OK, 'Terrex to Dragon's Back' ... just one long transition.
Twenty year's I was lucky enough to be part of the original Dragon's Back race and now, in thirty minutes, I leave to drive to North Wales to start part two - DBR 2012. It's got to be done, if only because there was unfinished business twenty year's ago; my partner, Steve 'Dubie' put his foot down a rabbit's hole on the last afternoon of racing and he had to hobble and hop the last few miles to the finish at Carreg Castle. This was not quite the finish either of us deserved and we missed the Saturday morning presentation at The Castle, as well as losing a few places in the overall standings. Still, the majority of it had been wonderful.
This time one week ago, I was eating copious amounts of food in a post-Terrex recovery and two weeks ago, I was busy packing and preparing for the five day Terrex adventure race, with my three team mates. That required the packing of 4x personal bags, one team bag, one team paddle bag, a 'sixth' canyoning bag, and 4x bike boxes and suss out which of these items would be going to nine transitions over five days of continous racing. Now I just have one relatively small overnight bag, one small day rucsac and one even smaller lunchtime 'drop' bag (with my sandwiches in it) and it's me against the mountains.
Less is More .... Dragon's Back Race is no less of an adventure than Terrex; it will be different, just me and the mountains of Wales ... oh and some other 'athletes' (I just 'love' that word!) . Sure, some will be racing but the majority of us will just be looking to finish at Carreg Castle and enjoy the journey down the spine of Wales. I'm glad it's only ever twenty year's.
Apart from being a little jaded from Terrex I'm really looking forward to putting one foot in front of the other, travelling over some tremendous mountains and getting to the finish line having had some fun. There are no short route options at DBR, no controls you can drop and take a penalty; it has to be completed.
I doubt I'll be able to update facebook or twitter or even phone home.... hmn, remarkable.
Joe
Sunday, 2 September 2012
Monday, 30 July 2012
A steady week's training
A very busy couple of weeks - some excellent days with clients on rock, mountains and fell, especially a great day with Phil and Ellie focusing on navigational techniques for fell running and mountain marathons.
Also busy with a steady week's training in readiness for Terrex Sting and with The Dragon's Back Race also looming large shortly afterwards. Had a good run out with Wilko and Sharon McDonald, our new team mate for Sting as a replacement for Pete, who had to stand down with a vulnerable ankle problem. We'll miss Pete greatly; he's such a good guy but this race is out of reach for him at the current time. Good to see he has entered the Wensleydale Tri, which will suit his powerful hill climbing ability on the bike after a quick dip in Semer Water. I'll be there to cheer him on.
Much time being spent on my new full-suss bike bedding in the new transmission and gears, but also out on foot. Seriously lacking a running speed at the moment as Exped racing doesn't really require much speed so this weekend's Borrowdale race will just be a training 'jog' sandwiched between other sessions....
Soo much to do....
Also busy with a steady week's training in readiness for Terrex Sting and with The Dragon's Back Race also looming large shortly afterwards. Had a good run out with Wilko and Sharon McDonald, our new team mate for Sting as a replacement for Pete, who had to stand down with a vulnerable ankle problem. We'll miss Pete greatly; he's such a good guy but this race is out of reach for him at the current time. Good to see he has entered the Wensleydale Tri, which will suit his powerful hill climbing ability on the bike after a quick dip in Semer Water. I'll be there to cheer him on.
Much time being spent on my new full-suss bike bedding in the new transmission and gears, but also out on foot. Seriously lacking a running speed at the moment as Exped racing doesn't really require much speed so this weekend's Borrowdale race will just be a training 'jog' sandwiched between other sessions....
Soo much to do....
Friday, 20 July 2012
The Dark Side
Expedition Racing is all about highs and lows and this week has been no different.
Ok, The good stuff first! It has been my birthday this week and with nothing really special planned I've enjoyed a week of doing a variety of new things or things I haven't done for a while. Apparently, I've moved over to 'The Dark Side' when I took delivery of a new full-suss MTB, my first full-suss but peer pressure eventually gets to all of us. So riding that has been different .... and takes some getting used to.
I enjoyed a very special birthday-day - entitled a nice 'Gentleman's Ride' - Martin and myself enjoyed a road cycle loop, from home near Penrith and around the Skiddaw and Northern Fells. We had a leisurely stop for coffee and cake at The Filling Station on the out skirts of Keswick (highly recommended as a bike friendly cafe) and second stop at Hesket-New-Market. Fortunately, we timed it right so that The Old Crown was closed and we had to endure excellent soup at the village shop cafe instead. It was a good thing the pub was closed otherwise the cycle home may have been a bit different ... in the back of a car, no doubt. The evening was rounded off with an excellent meal at The Brantwood at Stainton with Hesket Ales and some stunning Shiraz Merlot.
Another 'first' for me was the bike ride up onto The Peninnes and an unexpected 360 degree panorama over The Eden and Teesdale valleys; I'd seen it many times before but not from this particular vantage point and under such auspicious circumstances. This was the day we lost a team mate from our NAV4 race team; not a pleasant experience but also a very wise one given the nature of the injury involved. Pete will be sorely missed as he has so much to offer but not at the current time.
So, we have a new team mate on the near horizon .... and it feels good. I'll write a bit more once we clarified a few details and can 'go public' and report on the build up to Terrex Sting.
NAV4 Adventure are currently re-building for the future; we value continued support from Distant Horizons and will be looking to grow and strengthen our race squad over the Winter ready for 2013, with a range of skill and training opportunities for everyone. We'll also have some adventures outside of races and events. If you'd like to be part of this development get in touch...
Joe Faulkner
www.nav4.co.uk
Ok, The good stuff first! It has been my birthday this week and with nothing really special planned I've enjoyed a week of doing a variety of new things or things I haven't done for a while. Apparently, I've moved over to 'The Dark Side' when I took delivery of a new full-suss MTB, my first full-suss but peer pressure eventually gets to all of us. So riding that has been different .... and takes some getting used to.
I enjoyed a very special birthday-day - entitled a nice 'Gentleman's Ride' - Martin and myself enjoyed a road cycle loop, from home near Penrith and around the Skiddaw and Northern Fells. We had a leisurely stop for coffee and cake at The Filling Station on the out skirts of Keswick (highly recommended as a bike friendly cafe) and second stop at Hesket-New-Market. Fortunately, we timed it right so that The Old Crown was closed and we had to endure excellent soup at the village shop cafe instead. It was a good thing the pub was closed otherwise the cycle home may have been a bit different ... in the back of a car, no doubt. The evening was rounded off with an excellent meal at The Brantwood at Stainton with Hesket Ales and some stunning Shiraz Merlot.
Another 'first' for me was the bike ride up onto The Peninnes and an unexpected 360 degree panorama over The Eden and Teesdale valleys; I'd seen it many times before but not from this particular vantage point and under such auspicious circumstances. This was the day we lost a team mate from our NAV4 race team; not a pleasant experience but also a very wise one given the nature of the injury involved. Pete will be sorely missed as he has so much to offer but not at the current time.
So, we have a new team mate on the near horizon .... and it feels good. I'll write a bit more once we clarified a few details and can 'go public' and report on the build up to Terrex Sting.
NAV4 Adventure are currently re-building for the future; we value continued support from Distant Horizons and will be looking to grow and strengthen our race squad over the Winter ready for 2013, with a range of skill and training opportunities for everyone. We'll also have some adventures outside of races and events. If you'd like to be part of this development get in touch...
Joe Faulkner
www.nav4.co.uk
Saturday, 30 June 2012
Keeping Warm When Racing
So, bit of
an unusual outcome for NAV4 at Terrex Swift with a DNF due to injury. Overall a positive experience with a great
route set by Dave Johnson, it’s just a shame we didn’t do it justice.
A steady start and efficient pace on the
paddle and bike sections, we cleared the Malham trek and Kilnsey abseil with
the intention of a strong finish on Day Two. Unfortunately, the harsh cobbles
of Whernside didn’t agree with Pete’s ankle, and so a very reluctant phone call
was made to race HQ which resulted in us being whisked back to base and an
‘early bath’. They say, ‘Honour is the
better part of valour’ .... and the
early finish gives rise to some interesting review issues. Hmmn...
Expedition
racing is all about highs and lows and ‘the
journey’; reading various blogs will often have you thinking people were in
different races, which in some ways they can be, given the timescale and
distances involved. Once again,
one of the most prevalent issues at Swift was the many people that suffered
with cold and hyperthermia. Although
there was an unexpected wet and breezy night section it was not at all extreme,
and anyone who got into difficulty in these conditions really needs to take
stock and sort themselves their gear, and their team mates out! Granted we were expecting a relatively warm
and mild night but it worries me that so many aren’t learning the lesson or
applying a little thought into what they need to do in order to survive, enjoy
and complete an Exped race.
Terrex
Swift was just a Two Day race; Terrex Sting will be five days, and in some ways
more as the prologue will make it feel longer.
Our NAV4 / Distant Horizons team decided to travel light and fast at
Swift, forgoing our traditional tented sleep and to test the ability to race
for 48 hours without anything more than a couple of power snoozes, using our
bothy bag. However, this won’t be our
strategy for five days racing at Sting!
The other
topic of conversation seemed to be our relatively light sacs, and even lighter kit bags, but we were warm and cosy because we were all wearing good layers of
thermal clothing. I’m a firm believer in the ‘less is more’ approach and it
simply isn’t necessary to have a full change of clothes and foot wear for each
stage of a race. There are many reasons for this; primarily it leads to
unnecessary changing and inevitable faffing at transition, secondly there is
more gear for the hard working event support teams to move (time and money on
the entry fee) and less washing to do when you get home!
So, does
having less gear mean you get cold? No,
because I wear and carry plenty of good clothes and equipment.
Some (very) Common Mistakes
Inappropriate
Gear – 'Simply not having another layers
available'
The gear
you wear to run around your local
park in is not suitable for trekking in
the mountains. Get Real! You need many more layers; full length leg and arm wear, you
will not be going at your normal running speed but that of a tired and cold
person, and probably a tired, cold and sleepy team mate. The media are
very good at selling us base layers and skinny lightweight waterproof shells;
after all, that is what most of us need most of the time. However, the clue is in the title – ‘baselayer’
and ‘shell’. Don’t be guilty of a lack
of ‘IMP’ – Important Mid-layer
Performance.
Mandatoritis – ‘Just taking the bare minimum that the
rules specify, or ... even worse trying to under cut it!'
Race organisers
only specify the absolute minimum on a kit list so as to keep the teams safe
and alive. This list is also aimed at not burdening elite fast and competent teams
unnecessarily. But, most of us are not
elite teams and so carrying an extra base layer or mid layer fleece, over trousers, woolly hat and
gloves and a pasty won’t make a huge difference to our speed, but it will help
you finish (which I assume is your overall objective?)
As a race
organiser myself, I’ve often seen people packing just the minimum according to
the race rules, and trying to under cut this in some bizarre macho ritual. Why do they do this? Take what you need to be warm at toasty, and be realistic as to how long the stage will take and the pace you will be doing. Taking the bare minimum as specified in the race rules means a lack of forethought.
Carrying on
Coldy Regardless - 'Not Stopping to put additional warm layers on'
No-one
wants to stop and slow their team down, but ‘I’ll be OK’ ... really means ‘I’m
getting steadily colder’. If you’ve got
a team mate who appears under dressed and getting slower they need to put more
clothes on. This is the early stages of hyperthermia; the body will be burning
energy trying to keep you warm, and not have so much to propel them forward. So
in the long run it’s a waste of time and energy. One of the biggest factor is this:
Premature Jacketation – ‘ Putting a waterproof jacket on over a tee-shirt
and then getting progressively colder ‘cos you don’t want to stop and put a
mid-layer on’. We’ve all done it – you set
off in a tee-shirt, it starts to rain so you put your waterproof shell on.
Initially you are Ok, warm and going well, but later you slow down (or have a puncture)
and its still raining. You get colder, your base layer and shell aren't coping but the magazine reviews were great and they cost you a lot of money, ‘but you’re Ok if you keep going...’ er, no.
Wrong! – add a mid layer before you get cold.
Stop, get your sac off, get your mid-layer ready, then jacket off, mid-layer
on, jacket back on – wahey – all done in a few seconds and possibly on the move
if on foot and a team mate helps you.
Still cold? – put your over trousers on – assuming you’ve already got
your wooly hat at gloves on. And eat
some more food....and then keep moving
Poor
Transition Technique
Effective transitions
are an advanced skill but not rocket science, but could fill a blog of their own. Again common mistakes often seen:
coming in saturated wearing light weight shell and base layer, stripping off to put dry
base layer on, wet lightweight shell goes back on so that within minutes the dry base layer
is damp and meanwhile you’ve lost a lot of body heat doing it. Overall gain - ten minutes lost and you are no warmer. The better
option would be to add a good mid-layer over the damp base layer quickly, get the heavier weight waterproof on, a dry hat and then get back out there with hot food inside you. Don a Synthetic ‘Belay Jacket’
whilst you do so, and maybe insulated over trousers as well.
Do Not rely
on Down insulated garments in a multiday wet weather race, even if they are shelled with a water repellent treatment. Down is useless when it is wet.
Wet but Warm - Good Gear Works
Experienced racers will only change clothes when necessary, and not just because they can. Good outdoor clothing is designed to be warm when wet and will dry quickly once the rain stops, or you come out of the river and get moving, especially with the appropriate layers added and adjusted. Seven days in the same quality base layer is not unusual.
Wet but Warm - Good Gear Works
Experienced racers will only change clothes when necessary, and not just because they can. Good outdoor clothing is designed to be warm when wet and will dry quickly once the rain stops, or you come out of the river and get moving, especially with the appropriate layers added and adjusted. Seven days in the same quality base layer is not unusual.
So .... I could go on but I won't - much of this is common sense and some experience. It’s taken me a long while to write this, not
least because I’ve been busy since Swift with our NAV4 Adventure Dawn to Dusk 100km ultra, and
supporting a 170km cyclosportive, and organising an evening fell race, all of
which were done in poor weather, either very wet and windy, or claggy and wet. Thus,
these thoughts above are drawn from these experiences and observations (with thanks to AndyM and Fi at D2D) and a lifetime of experience.
The Dawn to
Dusk had people running for 15 hours in very wet conditions and yet no-one was
cold – why? Because they all wore the right combination of layers.
Please Remember Two Things :
1) There is no such thing as bad weather – just inappropriate clothing
2) Conditions at Terrex Swift were not
extreme ... be prepared for much worse at Sting!
Joe Faulkner
NAV4 Adventure
www.nav4.co.uk
NAV4 Adventure
www.nav4.co.uk
Thursday, 29 March 2012
Big Weekends
Just had a great l-o-n-g weekend teaching Off-Road Running skills to a great bunch of people. First off, we were based at Plas-y-Brenin with the Dragon's Back Race team and Trail Running Magazine relay team. Excellent sunny weather was nice, but er .... not so good for teaching 'poor viz' navigation. Hey-ho, too bad, but well done to everyone who got well stuck into some mighty difficult night navigation courses, showing true determination with some nearly missing last orders! A tough and demanding weekend with much energy being drained by the heat, and the loss of an hour's sleep as the clocks Sprang forward.
Seriously great to meet and talk with some fellow Dragon's Back racers, and to reminisce a bit about the original 1992 Dragon's Back Race, but also to be able to offer some advice and guidance to DBR 2012 racers. I'm really looking forward this year's epic event now.
On Monday I was in Shropshire and the coaching on the beautiful Longmynd with just one student, Jen, who will become a natural fell runner now that we have cleared away some compass phobias and got to grips distance, scale and speeds. Shame about the sun tan weather ... good that she likes tea, (and beer apparently.)
On Tuesday I worked with a AR team of four and the agenda was a mixture of running and biking, with 'nav strategy' and 'route choice' being key issues. Team dynamics was also explored, with a skills audit and action plans being made towards some BIG races this year. I'm sure they'll all do well and look forward to our follow-up session, 'AR Rope Skills' and review.
This weekend I'm on a train/bike trip down to the Open5 in The Peak District. I'm looking forward to exploring Dovedale, some more coaching and racing on Sunday, followed by a UK Adventure Racing Club Committee meeting. Then a quick bike back north; should be fun!
Looking forward to meeting up there.
Joe
UKARClub Chair
Seriously great to meet and talk with some fellow Dragon's Back racers, and to reminisce a bit about the original 1992 Dragon's Back Race, but also to be able to offer some advice and guidance to DBR 2012 racers. I'm really looking forward this year's epic event now.
On Monday I was in Shropshire and the coaching on the beautiful Longmynd with just one student, Jen, who will become a natural fell runner now that we have cleared away some compass phobias and got to grips distance, scale and speeds. Shame about the sun tan weather ... good that she likes tea, (and beer apparently.)
On Tuesday I worked with a AR team of four and the agenda was a mixture of running and biking, with 'nav strategy' and 'route choice' being key issues. Team dynamics was also explored, with a skills audit and action plans being made towards some BIG races this year. I'm sure they'll all do well and look forward to our follow-up session, 'AR Rope Skills' and review.
This weekend I'm on a train/bike trip down to the Open5 in The Peak District. I'm looking forward to exploring Dovedale, some more coaching and racing on Sunday, followed by a UK Adventure Racing Club Committee meeting. Then a quick bike back north; should be fun!
Looking forward to meeting up there.
Joe
UKARClub Chair
Tuesday, 6 March 2012
Skill Development
I had a great swim today - felt lethargic - and nearly went back to bed whilst waiting for the car windscreen to defrost (but felt good about deciding not to bike there instead) . Living just one mile from Ullswater means it feels totally criminal to swim inside during all but the winter months, so I've just joined our local Tri club so I can get some indoor swimming done before the regular outdoor swimming season begins. Swimming up and down in a pool is not very exciting, although sharing a lane with Shaun, Tom and 'Shelley'* makes it more interesting, and I thank them for it. At the end of the session it was great that Lucy, the coach coming across and asking me how my session had been and 'was I focused on a particular forth coming Tri?' As the 'newbie', this was great, or she had some stroke feedback for me.
I've not got any Triathlons planned as such, well not at least until The Big 'Bad' Ben in September, a good shake down after Terrex Sting, but it did get me thinking about training goals and skill acquisition.
As adventure racers, just like fell runners, we are notoriously bad at skill acquisition and we rely heavily on our stronger disciplines ... mainly because they are more enjoyable and give us a greater buzz! I'm guilty of it myself but have relished the occasions when I have paid for 'proper' MTB skills coaching, despite having very competent MTB riders in my circle of friends and teammates. Good quality coaching doesn't come cheap but is an excellent investment for future enjoyment, reward and success, so I've decided to make the most of time in the pool ... and take the plunge so to speak!
Whatever your goals - working on your weaknesses is the quickest way to improve your performance. One such example of this is our NAV4 Paddle Club. This was set up as canoeing was our weakest team discipline in our last big expedition race. Since entering the Terrex races this year we've learnt that we will be paddling Open Boats, rather than kayaks; an even weaker skill so with much to learn. Having discovered a great local provider (Distant Horizons) we've done a deal where UK AR Club members get coaching and boat hire for just £40 - and absolute bargain! The only problem is that you need to get booked up and committed now, in order to reap the benefit, and regular monthly attendance will pay dividends. Places are limited, and with a 4:1 ratio of students per coach the session must be pre-booked. The next session is this coming Sunday, 11th March, 10-4pm on Ullswater, and we have a session planned for the second Sunday of each month through until July. It's not profit making, in fact Paddle Club is heavily subsidised and runs at 'cost', but I've negotaited this deal for UK ARClub members ... and so it is a bit of a 'use it or lose it' situation.
So, you can either stop reading now, drop me an email because you want to come along to Paddle Club, or carry on reading what is a blantant plug for our Navigation skills coaching, as I need to re-coup some lost earnings somehow.
NAV4 provide training in Navigation and all manner of things to do with adventure racing, mountain marathons and mountain sports, and have done for around fifteen years. I've enjoyed working with loads of people on our NAV4 'Masterclasses' over many years. Masterclasses are basically a day specific to you and your needs, on a date by arrangement, whether it is just you One-to-One, or up to three friends as well. Our maximum group size is usually four, or based on a 4:1 ratio. The hardest part of booking any course tends to be finding the right date, so get sorted now.
NAV4 One Day Open Navigation Courses
More recently we started offering one day 'Open' courses for those who don't want to book a Masterclass, but do want to join a small group (maximum group size four people) for some quality skills coaching. I've just set some new dates for March, April and May; including some mid-week days and some in Shropshire rather than our usual Lakes based home venue, so as to make it as accessible as possible.
Take a look at our website, think carefully about your AR performance and then write yourself some goals. If a skills audit or development isn't listed then I suggest something is missing from your training plan!
AR Rope Skills - Abseiling and Belaying and stuff ..
And finally .... I'm looking to stage some AR 'Rope Skills and Certification' days so watch out for more info. Please don't be the 'numpty' who 'forgets' how to abseil during the next race. Get some training, get some real practice in real situations and get certified; you owe it to yourself and fellow racers.
* 'Shelley' isn't her real name, but she reminds me of a Shelley I know and until I have the chance to talk to her properly without coughing and spluttering it will have to do. 'Sorry, Shelley and thank you for taking the lead.'
Ok, rant/plug over - 'race hard - smile lots' - I look forward to racing against you soon.
Joe
UK AR Club Chair
NAV4 Adventure Race team - aka Cannycrocs
I've not got any Triathlons planned as such, well not at least until The Big 'Bad' Ben in September, a good shake down after Terrex Sting, but it did get me thinking about training goals and skill acquisition.
As adventure racers, just like fell runners, we are notoriously bad at skill acquisition and we rely heavily on our stronger disciplines ... mainly because they are more enjoyable and give us a greater buzz! I'm guilty of it myself but have relished the occasions when I have paid for 'proper' MTB skills coaching, despite having very competent MTB riders in my circle of friends and teammates. Good quality coaching doesn't come cheap but is an excellent investment for future enjoyment, reward and success, so I've decided to make the most of time in the pool ... and take the plunge so to speak!
Whatever your goals - working on your weaknesses is the quickest way to improve your performance. One such example of this is our NAV4 Paddle Club. This was set up as canoeing was our weakest team discipline in our last big expedition race. Since entering the Terrex races this year we've learnt that we will be paddling Open Boats, rather than kayaks; an even weaker skill so with much to learn. Having discovered a great local provider (Distant Horizons) we've done a deal where UK AR Club members get coaching and boat hire for just £40 - and absolute bargain! The only problem is that you need to get booked up and committed now, in order to reap the benefit, and regular monthly attendance will pay dividends. Places are limited, and with a 4:1 ratio of students per coach the session must be pre-booked. The next session is this coming Sunday, 11th March, 10-4pm on Ullswater, and we have a session planned for the second Sunday of each month through until July. It's not profit making, in fact Paddle Club is heavily subsidised and runs at 'cost', but I've negotaited this deal for UK ARClub members ... and so it is a bit of a 'use it or lose it' situation.
So, you can either stop reading now, drop me an email because you want to come along to Paddle Club, or carry on reading what is a blantant plug for our Navigation skills coaching, as I need to re-coup some lost earnings somehow.
NAV4 provide training in Navigation and all manner of things to do with adventure racing, mountain marathons and mountain sports, and have done for around fifteen years. I've enjoyed working with loads of people on our NAV4 'Masterclasses' over many years. Masterclasses are basically a day specific to you and your needs, on a date by arrangement, whether it is just you One-to-One, or up to three friends as well. Our maximum group size is usually four, or based on a 4:1 ratio. The hardest part of booking any course tends to be finding the right date, so get sorted now.
NAV4 One Day Open Navigation Courses
More recently we started offering one day 'Open' courses for those who don't want to book a Masterclass, but do want to join a small group (maximum group size four people) for some quality skills coaching. I've just set some new dates for March, April and May; including some mid-week days and some in Shropshire rather than our usual Lakes based home venue, so as to make it as accessible as possible.
Take a look at our website, think carefully about your AR performance and then write yourself some goals. If a skills audit or development isn't listed then I suggest something is missing from your training plan!
AR Rope Skills - Abseiling and Belaying and stuff ..
And finally .... I'm looking to stage some AR 'Rope Skills and Certification' days so watch out for more info. Please don't be the 'numpty' who 'forgets' how to abseil during the next race. Get some training, get some real practice in real situations and get certified; you owe it to yourself and fellow racers.
* 'Shelley' isn't her real name, but she reminds me of a Shelley I know and until I have the chance to talk to her properly without coughing and spluttering it will have to do. 'Sorry, Shelley and thank you for taking the lead.'
Ok, rant/plug over - 'race hard - smile lots' - I look forward to racing against you soon.
Joe
UK AR Club Chair
NAV4 Adventure Race team - aka Cannycrocs
Wednesday, 22 February 2012
2012 - An Exciting Year
It's going to be a big year in UK AR. Whatever your race objectives in 2012, the recent launch of a new UKAR website and the formation of the UK ARClub is a milestone in UK based adventure racing.
It's early days for the UK ARClub yet, but with the enthusiasm from the initial meeting and a small but steadily growing paid up membership, we can start to plan for the future. It won't be easy, or instantaneous, and benefits won't be immediately apparent, but membership is crucial if we are to move on.
Johnny Mayne and Tom Gibbs have done a tremendous job in drafting the new British Championships and the UK Ranking system which basis itself on a range of results over the past two years. Both are attracting lots of interest in their first year.
The Adventure Racing Ball has just taken place near Coniston with some very smart and somewhat unrecognisable people receiving a range of Awards in different categories. The Ball has been kept alive by a very small group of volunteers, who deserve a big vote of thanks for doing so. I'm aware that some think it is too 'Northern', but as one very experienced competitor said, 'If I want a weekend away, then it needs to be somewhere nice'. Next year the AR Ball will become a formal UK ARClub function and we'll aim to widen out it's appeal and improve the pre-event and nominations procedures. But for now, 'Well Done' Sally and Ant and I look forward to the 2013.Awards event and to a great season's racing, whatever your focus.
Yours,
Joe Faulkner
UK ARClub Chair
It's early days for the UK ARClub yet, but with the enthusiasm from the initial meeting and a small but steadily growing paid up membership, we can start to plan for the future. It won't be easy, or instantaneous, and benefits won't be immediately apparent, but membership is crucial if we are to move on.
Johnny Mayne and Tom Gibbs have done a tremendous job in drafting the new British Championships and the UK Ranking system which basis itself on a range of results over the past two years. Both are attracting lots of interest in their first year.
The Adventure Racing Ball has just taken place near Coniston with some very smart and somewhat unrecognisable people receiving a range of Awards in different categories. The Ball has been kept alive by a very small group of volunteers, who deserve a big vote of thanks for doing so. I'm aware that some think it is too 'Northern', but as one very experienced competitor said, 'If I want a weekend away, then it needs to be somewhere nice'. Next year the AR Ball will become a formal UK ARClub function and we'll aim to widen out it's appeal and improve the pre-event and nominations procedures. But for now, 'Well Done' Sally and Ant and I look forward to the 2013.Awards event and to a great season's racing, whatever your focus.
Yours,
Joe Faulkner
UK ARClub Chair
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)