The Dirt - Adventure Racing according to Robyn Benincasa
presented by Merrell - Wigwam

Today Merrell/Wigwam had a long paddling section with a time cut-off hanging over their head. Teams' Balance Vector, Crested Butte and Merrell/Wigwam were all hanging in the balance, none of them made the 1pm cut-off. Balance Vector missed it by 10 minutes, Crested Butte was about an hour behind them and Merrell/Wigwam was an hour and a helf behind them. Crested Butte decided to sleep on the double decker coffee cafe bus in the transition area, whilst Merrell/Wigwam pushed on. All teams were diverted from the long course route over the Glencoe mountains to a more direct route to TA8. The killer in this section was the massive portages, hauling those gear laden boats over bog is incredibly difficult. Each team brought at least one set of portage wheels for each kayak, while those work great on paved and even dirt road they're useless on thick boggy soil.
The team was still in good spirits, healthy and determined to finish leaving TA7 and TA8. No injuries have been reported from anyone on the team. Tomorrow should formally determine the winner and end the race for Merrell/Wigwam. Jeff Akens

My upload last night didn't take so i'll try to summarize before I head out to intercept the team.

A brutal day yesterday, heavy weather pounded all teams. The mountain bike section at Laggan Wolftrax was a blast, lot's of fast singletrack and wooden challenges. The wood was a bit slippery in the bad weather so those weren't appreciated as much. The Ascent and descent at Binnein Shuas was painful, howling winds at the top froze the athletes as they waited for their individual turns on the rope. Once they got down off the rock they started to warm up, but the squalling conditions on the rock took a toll on many racers. Jari Kirkland of Crested Butte was full body shaking as she was reppelling down the last pitch, she said that she had been unable to get warm in any way for the last 6 hours, several hours later in the TA the race doctor directed her to warm up indoors at the hotel.

Robyn and Team Merrell/Wigwam were doing well coming off the Shuas, warm enough under the circumstances. Upon arriving at the TA they decided to sleep and not chance a hypothermic problem on the loch Ericht. Unlike Merrell/Wigwam Balance Vector left fairly quickly out of the TA and had to stop twice on the Loch Ericht to warm up Richar Ussher. Nathan Fa'arve of Balance Vector used the manditory cell phone to e-mail back to Steve Knowles in New Zealand informing him that they may need to medevac Richard. Steve then e-mailed a New Zealand media person here at the race and she in turn told the race organization. All that and Balance Vector moved on, apparantly able to warm Richard enough to move on.


The next brought more indications of carnage, Sole pulled out of the race. Aberdeen Asset Management has an injury that will probably take them out of the race. Helen Jackson has a butt injury from landing on a rock during the 3 meter water jump. She's been unable to sit on the bike during the entire last ride and it's doubtful that she'll be able to paddle.

Rumors are flying that only 2 teams are going to be able to complete the full course, all teams need to be off of the paddle section by 1pm local time in order to continue on the full course, Merrell/Wigwam is in danger of not making that cut off. There are also rumors of cutting out Ben Nevis at the end, to date although Ben Nevis has been in every ARC race it's been cut out every time. The race HQ is in turmoil right trying to figure out penalties and decided what to do with the course. Many things are going to happen in the next few hours.

The weather has brightened a little although the weather report is saying periodic heavy rain....well there's a friggin surprise. Ironically participants in last years race have said that the weather this year is pretty good in comparison...so that's a relief.

Teams came off the ride from Kinloch Hourne looking hagard, it was clearly a brutal section. Tom Zidek of Sole had his rear brake disc literaly come apart. About half an hour prior to arriving at the TA teams encountered a humungous paved down hill, Tom had been using both brakes but his front pads fried, he then had to depend entirely on his rear brakes which eventually hand grenaded the rear disc. So he had NO brakes for the rest of the descent. You think that's bad do you, well Robyn probably beat Tom in the holy-friggin-crap department. First off she's fine, but she did had a significant bike crash. On the same down hill she lost both brakes the same way, totally fried. She thought that she was doing about 50 MPH heading for a hairpin turn and no way to stop, as she headed for a tree on the side of the road she abandoned the bike and pretty much slammed into the tree. Her nose was swollen and bleeding and a she had a bit of a scratch on her cheek, but she is ok. In fact she was shunning help to get on with the transition.

Near death experiences aside the team feels good about their race and their position, well they'd like to be farther ahead but hey what can you do. Well what you can do is let the lead teams move you forward. Apparently one or two of the teams in front (who as of now are unknown)took the liberty of sleeping in a private barn. The race director had made many agreements to allow the race to pass through both public and private property, all those agreements hinge on proper and polite use of land, using private buildings wasn't part of the agreement. So somewhere along the line the landowner had enough, he renigged on his agreement and halted all race progress across his land. The race director immediatly went to reslove the problem but it took a couple of hours to get it fixed, so all teams that arrived during that period got back all their waiting time. While it says time bonus its really just giving back what they should've had to begin with.

The teams participated in the Plodda Falls cliff jump and the Red Bull Aerial Exposure during this leg. The Plodda Falls cliff jump was a 3 meter jump into frigid water, teams were required to strip down butt ass naked and jump. This as you can imagine was extremely unpopular among the racers. Let's just say this wasn't a good naked, nothing sexy about it at all. In fact most everyone that wasn't directly involved with safety just walked away, a kind of mourning.

The Red Bull Aerial exposure was a tyrolean that took them half way across rope draped between two rocks, they had to pull themselves across the rest of the way. Not a lot of WOOO HOOO to be found there.

The canyoneering section has been cancelled after only a few teams made it through, the water rose to dangerous levels and course officials wisely chose to change the race route. According to Karen Lundgren is was pretty horrific.

The weather has turned sour but it's not been pouring, just a steady drizzle, which I think is what life is all about here. TA3 is located on the horse training area for Borlum Farm horse ranch, it's a horse ranch that caters specifically to the physically challenged. Lot's of nice people in the area, everybody passing by is interested and wants to know what it's all about.

ok that's it for now, off to sleep somewhere. What day is it? toodles, Jeff Akens.

Merrell/Wigwam came into TA2 focused and in good spirits. They said that they felt good about their navigation during the micro-nav(orienteering)section. TA2 sits at a remote spot called Kinloch Hourne, the road that leads to Kinloch Hourne is the longest dead end road in the U.K.

The sleep-tac-toe has begun,Helly Hanson blew in and out of the TA but pulled over several hundred meters down the road and slept for at least an hour, Balance Vector bagged 2 hours of sleep as did Bujfors and Merrell/Wigwam. Sole got about an hour, Crested Butte and Nike motored on out of the TA. Bujfors, Merrell/Wigwam, Sole and Halti all took advantage of the local hospitality. There's a quaint Little B and B just down from the TA, soup was served in large quantities, heaps of crumpets and sandwiches were devoured and orange juice and lemonade flowed freely, satisfaction could be seen easily. Then those teams took advantage of roofs and beds for the sleeping session. Veteran moves, getting out of the elements for even a brief period can do wonders for the brain and body.

It's difficult to really know who's in the lead now with the different sleep strategies being used. The leader board isn't necessarily a correct representation of who's ahead of who, it only registers who's ahead at a given checkpoint. If one team stops for some sleep and another passes them then the passing team is now ahead but the sleeping team will show up on the leader board as ahead until the passing team goes through the next checkpoint. Then of course the passing team will get some sleep later and they will be passed and so on to infinity or at least to the finish line.

The team is predicting 10 to 12 hours for the next section, times have been long for all teams so far. I suspect it'll take them a bit longer than that, but I hope not. This section also contains the Red Bull aerial exposure which is a point to point rope slide with some velocity and then a hard hand over hand pull back up. Just a little WOOO HOOOO! to wake'em up in the middle of the night.


The Weather is still being kind here with periodic light showers and fluctuating temps, the forecast for later in the week isn't as good though.

Next report from the fabled Loch Ness. Jeff Akens

The race started about 20 minutes late due to teams unable to get it together, it was mayhem with teams bringing boats down the boat ramp on top of each other. The day was beautiful by any standard and maybe a little more so since days like that are so rare here. It was certainly the best possible conditions for an open ocean paddle, even in good weather the seas are rough here but at least the sky wasn't unloading.

Merrell/Wigwam are strong paddlers, very strong, arguably the best, unfortunately they had a bit of an equipment malfunction. The boats they're using are made here in the U.K. and they are considered to be top notch boats, very fast in the water and they handle the rough stuff extremely well. They have a nifty set-up for raising and lowering the rudder, it's a hand controlled hydraulic pump that raises and lowers the rudder into a channel under the boat, well they raise and lower fine but they could'nt get them to turn. They worked fine during the check paddles but on race day they would'nt perform. The team was forced to paddle on one side of the boat only, which completely ruins the advantage of having a double bladed paddle, so it was hard steering all the way and only half as much stroke power. They did really well to keep the position they had.

This race is going to be brutal, so many teams have a chance to win. Aberdeen is fast and they have something to prove, Lundhags are fast and they love to run, Sole is fast and they've added Petri "the iceman" Forsman who is fast and is a fantastic navigator which bolsters Tom Zideks already sound navigational skills. 10 to 15 teams have a ligit shot, to include Merrell/Wigwam.

So you're a little bummed out that Merrell/Wigwam is back a little, you think "hey this is a bunch of crap", "we've been freakin cheated" you're saying outloud, well don't despair little ducky the adventure racing gods like to make things right. The top seven teams of yesterdays prologue have received a minimum 2 hour penalty each and there is an uncomfirmed (but increasingly believable)rumor that Nike got an additional 2 hours. Here's how it shook out:

1) Orion penalty 2 hr - incorrect kit
2) Lundhags 2hr - penalty not following mandatory route
3) Buff penalty 2 hr mandatory route
4) BV penalty 2 hr delay in shoes (3 mins) + incorrect kit
5) Nike 2hr 100m gap
6) Salomon Crested Butte 5:40:21 - mandatory route
7) Sole 2 hr not following mandatory route

The manditory route penalty is because the island is a nature preserve, teams were told to stay on specific trails. I don't know what a delay in shoes is but it'll get'ya a 3 minute penalty so I wouldn't do it if I were you. Incorrect kit was for a sleeping bag and a helmet. This barrage of penalties is interesting so early (or even before)in the race, it's sending a message that WE WILL CHECK YOU SO DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT TRYING TO PULL A FAST ONE. The Nike penalty for gap is even more interesting, the minimum gap rule is rarely enforced, in fact i've never heard of anyone getting a penalty from it although its in every race. Additionally Nike is the returning champs and its been noted (by me) that in other races obvious penalties have been overlooked when it was Nike because they are and have been the champs. I hope they enforce rules the whole way but its unlikely since some of the check points are remote and will only have an electronic device to plug each team members "key" into. The penalties are being served in suprise fashion at one of the first few checkpoints off the water. more later, Jeff Akens

The prologue went off an hour late due to ferry delays. Once teams arrived at Kinloch Castle they were given 50 minutes to gather needed gear for the race start. Teams started the race La mans style with a 1k run in full wetsuits to a 700 meter swim in frigid water across Rhum bay to the primary island dock, so they were sweating and hurting at the end of the run and unable to feel their hands or feet 30 seconds after getting in the water. Once they made it to the dock racers transitioned to hiking gear for a 26k trek around the highest points on the island. The prologue while seemingly meaningless is slightly weighted, for every hour behind the 1st place team 15 minutes will be assessed. The time can be served anywhere on the course but the teams will not know when the penalty is coming. The race organization is predicting 6 hours for the prologue but I'm betting on 4 to 5 hours for the leaders.


The weather here has cleared up this last day, although still patchy clouds the sun has come out and stayed out for quite a while. It's very unpredictable here and it can change from comfortable to freezing in the blink of an eye. Scottish weather gets it reputation very honestly.

Once teams finish the prologue they'll camp here at the base of Kinloch Castle a barbecue has been laid on by the organization and all are invited, so if you're in the Rhum Island area drop in and we'll put another Haggis on the barby for you.

Tomorrow promises an early start so it pays to get the prologue over and move on to other things. I'll move on to something else now, more later.

--Jeff Akens

Course designer Gary Tompsett has laid down the gauntlet, the racers and their feet will not be comfortable. He said, ironically, they might be dry, during the paddling section if they're careful getting into the boats, and its possible they could be dry during the biking section, but they will be soaked and saturated during the trekking section. This will be a factor for every team, Robyn had a bad experience in last year's world championships due to bad feet, and she's taken precautions to prevent any recurring problems.

It's shaping up to be a slog; the wet tussock here won't lend itself to running. There's even a mandatory hiking pole section, race officials will be handing out hiking poles at the beginning of the section and taking them back at the end. The course is going to be 500km with 25,000m of climbing, the weather is just what you expect from Scotland, wet, cold and wet and even wetter than that.

The race briefing went off and the maps were handed out, teams are now furiously calculating routes and making last equipment tweaks. All of the teams took part in a parade down High street, it was led off by the Lochaber high School Pipe Band and at the end teams were entertained by the Treacherous Orchestra. Most of the town of Ft William was quite surprised by the incredible show of pomp and ceremony.

Tomorrow starts early with a 5:30 AM bus departure to the island of Rum. Rum will be the sight of the prologue and the race start. More from there.

--Jeff Akens

Thursdays check-in was an all day affair, 49 teams went through the process of skills checks, gear checks and patience checks. Merrell/Wigwam showed strongly in all categories. There's quite a bit of chat amongst the teams about who's got the best this and lightest that, it's a stunning show of flashy gear and ripped legs.

This race is a bit different in at least one aspect; the race organization requires that each team bring their own kayaks. Acquiring a kayak months before the race start can be quite a problem, in the search for the fastest and the lightest realizing a day or two before race start that all your efforts have acquired you a high priced tug is not just disappointing it's a demoralizing race killer. Merrell/Wigwam has done quite well here, Ian Edmond was able to coordinate very fast boats indeed, Bjufors of Sweden might have fared the best with the well sought after Hypernovas out of New Zealand. As you can see the challenges of adventure racing start well ahead of race day.

There are many strong teams here, Nike is back this time without the now retired Ian Adamson, Mike Kloser has replace Ian with Chris Forne of the now defunct Team GoLite. Chris is the number one orienteer in New Zealand and in the top 50 or so worldwide. Balance vector has returned after a one year hiatus, Nathan Fa'avae has come out of retirement and teamed up with Richard Ussher (who won this race with Ian Adamson last year) and Aaron Prince (also with the now defunct Go-lite) to form a Kiwi powerhouse team.

Buff Coolmax is here with Emma Roca after her success in the childbearing competition, theyâ??re always a factor. Team Merrell/Wigwams favorite team is here, Team Bujfors, this time theyâ??ve brought Rebecca Rusch in place of Natasha Andersson the wife of team captain Mats Andersson. Team Merrell/Wigwam and team Bujfors have a long standing race dinner agreement, each team takes a turn buying the other dinner at the various races, I think its Merrell/Wigwams turn this time. Team FJS (the Swedish paratroopers) who surprised so many at last years world champs are back and this time instead of Shubi Guimaraes they've brought Nora Audra, it seems they like the luck that Brazilian women bring them. Shubi and Nora are both members of team Athena a Brazilian all female team.

In some ways this race is very similar to last years championships in Sweden. The race director has decided to use the extremely-complicated-gearbox-coordination technique. Like last year the teams have to carefully decide what gear goes into what box, they won't be seeing all the gear boxes at all the transitions. Each team is allowed five boxes at 40 kilos each. Boxes going over weight incur a 15 minute penalty (ahhh time...the ultimate commodity).

Poor gear distribution by a team can mean disaster down the line. At the bare minimum a missing piece of equipment can cause discomfort or delay. Worse is mandatory gear which will incur yet another time penalty and of course there's the game breakers like bikes, paddles, helmets, climbing equipment. Missing one of these could send you home. It's a virtual guarantee that some team will open up their box and stare in a disappointment.

-- Jeff Akens

Labels: check-in

What makes Adventure Racers so rabid about a sport in which there are so many variables that it boggles the mind and soul? What drives us to fly around the world for adventures we know nothing about, in places we've never seen, and with no guarantee of success? I suppose there are as many different reasons for racing as there are individuals, but I do believe there is a common thread among us, and that is the humanity of it.

I made the jump from Triathlon to Adventure Racing in the mid 90s because I was intrigued by a sport that relied less on negative splits and ripped abs than on wits, skill, teamwork, and the human spirit. My first race was the Raid Gauloises in 1994, and although we finished dead last, I was hooked for life. Adventure Racing is like a rubics cube of athleticism, human synergy, adversity management skills and sheer guts. If you're missing one of those essential elements, you're sunk. But when you have a team that has that special ability to rearrange the puzzle in just right way, it's a magical experience beyond description.

The beauty of Adventure Racing is that at the end of the race, you know you've accomplished so much more than merely conquering a difficult course and testing your personal limits--you've actually proven yourself in life's most important adventure: being a great human being. Adventure Racing allows us to bring out the hero, the warrior, the healer, the leader, the genius, and the compassionate friend in each of us. In a successful Adventure Racing endeavor we are our very best, most enlightened selves, and we can see that reflected in the eyes of our teammates. This is the reason we all sign up for the world's most painful but life-affirming races again and again. Yes, the places we go and the things we see in this sport are often truly inspiring, which is much of the reason we all plunk down that first big entry fee. But somewhere "out there", as the challenge becomes too overwhelming for one tiny speck of a human being on the vast face of the earth and we allow ourselves to experience the comfort and strength of silently sharing one heart and one mind with three other human beings, we are both transformed and transcendent. Which leads to the eternal question for every one of us...when's the next race?

XO, Robyn