I posted on Kinetic’s website that I’m desperately looking for a team or to join a team. Ruan Viljoen, a very keen young man from Tzaneen, with an attitude of ‘for the adventure of being alive’, phoned me three weeks before Expedition Africa. So, our team name ‘Warriors’ was born. Ruan and his dad teach young adults the values of life, all about nature and survival over a seven month camp programme, called the Warriors of which their slogan is ‘for the adventure of being alive’. We did a Kinetic sprint together and both thought, this could work… we just need two more guys.

Guys phoned, then they were in, then they were out and eventually after two weeks it was still only Ruan and I. Word came out and Don from team Merrell quickly arranged two guys for us on the last minute. Bevan Manson from East London and Evan Price from Cape Town completed team Warriors. Thanks Don! I think Saffy had something to do with it to, so just in case, Thank you Adrian!

Evan Price, being the only experienced team member… boy, were we glad to have him!!! Thanks for being the best nav man, teacher and mood neutralisation! Evan! You did an absolute amazing job! Thanks for guiding us through the no path zone. All of us learned so much from you in this race, we really appreciate you joining us three totally inexperienced people.

For Bevan, Ruan and me, this was our first 500km. I have to say, The BEST TIME I’VE HAD IN MY LIFE! Life changing experience. Much more than I’ve expected. It was Great!

Thank you Heidi and Stephan for helping in getting the word out there to get our team completed. Thank you for an incredible experience. Thanks for dedicating your lives towards AR and giving us, the new generation also a chance to experience what life is really about. Just living life, getting out in the wild, trying to find that limit…

In the race, every now and again, Bevan would just say out loud “this is phenomenal”. It was all true… Just being there, walking in the middle of the night, sleep walking on the beach, freezing, being in pain so bad, but just carrying on… all of that… Incredible! Phenomenal! The beach walk… under millions of stars, beautiful full moon. Somehow that just makes you reach deep and find inner strength you never knew you had.

My trainer, Simon, always comes around while you’re half dead busy with the workouts and says “Not that bad hey”… Simon, every single time that something was a bit harder than hard, I found myself hearing your voice “not that bad hey”. I then thought to myself, you know what, it could have been worse, nothing is impossible! You get to a point where you just push through to a place where you don’t feel pain anymore, just enjoying the moment and the experience.

Our team didn’t know a single bit of each other before the race, we only got to learn about each other in the race. We ended up getting along so well. We all had our moments of being in a dark place, but we supported each other all the way! Thank You TEAM!!!

I enjoyed racing with you guys! I enjoyed laughing! We laughed so much!!! I enjoyed living it!

It is difficult to put this amazing experience in words. I hope you, reading this, can get a slight understanding of how incredible this was. I will definitely not miss 2013!

The AR family is one I finally feel where I fit in. A place where I belong… Thanks for all the support. You guys are awesome!!!

So, from East London, Cape Town, Tzaneen and Pretoria… I think we did Great!!!

Author: Charlene Roux | Team Warriors | Expedition Africa, 5-13 May 2012, E. Cape

Let’s start at the beginning, on Wednesday before expedition I spoke to Lisa about Team Red Fox Arena, she said that the team raced at the Abu Dhabi Adventure Challenge in 2010 and that I should get on the bus without a doubt and just keep in mind that they are very strong on the run, but for the rest I’d be able to handle them. I knew this would be a challenge, as I haven’t done any running since Feb when a car took me out on my bike.

Lisa also sent me a basic handbook on how to race in a ladies team. It’s very complicated as no one will ever understand women, but wow, what a help. Really glad she embedded those tips in the back of my head.

Thursday I confirmed with Irina, Friday I packed, and Saturday I drove down to Port Alfred for 500km in the bush with three Russian ladies.

It came as a bit of a surprise when I got to registration and Stefan and Heidi told me that they are pretty certain that Team Red Fox couldn’t really follow their instructions at registration, good luck and we are so glad you are racing with them to bridge the language barrier… There and then I knew this wouldn’t be any ordinary race for me.

We spent the rest of day getting down basic English words, trying to learn each others names. I really wanted to know what their goals for the race were and I would still like to know, it’s one of the mysteries of life I couldn’t solve.

Over dinner I realised that these girls have been doing it for years and this is their sport and that I had replaced their navigator. I opted to stay out of navigation when we plotted and it took me 30 mins to describe what a fence was. We decided it’s also known as a wire construction.

I usually race with a 40L back pack, but when I saw what the girls were packing – midget jiffy bags and titanium knifes, everyone with 15 or 20L packs – I realised that I needed to scale down and go light, so I left my 40L.

So everything was set for a very interesting race.

Leg 1: 18km Trek

The start of the race was a massive downhill, and within a few minutes we were running with the front teams, just as I got settled in, my back pack ripped open, the Russians kept on chasing Merrell Adventure Addicts and Red Ants. Luckily Bubbles stopped to help me re-pack in the run. A little bit unsettled with how the race started I got back, started to calm down and though, wow, do they know we will be doing 500km???? At this pace? (The whole race I could only think words, never speak them, as no one would listen)

Long story short, we started bundu bashing, they girls nimble and light, all about 1.5m tall and weighing 45kg, just run over and under the thick vegetation. Me on the other hand, a rhino, 1.8m, 88kg, bashing through everything to keep up. I know they deliberately choose the smallest gaps to squeeze through as I could see them wait for me to get stuck and laugh.

Leg 2: 24 km paddle

Still at the front end of the race, I was really happy to be paddling. They had run me into the ground and this was prime time to get some well deserved rest. The girl I was paddling with didn’t really have paddling experience, her paddle twisted, and next thing I knew, she would only get out an effective paddle stroke on the one side, as the other side didn’t show it’s face forward on a stroke. This made things interesting, she didn’t speak one word of English, so adapt or die… I just started to do the exact opposite and paddle only on the other side, what an experience. Luckily I did many hours of paddling before the race, and now had the opportunity to test my patience, and ability to keep quiet. Sounds like these are useful qualities in married life one day.

Leg 3: 24 km Trek

Also known as Suffering 101, this would be the tipping point in the race for me. I knew I had to hold on at any cost, if I could keep up here, then the rest of the race would be fine. They went out on a mission, running like androids. We passed team IALA 4 times on this leg, blasting past, making a navigation error, and doing it all over again, and again, best thing was, they were just on an easy Monday morning hike, the chirps I received were inspirational, and later heard that they were betting on me. It’s really demoralising when you pass a team four times; they are walking, and we are running flat pace.

But the opposite is also true. IALA said it’s the best feeling when you just stroll along and a faster team passes you again and again and again. The leg ended with a swim, really cold, got everything wet, and this would be the start of bigger things to come.

Leg 4: 18 km paddle

We managed to make a navigation error on a river, had to turn around and paddle back about 4km, same paddle twist problem, but by this time I was in idling mode and just kept on going without saying a word.

Leg 5: 18 km Run

The girls set of again like they were running a PB on a 10km… Irina asked if I’d mind if they put a tow rope on me (not in so many words, more sign language etc to get to that conclusion). I said sure, just remember I’m really heavy. So steadily they started to attach the tow ropes to my middle with all three girls pulling me like a horse cart. Now we were moving like the wind, made another navigation error close to the river and in the mist and lost another two hours. The following day Irina told me that Russian guys would rather be chopped into 1000 little pieces than receive any help from a girl, so at least I was broadening her horizon as well.

Leg 6 : 23 km Paddle

Stefan told us that there would be a short portage from one river to the next…. Short, yeah right, knee deep in mud for about 1km, mist so thick we couldn’t even see each other, lions roaring in the back ground, eventually working through it we finished the paddle early morning, fighting sleep monsters and trying to stay awake on the kayaks.

Leg 7: 80 km cycle

At last, my strong point, thought that now would be the time that I can hurt the Russians. Not the case, these girls were there strongest girls I’ve ever seen on a MTB. After about 30hours of racing I realised that I’m sleeping on the bike and asked for a 10 min nap, which they granted, and after exactly 10min on the stop watch, they awoke me with a gentle kick.

Leg 8: Rope work

This transition felt like it took forever. One of the girls wasn’t feeling good at all, so we gave her a 30min sleep. That’s when WCAD caught up with us and we went through the rope work together. Last check point on the hike, a beacon, was just impossible to find, we spent two hours looking for it, this is where I realised, that I shouldn’t get agitated when the ladies start debating about navigation, I should step back a little, and enjoy the moment, in fact, get some sleep, as these meetings never got settled in shorter than 10mins. This would be my game plan for the rest of the race.

Leg 9: 47km Cycle

Last push to midway camp, the Russian train started pumping. We caught Castle light again and passed them like they were standing still. Saffy later asked if we ride like this all the time, answer was yes, pretty much. Slow transitions and long debates about route choice meant that we were over taking teams constantly. We finished at Glen Boyd for mid-way stop. What a magical place!

I polished three bowls of malva pudding, rusks, wilds vleis potjie, stamp mielies, felt like I rode into heaven. Will be back again there soon.

Leg 10: 128km Cycle

The long one, the leg I’ve been waiting for. Got out of bed at Glen Boyd after three hours of sleep, and as soon as I put my foot on the ground, I collapsed. The insane running of the previous day ripped my muscles apart. I pulled myself up and used the walls to walk around, I knew I was in trouble…. But hoped that as soon as the wheels start turning, I would get better.

That wasn’t the case

I cycled with tears in my eyes, walking up a pass (I never walk and never cry) Castle Light came past when we were almost at the top of the climb and Saffy just squeezed my arm as if to say, hang in there, you can do this, and well done so far.

I told the girls this is the end of my race, I’ll stop at the next check point, and they can go on, I’ll call the organisers. The next check point came and they just ignored me (or maybe they didn’t understand the message I was trying to give them) a few kilometers later we saw Castle Light getting water from a rural school, so we also stopped.

That’s when one of the girls saw that I was in immense pain. After a few minutes of trying to figure out what was wrong, she pulled out a roll of kineso tape and strapped my whole leg.

There are no easy fixes in life right? Well this might be the only one. I was reborn instantly, all the power back in my legs, no pain, and so we started to open the taps.

Catching and passing Castle Light again, the Russian train steamed forward.

Then the biggest mistake of the race, I would say due to sleep deprivation, heat exhaustion, dehydration or all of the above. We took a left turn, and should have gone right, plummeted down a mountain, and when we realised we made a mistake, it meant 600m of vertical climbing back to the turn off, and 35km extra, it was a four hour mistake – one we couldn’t afford now.

At about 2pm, the girls were drained, the heat got to them – just coming out of Russian winter – this was too much. A30min rest in the shade, water and cool down, and we were off again. I tried to push one of the girls up the hill, that’s a mistake I wouldn’t make again; they want to do everything on their own.

Our 126km cycle turned into 164km, but we made it to Hamburg.

Leg 11: 20km Paddle

Optional paddle for two team members. I would have been one of them, but said there is no way, as the next trekking section could be the end of me, I need to rest. They accepted my ‘no way I’m paddling approach’ and set out.

Leg 12: 58km Trek

As I started to unpack our re-supply box, I realised I packed my trekking clothes and fresh shoes in the other box. This was the biggest mistake I ever made in any race. This meant I was going out in cycling shorts, and with mud filled wet shoes. Huge problem.

20km into the trek, the cycling shorts had started to eat into my flesh, that when experience saved me. At that moment I was thinking back to Abu Dhabi when the guy from Team Buff Thermocool came running past us in the nude on one of the dunes, and I knew this would be my solution. So I dropped the shorts and started my commando trek. Locals thought it was very funny, while my team members didn’t even seem to care, you have to do what you have to do.

This was one of the toughest trekking sections I’ve ever done, and one I’ll always remember, making our way to the lighthouse in Fish river. It’s a feeling you can’t describe, and that’s why we do adventure racing, for that moment, when you know, now you are alive!

I finished the trek with really bad feet but didn’t care, the finish was here, I could taste it.

Leg 13: 43km Cycle

This was just a formality, a final moment to take everything in, as we neared the finished, I got flooded with emotion, my first World Series event done! A dream since I was a little boy, 12 years old, when I first saw Eco Challenge on TV. Heidi and Stefan waited for us at the finish with champagne and food, a true dream come true for me. Finishing in 7th place.

Within minutes of finishing all family and friend started calling, they had been tracking us from 4am in the morning to see us finishing, best feeling when you can share something as specials as this, with the one you love.

So overall, one of the best experiences of my life, Heidi and Stefan outdid themselves again, and we are truly blessed to have organisers like these at home! I can’t wait for the next one!

I’d love to race with the Russians again, and if anyone is serious about a placing, give these girls a call, they are extremely strong, awesome people!

People always ask why do I do this, are you crazy, what do you get out of it, don’t you want to stop?

It’s easy, it’s a drug, is an absolute addiction, and any one of my fellow racers that suffer from this addiction will say exactly the same, we go out there, to see if we are still alive, to see if we can find a limit. I live for those moments, it’s the only time I really feel that I am living, and once you have tasted that feeling, you will always be back for more, always hungry for it, always searching for it, and it will never stop.

Author: Francois Jooste | Team Red Fox Arena | Expedition Africa, 5-13 May 2012, E. Cape

Photos: Zelda Coetzee. Posted in Kinetic Gear’s Facebook albums.

The second edition of Expedition Africa, now part of the World Adventure Racing Series, was set in the picturesque Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. Race organiser, Stephan Muller said, “the beauty of the surroundings is in its rawness and provides some really challenging terrain that would certainly test the 13 teams who started”. The range of stages included: a few arduous treks along empty beaches and through dense river valley’s; some long undulating mountain biking sections; estuarine and river kayaking; and a big abseil off an 80-meter high railroad bridge.

The race began at first light on Monday the 7^th at the toposcope in Bathurst, the highest viewpoint affording the competitors a convenient 360 degree view of the 500km race route ahead. Team Merrell, under the experienced navigation of captain Graham ‘Tweet’ Bird showed their class as South Africa’s premier adventure racing team by assuming an early lead with some shrewd navigation. A decision to take a hidden hiking path saw them rapidly gain 20 minutes on Team Red Ants by the first transition and it was to be the last time Team Merrell came close to any of the competition through out the 500km race.

The lead continued to stretch with each leg of the race, especially the kayak sections where Team Merrell dominated on the water. These sections also provided some special memories, with team member Donovan ‘Tiny’ Sims, who was racing in his local province, commenting there were a few “once in a lifetime” experiences getting up and close with elephants browsing at the river’s edge as they powered past. The Team worked hard to widen the gap in the first half of the race, as Team Merrell’s late replacement, Craig ‘lightie’ Carter-Brown explained, “we wanted to get out of sight of our competitors and thus out of mind”.

12 hours into the race and Team Merrell had already completed four of the thirteen legs. A rapid midnight transition at the Bushman’s river mouth, saw the team get onto their bikes for the first time. Team Merrell’s female powerhouse, Tatum “Hobbit” Prins remarked that the bike legs ‘went really well’ allowing a consistent pace and for Team Merrell to further extend their lead.

By the midway 5hr compulsory stop, reached at 10.23am on Tuesday the team had 250km under their belt and a convincing 6hr lead.  With rested legs and full stomachs the Team set off at dusk on the longest mountain bike leg of the race, which took them 138km from the inland game reserves, across the historical Ciskei region of South Africa and back down to the coast.  Riding under full moon conditions the Team arrived at Hamburg in just over 9hrs for the final kayak, having cemented their lead to almost 8hrs.

Team Merrell set off at sunrise on Wednesday for the penultimate leg, a grueling 60km trek consisting of long beach sections and technical navigation through dense thicket vegetation. More, the ‘sunshine coast’ was living up to it’s name as temperatures soared on the trek in the unforgiving thorny valleys. After 12 hours on their feet Team Merrell clocked into the final transition, blistered but focused with the finish in sight.

An undulating final 47km mountain bike under a full moon saw them complete the last stage in under three hours to a heroes welcome for the superb victory. Team Merrell’s captain ‘Tweet’ humbly reminisced at the finish line that the ‘true hereos’ were the back marker teams who like Team Merrell were pushing themselves to their limits but with many more hours and days on the course.

Team Merrell’s victory at Expedition Africa secures them a place at the Adventure Racing World Championships later this year in France, where they have the chance to try improve on last years 7^th placing. They team have not yet confirmed whether they’ll be competing.

Author: Sabrina Chesterman | Photographs: Kelvin Trautman | Expedition Africa, 5-13 May 2012, E. Cape.

The race started at 07h00 on Monday morning and the team wrapped up this 500-kilometre race on Wednesday night – shortly before midnight – after 65 hours of racing. The team led from the start, building their lead with every hour.

Team RedAnts – Brian Gardner, Alex Pope, Christiaan and Landie Greyling – are in second place and due at the finish shortly. Seems like they’ve had a bit of position jostling with Team Olympus – Alex Wagner, Tim Dean, Jenny Soutar and Cobus van Zyl – over the last 24hrs.

All the links for news from the race are here.

UPDATE: RedAnts have finished in 2nd place. Reached the finish at 10h20.

Live tracking starts at 07h00 on Monday, 7 May 2012.

This is where you’ll find the Leaderboard.

The Kinetic Gear page on Facebook has status updates and images from the race – /kineticgear

Twitter updates from Heidi (@kineticgear). Remember to check updates from teams and others using the hashtag #expafrica

These are the teams entered to race.

Keep an eye on NothingButShorts page on Vimeo for videos from the race.

Pre-race video (Final preparations) by NothingButShorts

A Google Earth flyover of the route (video)

The race is set to start in the Eastern Cape town of Port Alfred on the morning of the 7^th May, with all the teams gathering during the preceding two days to sort through the maps, compulsory gear and food needed to get through a 500km non stop Adventure Race. The expedition will see teams navigating; on foot, on mountain bikes and in two person kayaks; non-stop through the wonderful adventure province in search of control points. The organizers are predicting the winning teams to take three days to complete the course.

The MERRELL Adventure Addicts are one of the premier Adventure Racing units in South Africa and the core team of Graham Bird, Tatum Prins, Hanno Smit and Donovan Sims have formed an uniquely tight and close team over the past few years competing all over South Africa and the world. Two weeks ago the team suffered a major wipeout when the team’s ‘yoda’, Hanno Smit broke his collarbone during a MTB race. This paved the way for the addict’s reserve, Craig Carter-Brown to step in to fill the void.

Last week the team received further bad news that Tatum “Hobbit” Prins had picked up an injury that threatened to keep her from lining up at the start line. After a frantic week of looking for possible replacements to fill the small, but important, shoes of the Hobbit, the team was relieved to get news today that she will be able to take her place in the team on the 7^th May. “This is fantastic news for the team,” commented Captain Graham Bird. “Tatum is a vital cog in the team and her passion and drive while out on the race course is a major motivating factor for the team”.

The MERRELL Adventure Addicts will be hoping to defend their title they won in Hermanus one year ago, though they will face stiff competition. “There are a number of great teams entered who are looking strong and will push all the way to the finish,” reflected Graham Bird. “We will need to be wary of Team Red Ants, Team Capestorm WCAD and Team Olympus.”

Follow the team’s progress via their FB page “/Merrell Adventure Addicts” and Twitter account ‘@Merrelladvadd’. For live tracking see the race website at www.kineticgear.co.za/tabid/15885/Default.aspx

Their sponsorship deal with MERRELL, an internationally acknowledged leader in the footwear and outdoor apparel industry, has enabled the team to focus their energy on racing rather than procuring sponsorship. With MERRELL’s tag line “Let’s Get Outside”, the partnership with the Adventure Addicts is a match made in heaven with the team focusing their lives on the outdoors. Other team sponsors include PVM Nutritional Science, Giant Bicycles, Island Tribe Sunscreen, Squirt Bicycle Lube, Glider Eyewear and Black Diamond head torches.

See the MERRELL Adventure Addicts in an inspirational video talking about what AR means to them: -

vimeo.com/35930017    (Video courtesy of Wild Racers – www.nothinbutshorts.com.au/)

For more information on Team Merrell Adventure Addicts, their sponsors and upcoming races, check out the following web sites -:

Team website -         www.advaddicts.co.za

Main sponsor -                 www.merrell.com/ZA/en

Expedition Africa –           http://www.kineticgear.co.za/tabid/15885/Default.aspx

CONTACTS:

Team Manager:  Graham Bird – (083) 601 8693 / tweet@global.co.za

‘Post-Double Moon Carnage’ photo from Cobus van Zyl.

Humphreys is no stranger to mammoth expeditions. He is most recognised for his around-the-world cycle, which took him four years to complete (he wrote a book about this). He has also rowed to France, traversed Iceland by foot and packraft, raced a yacht across the Atlantic, paddled 800 kilometres down the Yukon River and he has walked the length of the holy Kaveri River in India – amongst other adventures.

All too often we just don’t have enough time for adventures. With 15 days of annual leave, 52 weekends (approx. 104 days) and nine weekday public holidays, excluding 25^th and 26^th December, that’s 128 days to play. For sure, this time is fragmented, which makes it unsuitable for trekking the length of the Himalayas, but it does open up opportunities – outside of household chores and spending time with friends and family – for a few microadventures every year.

Humphreys’ microadventure mission focuses on adventures in his native UK. He affirms that you do not need to fly to the other side of the planet to undertake an expedition and adds that you don’t need to be an elite athlete or rolling in money either.

Competent in many disciplines, Humphreys’ year of microadventures has included running, hiking, paddling, packrafting, swimming orienteering/navigating, camping and climbing; often only one discipline per microadventure (easy admin). “I believe that adventure is about stretching yourself: mentally, physically or culturally. It is about doing what you do not normally do, pushing yourself hard and doing it to the best of your ability,” he adds.

With this in mind, let’s plant the seed for your first microadventure.

• How much time do you have available; one day, a night, a weekend, three or four days?
• Discipline of choice – run, bike, paddle, surf, climb, surfski etc.
• Budget (food, transport, accommodation)

The amount of time you have determines how much distance you can cover with your chosen discipline and where you can run and bike in pretty much any weather, most water disciplines go from unpleasant to downright dangerous in bad conditions. Remember too that transport to and from your adventure location impacts the amount of time you have available for the physical adventure. If this is the case, plan microadventures close to home to keep the budget low and allow maximum time for the adventure itself.

City slicker

Yes, you can have an adventure in the urban environment. Here are some basic ideas:

• Plan a circular route linking at least five of the city’s parks or run a route between all trig beacons with a specified radius of the city centre. If you’re in a coastal area, run the stretch of coast between city limits or from the coast to the city’s highest point.
• Look into the history of your city and plan a route that passes statues, monuments, historical buildings and other features of interest.
• You love coffee? Run or bike between the coffee shops of your favourite franchise.
• Something for city paddlers? Do 10 kilometres on each of your city’s accessible dams – this would work well in Joburg where Florida, Emmies, Germiston and Homestead are all easily accessible.

On the water

Paddling disciplines cover flat water, white water, rivers and sea. Source-to-sea, source-to-dam, lighthouse-to-lighthouse and around-the-island themes are just for starters. If a water source is too small to paddle, hike the length or even go tubing on sections.

Special occasions

Music, sport and art festivals as well as nature’s annual displays are a great excuse for a microadventure. Run, walk or cycle from home or a nearby centre to the occasion. Think OppiKoppi and Splashy Fen, Hermanus’ Whale Festival, flowers of the Northern Cape around Springbok, the Knysna Oyster Festival, Ficksburg’s Cherry Festival… Pick your poison and look for a fun way to get there (and back).

More, I want more

If you’ve got more time than just a weekend you can plan longer challenges like riding the Garden Route’s back roads, paddling the Orange River, cycling the country’s coastline, hiking the length of the Drakensberg or along the Wild Coast. You may want to combine a vehicular road trip with your chosen discipline like stopping in at every surf spot up the East coast. Or, visit every town, over (or under) a certain size, in the country that begins with ‘A’ and run from the town’s post office to its highest point, for example.

Something old, something new

You may be an old hand at cycling, so learn a new discipline. Sign up for a surf school in Durban or a rock climbing workshop in Waterval Boven, Mpumalanga.

Microadventures offer unlimited potential for adventurous fun on your own or with friends. Keep it local, inexpensive and, most of all, simple.

Author: Lisa de Speville | Originally published in Go Multi Magazine, Jan/Feb 2012.

Expedition Africa is a multi-discipline event where teams of four person mixed teams, navigating with map, compass and landmarks from control point to control point in a number of disciplines which can include: mountain biking, trekking, kayaking, swimming, rope work and orienteering. Teams will travel non-stop through the 500km course, deciding if and when to rest, with the first team to complete all the race legs and visiting all the checkpoints being declared the winner.

The MERRELL Adventure Addicts have been one of the top Adventure Racing units in South Africa over the past few years competing in numerous Adventure Racing World Series Races around the year, including finishing 7^th at the 2011 Adventure Racing World Championships. Much of the Addicts success has come from the team’s vast experience of competing together as a tight unit over the past five years in a sport that demands teamwork and most importantly team dynamics. “Our team dynamic has stemmed from our detailed understanding of one another’s abilities, strengths and weaknesses”, says the “lady” of the team, Tatum Prins. “We are all just such good mates and enjoy spending time with one another racing, training and parking easy.” Joining Tatum Prins in the Addicts four person team: is captain and navigator Graham Bird; the wise old stalwart Hanno Smit and backup navigator and workhorse Donovan Sims.

The MERRELL Adventure Addicts traveled to Ecuador in February for the 400km Huairinchi ARWS race, but unfortunately failed to finish due to illness. This was the foursome’s first withdrawal as a team from an Adventure Race and left the team disappointed but highly motivated for the remaining plans for the year. After winning the 2011 Expedition Africa, the defense of this title is one of the their major goals.

Over the past weekend the team gathered for a training camp to sharpen the skills for upcoming Expedition. As part of the preparations, the team competed in the MERRELL Tsitsikamma MTB race on Saturday, where unfortunately Hanno Smit came off his bike on one of the descents, breaking his collarbone in the process. This has ruled him out of action for the foreseeable future and paves the way for the team reserve, Craig Carter-Brown to step in to the team. “It is just devastating to lose Hanno in this way,” says Donovan Sims. “He is the wise old man of the team and his experience and influence on the team will be sorely missed.”

Craig Carter-Brown, a cattle farmer from Ixopo, brings true grit, dedication, commitment and motivation to the team. “Both Donovan and myself have raced with Craig in the past and he is someone whom will race his heart out for the team,” says Graham Bird. “He is easy to get on with and will fit perfectly into the team. He is in top form, having recently won the Garmin Wartrail. Guess this makes me the old man of the team now. Now one of us will have to step up to be the Wise Man!”

Their sponsorship deal with MERRELL, an internationally acknowledged leader in the footwear and outdoor apparel industry, has enabled the team to focus their energy on racing rather than procuring sponsorship. With MERRELL’s tag line “Let’s Get Outside”, the partnership with the Adventure Addicts is a match made in heaven with the team focusing their lives on the outdoors. Other team sponsors include PVM Nutritional Science, Giant Bicycles, Island Tribe Sunscreen, Squirt Bicycle Lube, Glider Eyewear and Black Diamond head torches.

See the MERRELL Adventure Addicts in an inspirational video talking about what AR means to them: -

vimeo.com/35930017    (Video courtesy of Wild Racers – www.nothinbutshorts.com.au/)

For more information on Team Merrell Adventure Addicts, their sponsors and upcoming races, check out the following web sites -:

Team Information -         www.advaddicts.co.za

Main Sponsor -                 www.merrell.com/ZA/en

Expedition Africa –           http://www.kineticgear.co.za/tabid/15885/Default.aspx

Photo credit:

Interest in these Metrogaine events has grown steadily from the first event held on this same date last year (11 April, www.AR.co.za’s birthday) where there were a total of 54 participants (72 at the June 2011 winter event and 126 runners in October 2011). This time 230 runners were registered and 192 made the start line last night. Many were newcomers to this discipline.

I think that this was my most cunning course so far. May they continue to challenge, entertain and delight both experienced orienteers and those new to rogaining.

Results

I shouldn’t be surprised but I’m always totally impressed by the points scored and distance run by the top pairs. Winners of the June 2011 event, Brian Gardner and Neal Markham were top of the list on the 1h30 course with an unbelievable 1540 (of the total 1640 points available) scored. They ran about 19km in 1:28:48 – perfectly timed. Alex Pope and Jeremy Green were hot on their heels – they collected 1410 points. They were just ahead of Michael Crone and Garry Morrison with their 1530 score, only 20 points ahead of Tony Abbott and Nico van Hoepen.

Lizelle Smit and Charl Keet were 7th overall and the first mixed pair with their score of 1190 points. Francis Rogan and Sheelagh Bailey were the first women’s pair – in 16th place overall with 880 points.

A very special mention goes to the youthful pair of Timothy Chambers and Christian Dlamini for their 6th place overall and 1250 point score. They’re both still in school! Timothy is in the SA Junior Orienteering squad and has been orienteering for a few years. Christian is a more recent newcomer to the sport. Excellent navigation and fast running makes this duo extremely competitive despite being teens.

Stefan Meyer and Christo du Plooy get the ‘Most Value’ award. They spent 1:39 on the course to finish just over nine-minutes late.

Warren Mostert and Robyn Beater are our ‘Piggy in the Middle’ recipients.

67 pairs took on the 90-minute course.

Map of routes run (click on map for bigger image)

Orange and blue lines = anti-clockwise from start. Green line – clockwise from start.

On the one-hour course…

Steven Yates and Andrew Wiggett took the win with 880 points overall in 59:07; yes, only 53 seconds to spare. Behind them was the first women’s pair, placing 2nd overall – Sarah Pope and Magi Lingnau (750 points). And only just behind them was the first mixed pair of Stijn and Fran Laenen.

There were 29 pairs on the one-hour course.

All category winners, including ‘Piggy in the Middle’ and ‘Most Value’ get free entry to the Winter Solstice event on 21 June 2012.

• Complete results for the 90-minute course (PDF, 260kb)
• Complete results for the one-hour course (PDF, 220kb)

Gremlins

I’m delighted to say that they were few and far between. My standing rule is that runners should never to hunt for the answer – it will be obvious if you’re in the right place. I’m happy to deal with queries at the end and if other teams have the same query I’ll award the points without hesitation. Most of these controls were scouted six-weeks ago and although I aim for clues that shouldn’t change, they can. Also, I may make an error when plotting the points or typing the clues (battling to read my scribble weeks later!).

#57 – number of traffic lights… I counted 5. Most counted 6. Seems that I counted the yellow poles but there was another lamp post that also had traffic lights attached to it. Either answer got points.

#58 – the bus shelter. The ‘number plate’ on the shelter was AWOL. Points were awarded to those who queried it. They wouldn’t have known the number was gone if they hadn’t been there.

Improvements

Ever innovating and improving, this event saw a few changes. Contour lines were added to the map to assist and improve your route choices – especially for the stronger navigators. Even though the hills couldn’t be avoided, it did help some to choose a flatter route while others used them to guide their direction around the course to minimise the agony. My thanks to Cheryl from NGI for the orthophotos from which I traced the contours.

This time the pairs marked their own clue sheets to speed up the results process. As explained at the race briefing, Metrogaine Jo’burg is a fun event. Sure, it’s competitive but the event is primarily about running and playing at night so any cheating in scores is really cheating yourself. In compiling the results I checked the marking and calculations of the top ranked pairs and odd addition here and there. They all are above board with teams penalising themselves where valid. I’ll continue to use this system.

Chocolate-dipped fortune cookies replaced the traditional home-baked cupcakes. With over 200 runners entered it would take me two days to bake and ice this many cupcakes! The fortune cookies with their special Metrogaine Jo’burg fortunes proved popular and not a crumb was left. The fortunes were customised – inspirational and motivating fortunes with a running and endurance theme.

Improvements to come

I’ve got a plan to speed up registration for the winter event. 100 pairs, most arriving around the same time, is a lot to accommodate. We’re learning as we go. Luckily, despite the queue the event started on time.

Happy helpers

Fred, Pam, Mike and Kyle were my happy helpers. Thank you team! Also special thanks to Ilse who jumped in during the registration process to marshal the people in the queue to speed up the check-in process.

My thanks too goes to Refilwe, the centre manager of Campus Square for so kindly and enthusiastically accommodating this event.

And thank you to all of you for enthusiastically participating.

Lisa

*Photos above by Fred Richardson.

Winter Metrogaine Jo’burg – 21 June 2012

Entries will open by the end of April once the start venue is finalised. Entries will be limited to 100 pairs and all entries will be done online. Don’t be put off by this race being in the deepest, darkest part of winter – running is the best way to get warm.

• Read the report from the April 2011 Metrogaine
• Read a report from the Winter Metrogaine (21 June 2011)
• And here’s a report from the October 2011 Metrogaine Jo’burg.

NEXT METROGAINE JO’BURG EVENT
Thursday, 21 June 2012 (deepest, darkest day of winter – winter solstice). In winter it is warmer to be running than sitting at home doin’ nuthin’.