Adventure Logue » Adventure Racing

Rallying the western edge of the East Hemisphere

Eric — Sun, 07 Jan 2007 16:52:32 +0000

According to the BBC, the Dakar Rally welcomed a record entry field this year for the race that started in Lisbon yesterday:

” record 525 teams are set to take part in the 2007 Dakar Rally, a 4,918-mile race of endurance over 15 stages which begins in Portugal and ends in Senegal. “

That’s all fine and good for them, but for the rest of us, I highly recommend the low-budget alternative, the Plymouth to Banjul Challenge 2007, which follows a similar route from Plymouth, England to Banjul, Gambia. The rules of the race are a little different than the rally:

1	Competing cars must cost less than £100.
2	Maximum budget for the vehicle Rally Preparation: £15
3	Once the Rally is underway, there will be no form of formal assistance from the organisers in any way – Teams are ON THEIR OWN.
4	All of vehicles that make the full distance to Banjul must be handed over to the Challenge Control Group to be auctioned under controlled conditions (reported to The Gambian Government) in aid of local Gambian Charities.
5	All vehicles must be LEFT-HAND DRIVE!!
	The above rule is necessary because The Gambia* is a left-hand-drive country*

Sounds like a plan to me! Why not give that old Gremlin one last glorious ride!

Hit the River in Central America this Spring!

Eric — Tue, 14 Nov 2006 04:49:04 +0000

Hey paddleheads! Time to get in some serious jungle strokes at the tenth annual La Ruta Maya River Challenge — the longest canoe race in Central America - from March 8th – 11th, 2007. For more details start at Belize Vacations and Adventure Travel Blog.
Now here’s some of the low-down:

Beginning in the scenic foothills of the Maya Mountains and finishing in the bustling port city of Belize City, the race will travel from West to East along the historic river trail of the Macal and Belize Rivers. Once the only link between the two coasts, these tributaries served as a major trading route for Belize’s once powerful Mayan civilization. Today, the La Ruta Maya River trail still follows in the footsteps of its legendary past with a route of lush, unspoiled landscapes lined with exotic flora and fauna.

In addition to being hailed as Belize’s most competitive sporting event, La Ruta Maya River Challenge is also one of the country’s largest collaborative conservation efforts. Held in the spirit of preservation and revitalization of Belize’s precious waterways, the La Ruta Maya will donate all proceeds to local environmental groups that help sustain and keep the river clean.

For more information on the race, www.travelbelize.org.

Dean’s Home Run

Eric — Sat, 11 Nov 2006 01:09:14 +0000

I think we can make it official now: Dean Karnazes is just one m^&*^%f*&^*ing crazy sunofab*tch. After wrapping up the Endurance50 (50 marathons in 50 consecutive days in 50 different states) with the New York Marathon last weekend, he’s turning right around and, uh, running home. Oh, by the way, he lives in San Francisco. Ok, kids, pull out your maps and protractors… Right, who am I kidding – hit Google Maps and you’ll see that amounts to a little 3,000 miles jog.

The details seem to be sketchy so far, no real word on what his route will be, where he’ll stay or any of the details, but either way, the nonstop Dean Media circus appears to be neverending. Follow Dean’s progress on his BLOG: Dean’s Home Run.

Video Dispatch from the Old School: Kayaking the Arkansas circa 1950

Eric — Sat, 28 Oct 2006 15:59:25 +0000

I’m not exactly sure where the ‘Our-Kansas’ River is, as this particularly old-school newsreel puts it, but I’m pretty sure he’s talking about the one that starts above Leadville. These days, this corridor of the river is crawling with tons of rafting and kayaking operations. I’m no pro Kayaker, but it would appear that the sport and the equipment hasn’t changed too substantially over the years, but these old kayaks definitely have a little bit more bulk to them. Check it out:

Shooting the Rapids Kayaks Newsreel and Stock Footage – Google Video

For something little bit more morbid, this one was kind of fascinating:

Speed Boaters set records, but don’t make it home

Adventure racing 101: A quick-start guide

Eric — Tue, 24 Oct 2006 16:16:42 +0000

This is one of the better primers on Adventure racing that I’ve seen. Among the many keys to crossing the finish line conscious and with all organs intact: Never stopping to eat, even while mountain biking or paddling. Some one is going to make a fortune selling Bento Box rigs that slide right on to your mountain bike. Now all we need is some sort of dwarf that mounts to the handle bars to work the chop sticks. This beginners’ guide includes valuable tips on hiking, orienteering, paddling, mountain biking, climbing and teamwork and comes from Robyn Benincasa, who:

has competed in over 15 expedition length adventure races and has won both the Eco-Challenge (Borneo 2000) and the Raid Gauloises (1998). When she’s not out playing with her new kiwi teammates on Team Merrell/Zanfel Adventure, she can be found at her real job as a firefighter for the City of San Diego or working on her newest passion: bringing the teamwork skills of adventure racing and firefighting to the corporate world through www.worldclassteams.com and www.flashoverseminars.com

Dean Karnazes in print and on the air

Eric — Wed, 18 Oct 2006 16:29:34 +0000

This rarely happens with me, but I was up into the wee hours last night, unable to put down the book I was reading. The book was Ultramarathon Man: Confessions of an All-Night Runner by Dean Karnazes. Dedicated AdventureLogue readers will recall that we’ve been following Dean on his current quest to run 50 marathons in 50 states in 50 days. I made the trip down to Albuquerque to attempt to get in on the action. I ended up getting lost but did manage to talk to Dean.

I also spoke with some of the other racers and hung out at the finish line. The final result was this story on Voice of America News Now, which aired Monday. (VOA is the State Department’s international radio news service for military and other English speakers overseas).

Anyhow, the first hundred pages of Dean’s book are pretty compelling so far, a little bit to my surprise. His description of what happened after his first 50-mile race is not to be missed….

Franco – Adventure Island Racing

Eric — Mon, 16 Oct 2006 01:18:54 +0000

Who says the French don’t know how to have a good adventure here and there? After all, you can only consume so much wine and cheese… Every year tons of folks on the island of Reunion make their way across the local volcano for no apparent reason, except perhaps that they’ve had too much wine and cheese. This is from Global Voices Online:

LSZ Blog describes (Fr) La Diagonale des Fous, [Diagonal of the Crazies] an annual hike across the local volcano. He explains that every year “they assemble in a small town in the southeast of the island, with the obsessive idea of reaching the other side of the island as fast as they can and by foot. A mysterious fascination pushes them to … be hot by day, cold by night, … be sleepy, have hurting feet … to finally reach the Indian Ocean after a diagonal of 140km. They have prepared for months.” This year is the 14th Diagonale.

A Conversation with Marathon Superman Dean Karnazes

Eric — Mon, 09 Oct 2006 16:59:12 +0000

I caught up with ultra-running superman Dean Karnazes yesterday in Albuquerque after running marathon #22 of 50. In case you haven’t heard, he’s aiming for 50 in 50 days in 50 different states. I’ve posted part of my talk with Dean after the New Mexico Marathon below.

Also talked to Katie from Outside Magazine, who said to look for Dean on the Magazine’s January cover.

Here’s what Dean had to say in Albuquerque (MP3)

A Run with Dean

Eric — Sun, 08 Oct 2006 11:19:56 +0000

There’s absolutely no way I’m in any shape to be running a full marathon, but you’ve got to start somewhere, right? So, today I’ll be jumping into the end of a Marathon in Albuquerque with my microphone in hand to talk to quintessential crazy-man and super athlete Dean Karnazes and all the other runners.

Tomorrow is Day 21 of the North Face Endurance 50, Dean’s mission to run 50 marathons in 50 states in 50 days. The quest benefits his Karno Kids charity. Also joining us tomorrow will be some kids and other folks from Girls on the Run, a local charity encouraging fitness among young women.

I’ll be putting together a story on Dean and the Endurance 50 for Voice of America, but I’ll be sure to post part of the interview here as well.

More Madness: One Marathon Per Week for a Whole Year

Eric — Tue, 26 Sep 2006 02:26:21 +0000

No sooner did I finish that earlier post on Dean Karnazes, then I crawled into my car and heard a profile on NPR of a guy who is running a marathon every week for an entire year to raise money for charity. So you’re saying ‘Big Deal’ Super Dean’s gettin ‘er done in less than two months.

Yes, but this guy – Dane Rauschenberg is his name – isn’t a super pro ultra-marathoner, he’s a patent lawyer doing this in his spare time.

Follow the quest or make a donation at Dane’s website or listen to the story on NPR : One Marathon Per Week for a Whole Year.