy record attempt across the Sahara!

When Africa tour guide, Guy Lankester first read the proposal for a kite buggy race across the Sahara desert in the height of summer he responded candidly. “It’s the most insane idea I’ve ever heard” he emailed the organizers in Australia, “But I love it”. Six months on and everything is in place. A convoy of three vehicles set off today from Portsmouth heading for the Sahara. When they reach Agadir in Northern Morocco, they will unload four specially adapted kite buggies and two Australians and two Kiwis will embark on a race across 2,500 km of the world’s harshest terrain.

The brain-child of adventurer and vet, Geoff Wilson, this wind powered odyssey dubbed the Mad Way South, began as a personal challenge but quickly became competitive. “There’s no way on earth you can put Ozzies and Kiwis together on a trip like this without it turning into a race” jokes Wilson. “It was inevitable”.

Practicing in Queensland
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Over the coming weeks leading up to the 2009 edition of Primal Quest, we will be following Team nuun-FeedTheMachine as they prepare for this epic event in the Badlands of South Dakota. We will discuss their gear, training, nutrition and more from one of the top teams (the team, DART-nuun, finished 4th in 2008 PQ Montana) in adventure racing.

Meet Team nuun-FeedTheMachine:

Cyril Jay-Rayon (Team Captain):
Cyril started DART Adventure Racing (In the early years, the team was known as Dirtworld Adventure Racing Team) in 2002 with Ryan VanGorder (aka RVG) and Jean-Francois Guertin (aka Frenchy). After retiring from XC mountain bike racing in 2001, he was looking for another sport to quench his competitive spirit. He found it one day while walking through downtown Hood River, OR. “I saw all these athletes milling around a grassy knoll with all sorts of gear strewn around gear bins. I asked one of them what they were up to and he explained what adventure racing was all about and that they were about to embark on a 24 hour adventure through Hood River’s amazing terrain – as part of the Balance Bar 24 hour National series. At that point, I knew I had found my new sport. I immediately thought adventure racing was an amazing concept that combined so many sport disciplines with the added components of extreme endurance, navigation, team work, and strategy. Talk about lighting up all the senses! ” explained Cyril. The following year, he was back in Hood River to compete in his first 24 hour race with RVG and Frenchy. They were hooked for good after the race. The rest is history … they are still racing today with abandonment and child like exuberance. “I get to travel to spectacular places around the world with a team of like-minded and dedicated athletes. I can’t ask for anything more!”
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5 Years, 3 Packs of Wolves and 53 Pairs of Shoes: 5 Years, 29 Marriage Proposals and 53 Pairs of Shoes

     I met Rosie up in the Yukon Territory a few years back. She ran past my campsite carrying a cart set up with a tent. I thought I was seeing things.

     Down the road, I caught up with her and we shared a cup of tea while she shared a few highlights of her extraordinary global adventure including: being chased by packs of wolves, frostbite/pneumonia, and even getting hit by a bus.

     Coming out late May, her book, “Just a Little Run Around the World,” chronicles the extraordinary adventure of this 62 years old, grandmother of two who set out on a 20,000 mile run to raise money for cancer charities after her husband died of prostate cancer. 1,790 days later she arrived back in Tenby, South Wales, succesfully circumnavigating the globe by foot.

BOOK SYNOPSIS:
     “After her husband died of cancer, 57-year-old Rosie set off to run around the world, raising money in memory of the man she loved. Followed by wolves, knocked down by a bus, confronted by bears, chased by a naked man with a gun and stranded with severe frostbite, Rosie’s breathtaking 20,000-mile solo journey is as gripping as it is inspiring. Rosie’s solo run around the world started out of sorrow and heartache and a wish to turn something around. Heartbroken when she lost her husband to cancer, Rosie set off from Wales with nothing but a small backpack of food and equipment, and funded by the rent from her little cottage. So began her epic 5-year journey that would take her 20,000 miles around the world, crossing Europe, Russia, Asia, Alaska, North America, Greenland, Iceland, and back into the UK. On a good day she’d run 30 miles, on a bad day she’d only manage 500 yards, digging herself out of the snow at -62 degrees C, moving her cart inches at a time. Continue Reading

The Skateboard Film Festival serves to promote independent film making in the skateboard community at large. It is open to the entire public by way of video and film submissions, and there are several categories by which each filmmaker can submit his or her video short or full-length movie. Winning films will be carefully selected by a panel of judges and shown during the festival weekend in SIFF Cinema’s state of the art theater right next to Seattle’s new Sea Skate Plaza.

When:
August 14th – 16th, Friday evening through Sunday afternoon.
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Gone are those speed wobbles that have kept you from bombing down that nearby hill. Thanks to some innovative longboard designs by a dedicated group of boarders up in Vancouver, B.C. Landyachtz Longboards has helped revolutionize the sport, and have created a healthy community of riders and events along the.

Most notable are their curved decks that place the riding platform closer to the level of the weels effectively lowering the center of gravity, offering a more stable ride (no more wobbles). Other innovations they have on production are decks designed with drop-through trucks to give you stability and still allow for some epic carving.

Their team of riders have been dominating the longboard racing scene for years, winning the IGSA world championship in 2005 and 2006, and you´ll see a good amount of riders using their boards in any serious downhill competition.

They have a bunch of great looking boards on deck for 2009 and come stock with their own brand of trucks (Bear Grizzly & Smokey) that look a lot like Randals. Besides their downhill decks, they have boards designed for carving, travel, hybrid, freeride, and floating.

Three new boards have just been announced : DUALLY, SWTICH, and SPUD. If you order one of these new decks before May 1st, they´ll enter your name in a drawing to receive the first production model of each shape off the production line.

Check out their website often for longboarding events in the Pacific Northwest.

Check out Silverfish Longboarding for news, reviews, videos/photos, and info on longboarding events worldwide.

National Geographic writer, filmmaker and adventure, Jon Bowermaster has spent the last twenty years exploring the end´s of the earth, documenting his experiences in an effort to raise awareness for global issue. He has just returned from another exploration documenting in Hi-Def, Antarctica, as he experiences it on foot, kayak and small plane. His film will be released later this spring, “Terra Antarctica, Re-Discovering the Seventh Continent.”

His website, Notes from Sea Level, has recently been revamped and showcases his many impressive adventures over the years with dispatches, videos, and photos - while he posts current news about important environmental issues. One of my favorite adventures of his, was kayaking in the Alitplano, involving an extensive hike-a-kayak across the world´s largest salt lake, once the ocean floor and later an inland lake. Seeking water high in the Bolivian Andes, one of the driest places in South America, helped bring to light the destructive forces of the nearby copper mines, sucking the water out of the country.

In a monumental effort to protect the oceans, he and his teams kayaked in every single one and a few more, “Our OCEANS 8 project took us around the world by sea kayak one continent at a time; its name derives from the seven continents plus Oceania where we mounted expeditions. There are not, of course, eight oceans. If you dig out your National Geographic Atlas you’ll find five: the Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, Arctic and Southern Oceans. But I subscribe to the One Ocean Theory. Spin a globe and notice that all of those five oceans are connected.”

His adventures won´t stop soon, he shares on his website, “We are still out there exploring that relationship between man and the sea and upcoming 2009 filming expeditions will take us to the Maldives, Seychelles, the Marquesas, Tokyo, Croatia and more. So … stay tuned!”

AWM has completed its first year and we are excited to be heading into year 2 with even more great things in store.  Check us out at www.adventureworldmagazine.com