this AR the Adventure Racing thread

[cat-i]

With the old eanci orange jobs I would test my crew by lifting them up by the shoulder strap. If the life jacket went over the head then you had to retie!

 

I'm involved in a small international race soon.

Our team have had to get new pfds as the good local ones are not sufficient buoyancy.

 

Good luck with the 'small' international race, Shebeen - so chuffed that a South African team will be there. Hoping to hear lost of stories!

[Jewbacca]

Good luck with the 'small' international race, Shebeen - so chuffed that a South African team will be there. Hoping to hear lost of stories!

I'm more excited to see images of Cloud Break and hopefully someone surfing it!

 

Yoh, that Fiji experience is going to be rad

[cat-i]

Good luck with the 'small' international race, Shebeen - so chuffed that a South African team will be there. Hoping to hear lost of stories!

 

Oops that should be LOTS of stories ... with Nic as navigator there should not be any 'lost' stories

[dave303e]

for entertainment sake because we can't even follow the greatest race ever supposedly

 

 

 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/499109890868756/

[dave303e]

So Expedition Africa Prep is starting to spool up.

 

There are a few hubers on the entry list.

 

Everyone excited for that 230km cycle leg?

[Shebeen]

Good luck with the 'small' international race, Shebeen - so chuffed that a South African team will be there. Hoping to hear lost of stories!

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM

 

almost a year later and the content is live!

 

you can see me at 53 seconds of episode 1!

 

https://www.primevideo.com/detail/0S3RUAE7PENT6OAZOVDWZIL6JI/ref=atv_dp_share_cu_r

 

 

sign up for your 30day trial of Amazon Prime (it's like netflix but with less stuff but deeper pockets)

[dave303e]

_______________________________________________________________________________

 

__________Spoiler alert if you haven't watched eco challenge stop reading___________________

 

________________________________________________________________________________

 

I am glad it was aired and glad the sport got a lot of coverage. It will do the sport good, glad that the Iron Cowboy himself admitted that Ironman is easy compared to AR.

 

But I was really disappointed in the show actually, too much over dramatized back story and not enough just pure grit racing. No coverage of Cyanosis at all even given their solid performance. Unless you were in the leading teams or had a wild back story you were not covered.

 

I was horrified to see how dangerous it was made because they don't follow the ARWS rules, teams more than 100m apart, teams spending long times without their bags and their compulsory equipment because a horse was carrying it around a section for them, paddling rivers and oceans without life jackets, riding horses when they supposed to be trekking etc. If it were a normal expedition most teams should be DQ'd straight up.

[dave303e]

Godzone kicking off tomorrow for all the dot watchers.

 

Over 70 teams all from NZ- shows the strength of the sport there...

 

Very SAFFA team in Dodd Civil Jabberwock, with Jason and Cobus flying the flag. 

 

Avaya are there in full strength as well.

[Shebeen]

On 12/2/2013 at 4:29 PM, Shebeen said:

Time for a dedicated thread on this sport.

 

World champs kicks off in 6 hours.

In costa rica, in fact they're already on the bus that takes them to the Panama border for the start.

We have the Merrell Adventure Addicts flying our flag. It's a monster of a course, 800km long and the top teams are going to take 6 days(non stop).

 

http://www.trackmelive.com.au/live/arwc2013/tmphoto/54.jpg

Hano Smit, Susan Carter-Brown, Craig Carter Brown, Graham Tweet Bird

 

check all the links to follow from here

http://www.ar.co.za/2013/12/follow-arwc-in-costa-rica/

(courtesy of Lisa)

 

 

 

 

http://www.breathemag.ca/flashblog/2013/12/01/this-is-how-the-race-will-go/

For racers and fans alike, the most exciting thing to happen before the actual start is the official race briefing. This is when the course is revealed in all its daunting glory. This is also usually when the navigators can get their eager little hands on the race maps. Alas, this was not to be. Here is a bullet list with what we now know about the race course and how it will progress through Costa Rica.

• Initially teams have 1 overview map of the entire course. That's it, that's all. They will only receive the maps at the start of the race. Actually, they will only receive the maps up to TA4 (mid camp?), at which point they will be given the maps up to TA8, and only then will they get the final set that will see them to the finish. There will be much plotting and planning on the fly out on the course, a skill some teams have and others...well not so much.

 

• The start itself will be quite a spectacle, as the racers sprint 1 km to get to their bike boxes and maps. Yup, I said "bike boxes". They will have to assemble all their bikes as well as plot their route to TA4 before they can head out. To level the playing field, teams with extra large bike boxes will have to remove the wheels and pedals from their bikes, just like everyone else.

 

• The maps are the standard 1:50,000 topos that all racers are accustomed to, so no repeat of the 100,000 scale and 40 metre contours that teams had to contend with in Brazil. The teams have been assured that the maps are waterproof, so they won't have to do that themselves.

 

• Section 1 is a 95km mountain bike ride from the start down to the Pacific coast at the Golfo Dulce.

 

• Section 2 is a 65km flatwater kayak along the coast, North-West to the Osa peninsula.

 

• Section 3 is a trek across the Osa peninsula, 27km during which they will have to carry all their paddling gear with them. This section finishes with teams picking up their kayaks and portaging them 10km to the northern coast of the Osa peninsula. All the kayaks are numbered so teams will be keeping the same ones throughout the race.

 

• Section 4 is a combined kayak & trek (65km) through the biggest mangrove swamp in Central America. This will be a score orienteering section, with the checkpoints taken in any order. Tides will likely play a large role in routes and speed, and all teams have been given local tide tables. This will also be their first exposure to crocodiles.

 

• Section 5 is a 101 km bike ride to mid camp, with a brief stop to experience the longest (2km) and fastest (145kph) zipline in the world: the Tirolesa Superman Osa. If there is a bottleneck here, time will be neutralized as this is more to showcase the attraction rather than a race.

 

• Mid Camp is a 4 hour mandatory stop at the end of the bike ride. Teams will be checked over by medics, write a short race blog (which will be posted to the live coverage site), recharge batteries, and get some off-the-clock sleep. It is likely here that they will get the maps to take them all the way to TA8, so not much sleep for the navigators here.

 

• Section 6 is a huge 92km remote mountain trek, and will be the key stage of the race. Teams start off with an ascent of Chirripo, the highest peak in Costa Rica involving over 4000m of ascent. The expected fastest time for this stage is 35 hours and teams will have to take everything they will need on their backs, true expedition style. There is nowhere to resupply along the route. They will also face 3 roped river crossings, so must carry their climbing harnesses with them.

 

• Section 7 is a relatively short bike ride of 40km, but it does involve climbing over 1600metres.

 

• Section 8 is a trekking and guided rafting stage of 33km and will be another decisive point in the race. The start of the rafting is the one an only cut-off in the race, at 1400 on Day 9. Any teams failing to get through will be moved ahead to complete the final two stages.

 

• Teams will receive the final set of maps at TA8. This transition is also the only Dark Zone. Any teams arriving after 1400 will have to wait until 0430 next morning for daylight to continue. Furthermore, the Dark Zone will extend into the ensuing 89km paddling section, and teams who make it onto the water have to stop at 1730 and camp for the night until the Dark Zone lifted. The Dark Zone will be strictly enforced using the race trackers and teams were warned the penalty for being on the water late would be disqualification. (They were also told not to sleep beside the river,as it is full of crocodiles. Sweet dreams.)

 

• Section 9 is the long 89km down-river paddle mentioned above.

 

• Section 10 is a short, flat trek of 18km to get racers to their bikes for the longest stage of the race.

 

• Section 11 is the longest of the race at 156km. It takes teams up to the border with Nicaragua before turning South to reach the final leg of the race.

 

• Section 12 is 23 km of canopy and guided rafting to the finish line. With perfect weather the lead teams are expected to take on the order of 6 days to complete this Tour de Costa Rica.

 

sjoe that was a MF of a course., only fitting we follow the opening thread of this topic with a video from another (smaller) MF of a course

 

 

[dave303e]

On 10/31/2023 at 10:33 AM, Shebeen said:

sjoe that was a MF of a course., only fitting we follow the opening thread of this topic with a video from another (smaller) MF of a course

 

 

How has the recovery been your side?

That was a proper course.

[Shebeen]

On 11/15/2023 at 9:20 AM, dave303e said:

How has the recovery been your side?

That was a proper course.

Felt really great actually, was long and brutal but we didn't go that fast. I did the StF parkrun the next day, that was a bit rude.

then got tickbite fever, but the drugs kicked in quick.

been feeling a bit slow ever since, going to rebuild slowly.

 

 

and you?

 

[dave303e]

On 11/17/2023 at 11:27 AM, Shebeen said:

Felt really great actually, was long and brutal but we didn't go that fast. I did the StF parkrun the next day, that was a bit rude.

then got tickbite fever, but the drugs kicked in quick.

been feeling a bit slow ever since, going to rebuild slowly.

 

 

and you?

 

We were pushing hard till the climb out of baviaanskloof, lost a team member to covid on that section. Poor guy, nothing he could do, and not many would have made it as far and fast as he did with Covid...

We slept 3x as much in the last 2 legs as we did for the first 7 legs and the pace was slow as we were just aiming for the finish(unofficial).

I have been flat since, run a few times, no major niggles, just feeling pap. Even the day after, I was not stiff, just moeg. My team mate has won a marathon since WC somehow, but she is supernatural.

I am taking December off and then will reassess racing in January. There is too much that I am not happy about in the sport which is seriously detracting from and ambition of racing and the local calendar is just not going to work. The closest event next year will take longer to travel too and from than it will to actually race. Which given there are 6 events and I live close to the largest settlement and majority of the population in SA. It is a joke. So I will probably start building for an ultra or 2 in biking and running and put away the AR for a bit...

[Shebeen]

16 minutes ago, dave303e said:

We were pushing hard till the climb out of baviaanskloof, lost a team member to covid on that section. Poor guy, nothing he could do, and not many would have made it as far and fast as he did with Covid...

We slept 3x as much in the last 2 legs as we did for the first 7 legs and the pace was slow as we were just aiming for the finish(unofficial).

I have been flat since, run a few times, no major niggles, just feeling pap. Even the day after, I was not stiff, just moeg. My team mate has won a marathon since WC somehow, but she is supernatural.

I am taking December off and then will reassess racing in January. There is too much that I am not happy about in the sport which is seriously detracting from and ambition of racing and the local calendar is just not going to work. The closest event next year will take longer to travel too and from than it will to actually race. Which given there are 6 events and I live close to the largest settlement and majority of the population in SA. It is a joke. So I will probably start building for an ultra or 2 in biking and running and put away the AR for a bit...

 

ja, also feeling pap.

time for the Red ants to put on another race really!