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What to expect at races
Your entry is in for your first event and now you’re nipping, not sure what to expect when you arrive at the race venue. Fear no more! These are the basics…
Category: Articles
Practical vs Sentimental
By AdventureLisa on Jan 10, 2010 in Equipment and Gear
People are magpies – indiscriminately hoarding items that MAY be of use. And when we pack for races we tend to do the same, throwing in this and that ‘just in case’. I asked a number of adventure racers to confess the unusual items lurking in their backpacks and crates, whether practical or sentimental.
Make your own mini gaiters
Mini gaiters are easy to make, especially this basic design. You can sew these gaiters by hand (or even use fabric glue?) but they are obviously longer lasting if sewn by machine. Gaiters prevent trail debris (stones, sand, grass seeds, sticks) from getting into your shoes.
Support Crews: Intro
As a support crew member you have the most important role in an adventure racing team. During the race your talents as a bike mechanic, podiatrist, navigator and motivational speaker will be exploited. You’ll probably eat and sleep less than the racers. You’ll have to turn a muddy patch on the side of the road into a cosy B&B.
Trekking Decider
Trekking is one of adventure racing’s foundation disciplines and it is arguably the one that should be given the highest respect. Strengthening of your feet, doing the endurance training for the demands of trekking and strong navigation skills are key to successful trekking whether the stage takes two or 36 hours. Each of these three elements should [...]
Gimme Shelter
Summer on the highveld or winter in the Cape, there’s a chance that you could be caught in a downpour during a race. One quick rainstorm is hardly a worry; hours or days of continual rain can wear you down mentally.
Adventure Racing Maladies
From experience, I have learned a lot about delicate anatomy, the human mind and other soft bits. And so, I feel compelled to share this with you because my psychiatrist said, as he was leaving from the 6th floor window, that he shouldn’t have had to be burdened with it all by himself.
Leptospirosis
At the 1995 Raid Gauloises (held in Sarawak, Borneo), the 1998 Eco Challenge Borneo (held in Sabah) and Borneo-based Outdoor Quest races, competitors contracted leptospirosis. As with malaria, the degree of infection and the severity of symptoms do vary from person to person.
Tick Bite Fever
Tick bite fever is an infection caused by bacteria from the Rickettsial family, transmitted by infected ticks to humans in their saliva when they bite. The bacteria can also infect through small skin abrasions when the tick is crushed on your skin.
Malaria
Malaria is a serious disease, transmitted to humans by the bite of an infected female Anopheles mosquito. The Plasmodium parasite, in the saliva of the mosquito, infects red blood cells, causing them to burst (lyse), spilling their contents.
