DART-nuun News
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Cool, California (May 6th, 2007)

DART-nuun adventure racer Jennifer Ratay won the second annual Coolest 24 Race Against Cancer, a 24-hour non-stop mountain bike race in Cool, CA that raised money for cancer research.

Over the 24 hours of mountain biking, Jennifer pedaled 200 miles and climbed more than 26,000 feet in elevation on an 11-mile scenic trail loop in Auburn State Park to secure the victory. She finished a full lap ahead of her nearest competitor.

Jennifer chose to race in the Coolest 24 Race Against Cancer, the only nonprofit 24-hour mountain bike race in America, because the event raises money for the UC Davis Cancer Research Center. Two close friends of Jenniferâ??s have battled the disease, including Jenniferâ??s ace race support crew member, David Belden, who is a cancer survivor.

Jennifer was not the only rider who felt deeply about the cancer research cause. Race Director Jim Northey lined the toughest part of the course with pictures submitted by racers of their friends and family who have fought cancer.

â??Seeing these pictures reminded me every lap how fortunate all of us were to be out there in nature riding our bikes with virtually perfect weather and trail conditions. This perspective helped turn burning legs and lungs into a celebration of being alive,â?? said Jennifer.

Over 400 racers, most on relay teams, tested themselves on the course, more than doubling the number of participants from last yearâ??s inaugural race. The race raised an estimated $45,000 for cancer research, money that will go towards developing a cure for cancer and extending the lives of those who are affected by it.

The combination of top-quality riding, excellent event support, a friendly atmosphere and the cancer cause proved a memorable mix. Next yearâ??s race promises to be even larger, as both top and recreational riders alike put this race on their â??must doâ?? list.

The 2007 Coolest 24 Race Against Cancer was Jenniferâ??s second 24-hour bike race. Race Director Northey awarded her a custom build Grognard bike for the victory. In Jenniferâ??s debut race, she won the 2006 24 Hours of Adrenalin solo mountain bike championship at the Laguna Seca Raceway.

Jennifer, who lives in Palo Alto, CA, attributes her success in large part to the endless support and encouragement of her husband, an adventure racer, too.

She is additionally grateful for nuun hydration, whose electrolytes kept her cramp free and strong while riding through the heat; Light & Motion, whose powerful bike lights outfit the best riders in the world; and VeloTech Cyclesâ?? Tom Jelmyer, a master bike mechanic who keeps Jenniferâ??s bike in working order--a significant feat given the abuse she puts it through.

The win qualifies Jennifer to race in September against the best riders in world at the World Solo 24 Hours of Adrenalin Championships. Before that, she and her DART-nuun adventure racing teammate, Matt Hart, are planning to race in the BC Bike Race, a seven day mountain bike race from Victoria to Whistler, British Columbia.

Labels: Press Release, Race Results

Labels: Real Time Race News

Bike wacked from CP14, Team DART-Nuun seems to be 10-15mins ahead of Mergeo coming hard into the finish. We should expect them at the finish within the hour.

At the finish line, waiting for Team DART-Nuun, Erik Nachtrieb.

Labels: Real Time Race News

DART-Nuun flies into the bike transition First! Mergeo is 5mins behind coming in at 10am. Mergeo is however faster in transitioning onto their bikes and out of TA 1 only 1-2mins behind team DART-Nuun. Both teams are moving extremely fast in this 24K bike leg. The rest of the field is at least 30mins or more behind.

From the field chasing the team on the bike, Erik Nachtrieb.

Labels: Real Time Race News

Saturday, May 19, 2007; Just SE of Wingar Canyon....

At 8:30am the race started out of Joe Watt Canyon, with all teams running a sprint up through the dry draws. Some teams already wondering around confused on CP1. Even DART-Nuun pauses to scratch their head. Teams continue on to CP2 & CP3. It is an excellent day for a run, slightly overcast with sun breaks as this reporter runs to catch up with the lead teams somewhere near CP8 & CP9 (this reporter is too slow to get to the other CP's). Stay tuned as I follow them into the bike transition.

Report given at 9:15am from the field, sprinting off, Erik Nachtrieb.

Labels: Real Time Race News

Friday, May 18, 2007 9:52PM (Pacific Time)
Reporting on the Trioba Sprint race, Sponsored by MPGear, from the Starlight Lounge. Ellensburg, USA, Eastern Washington. 110 miles East of Seattle, on the Eastern edge of the Cascade Range.

Quick note: The team meeting has taken place and all the teams, except those that will check in at the last minute Saturday morning, are ready to move fast through this 4-8hr sprint race. Few know that this will not be a fast paced race. Race directors Joel and Justin Yeager told me, â??This is not a runners race and it will be very navigationally challenging.â??

Todayâ??s moment: DART-nuun racer, Ryan Vangorder was overheard saying, â??They, (the race directors), are going to have to dig some teams out of these hills.â?? Pointing to his map.

Report: There are 38 teams in the Trioba Sprint tomorrow. All of the teams will be giving it their all to get to the finish line. Expected first will be some combination of DART-nuun, Mergeo, and MPGear. We will see. DART-nuun are the defending champions, made up of Ryan VanGorder (team captain), Aaron Rinn (navigator), and Matt Hart. Mergo will be keen on taking them down.

It will be a cloudy and slightly breezy at 66F in the dry foothills of the cascades. Rocky open grass lands spotted with pine trees will lack significant underbrush but still be difficult going. There will be no water on the course, except at transition, so water management and electrolyte balancing will be important for teams moving at a lead pace.

The course will have a central transition area, starting with about a 10K trekking loop and moving to about a 24K bike section. DART-nuun is excited about the trek section as a result of almost all of the 10K being off trail and the navigation being difficult. â??We took bearings from every checkpoint but two, we will need them.â?? Mentions Ryan VanGorder. The team figures the bike section to contain two quick 100m hike-a-bike sections.

The race will start at 8:30AM tomorrow, where I will be hiding in the bush waiting for the first teams to blow by me in the trek. I will report to you as much as possible over the 4-5hrs DART-nuun will be in the field.

From the Lounge, listening to team POWAR and DART-nuun discuss race strategy and preparing to chase the team, Erik Nachtrieb.

Labels: Real Time Race News

DART-nuun takes second in a hard fought battle to the very end

Willow Beach, Arizona (May 17th, 2007) - Last weekend, DART-nuun took 2nd at the inaugural Desert Winds Adventure Race. The race took place in the rugged but stunning area surrounding the Colorado River just south of Hoover Dam. For 28 hours, teams mountain biked through sandy washes, took on a challenging coasteering, swam to Nevada, paddled up the gorgeous Colorado River, and embarked on a massive orienteering course that tested the best in the sport. The team was comprised of Patricia Williams, Glenn Rogers, and Cyril Jay-Rayon.

This new race on the adventure racing circuit is sure to be part of many teamsâ?? 2008 schedule once the word gets around on how beautiful and challenging the first edition was. Although the race forced the fastest and most experienced teams to dig deep, its format allowed all teams to finish around the same time because the final 18 check points were optional. When embarking on the final leg, teams could try to reach as many of the 18 check points as they could in any order they chose. The only requirement was for teams to be back at the finish by 9am with a minimum of 4 check points reached. This allowed the top teams to push hard to get to all the check points while allowing other teams to reach as many as possible. â??I keep racing because you simply can never master this sport,â?? explained Cyril, team navigator. â??As soon as you think youâ??ve figured it out, you come across a race course that will humble you. Desert Winds was such a course that challenged our navigational skills and pushed our physical limits.â??

The first section took teams through an incredible ride on old dirt roads turned to washes as they meandered towards the mighty Colorado. â??Sand, sand, and more sand is the best way to describe this route,â?? noted Patricia. â??Itâ??s quite different riding than in Tennessee where Iâ??m from but I loved the challenge and remarkable scenery.â?? After a few navigational mistakes, a few tire punctures, and a nasty crash, the team finally reached the river but not before losing a substantial amount of time to the fast and furious team Sole.

The next leg brought relief from the heat of the desert as the team reached the river and its 54F water. After a fast coasteering section and swim across the river to its kayak in Nevada, the team confronted the thermal winds that had picked up with the heat of the day. â??Before we headed off on a long paddling section, we had to ferry our bikes across the river on an inflatable raft towed behind our kayak. Our decision to go with a small raft with 3 bikes piled on top turned out to be a mistake as the waves and wind made the raft unstable and bike parts acted as anchor as they dragged through the water. Although we were in a triple kayak, we would have swam faster that with this anchor of a raft,â?? explained Glenn after surviving the ferry in high winds.

Freed from the bike ferry, the team paddled hard downwind along a superb section of the river with numerous inlets and canyon entrances where check points were placed. Along the river, the team caught up to Kent Ryhorchuk, an experienced, fast, and clever solo racer. Kent and the team would end up racing to the end together. As the sun was setting, the team finally reached the last transition before the massive trek orienteering section that the race directors dubbed the â??Big Oâ??. The â??Big Oâ?? delivered on its promise and took teams through a labyrinth of canyons and ridges of similar sizes and direction which navigating challenging to say the least. â??The first part of the â??Big Oâ?? was a navigatorâ??s dream,â?? said Cyril with a tired grin. â??I really enjoyed being challenged so much in a homogeneous landscape and a moonless night. We made our fair share of mistakes but we managed to pull it off and have become better navigators as a result. I canâ??t ask for more!â??

When the sun finally came up, the dehydrated team had been trekking for more than 10 hours but with a renewed sense of energy and better visibility ran for the last 3 hours before the 9am cut-off in an effort to reach the final check points. In the final hours, DART-nuun crossed team Sole and both teams raced each other for a period of time but as the finish approached, DART-nuun had 2 more check points to visit before calling it a day. Despite closing the gap between them and Sole, the team came up short against a cunning team Sole.

In the end, DART-nuun finished second, completing the entire â??Big Oâ??.

Next, DART-nuun will compete in the first race of the Pacific Northwest Championship this weekend and Canadaâ??s most prestigious and world renowned expedition race at the end of June â?? Raid the North Extreme.

Labels: Press Release, Race Results

This past weekend was the first Mind Over Mountain Adventure Race (MOMAR) of the season. Featuring a new location, DART-nuun athlete Jen Segger-Gigg was contracted by the event company back in the fall of last year to design the course for MOMAR, in Squamish, BC. After nine months of planning and preparation, it was showtime on Saturday.

â??My goal was to design a course that would really showcase what kind of trails and terrain we have right here in Squamish. This is my training ground and it really offers something for both the new racer and the elite athlete alike. I created a course that had the flare of a point to point race so that racers would actually experience the feeling of a journey.â??

Over 220 racers were on the start line. The race sold out several weeks ago with a huge wait list of people wanting to get in. The course was a combination of mountain biking, trail running, navigation and for the first time ever in MOMAR history, a rappel. Squamish has a reputation world wide for being a rock climbers haven so Jen really wanted to show people exactly just that.

Fellow team mate Aaron Rinn brought up two rookie racers to join him for the weekend, racing as team DART-nuun Sport. The team did extremely well and noted that they will be back to Squamish to play and race again in the near future.

As for next year, Jen already has some new terrain chosen and an unbelievable rappel selected. â??Race directing is a great way to give back to the sport that I have such a passion forâ?? Jen noted. â??Its all about growing the sport and getting more people involved. While I love racing, I do look forward to putting on another race next season.â??

Look for Aaron Rinns race report and pictures at this site soon.

Full details of the race and results can be found at http://www.mindovermountain.com/momar/

Labels: News

Thursday April 26th, North Bend, Washington - DART-nuun team members Aaron Rinn and Ryan VanGorder delivered a ropes and rappel clinic for teams preparing for the Mind over Mountain race in Squamish, British Columbia. The race requires teams to be well versed in the art of rapelling and to be savy with ropes. The foothills of the Cascades provide an excellent training ground for climbers and mountaineers to get comfortable with their rope work and made an excellent classroom for the beginner level course.

The course covered the following skills:
-Basic safety concerns with rappelling
-Full review of the harness and how it functions
-Rappel devices including the ATC and figure 8
-Uses of prussik for safety
-Proper hand and foot positions
-5, 10 and 15 meter rappels

Each participant was able to complete all of the rappels and left the clinic with the skills required by most adventure races in the United States if not the world. Class participant Mathew Gill explained after the clinic,"These are the skills we need and we can avoid learning lessons the hard way in an adventure race by working with and learning from the DART crew."

The team will be continuing their array of clinics in the Northwest with a kayak class presented by Northwest Kayak and mountain biking classes coming in May. On the race front, DART-nuun will be sending a sport team to Momar, led by Aaron Rinn and two teams will be competing in the Desert Winds adventure race in Lake Mead, Nevada over the weekend of May 12, 2007.

Labels: Clinics, News, Press Release