The winner of the lottery entry for the Namib Desert Challenge is Andrew Collier. The 2010 edition of the race, which starts in late February, will include a section through the World-famous Sessriem Canyon on the long day.

Nicholas Mulder and Ryno Griesel made an attempt on Andrew Porter’s recent Drakensberg Grand Traverse record. Conditions were not in their favour, with rain and mist in the mountains. And, with Nicholas battling in the high altitude conditions, they aborted the attempt just over 24 hours in, after covering 89 kilometres.

Tomorrow (Fri, 22 Jan) at 04h00, Nicholas Mulder and Ryno Griesel start their attempt at the 210km Drakensberg Grand Traverse. This high altitude trail takes in six of the Drakensberg’s highest summits. Starting at the Sentinal Car Park in the north, persons completing the unsupported Challenge visit the peaks of Mont-Aux-Sources, Cleft, Champagne Castle, Mafadi Summit, Giants Castle and Thabana Ntlenyana.

Desert Winds Expedition Race is a brand spanking new expedition-length adventure race in the US. This unsupported, 500km (3-5 days) race is scheduled for 18-25 September 2010 and it will be held in the Mojave Desert, Nevada – just outside of Las Vegas. Mojave is described as “the ‘desert of mountains’.

When the 2010 Hansa Powerade Dusi Canoe Marathon starts on Thursday, Andrew King and Devlin Fogg won’t be on the water with the other competitors. They’ll be standing on the bank, their kayak on their shoulders, ready to run the route to raise awareness of the ecological challenges facing Umsunduzi and uMngeni rivers.