The G-Rant : Grant's Rants on Adventure Racing

March 2007 - Posts

• Orienteering TV and the Promised Land

  Exciting news that the "World of O" is launching an online TV channel for orienteering.  woO-TV! I think it's an interesting experiment and I will keep my eye out. By the way, check out the World of O maps they have on line-- Switzerland is saturated with courses!  Oh yeah, I'm headin' to the promised land . . . Posted Mar 28 2007, 09:22 AM by gkillian with 1 comment(s)

• Registration For Untamed VA Going . . .

  Only a handful of team spots left for the Untamed VA race, and with the "regular" registration deadline just a few days away (March 31 -- race fee increases as of April 1) I'm betting that by the time I do my first clinic up in Fairfax on April 12, the race will be officially sold out.  It's always tough to go and talk to people about the sport or a particular event, and then conclude with something like, "If you're excited to do this really cool race  . . . too bad because it's already sold out.  Suckers!"  I'm learning from past mistakes, or so I think, so I've set aside a couple team slots that will only be available to attendees at the April information sessions.  If they don't get taken, I'm confident they'll be gobbled up in May.  I've noticed a couple interesting trends in race registrations over the years: -There will always be people who contact you after the event has sold out and explain how they "really planned on racing, but never got around to registering."  They'll ask if we can squeeze them in.  We always do what we can for people (usually adding them to the waiting list is all one can do), but come on!  If you're "really planning on racing" then you should probably have signed up at some point -- especially for a longer race of 30 hours I imagine you'd be training and making prepartions months in advance.  -Everyone signs up on Fridays.  It's funny, but people must be looking out the window at the end of the work week and thinking of doing fun things instead . . . so we always see a big spike in registrations on Fridays.  All this makes me think about our great record of selling out events; the only race I can think of that didn't sell out was the original Storm the Eastern Shore AR back in 2005 (nobody thought a race could be fun and interesting out there, I guess) -- the 2006 edition sold out, after word spread of what a great event it was.  Just a quick rumour I've heard in talking with Pike about HRAdventure later this year . . . a 2008 Storm race might be in the works . . . Posted Mar 28 2007, 08:49 AM by gkillian with 7 comment(s)

• Shape

  If you have the chance, check out page 106 of the April Shape magazine for a quick blurb about the Tidewater Traverse (it's one of their "5 events we've already signed up for" section.  If you only knew how much time was spent on the phone with Shape editors and fact checkers, and several emails, to achieve those couple of sentences . . . starting back in late 2006 (before Pike took over the helm of the HRAdventure juggernaut).  I guess we can add Shape to the upcoming media section of the Untamed Adventure website, but it's a stretch! I'm still up in New England for a few more days.  It'll be tough sitting out the Georgia race that Scott, Beth, and I were all set to do.  Besides our upcoming move, one of my reasons for turn ing over the reigns of HRAdventure early in 2007 was to allow time to do more racing, but life had other plans for this event, apparently.  All those preparations . . . oh well.  It looks like a great weekend to race down there, so good luck to all the teams!  Don't look for much action from the Team HRAdventure on the leaderboard! Posted Mar 23 2007, 07:55 PM by gkillian with 4 comment(s)

• Richmond April 7th (Night training and information session)

  Here's a chance to make sure those bike lights work, your night nav is "on," and your team dynamics can handle a bit of sleep deprivation: Richmond ASR is hosting a mock adventure race on Saturday April 7th from 5 PM until 2 AM (times are approximate -- once you register you'll be included in the specific details).  It's being held at Pocahontas State Park, just south of Richmond.  It's a great venue; we organized a race there last Spring. The timing for this event is great, with the TT and the Untamed Virginia Adventure Race -- both having significant overnight components -- just around the corner.  I'll be doing a talk at the Blue Ridge Mountain Sports in Richmond, VA that Saturday (April 7th) at 2 PM in advance of this mock-race, so if you want to drop by and talk a little AR at Blue Ridge before getting out and doing it, please feel free.  I think BRMS is just about 20 minutes from the park, so there timing works out really well.  I'll be talking at Blue Ridge about preparing for 24+ hour adventure races, with some specifics geared to the Untamed VA race, and do some Q & A along with some giveaways.  After the talk, I'll head off to the Pokie for the evening activities! Posted Mar 23 2007, 12:52 PM by gkillian with no comments

• Charlottesville Adventure Race Information Session

  This is the first "information session" building up to the Untamed Virginia adventure race, and the details are: When: Tuesday, March 20th starting at 7 PM Where: Charlottesville Blue Ridge Mountain Sports at 434-977-4400 Who: Information Session is presented by Tim and Steve, under auspices of Untamed Adventure; the guys are a couple good friends of mine who have a lot of racing under their belt.  The session is free and open to the public. What: Tim has taken charge of the subject matter and is targeting the session to both new racers and experienced racers looking to pick up some pointers.  I would expect Tim and Steve to share some of their better racing stories, too, so if they don't talk about the millipedes, the bears dancing on the beach, or Tim's fear of 29-inch bikes, be sure to ask them! If you're in the Charlottesville area, check this out! Posted Mar 19 2007, 09:13 PM by gkillian with no comments

• Out from under the cone of silence . . .

  Well, I've not had time to devote to this weblog for the last week or so.  Too much wilderness first responder class . . . my head is full of spine injuries, shock indicators, giardia, vital signs, and lots of emergency medical stuff.  It was a lot of fun and First Lead is a great outfit; I learned a great deal, but I feel like I've been in a cone of silence for the whole time.  I'm behind on just about everything, including a few loose ends with the June race etc.  If you're waiting on me for emails, bare with me. By the way, our house has been on the market, got an offer, and is now under contract with the home inspection now completed.  All since I've been away in Colorado.  I guess we really are moving, since our house has new owners waiting in the wings (I've even started eyeing my first Swiss event in mid-July that Marshall turned me on to).  The fact the house sold so quickly might bump our moving schedule up just a tad; maybe I'll live out in Charlottesville for the final month of my Virginia tenure, I'll be out there a lot in prep for the Untamed Virginia race anyway.  That event is shaping up nicely, but there will be a change to the RipBoard clinic scheduled for June 2 -- it looks like RipBoard will do a clinic in April and another in May, instead, due to some manufacturing challenges RipBoard needs to deal with.  Like a lot of things for me lately, once the details get ironed out they'll find their way to the website and into registered competitors' email inboxes; speaking of which, we're behind on updating the list of registered teams for the race and I'd now estimate there's only about 10 team spots left for Untamed VA.  I know the support crew thing is a pain, but it seems teams are managing OK for this Charlottesville race.  It will be the last support crew required race that I organize, barring significant changes in the AR scene; in the future, Untamed Adventure events will do the gear staging for teams. My travels aren't over, however, as a death in the family will take us up to New Hampshire for this week.  That means, besides not getting any "real computer nerd work" done, there will be no race in Georgia for me next weekend.  If there's a team out there that wants our spot in that Georgia race, I can hook you up really cheap.  Really cheap. Posted Mar 19 2007, 12:22 AM by gkillian with no comments

• Wilderness First Responder

  I'm right in the middle of my Colorado visit and WFR training so I've not had time to do much of anything else -- barely time to squeeze in some exercise out here, even!  In a nutshell, a Wilderness First Responder is a like an EMT except for EMTs focus on "urban pre-hospital" care where as the WFR doesn't have a hospital to hand patients off to.  In the words of the instructor, a WFR is "the entire chain of treatment from initial evaluation on through."  Many of the protocols I'm learning are the same as for an EMT, but there are some key differences (like, there is isn't a hospital 10 minutes away to evacuate a patient to or a giant van to ride in with all sorts of equipment).  It's 80 hours of training, so my brain is pretty sore right now. It's been a good time, despite the work load, and there is an interesting bunch of students in the class.  There's a whitewater guide, a forest fire-fighter, some more medical oriented folks, a couple outfitters, etc.  Oh yeah, there's also some no-name guy who has raced every Eco-challenge ever run . . . won the Badwater ultra marathon a record 4 times . . . done the 7 summits including must recently Aconcagua -- that one has had a special appeal to me for some reason . . . and the list just goes on and on.  Yah, so legendary Marshall Ulrich and his wife are sitting in front of me during this whole WFR thing.  He's a very nice -- and humble guy -- for example, when introducing himself to the class he said something like, "I'm kind of into ultra endurance events..."  Kind of. If only the instructor would stop talking for a while so I could pick Marshall's brain a bit more... Posted Mar 12 2007, 08:42 PM by gkillian with 1 comment(s)

• Colorado, West Virginia, and Patagonia -- and a crazy ESPN video

  I've just got a few minutes to share some of the latest goings on with me . . . I'm on my way to Colorado for a week or so of Wilderness First Responder class and to visit family in the process.  I should get a lot of great exercise while I'm out there, too, as White Ranch is very close to where I'm staying and I might make an RMOC event while I'm out there (still trying to find a fixed O-course in the Denver area...). In other news, Team UntamedAdventure.com is all signed up for the West Virginia Efix in April.  I'm joining forces with some great teammates, so we should have a great time in West Virginia and make it  back in time to ~gasp~ race the Tidewater Traverse.  That's right, I may be racing this Hampton Roads "classic" that I started a few years back . . . we'll have to see if the details come together, but it's an exciting idea. Meanwhile, the Team HRAdventure usual suspects (Pike, Morgan, and I), have started seriously looking at the Patagonia Expedition Race in 2008.  The timing for this event is great all round (no races to organize in February of 2008!), the location is amazing, and now that I've got the idea in my head it's like an itch that just wont go away . . . the catch, as always, is the financing but we've determined a budget and we'll see what we can do in terms of event sponsors.  Either way, I'm really intrigued by this 1000+ Kilometer event in a beautiful part of the world. Finally, I've been neglecting the Untamed VA Adventure Race website and will give it some TLC over the next few weeks.  We already hooked up the Bulletin Board (look familiar anyone?) and have posted some info about the free Information Sessions we're organizing to promote the race, answer racer questions, and spread the gospel of adventure racing far and wide; maybe I'll see some of you soon? OK, I've got to go but let me conclude with this link to a 5 minute ESPN video on an "adventurous" race very different than adventure racing as we know it.   I was intrigued until I saw the gauntlet of electrically charged wires the racers have to run through . . .5,000 people!  And people say I'm crazy.  Anyway, check it out and if your friends ever claim adventure racing is too "out there" you now have ammunition to the contrary. Posted Mar 07 2007, 08:19 AM by gkillian with 1 comment(s)

• The obligatory PrimalQuest post

  By now, if you follow any other sources for AR news you're bound to have heard the official word that there will be no PrimalQuest in 2007.  I feel like I'm a bad AR blogger if I fail to comment on this, so let me add my perspective to all that's been said elsewhere. First, this comes as no surprise since the logistics involved with getting to a race like PQ are so significant that teams would need months and months to prepare.  I figure you'd need at least 6 months to pull a team together and get to the starting line with the skill certs, gear, training, and sufficient time away from home all arranged!  9 months may even be more realistic.  Furthermore, for any sponsor to get their full moneys worth of exposure, you think they'd want more lead time than just a few months.  Once January passed with no news about a fresh PQ I mentally crossed that event off the list for 2007; I know some folks that were holding out hope but I had already moved on.  In fact, when they issued the public announcement I honestly thought they had already made it clear that PQ wouldn't happen in 2007. A few weeks before this news came out, I was talking with Chris Rumohr of A-List fame and she commented that "maybe something as big as PQ shouldn't go off every year . . . you know, like the Olympics."  Maybe every 2 years is a more reasonable expectation?  It makes sense to me.  I don't think skipping the 2007 year is bad, honestly, so long as PQ roars back with a vengeance in 2008 . . . by vengeance I mean plenty of up front media, possibly some weekend race-themed talks, podcasts (we've even thought of doing a monthly podcast as part of the HRAdventure/UntamedAdventure communication effort), expos, or other events (even sprint races?) spread around the country, and much better TV coverage (not just the top 3 teams for the entire time -- Mark Burnett's Eco-Challenge footage always emphasized the human drama using the physical drama as a backdrop, and that is what compels people to watch and, therefore, advertisers to get involved).  Having a high profile race like PQ does a lot for the viability of the sport at a smaller scale, however, and having an every-other-year event may reduce that impact.   If I had a Hammer Gel for every time I started explaining what adventure racing was by asking, "Have you ever watched Eco-Challenge or PrimalQuest on TV?", I'd have a garage full of Hammer Gel -- wait, I kind of already do -- nevermind, you get my point.  Having PrimalQuest around gives legitimacy to the smaller adventure races and provides a larger context to every adventure race.  You don't have to be a competitor in PrimalQuest to benefit from the name recognition the event gives to the entire sport, to sponsors, land management groups, and a rationale for why you choose to run that trail with a heavy backback on! So, officially no PrimalQuest in 2007 and let the speculation begin for 2008: will it be Latin America like so many people thought for 2007 (we've got some insiders in our part of Virginia, by the way, but I'm not naming names)?  What about Idaho or I've heard Spain mentioned a few times.  Personally, I'd like to cast a vote for the Zuerich, Switzerland region! Since we got some "bad" news about no PQ in 2007, how about some good news . . . or at least good gossip.  This isn't an official announcement anything, but it's looking more and more likely that there will be a new 60-hour race coming to the East Coast in 2008. Posted Mar 05 2007, 04:10 PM by gkillian with no comments

• Another Sproute for the Record Books

  From the accounts I've heard so far, the 2007 Sproute was a great success and there were lots of smiles on faces after the event.  Congrats to Pike (Pam & Mike) and the rest of the volunteer crew for starting 2007 off with a bang! The results are tallied and available on line here.  There were some usual suspects at the top of the podium (my gut instinct had me select Too Many Kids in the secret pool we run . . . made me some dough this weekend, so thanks TMK!), as well as a few surprises.  It also sounds like there was a pretty serious medical DNF, but the racer is recovering and there's no permanent damage done. I've heard mixed reviews on the paddleboat leg of the race, but since the real paddling leg was cut short due to wind, you shouldn't complain too much about some paddleboats! Posted Mar 04 2007, 08:26 PM by gkillian with no comments

• Holy Weather Batman: s'vater ich shoen!

  I've been learning Swiss German in preparation for our move, so in Swiss German I'd proclaim that "s'vater ich shoen" or "the weather is beautiful."  Too bad there's really no written Swiss German language, so my written Swiss German is just phoenetic; I've been learning from audio CDs. Regardless of what language you say it in, today has to be the first day of Spring.  If it sticks around for the weekend, the weather for SPROUTE tomorrow will be outstanding!  I've got to get a good long run and ride in today . . . it's just too nice a day not to.  I'm sort of stuck right this moment, however, since I've got a lot of real-world work to do and it seems like there's realtors coming by our home every hour or so . . . my opportunity will come this afternoon . . . must have patience. Meanwhile . . . speaking of the race tomorrow (SPROUTE) . . . I know Pike have put a ton of work into it and I wish everybody the best of luck.  I predict the course to be challenging, particularly to those new to the park; there may be a sizeable home-field advantage at this race.  I won't be out there tomorrow because I feel strongly that Pike need to own the event and while I'd like to catch up with folks at the race, there will be other chances for that.  Besides, it will be a perfect weekend for sorting out the few remaining loose ends relating to the Untamed Virginia adventure race in June. I'll have news next week about a series of information sessions we're doing for the Untamed VA race; the theme will be on preparing for a 24+ hour adventure race. Posted Mar 02 2007, 11:02 AM by gkillian with no comments