Archive for the ‘Adventure Racing News’ Category

WEDALI

We. Eat. Dust. And. Like. It.

Time for a name change (and a big sponsor).

WEDALI hasn’t eaten any dust this year. They just won again and are now sitting in 1st place in the Coed Elite division rankings 57 days ahead of the National Championship on October 29th in Moab, Utah.

If they remain the only team in the Coed Elite division at the end of the season they’ll win the Checkpoint Tracker Coed Elite division.

If any other team reels in 500 points the tie will be broken as follows:

• Best result at the National Championship
• Best result in head to head competition
• Total number of Checkpoint Tracker events attended

DART-nuun-SportMulti is the lastest top ranked team to confirm that they will attend to see if they can take home part of the $10,000 cash prize purse.

They’ll be squaring off against the likes of Tecnu Extreme/StaphAseptic, Odyssey Adventure Racing-ImONPoint.org, Checkpoint Zero, Freedom Group/Trakkers and Zia/4car.

No word yet on whether 1st ranked WEDALI or 2nd place Eastern Mountain Sports will be making the trip out west. Let’s hope so.

As of September 1st all qualified teams have been given the chance to register and the race is now open to ALL Checkpoint Tracker teams.

There is limited lodging available at the Red Cliffs Lodge (check in, briefing, awards ceremony) so if you want to be at the center of the action REGISTER YOUR TEAM NOW!!!

Registration for the inaugural Checkpoint Tracker National Championship is now open to ALL Checkpoint Tracker teams.

Any team may now register in any of Checkpoint Tracker’s six competitive divisions by clicking the “Add to Schedule” button on the National Championship page.

Teams that qualified on points earlier in the season will now face all comers on what is shaping up to be an epic course that people will be talking about long after the race has concluded. Sadly, we can’t share the details because, as usual, the course is top secret. Trust us when we say you’ll be thrilled (and maybe a little surprised) when you see what we’ve got in store.

The cost of the race is $250/racer no matter the division or corresponding team size. A limited number of rooms are available at the Red Cliffs Lodge, the host venue so move fast if you want a room at the center of the action.

If you have any questions that are not addressed by the information on the National Championship page or in Race Update #1, please refer to the FAQ to see if someone else has asked the same or a similar question.

National Championship At A Glance

• Approximately 90 miles (Adventure length but worth 200 points like an Expedition)
• Mountain Biking, Trekking, Riverboarding, Orienteering, Canyoneering, Ropes, Tail Running, Paddling (kayaks)
• Unsupported, teams are allowed NO outside help
• Strongest field of Checkpoint Tracker ranked teams at any 2010 event
• Serves as a tie breaker in all divisions in the event two or more teams end the season with the same number of points
• All new course featuring terrain never before used by a commercial event (we’re going places Primal Quest didin’t go in 2006)
• Event management by Gravity Play Sports, an experienced promoter with a long, proven track record of producing high quality events
• Start 8:00 am Friday October 29th
• Cutoff 12:00 pm Saturday October 30th

Tonight at 8:05pm our first team crossed the finish line, the Swedish team #17, Explore. After 84 hours of racing, including 185km of mountain biking that ended just a few kilometers before the end, they entered Playa Samara where a big crowd of staff, media and other competitors who are no longer in the race greeted them with cheers, flashes and applause. Everybody wanted to witness the last steps of a team that set the race pace since the beginning and remained strong through it all, even despite Per Vestling’s very bad knee. At some point the paramedics recommended him to stop, but he inspired so many by walking through that finished line, doing what he did best, smiling big!

Helena Lindnord from the swedish media accompanying team Explore, was interviewing Jari Kirkland earlier today, and Jari said before resting or showering she wanted a juicy hamburger and french fries! And her wishes were granted, and her whole team got a share, as well as some ice cold beer that went with meal.

That closed the action for Playa Samara tonight. The remaining 4 teams that remain in elite competition have been neutralized at checkpoint 36 for safety reasons and will spend the night there once they arrive. Tomorrow at the crack of dawn team Quechua #12 will be released at 4am, then Bosi Zoom Radio #15 at 4:30am and all other teams and racers at 5am.

The second place is expected to arrive at the finish line at 7:30am.

We’ll keep you all posted tomorrow!

The two leading teams fighting for the first place, Explore and Quechua set off at the same time for the sky trek at 8.37 yesterday evening.

The Colombian team Bossi , who arrived at midnight set off at 2.50 early morning, with a 2 hours difference from the French, are in third place. Safety Costa Rica set out at 5.p.m for the BTT. The third and fourth places are being disputed by the Costarricans and Colombians. Both teams are minutes apart, with a steady pace throughout the entire race, just as in the case of the first and second teams.

The two members of the Finnish team Omjakon, who are still participating with no chance of qualifying, arrived to the sky trek at 5.10a.m. The Brazil Quasar team, also with only two members left and out of competition, arrived at 6.10 am to start the next task. Despite their circumstances and keeping in with the spirit, these two teams keep fighting hard.

Yesterday, due to the time differences between the teams, several have been advanced from one point to the next, skipping some of the tasks, which will be penalized in the final results. Many teams have been forwarded from point control 20 at the Fortuna sports center, to a point further ahead. The team Genie (team 8) along with the Canadian team, were transferred from point control 20 to point control 25 at Carrillo beach, were they will continue with the kayak task. The other French team, Wenger (team 3) was transferred from point control 20 to point control 28 in Monteverde.

Today several teams have been sanctioned for skipping the last trekking section: Bimbache ( team14) from Spain; Costa Rica´s Caribe (team 6 ) and Orosi (team 7), who have been forwarded from point control 25, Carrillo beach, to point control 27, sky trek. One of the members of Bimbache has managed the last few hours with medical care as his feet are totally in shatters.

Meanwhile, Wenger team is waiting to start the sky trek in order to continue with the mountain bike task.

The final hours will prove a real adventure race for all!!!