The Little Red Hen

This theme has actually been brewing for some time; and I was reminded of it this weekend at the UGE Events sprint in Krugersdorp when I saw the friendly and familiar faces at marshal points along the route...

As you well know, Adventure Racing is not a mass participation sport like road running, road cycling, mountain biking, soccer, rugby etc.

The "adventure racing" event with the most participants is certainly the Mudman series in KZN. The event includes a 750m swim or 4km paddle, a 5km trail run and a 20 km mountain bike ride. Team format is individuals or teams and entrants are members of the public, or school & corporate teams. There's also an U10 kids event. The event welcomed 800 entrants in February 2007.

Ugene Nel's Quantum Adventures had 155 teams (approx. 330ppl) this past weekend. The event included 20km mtb, 5km trail, water crossing & obstacles.

For both of these series the routes are tagged and navigation (even basic nav) is not included (they could be more classified as off-road multisport than AR as such...)

The UGE Events races are 30-45km in distance and also include mtb, trail running and ropes/obstacles/tubing. Basic navigation is included (road maps, orienteering maps etc). Max numbers here are around 200 entrants.

Once you start looking at 100km races... well, entries are in the region of 40-60ppl and as for 250km events (Swazi Xtreme being the biggest at approx. 160ppl) an average is in the region of 40ppl.

Although I have digressed, what I hoped to illustrate above is that AR is a small sport.

Most event organisers have day jobs. They organise events because they can and because they enjoy putting on events. But, each event needs man-power in the form of volunteer marshals to oversee transitions, certain checkpoints, start, finish, registration... there's a lot that happens on the ground to make an event possible. And, as you've probably noticed, it is the same faces you see at each race. Up country at UGE Events, organised by Eugene, Michele, Nicholas and Ryno, you'll see George and Joan van Jaarsveld (orienteerers who always volunteer their assistance at AR sprints), the Mulders (Nicholas and Michele's folks), the Bothas (Eugene's folks) and associated friends, team members and AR Club members.

Michael Graz has recently taken over chairmanship of WPASS in CT. The club's member numbers and support has dwindled to a trickle so Michael created a poll to ask the members what they wanted from the club. You know what came back? Events. Considering that Ugene puts on around one event a month I'd hope that each person that responded has been entering these... (if not, requests for more events are null and void if you're not doing the existing events).

Events need an organiser, they need volunteers to help and they need participants. The fable of the Little Red Hen comes to mind. Everyone is keen to eat the bread but no-one wants to grow the wheat and bake the bread.

Again, this isn't only about events, it's about our adventure racing clubs. These clubs have been created by people around the country to provide a central community within various areas. Speaking for AR Club, there are a core of people who organise events (we have to organise a paddling event and 2 orienteering events each year for our Provincial associations), club evenings, club activities and such. The other Provinces are no different in that a few people handle club affairs. We're just lucky in Joburg in that the club has been going for the longest (about 5-years) and that we have greater member numbers because of our multisport affiliations and that over the years we've built a loyal base. Clubs are a wonderful infrastructure for knowledge, comaraderie and activity, but they do need to be supported.

So, the moral of this blog is the following:

• Regular volunteers, you are treasured and appreciated. Thank you.
• Event organisers, thank you too for presenting events for us to enter. We appreciate that you spend your weekends scouting for races instead of lying under a tree in a hammock with your feet up after a tough week at work.
• Join your nearest adventure racing club, attend their club evenings, make friends within the clubs and offer to organise a social club trail run or mtb ride.
• Volunteer to marshal at an event; it is a great way to meet other racers and it may give someone who always marshals an opportunity to actually take part.
• Instead of requesting that more events be organised, why don't you take the initiative and organise something for everyone else?

Thoughts from the week

The past week seems to have been quite busy... musings about Xterra, children and running and the new 3-day, staged SPORT event at Swazi Xtreme 2007.

Xterra
Well, I'm so glad that I did the Xterra Lite. It was cooking in the Magaliesberg, especially since we only started at 09h45. The Swim went well (I wore my cycle shorts - worked well and meant that there would be no need to change from a swimsuit). My say that I actually felt a little nervous waiting for the start and was quite hyped up until about half-way through the stretch. I didn't get kicked, I didn't get drowned and the whole experience was actually quite pleasant.
The mountain biking started with some technical single track, which - as can be expected - caused a bottleneck. Thereafter it was excellent and the Xterra crew can be commended for finding such excellent single track sections.
The run wasn't anything to write home about but it was pleasant and made good use of what was available in the area. By 12-noon it was baking under the full power of the sun and I could only feel sorry for the Xterra course people who had to do the 6km route twice.

It was fun waiting near the finish to watch people coming across the line; a big AR contingent was there so there were many friends around. My surprise of the day was being awarded 3rd woman in the Xterra Lite and receiving a Duesouth R100 gif voucher (I was surprised 'cos I thought I was further back and the entry form had said no prizes for Xterra Lite).
Organisation was good and there were lots of marshalls out in the field. All in all I recommend that you give at least an Xterra Lite course a try. It was a good experience and I'd definitely enter one again.

Road running
This morning a small field of runners took on the Germiston 10/21km races. I say the field was small because it seems that the rest of Gauteng went to run the Vaal Marathon, a nice, fast and flat qualifier for Two Oceans and Comrades.

As many of you know, I work for Let's Play, which is Supersport's social responsibility section; it's all about getting children off their butts and to regularly participate in any form of activity. As such, I get to hear a lot about rugby clinics, cricket coaching etc. These are a) all male orientated sports and b) all equipment, facility and coaching intensive. Running (and walking) is for everyone (girls and boys) and you don't even need shoes. I've had these thoughts for months (actually, since I started working there 9-odd months ago).

I've decided that in my dream world I'd like to see all primary schools implement a compulsory route that children have to do every day. They can walk and talk with their friends or run the course and challenge their friends. Different distances for different ages. All they have to do it complete the circuit and then get down to their school work; mornings would probably be best. Maybe they can do it at any time of day and they can only leave the school premises if they have a post-curcuit stamp on their hands (like night club stamps). For some it could be quiet time to think thoughts and appreciate seasonal changes in the trees. Others may try to better their previous times. Others will enjoy the time spent with friends.

A proactive teacher could have different route activities for each day. One day it could be running then walking between lamp-posts / driveways. Another could be 5 jumping jacks at each gate where there is a barking dog. Some days could be compulsory walk days (I'd never advocate compulsory run days 'cos some just hate running and I'd rather hope they'd discover the pleasure when they're older).

So, if you're a teacher and you're reading this... give it a go. At least for your class. And let me know how it goes.

AR
As you're aware, race information for Swazi Xtreme 2007 is now available. The most drastic change from previous years is the modification of the non-stop 120km SPORT event to a 180km staged, 3-day SPORT event.

Those a little hesitant to do the 250km were perhaps looking forward to the non-stop short course and may be a little disappointed? Well, you've got two wide open options... if you've did the 120km last year, use this opportunity to move up a step to the non-stop 250km PRO event. But if you're still new to the sport or not quite up for the longer event, enter the SPORT event and don't be put off by it being staged over 3-days. This is actually a gem for those who really battle with the lack of sleep experienced at non-stop events. But this doesn't mean that the SPORT event will be easy...

In October 2004 I attended the Mild Seven Outdoor Quest in Borneo, a course designed and managed by Ian Adamson with John Howard, both AR legends, as technical director. Outdoor Quest was a 5-day staged AR where the teams would race for about 6-hours a day. This was one of the most physically challenging events I've ever witnessed. Why? a) Humidity and heat were extreme and b) every day the pace was fast, fast, fast. And, always remember with staged racing (incl. running and biking events) that in the morning, when you wake up after a good sleep, you may be a bit stiff from the day before but you'll still have to get out there again.

Another really good feature of the new format SPORT event is that the teams will use the same transitions as the PRO event so there will be good spectator appeal and a good vibe.

All in all I think this is a good change and I do hope that more novice teams will be persuaded to enter and that others will accept the push to take on the non-stop event.

When last did you get in the water?

At school I swam for the team (all strokes). For 7-years at varsity I played club and Provincial underwater hockey. The only other time I've spent any decent time in the water was due to "The Foot Injury of 2002". I'd swim up to 4km a day and aqua-jog up and down the lanes until I could get back to running. But that was then and this is now and until last night, I probably hadn't done any formal swimming since 2003. Tomorrow I'm doing Xterra Lite...

For adventure racers, swimming must be the most avoided discipline. Flat out swimming is just something that we don't really need as the only time we need to swim is to get to the shore when we've fallen out of our boats or cross rivers and short sections of dams. In full clothing, socks, takkies and dragging a backpack, lengths in a pool are not going to help a helluva lot (except for water confidence and upper body strength).

On Sunday at the Quantum Adventures sprint in Grabouw, we swam through a little dam, assisted by a rope strung from one side to the other. We also swam around a buoy in another small dam with tubes under our bellies. No style or technique needed here...

With Xterra Gauteng looming, I thought I'd better get in the water to remind my muscles just what it feels like to swim again; and the experience was actually pretty good. I had flashbacks to those long sessions a few years back when I'd rhythmically swim length after length after length... it's quite hypnotic. I definitely felt it in my shoulders and a couple of times misjudged the distance to the wall so when I tumble-turned too early my toes had to stretch for the side.

I swam about 1.2km and this morning suffered no ill effects, with the exception of a sore left ear when I woke up. Would you believe that I can be dunked by rapids, drift down mucky rivers, slither through mud and swim in dams yet my immune system succumbs to nasties in the gym's pool? I had to go to get drops.

One thing I can say is that the 600m swim of the Xterra Lite (1.5km for the Xterra) doesn't worry me; it's swimming with loads of other people at the same time that I've never done. I'm also not so sure whether I want to mountain bike with my cycle shorts over my swim suit and then how to I get my crop top on? After degreasing my chain (I received good instruction at AR Club this month on the correct procedure) I'm going to surf the web for some transition tips.

If, like me, you're doing your very first triathon (albeit off-road) tomorrow, good luck.

Gettin' into AR sprints

Would you believe that on Saturday I participated in my 3rd adventure racing sprint ever... and the first one since late-2002?

Adventure racing sprints, a short (20-40km) adventure racing event format, first made their appearance in late- 2000 with the introduction of Zirk Botha's Dirty Weekend Series and Mike Baker's Game Sprint Series. These events were immediately popular and they brought adventure racing into the mainstream market.

Where events over 200km are not for everyone, sprints are. Sprints are generally held within an hour of major centres, the disciplines are not technical, the distances are not intimidating, navigation is rudimentary (if included) and equipment is minimal (takkies, mtb and helmet). Most of all, they offer affordable, straight-up outdoorsy fun and they don't consume your whole weekend.

The very first sprint I did was one of Zirk's Dirty Weekend Series events at Roodeplaat dam in late-2001 (I think?). Near the end of 2002 I did Garry Townsend's sprint at Stanford Lake College in the Magoebaskloof area. It was tagged on to the Magoebaskloof Mountain Bike Classic. Ever since I've been on the sidelines taking photos and marshalling.

So, it was with suprise that I received an email from Philip Kruger about 2 weeks before the UGE Events Sprint asking me whether I'd like to join him. I hadn't even thought of racing! Tim was committed to racing with his friend so this was an opportunity not to be missed.

The event was held at Bushtrails in the Magaliesberg, an area I'd been to a few years ago for orienteering - no advantage... I didn't recognise a thing! We started off with an orienteering section, collecting 4 controls within a defined area. It was already roasting so Philip and I were glad that we'd chosen to run first and then mtb as those running later would be even hotter on foot. Then we got onto our bikes for a very rocky ride, one that included much bike-pushing. I really enjoyed the first section of it going up-and-over bumps on what looked like a quad bike track. Back into the transition we headed out for another short run-orienteering section before returning to the base for a very muddy obstacle course. How delightful to be walking on logs, climbing cargo nets, crawling through a tunnel and slithering through muddy pits.

While I controversally maintain that sprints are not strictly adventure racing, I do recommend these events to all and sundry. Why?

For novices this is an excellent opportunity to get out, have fun and to do something with your teammates. Even over 25km you can get a feel for your teammates strengths and weaknesses.

For experienced competitors, sprints offer a wonderful opportunity for you to promote your team. You can't get much better publicity than racing with 200 (or more) competitors out on the course and all around you versus 80 competitors you don't see for 3-days.

My thanks to Philip for inviting me to race with him. It was an excellent race and was good to be out playing. Next race? Tim and I are in Cape Town next weekend for a wedding so we're going sneak away from post-wedding festivities to take part in Ugene Nel's Quantum Adventure Sprint on Sunday, 18 Feb. Delightful!