Musing and Errata on the world of Adventure Racing from the Yak
presented by MPGear.com

Who knows. Speculation is rampant. Anybody that thinks they know with any degree of certainty is full of it.

The one thing we know for sure is that either Montana is in fact in the running or race management is going to great lengths to sew disinformation. I say that after having read an article at BillingsGazette.com.

Organizer Don Mann plans to meet with state officials and resorts in Big Sky and Whitefish during a visit to Montana Aug. 7 and 8.

Based on the level of interest, the number of slots available has been increased from 75 to 90.

The first 79 teams to be confirmed were announced this morning.

The past 2 weekends saw DART-nuun return from its international racing to compete in the last Trioba event of the season at Snoqualmie Pass, WA and the second stop of the Big Blue Series in Oakridge, OR.

The 12 hour Trioba took teams through the rugged and challenging terrain of the Cascade Mountains while the Big Blue 24 hour race took teams on a wild ride through an area famous for some of the best mountain biking trails in the US.

Both races were closely fought at a blistering pace providing some exciting action up front.

Race reports, pics and videos at http://dartnews.blogspot.com.

The latest post at ecoprimalquest.com serves up the goods on one of adventure racing's perennial all stars:

So Mike Kloser is tough. PQ CEO Don Mann confirms this sentiment. â??I think Mike Kloser may be the most intense and toughest guy I have ever met. Lance Armstrong is also very tough - Lance ruled the Tour de France for years, but Mike has dominated so many diverse sports and has been doing so for decades.â??

At a time when adventure racing promoters the world over are working like dogs to produce better and better events that offer more and more compelling media exposure in the hopes of attracting sponsors, comes news that some dude just won $50,000 by winning...get this...a Rock, Paper, Scissors shootout sponsored by Budweiser :-/

Surviving a field of 298 of the finest hand warriors in America, Jamie Langridge defeated David Borne in the final round of the 2007 tournament at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. With a powerful paper, Jamie covered Davidâ??s rock and went home from Las Vegas with the Bud Light Trophy and fifty thousand dollars!

Handwarriors, eh?

There are a lot of places I could go with that, but I'll leave it alone.

In light of this disturbing news, Checkpoint Zero, LLC is disgruntled to announce that at all 2008 events we will be introducing the Rock, Paper, Scissors Challenge in place of the usual prologue as a means of determining the order in which teams start the race.

Budweiser...call me ;-)

From Bonk Hard Racing comes news of the return of the Mighty Mo Expedition Race in 2008.

They've met with US Forest Service and have been given the green light on their preliminary course design.

The inaugural running of this event took place in 2006 (pics) and was one of the earliest events to use Checkpoint Tracker.

Unfortunately the CP Tracker data from that event has been archived as of the last major overhaul of the application. I'm working on extracting the data and migrating it to new version. As soon as that is done I'll have a link for those of you interested in revisiting the online coverage.

While we're on the subject of Checkpoint Tracker, I'm very excited to announce that the 2008 Mighty Mo will be part of the 2008 Checkpoint Tracker National Points Series. It will replace the Michigan Expedition Race which will not be returning next year.

Bonk Hard Racing is working on an update to their website with all the details regarding the 2008 Mighty Mo. I'll be posting their official announcement when the time comes.

Nice work Jason and Laura. You guys do a great job and the return of this race is great news for the sport.

Thanks to Chris Radcliffe for the pics from the race this past weekend in Roanoke, VA.

























See the online coverage produced while the race was in progress at CheckpointTracker.com.

Devon O'Neil is all over it, posting a great recap to the paper's website hours after what's looking to be a contested finish.

You can find online coverage of the race including a race blog and leaderboard at CheckpointTracker.com.

Howl at the Moon is one of Florida's most popular adventure races. The 2007 edition is set for October 20th.

The Howl includes 12-18 hours of off-road biking, running, trekking, bushwhacking, paddling, and navigating. It's a great race if you're looking to get a feel of what adventure racing is all about.

For more information, visit www.AdventurousConcepts.com.

Berlin Bike is the current leader in the USARA National Ranking System. They are followed by Checkpoint Zero/GoLite who trails by 20.5 points. Both teams are racing this weekend at the Odyssey One Day Adventure Race.

Not only are these teams neck and neck in the points chase, but they've competed head to head twice already this season.

Berlin Bike took 2nd at the Odyssey One Day Extreme on January 13th. Checkpoint Zero/GoLite took 1st.

Berlin Bike took 4th place at the Odyssey Endorphin Fix in April. Checkpoint Zero/GoLite won that one too.

Berlin Bike took 2nd at the Odyssey Wild Wonderful in May, a race Checkpoint Zero/GoLite did not attend.

So the two times this season that both teams have raced the same course, Checkpoint Zero/GoLite came out on top. Will that trend continue this weekend or will Berlin Bike finally beat their rivals to the finish line?

That actually may not matter. Given their 20.5 point lead, all Berlin Bike has to do is rank high enough in relation to Checkpoint Zero/GoLite's final ranking that the spread is 20.5 points or less.

It's going to be exciting regardless. You can watch the drama unfold online at CheckpointTracker.com.

Many of you are double dippers. That's cool, go where the news is, I do. Plenty of room in this sport for everyone.

If you happened to stop by that orange site recently you saw a short article about the upcoming "GoLite/USARA National Championship Race".

The correct name of the event is the GoLite/USARA Adventure Race National Championship.

I ought to know. Your's truly will be on-site in Potosi, MO this November producing USARA's online coverage, which will be webcast at usaraNationals.com.

The point of this post is not to correct anyone...again. Put down your flamethrowers and step away...

It's to make sure that all of you that read the above mentioned article are aware that the team that wasn't named when the author said...

Berlin Bike is only a scant 20.50 points ahead of their nearest competition and not having qualified need to hold onto that lead if they want to be part of the race.

...is in fact none other than team Checkpoint Zero/GoLite.

My boys have been on a tear this season. In fact the lead that Berlin Bike needs to hold on to is going to vanish this weekend when they win the Odyssey One Day Adventure Race :-)

So far the new Shop PQ section of the site features the 2002, 2003 and 2006 DVDs, but new products are in the offing.

Veteran adventure racer and owner of Pura Vida Adventures, Joe Moerschbaecher, will be teaching the basics of whitewater (outfitting, water reading, rescue of a capsized boat, portaging, identifying river hazards, rope throw, stabilization lines, and whitewater swimming) and climbing (proper gear and how it should be rigged, rappelling and ascending techniques, fixed lines, passing knots, prussic knots, and Tyrolean traverse technique) in Pisgah National Forest in NC on August 11th and 12th.

Joe has years of experience as an adventure racer, successfully completing three Primal Quests (two of which the team finished in the Top 20). He's also been on the winning team at numerous races including the Asheville Mountain Sports Festival, Endorphin Fix, Odyssey One Day Race, and Mega Dose. He's been an instructor at the Odyssey Adventure Racing Academy and worked as a course designer for the 2003 Beast of the East. He's served as an outdoor instructor and taken courses through the AMGA (American Mountain Guide Assoc.) and ACA (American Canoe Assoc.).

I'm very happy to report that from today Numa Tactical will be the exclusive provider of eyewear to Checkpoint Zero, LLC.

See the press release for details.

There are a lot of performance sunglasses on the market today. A lot of them are outstanding. None of them will withstand the abuse that folks like those of you reading this blog right now are likely to throw at them on a regular basis. Adventure racers are, by definition, mercilessly rough on their gear.

Numa Tactical frames are guaranteed not to break. Ever!









Can you tie your shades in a knot?

I read Into the Wild several years ago. GREAT book based on a true story by John Krakauer, the same guy that wrote Into Thin Air, the account of the ill-fated Rob Hall expedition to Everest in 1996.

By the looks of the trailer, the film adaptation of Into the Wild by Sean Penn, might just do it justice (that's in spite of Sean Penn not because of him):

Primal Quest 2008 sells out almost immediately

Ballengee joins PQ race management team

From the forum on the Trailblazers website comes an homage from Ron Sanders:

There was a dream that was Checkpoint Zero.
It could only be whispered of.
Anything more than a whisper and the
dream vanishes. It's so... fragile.
The true glory of Checkpoint Zero is in a very
fragile idea. Imagine a place
devoted to Adventure Racing. That is the dream...

How will the world speak Yak's name in years to
come? Will he be known as the
philosopher? The warrior? The
tyrant? Or will there be a more
golden sound to his name? Will he
be the man who will put AR back on the map?

You can't make this shit up. See the original post in this thread (it's about half way down the page).

Nobody ever wrote a poem about my website before...I'm a little vaklempt...talk amongst yourselves.

Ron, call me ;-)

Actually, I'm referring to the Poker Run Adventure Race which is set for July 15th (which is also baby Yak's birthday) at Paris Mountain in Greenville, SC.

This race is literally like 3 miles from my house!!!

It's also the 4th stop on the budding Trailblazers Sprint Series.

I'm a big fan of this club. They're based in Atlanta and are spreading like Kudzu to surrounding cities like Chattanooga, Nashville, Charlotte, Birmingham and several others. They're committed to growing the sport and this series of their's is the best way for them to make it happen.

The first annual Mountain X Race is underway. We're thrilled to have veteran athlete and accomplished freelance journalist Lisa Jhung blogging from the venue in Morzine France. She'll be following the exploits of Team Paparazzi all the while keeping an eye on the other US competitors.

We'll also be bringing you updates of each leg of the race daily thanks to our good friends at Saga d'Aventures.

If you've read the first report you know that at the end of each stage the points leaders get show off their dominance (so everyone knows who they're chasing) by donning leaders jerseys for the next stage.

Yup, they're yellow. Just like the Tour de Lance France.

This new format is interesting. Clearly, the switch from a non-stop race to one with nightly camping to put your feet up will rub some traditionalists the wrong way. Regardless, the reality is that this new approach is more likely to attract media, spectators, sponsors and...TV coverage.

In the end it may help to popularize adventure racing.

Don't worry, there's no doubt that the old school, race until you're almost dead, appeal of adventure racing as first conceived is not going anywhere any time soon.

From a recent post to the official site:

Primal Quest is excited to announce that the 2008 race sold out in less than 12 hours! Registration opened at midnight and within 30 minutes more than half the applications were filled by teams from 5 different countries.

Sound off with a comment or send me an email (yak at checkpointzero dot com) and fill me in.

You know PQ race management isn't going to list registered teams any time soon. I think it'd be interesting to see how big a list we can come up with while we wait :-)