Any Triathletes Add Adventure Racing?

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2008-09-18 8:17 AM

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Subject: Any Triathletes Add Adventure Racing?
As a follow-up to the best triathlons thread -- any of you triathletes make the leap to adventure racing?  And if so, would you recommend any in particular? 


2008-09-18 8:31 AM
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Subject: RE: Any Triathletes Add Adventure Racing?
good question...   I'm all ears on this one.  I've been wanting to do some adventure racing myself.
2008-09-18 9:09 AM
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Subject: RE: Any Triathletes Add Adventure Racing?
i did the opposite and got back into tri after a few years doing ARs. what part of the country are you in and I'll try to help you with races. to begin with you might want to look up orienteering events in your area - they are cheap ways to get really good training in and will give you an idea of how good your fitness and navigation skills translate over.
2008-09-18 9:18 AM
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Subject: RE: Any Triathletes Add Adventure Racing?
I would check out something worthwhile in the northeast.
2008-09-18 9:24 AM
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Subject: RE: Any Triathletes Add Adventure Racing?
I'm very interested in this also. Sounds like a lot of fun. It would also be fun to participate in a team event with your training partners.
2008-09-18 10:28 AM
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Subject: RE: Any Triathletes Add Adventure Racing?

Hello All

A friend at work told me about the discussion and thought I could help.  I've got 40+ races under my belt and teach AR clinics in/around Atlanta.

Getting Started - Before you go buying books, the first place I would check out is www.trailblazerar.com and go right to the forum.  There is an AR 101 section that as a whole that forum holds more reference material on AR then most of the books combined.  There is also a race calendar, and the races listed are all over the US.

checkpointzero.com & sleepmonsters.com(more Int'l) are two other online resources.

 Meanwhile, here's some quick advice...

Teammates - It's not as much about equal ability as it is priorities.  Example, mine (in order) are Finish, Have Fun, and Be Competitive.  If a teammate has different or rearranged priorities, clashes will occur regardless of athleticism.

Navigation - Don't ignore this.  There are adv. races out there that don't have navigation, but they are few and far between.  Get yourself to a local Orienteering meet and practice.  Go to http://www.us.orienteering.org and click "CLUBS".  Here is another link on what to do when you get there... http://bellsouthpwp.net/t/e/teambonk/arato.htm

Paddling - This can be fun or hell without much in-between.  Paddle in sync, power up front, experience in the back - practice.

Bike/Run-Trek - I would never presume to offer advice here to triathletes, so I'll just quote Lt. Dan: "Take care of your feet and don't do anything stupid."

I am one that celebrates elitism in athletics, but you've heard the quote "True happiness is shared."  Put a team together, come race off the road and find out for yourself.

Hope to see you out there. 

Ron Sanders, Team SKIRITAI



Edited by RonSanders 2008-09-18 10:30 AM

2008-09-18 10:36 AM
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Subject: RE: Any Triathletes Add Adventure Racing?

I used to race a lot of Adventure Races and Off-Road Triathlons here in South Florida many years ago...but...now I'm completly dedicated to the Triathlons....

I already sold my mountain bike last year and I really miss those Races...

2008-09-18 10:45 AM
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2008-09-18 11:16 AM
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2008-09-18 11:50 AM
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Subject: RE: Any Triathletes Add Adventure Racing?

My wife and I did one this past Spring (the "Eco Lonestar Adventure Race" through Terra Firma Productions), and we loved it.

We did an adventure race of 2-3 miles run (ended up being 1.3 miles) and 12-14 miles mountain bike (ended up being 18 miles because of the bad trail markings and flags being torn down or cut short).  Our race also included "mystery events" that involved major climbing and navigation. 

All in all, it was a BLAST!!  We loved every minute of it... except for the night before.  We decided to just drive down in our Jeep, fold down the seats and sleep in the back.  When we woke up at 4:45am to eat our breakfast and start getting ready, it was SO STINKIN' COLD that our yogurt/granola/fruit mix was nearly too cold to eat!!

I'd recommend an AR to anyone.  We had a blast and actually finished 3rd in our division (even after getting off the trail so much on the bikes) with a time of 3 hours 33 minutes.  It was the first time we've ever gotten hardware!!

-Joel



Edited by TXGreyhoundGuy 2008-09-18 11:52 AM
2008-09-18 3:57 PM
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Subject: RE: Any Triathletes Add Adventure Racing?
I also began w/AR's and have since moved into tri's.  Can't say enough about AR's.  I've never done one that required extensive orienteering so am unable to comment on that aspect.  The teammate, camaraderie, FUN, aspect can't be understated.

2008-09-18 4:01 PM
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Subject: RE: Any Triathletes Add Adventure Racing?
DrLeah - 2008-09-18 9:16 AM

Hazmaster & I with 2 others will be doing an AR on the 27th, so we'll let you know after that how it goes!  There's quite the series here in British Columbia - MOMAR Cumberland is the one we're doing. 

Nuts, you beat me to it! Our race is Kayaking, Orienteering, Running and Mountain Biking, all in a mish-mash order. These races are gaining in popularity not only because I do them but because they continue to run after the TRI season ends and because they are a TON of fun!....but mostly cause I do them!

2008-09-18 4:17 PM
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Subject: RE: Any Triathletes Add Adventure Racing?

I LOVE AR's!!!!  I'm in Atlanta and familiar with Trailblazers - did two races - Ft.Yargo (I think that ws one of yours) and Currahee.  Anyway, they are a lot of fun.  Find a beginner race in your area and give it a try.  Do try and take a coupla seminars on orienteering if you're not familiar and just be prepared.  Know enough about each part of the race to get through it and it'll be a blast.  And make sure,as stated before, that you and your teammates are on the same page, it'll make things a lot more fun.

 Good luck!

 

2008-09-19 6:57 AM
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Subject: RE: Any Triathletes Add Adventure Racing?
It's sounds intriguing and like a great challenge!  Sounds like one of the toughest parts might be finding the right team.  :-)
2008-09-19 8:22 AM
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2008-09-19 10:14 AM
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Subject: RE: Any Triathletes Add Adventure Racing?

Bunch of links and ref for those in SoCal.

http://scarabs.homestead.com/links.html


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