# Adventure Race World Champions are British!



## Copepod (Nov 14, 2009)

Not diabetes related, but many people with diabetes are involved in adventure racing, and it won't get into the regular sports press / websites, so worth a mention, I think? Team Helly Hansen UK Prunesco, Warren Bates, Tom Gibbs, Nick Gracie and Nicola MacLeod, with support crew James Thurlow and Nicola Wiseman, are Adventure Race World Champions, having raced continuously, 6days and nights, since Sunday 8th Nov 09. Information at www.arwc2009.com


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## Northerner (Nov 14, 2009)

Excellent Copepod! That's one heck of an event! I wish they'd do more TV coverage of stuff like thsi - far more exciting than football IMO! I think Channel 4 occasionally show some 2 day events.


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## Copepod (Nov 14, 2009)

Dream Team TV were filming this event, mainly following Team #55 Ippon Inov-8, but that should mean a 30 min programme will be shown some time, usually between 7am and 8am on a Sunday morning on Channel Four - the Adrenaline Rush series that covers a Adventure Race World Championships, a few Rat Races (urban adventure races) and IMG corporate races eg Microsoft Challenge in Mid Wales, BG Energy Challenge in Snowdonia - I've appeared in a few, as a marshal, usually get very wet somewhere (either due to rain or sea waves), holiding a timing box, shutting a van door, moving kit boxes, directing competitors to their kit etc. Rob Howard does a great job covering adventure races, mountain marathons etc on www.sleepmonsters.co.uk . Really wish I'd been in Portugal for the last week - I was a volunteer at Portugal XPD (Adventure Race World Series event) in Dec 07, with the same guys as the organisers of ARWC this year - exhausting, but great fun, with the best food & drink I've ever had when marshalling! Wine from boxes, filter coffee at transition areas; local specialty food - pastries, bread, cheese, sausages, dried meat; one hot meal each 24 hours etc. The Portuguese thought I was mad wading into the sea to help catch kayaks and kit, but it was a lot warmer than the North Sea!


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## Minster (Nov 14, 2009)

sounds like a cool event to take part in. i used to do a few marathons and did a few extreme marathons too (marathons that are for a total time length not distance) i would like to try and get going again but work copmmitments are not gona let me do this just yet lol


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## Northerner (Nov 14, 2009)

Minster said:


> sounds like a cool event to take part in. i used to do a few marathons and did a few extreme marathons too (marathons that are for a total time length not distance) i would like to try and get going again but work copmmitments are not gona let me do this just yet lol



Best thing to do is to try and keep the fitness levels ticking over if you can Minster, it can be tough starting again from scratch - I ought to take my own advice sometimes!


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## Minster (Nov 14, 2009)

lol i do tryand keep my level up to a standard i am happy with but due to work commitments i have at the moment i sometimes dont get out for 3-4 days. i would get a treadmill but find them so boring as you dont see the lovely country that we have


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## Copepod (Nov 14, 2009)

*more interesting running*

I also find running on roads and treadmills very boring, so go orienteering "cunning running" whenever possible - this year only managed to compete in 4 evening events through the summer, plus a couple of Sunday morning races, and also organised a couple of coaching sessions for beginners and children's activity birthday parties with orienteering as main activity - the main problem is lack of races on offer. There's only 1 night event within easy reach of home in East Anglia, but in the year I spent based in Tyneside, I did about 4 night (dark) races, 4 Sunday races and a couple of summer evenings (daylight). So, options depend on where you live. There are also permanent orienteering coaches in some parks, forests etc - see http://www.britishorienteering.org.uk/event/poc.php


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## Northerner (Nov 14, 2009)

Give me fell running over roads and treadmills any day!


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## Minster (Nov 14, 2009)

i like running in weird places. i have run in some really strange places over the years lol. best place was when i did a extreme marathon in the middle of death valley a few years ago. made me realise that the body is so much a complex machine and that it is wonderful as well.


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## Northerner (Nov 14, 2009)

Minster said:


> i like running in weird places. i have run in some really strange places over the years lol. best place was when i did a extreme marathon in the middle of death valley a few years ago. made me realise that the body is so much a complex machine and that it is wonderful as well.



If you want to read about just how incredible the human body is (and you may already have read it, since it seems to be your kind of thing!) I'd thoroughly recommend Survival of the Fittest by Mike Stroud about his Polar expeditions and marathons with Sir Ran Fiennes - absolutely astounding feats of endurance!


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## Minster (Nov 14, 2009)

i havent read that one, but i do like mike and what he does. i used to be a very big adventure nut and went away twice a year to do very difficult endurance events.


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## Northerner (Nov 14, 2009)

Minster said:


> i havent read that one, but i do like mike and what he does. i used to be a very big adventure nut and went away twice a year to do very difficult endurance events.



This one describes their '7 marathons, 7 days, 7 continents' challenge - quite awesome!


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## Minster (Nov 14, 2009)

yeah i remember them doing that one and thought they were truely nuts, but deep down i knew i just wanted to do it lol


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## Copepod (Nov 14, 2009)

But Mike Stroud's naviagtion (or at least map selection) isn't quite so good - I was marshalling at 2001 KIMM (before it changed name to OMM) at Clyde Muirsheil Regional Park, when Mike and his race partner turned up at my checkpoint. Marshals always ask team number, and from that I realised they shouldn't be there - they were on A course, by my location was first checkpoint on Elite course. So, they sat in my tiny tent ("2 man, but only if you're very good friends") for about 40 mins while I radioed (via relay station) for advice and then copied the checkpoints they needed to visit from my map, which had all checkpoints for all 7 courses on it, and they set off again.

There is a team of Spanish adventure racers with diabetes - One Touch Ultra, see www.diabetesaventura.com (Spanish only) or www.sleepmonsters.com/teams/index.php?team_id=279 If I had more time for training and racing, I'd take up their offer to join them, but work limits time for training and leave for racing.


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## Minster (Nov 14, 2009)

ah right i didnt know he wasnt good at navigation. still what he has achieved is very good.


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## Copepod (Nov 14, 2009)

He's not a bad navigator, just was given or picked up the wrong map and didn't check before leaving the day 2 start. Survival of the Fittest is an excellent book - my partner's Dad got it for me one Christmas, signed by the man himself.


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## Minster (Nov 14, 2009)

well i will have to have a read of it then


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## Copepod (Nov 19, 2009)

*ARWC 09 on TV, 0800, Sun 27 Dec 09, Channel 4*

Adventure Race World Championship due to be shown on Channel 4, at 8am on Sunday 27th December 09. Even with a surprise British World Championship win, still can't get a better slot, not exactly live coverage, some 6 weeks after the event, but better than nothing.


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