Archive for the ‘Adventure Racing,’ Category

From one extreme to another – yesterday we talked about the up-coming Yak-Attack in Nepal: mountains, snow, freezing waters, etc. And today RacingThePlanet’s first annual event of the year, the Atacama Crossing, begins – desert: the hottest, driest, windiest and coldest place on earth. This race is no walk in the park. It is about as extreme as an event of this kind could possibly be (racingtheplanet)..

RacingThePlanet and Extreme World Challenges have one thing in common. They both seek extreme locations for their very extreme events. And these are not self-congratulatory events… they both raise money for charities of their choice, charities that benefit the country that they are eventing in.

“As anyone who has run to raise money will tell you, a charitable cause is a powerful motivator and can often mean the difference between failing and finishing. And, in a world bursting with special fund-raising events and charitable challenges, the 4 Deserts still ranks as one of the hardest but most rewarding ways in which to make a positive contribution to your community,” says Dave Flanagan.

And this year Chile has suffered a catastrophic earthquake – so big that it has knocked the earth of its habitual axis. That’s quite something to contemplate isn’t it? RacingThePlanet considered the appropriateness of running a race after a cataclysmic event like this and decided that they could hopefully do more good than harm. Raise money for charities that desperately needed the help, and show the bereaved country that it was not bereft of friends.

“The Atacama Crossing 2010 represents an opportunity to support a wonderful country that is currently in mourning. The event will be a tribute to everything that is great about Chile – its people, its astonishing landscapes and its indomitable spirit. And now there’s also the prospect of raising funds to help the disaster relief effort through the link RacingThePlanet has established with the international charity Habitat for Humanity.”

The event  is part of the 4 Deserts races which were named by TIME magazine as #2 on its list of the Top 10 Endurance Competitions in the world. This is the sixth time this particular race has been run. Thirty four countries will be represented with competitors coming from six continents. The youngest competitor  is Sam Sharrock of the United Kingdom who is 18 years old – he will be taking part with his father.  The eldest competitor is Laurence (Laurie) J. Brophy of Wales who will be 78 years old on the start line.

Not only that, but Laurie will, if he completes,  set a new record of being the oldest person to have completed a 4 Deserts event. He currently holds this title from his completion of the Sahara Race (Egypt) 2005 at the age of 72 — this title was then equaled by Jack Denness of the United Kingdom in the Sahara Race (Egypt) 2008.

That’s quite something to be able to boast about…

77% of the competitors are male and 23% are female in this Atacama Crossing  – this is a 4% increase in the number of women compared to the same event in 2009. A record nine competitors from Chile will take part. There are 14 competitors from South America in total, also a record. The largest contingent of competitors are from the United Kingdom (39), followed by the United States (34). Five teams will be competing this year, Team Help for Heroes includes Rob James from Wales who finished second in the Atacama Crossing 2008. There is also an all female team from Chile — Team Andesgear.

Some facts about the Atacama Desert:

• The Atacama Desert is 15 million years old and 50 times more arid than California’s Death Valley.
• Some of the oldest mummies found on earth come from the Atacama, dating as far back as 9000 years.
• The entire race will be held at least 1.6 kilometers / 1 mile above sea level and cover the distance required to make a horizontal crossing of the country of Chile (250 kilometers).
• The day time temperatures expected are 32 Celsius / 90 Fahrenheit, while nighttime temperatures may drop to 10 degrees Celsius / 50 degrees Fahrenheit or lower.
• The Atacama Desert has the most lunar-like landscape on Earth and is frequently used by NASA to test its Mars rover vehicles.

A word from RacingThePlanet:

RacingThePlanet – The Official Page We are dedicating the Atacama Crossing 2010 the victims of the earthquake in Chile and are raising money for Habitat for Humanity. If you would like to donate, please click the link below and be part of the race as well. 100% of your donation will go to Habitat for Humanity.

Competitors are checking in in La Casa de Don Tomas, San Pedro de Atacama, right this moment,  including administrative, medical and equipment review. They will be departing for Camp 1 this afternoon. The race begins tomorrow – good luck to all, and although I don’t want to sound partisan, very very good luck to Laurie Brophy.

The race ends on 13th March.

We talked about this race in December, but as it is about to start we thought it well worth reminding you bout it and pointing out a few more details. After all, it is an extroadinary extreme endurance race with the aim to finally decide who is the faster over severe tough and varied terrain – mountain biker or runner.

Some seriously fit mountain bikers and long-distance endurance athletes will be determined to prove that their medium is king and will be either en route to Nepal or already there acclimatising to the very different altitude. This is a reminder of the imminent start of this year’s Yak-Attack.

“Yak Attack is not runner versus mountain bike, it’s man versus nature and nature seems to have the upper hand,” says Phill Stasiw, Manang to Thorong Phedi, Yak Attack 2007.

March 8th is kick-off day for the annual Yak-Attack with race registration beginning at 2pm infront of the Kathmandu Guesthouse. Starting in the heart of Kathmandu, the race follows a mixture of back country roads and jeep tracks to traverse the Himalayan foothills on its way to  Besi Sahar, where the real mountains begin.

After 9 days of riding (and 1 rest day) with stages ranging between 100 km and 18 km,the race will finish in Tatopani where competitors can enjoy a well deserved soak in the rejuvenating hot springs just a short walk away from the hotel and an all-important post race celebration. The final day incorporates a group ride to Beni and then transfer by bus to the lakeside tourist destination of Pokhara.

“I’ve come away with great memories, new friends and a pair of sore legs and I would do it all over again in a heartbeat,” says former entrant Geoff Bamber (runner).

“Yak Attack is the only MTB stage race to take place in Nepal and it offers competitors a rare opportunity to ride in the Annapurna region. There aren’t many locations around the world where you have to ride uphill for 4 days, followed by a close to 100km of descent,” says Phil Evans, event organizer. “The route also takes competitors through the deepest gorge on earth, with the trail passing between two 8000m plus mountains,” he adds.

Evans, the man behind Extreme World Challenges, liaised with Mr Chhimi Gurung, president of the Nepal Mountain bike Association,in 2007 and the idea for Yak Attack was born. It became Extreme World Challenge’s first independent event. Using one of Nepal’s most fabled trekking routes, the Annapurna circuit, as the venue, this innovative runner-versus-mountain bike race had its inaugural opening in March 2007.

Extreme World Challenges was born out of a love for traveling to far out places and a passion for pushing the body to its physical extremes.

This is a fascinating race between man and bike, and an incredible experience in some of the most beautiful and harsh terrain on earth. In 2007 a runner, marathon man Hari Rokaya, easily won the final stage and finished the entire Annapurna circuit in an astonishing 24hrs and 5mins, making him the fastest person ever recorded to complete the circuit.

In 2008 it was the turn of the mountain bikers with Kaji Sherpa winning in a hard fought battle in a time of 20:52:43. Amazingly, considering the weather had favoured mountain bikers, second place was taken by a runner, Phudorjee Lama Sherpa, in a time of 21:08:34. Both competitors beating the 24 hour mark and proving that that the Nepalese were stealing the show although Philip Morris held up the flag for the Europeans with a third place and a praiseworthy time of 22:06:22 !

2009 … can anyone tell us who won this race? I cannot find the results anywhere. We would also love to know if it was a runner or a biker…

The 2010 yak-Attack, starting on 8th March and ending the 20th, will be the best ever as this year there’s  330 km riding with over 8000 m of climbing. Brought to you by Extreme World Challenges UK in collaboration with Dawn Till Dusk, Kathmandu, this is the fourth Yak Attack challenge. Dawn Till Dusk is the first mountain bike company in Nepal run by professional Nepali mountain bikers, Chhimi Urkyen Gurung & Sonam Gurung. It runs bike tours to Nepal, Tibet, Ladakh, Sikkim and Bhutan.

Bookmark Friday, 26th February, 2 p.m. British time if you are considering taking part in the next great Mototaxi Junket in Peru – courtesy of your kind hosts, The Adventurists…

I always have to repeat at least some of their inimitable words as their author has such a fine turn of phrase that how could you NOT want to take part in at least one of their crazy extreme adventures… the following comment is a report on the 2009 event.

“Bones were broken, a mototaxi plumetted off a cliff into a river (without its drivers), adventurists founder Mr. Tom was run over by his team mate, £65,000 was raised for charity by the teams and to the disbelief of pretty much everyone it was nobly demonstrated that taking rubbish mototaxis across massive mountains, into sweaty jungles and across barren deserty plains really is a splendid idea.”

The Mototaxi Junket is a 3,000 km (or maybe 4,000) adventure starting in Cuzco, Peru on the 1st August 2010 and ending in Asuncion, Paraguay around two-weeks later.

The mototaxi itself is a cross between a moped and a sofa, but as The Adventurists warn: it “handles more like a sofa than a moped.”

Thank you to Team Causitas Perdidas who competed in last year’s events for these great photographs.

The race is enough to challenge the hardiest souls, let alone a poor little mototaxi, as another participator in last year’s event said: “It’s hilarious.I can only describe it as rallybiking on lawnmowers.”

However, the terrain is rugged. It’s mountainous. It’s desert. It’s jungle. It’s rainforest. And one of the roads is the most dangerous road in the world – a thousand metre abyss a few inches from your wheels! 

And as for the weather you can expect – matching the diversity of the extreme terrain, you will experience everything from freezing cold high altitude passes to sweaty rainforests – a stiff test for man and hugely under-powered machine.

As one competitor said:  “We’ve been over countless passes over the last few days each one colder than the last and each one followed by a scorching valley complete with cactus, heat ripples and awesome views.”

There is no set route and no back up of any kind…

It will certainly be an adventure.

Every team taking part has to raise at least £1,000 which will go towards  a charity that The Adventurists’ support. last year the money they raised  provided free re-constructive surgery to children suffering from facial deformities such as Clefts. Over 75% of cleft cases in the developing world go untreated, however they can be treated in as little as 45 minutes at a cost of only £150.  You can find out more about these on their website: http://mototaxijunket.theadventurists.com

Facts, stats and things that happened last time:

• A junketeer continued adventuring with a broken collarbone caused by ’smashing into a cliff’ and only reported into casualty on his return to Northern Ireland.
• One vehicle plumetted off the edge of a cliff and disappeared into a river (the occupants just about stayed on the road)
• The founder of the Junket Tom was run over by his team mate
• The vehicle supplier cancelled the mototaxi order just before the launch so replacements were rafted in from the jungle along the Amazon and other corners of Peru (several days late)
• One team member dressed as a lifesize pink rabbit for every encounter with police or border authorities and didn’t end up in jail
• A mototaxi was stolen in Cuzco but recovered by the police 24 hours later
• One team drove off a cliff and were only saved from rather dangerous freefall by some well placed vegetation and scrub
• £65,000 was raised for the official charities
• 62 teams left from the start point in Huancayo, in the Peruvian Andes
• 8 teams made it to the finish line in Asuncion

If you are wanting to do something unusual this Summer, then this might well be the thing for you…

With the new year well upon us, and with the knowledge that some intrepid souls are already proving their worth in Patagonia, we thought we might have a look into the training that is required to participate in endurance events, be it ultra-marathons or adventure races.

But first of all we need to try and understand why people would challenge themselves to such an extent. What is it that pushes some far more than others? I’m not sure there is any real answer to that, but Steve Clark, an ultra-marathon and endurance runner, sums it up pretty well when he explains:

“I wanted to be tested to my mental and physical limits and really see what I was made of, and fundamentally that is why I love ultras.  Run one and you can learn more about your strengths and weaknesses from one event than you would from a lifetime of listening to motivational speakers, self help gurus and personal development trainers.  You also get the time to think how to put it all into practice more than in any other sport I know.”

That’s a good enough reason isn’t it?

Running an ultra-marathon or competing in an adventure race requires at least 3 vital qualities: ambition, inner drive and determination. All endurance races are challenging and extreme ultra-marathons fall into a catagory all of their own. If you have not got a liberal dose of the 3 qualities I just mentioned to enable you to put in the correct quantity and quality of training, and the planning and preparation that is needed to increase your odds of success, then odds are you will not succeed.

Training for these type of events does not only happen when the weather’s good and you’re in the mood. This sort of training has to be done in all weathers, no matter how wet and miserable.

It is suggested that to complete your first 100-mile endurance you should have a one-year base of distance running, with at least two 50K distances and one 50-mile run, before starting the training schedule required for ultra-marathons. Running 100+ mile weeks does not increase one’s chances of finishing a 100-mile run. Many ultra runners have completed 100-mile runs with weekly mileage in the 50s or 60s. The rule here is ‘quality’ of training, over ‘quantity’.

Trail Runs has given the following training schedule which allows rest and recuperation days whilst building up the weekly average at a steady and sensible rate:

It looks pretty heavy this, but training is essential as you are going to find an ultra-marathon an ultra-challenge. To succeed in completing these distances is, without doubt, superb physical fitness and stamina, but 80% of the battle to succeed takes place in the final 20% of the distance, and here you have to dig deep and fight-the-fight mentally, calling on all your reserves and remembering the pain and effort you went through with your training.

It is essential to go into the 100-mile run well rested and injury free and for this reason you will note on the chart that the 2 weeks before the big run have a much lower mileage than the previous build up.

Rest is essential and it is equally essential that you do not get caught up in over-training.

This schedule is a 7 and a half month programme. Helen Skelton, the Blue Peter presenter, gave herself just 3 months to train for the Namibia Ultra-Marathon – one of the most formidable ultra-marathons of them all. She had bucket loads of what I said you needed: ambition, inner drive and determination. Mental strength is covered in those 3 requirements, but worth another mention as it is integral to whether you succeed or fail… Helen Skelton succeeded.

Being pulled from any race or event on medical grounds is always difficult to take, but is always out of your control. An ultra-marathon is a lot more than just gruelling training to allow you to complete the race. Water management is equally important. If you finish your supply before a checkpoint and dehydrate – you will not be able to recover without assistance. In times like that it is important that you do the two things the medic will insist on: Rest and Recuperate and a third thing that you should do for yourself at a time like this is: Reflect. Reflect on what you did well in the event, and what you can learn from the experience, so that it never happens again. You become stronger through adversity, never weaker.

Steve Clark, Across The Divide Operations  and Development Director and Ultra Marathon runner, ran 2 marathons before realising that they didn’t interest him enough. He sought the challenge of the ultra-marathon and was hooked. It’s not only the extreme challenge of succeeding, there is the added benefit of the others in the race and the destinations these ultra-marathons take you to.

“The best thing about Ultra’s has to be the people that you meet. They seem to be a much friendlier bunch and far more open to helping each other through dark patches on the trails, as they fully understand how hard these events can be and how even a little company and support can lift the spirits and make the difference between success and failure.  Most people are not in it to win it, but just to haul their bruised and battered bodies over the finish line.  They are quite happy to share this whole experience with fellow racers along the way.”

There are ultra-marathons in Namibia (charityatd), the Sahara, Antartica, Laugavegur Ultra Marathon in Iceland (charityatd), the Gobi Desert, the Atacama Desert, The Great Wall of China, Petra in Jordan… to name just a few. Exotic, and all challenging terrains.

“So if you are contemplating making the leap from marathons to ultra marathons sign yourself up for an event today and you will never look back.  They are life changing experiences and you will definitely end up a better person for it,” he says.

For more information about Steve Clark’s company, Across the Divide, please follow the link.

All eyes will be on the Patagonia Adventure Race that begins today. Adventure racing had a difficult year last year as the economic crisis that hit the world made sponsorship difficult to find, but this year things are looking better and the season is getting off to a good start with the wildest of all the races starting any minute.

The Wenger Patagonian Expedition Race (jcarterhatch) was formally opened last night in a spectacular ceremony that seemed a world away from the wilderness of Patagonia. The elite team Helly Hansen-Prunesco returned the winner’s trophy at the ceremony. All eyes will be watching them this year…

56 competitors from 14 international teams  gathered with the attending media to see race organizer Stjepan  Pavicic  unveil his carefully planned route for the 2010 race.

This will be one of the toughest tests in the race’s history – with the course traveling almost the length of Chilean Tierra del Fuego before heading south beyond the world’s most southerly community on the Isla Navarino. There are two major mountain bike sections and more than 200km of trekking this year through unpredictable peat bog.

The bog, or Turba as it is known in Spanish, will take some getting used to for the challengers. It often looks solid, but it absorbs so much water it can suck you in to your waist in an instant.

Chris Lomas, of Team Fast and Light, summed up the fears for many of the racers: “My biggest fear is getting lost. This place is so vast. Anywhere in the UK, and most places in Europe, you can get lost, but if you keep going, you’ll hit civilization after a day or two of walking. Out there (Patagonia), you can go for weeks without seeing anyone. It is a true wilderness.”

Trekking is historically the most challenging – and spectacular – part of the course and this year will be no different as the route travels past some of the best peaks in the notorious Darwin Range.

Pavicic, who has explored the Patagonian mountains for more than 20 years, explained: “The trekking in Chilean Patagonia is phenomenal but it is extremely wild. There are plenty of routes to enjoy for tourists, but where we go there’s nothing – just an extreme wild land of bush, bog, forest and mountains.”

The rough waters of the Beagle Channel will also prove a challenge for even the most professional kayaker.

Bernard Hug from the Swiss Team summed up the spirit of adventure racing: “We love to travel and to see something of the world. And we love extreme sports. In Patagonia we’re able to see beautiful landscape and compete at the same time with so many athletes from all over the world, so that’s perfect.”

Dennis Piretra, Chief Communications Officer for race sponsor, Wenger, described the essence of adventure racing in a nutshell: “The purity of the challenge that lies before the teams is very special and in today’s day and age, very unique,” he said. “The prize is not monetary, the prize is pride and glory. This spirit of this race hearkens back to times that were very different and people sought adventure not for financial gain, but to feed a primal need for discovering the unknown and finding our personal limits.”

The race will begin on the Straist of Magellan at 10:30am this morning, Patagonia time.

Good luck to everyone.

I don’t think you will find anything more unique, unusual and extreme as diving in the Dead Sea. Sure, you can dive under ice – pretty extreme and very beautiful… but oh so cold. Whereas diving in the Dead Sea… well, read on.

For starters, the Dead Sea is 420m below sea level. This is the lowest point on the face of the earth. This vast stretch of water receives a number of inflowing rivers, amongst them the River Jordan. Once the waters reach the Dead Sea they are land-locked, so they evaporate, leaving behind a dense, rich, cocktail of salts and minerals that supply industry, agriculture and medicine with some of its finest products.

This land-locked sea is 80 kilometres (50 miles) long, approximately 14 kilometres (9 miles) wide. The northern and larger part is very deep, reaching at one point a depth of 430m (1320 feet). The southern bay is, on the contrary, very shallow, hardly averaging a depth of 4m (13 feet).

The water is warm and soothing and ten times saltier than a normal sea.  It is rich in chloride salts of magnesium, sodium, potassium, bromine and several others. It is also unusually buoyant. Because of the extremely high salt content it is devoid of all plant and animal life, or almost: they now know for a fact that Halophilic bacterium and algae lives in this tough environment

However, it’s the glitteringly beautiful salt consolidation that makes diving here such an extreme experience.

Water temperatures vary between 18° C in January to 28°-35° C in August. Visibility ranges from 1 up to 20 meters. The Diving season is all year around.

It’s a challenge though. With that sort of buoyancy you need to take on a lot of lead to go down. With a salt concentration of 32%, it is so saline that it practically precludes swimming. You can dive in, though hermetically-sealed goggles are highly adviseable, but the density of the water will pop you back to the surface like a cork. Remaining underwater for any period of time requires a Herculean effort – hence the need for a lot of lead.

I’m sorry I can’t bring you a video where the sun is shining as they say the sea glitters with millions of diamonds, but thanks anyway to Deadseadivers for this video.

If you are thinking of going diving in the Dead Sea, we suggest you get hold of the professionals out there, dive with them, and do what they say. The environment is incredibly challenging, not to say dangerous and each diver must prepare himself very carefully in advance. www.deadseadivers.com use  full face mask and plenty of weights as part of their specially maintained equipment.

If you’re a real adrenaline junkie there are several more things you can do besides scuba diving in the Dead Sea. You can hike out of the area trekking up the Wadi Mujib, up the narrow, 50 metre high, walls of the Wadi. Your guide will take you through a series of cascading waterfalls, each more challenging than the one before.

And then of course, if you go out there in April, you can always take part in the Dead Sea Marathon – 42 kms starting in Amman and going down to the Dead Sea – note the ‘down’… fortunately it is downhill almost all the way! This is an international ‘fun run’ that takes place every April and raises money for The Society for the Care of Neurological Patients.

The DSUM  has become increasingly more popular ever since its conception in 1986. Several world record runners and champions have participated and the 2009 run broke all records with more than 4100 runners representing 48 nationalities. It marked a turning point in the future of the event as a national and international athletic, touristic and above all charitable event with the continuous support of Jordanian organizations.

The 17^th Dead Sea Ultra Marathon will take place on April 9^th 2010, more than 5000 participants are expected to participate.

And if afterwards you want to sit back and relax – well there’s nowhere more suitable than doing that in the healing waters of the Sea itself (JacobYosha):