Adventure Racing World Championships - Canada - 2004

[ARReports]

Raid the North Extreme is hosting the Adventure Racing World Championships in Newfoundland, Canada from August 1 to August 8, 2004.

From the RTN Media Pack:

The Concept: Worldwide championship with representative teams from the best adventure races in the world and supported by the qualifying AR World Series.
The Race: Sporting adventure requiring endurance and teamwork to navigate a challenging route through the spectacular environments of
Western Newfoundland.
The Competitors: 55 teams of 4 multi-sporters, men and women who have qualified to compete in the World Championship.
The Organizers: FAR (Frontier Adventure Racing) organisers of the Raid the North Extreme, so-partnered with Wreckhouse Entertainment, and the AR World Series directors. www.raidthenorth.com
Date: 1-8th August 2004, six days and nights, NON STOP.
Location: Corner Brook, Western Newfoundland. Expedition race across wilderness area of the South West Newfoundland.
The Challenge: "the search for the worldÕs supreme adventure racing team" Competitors will travel on foot across the vastness of the Newfoundland wilderness, mountain bike forest roads and tracks,, travel through indigenous native forest and across alpine plateaus. Extensive rope sections will be used to access and exit these plateau regions and sea kayaks and local rowing boats (dories) will be used to paddle and row exposed Atlantic ocean waters and more sheltered bays.
The Secret Course: The course (approximately 476 kms.) is announced to competitors at the pre-race briefing and is covering some of Western Newfoundlands most beautiful terrain.
Disciplines: Mountain Biking, Mountain Running, Orienteering, Rope
Sections (Abseiling / Ascending), kayaking and Dory rowing.

http://www.arworldchampionship.com/downloads/ARWC_Media_Pack_PDFs_(PC).zip

You can find maps and other live coverage of the race on the RTN site at:
http://raidthenorth.com/2004/arwc/Live/



And the Sleepmonsters site is carrying live reports from the race:

Before he continued with the course description, Foster took the time to announce one major rule. “The last time we were here (in 2001), we allowed locals to help you. This year, locals are not allowed to help you. If a local offers you a lift on his quad (an all terrain vehicle), you must get off. Remember I said this, because it will come up.”

http://www.sleepmonsters.com/racereport.php?race_id=507#

[ARReports]

Team Santa Fe has a great report from the World Championship Adventure Race in western Newfoundland -- it's in their August newsletter:

...The start line was at the Sandbanks Provincial Park in Burgeo; racers were bussed down to this western coastal village for an 8 am start. We would have 21 checkpoints. Within one hour of the start we had to swim across an ocean channel twice. The tide had a brisk current which made the swim challenging, the water was cold, and now our feet were wet. This would be the case for the remainder of the race. The first three checkpoints led us into remote wooded areas of North Bay. We would experience tuckermore (impenetrable stunted pine trees), vicious mosquitos, black flies, with moose and caribou appearing randomly in beautiful settings...

http://www.teamsantafe.org/04newsletters/newsletter_2004_08 ... Western

[ARReports]

The Dirtworld Adventure Racing Team (D.A.R.T.)has a long and detailed race report from the Adventure Racing World Championships in Newfoundland in August:

...We worked our way around the valley and up to the lake the CP was supposed to be located at. Nothing was there and all of a sudden we are surrounded by 4 or 5 teams doing laps around the lake and running all over the place. There was a high pitch whistle being blown every minute or two and most of the teams agreed it must be a lost racer trying to locate his or her team. Cyril and I agreed one of us needed to see what was up with the whistle...

http://www.dirtworld.com/RACES/TEAM/dart/2004ARWCReport.asp

[ARReports]

Team RunningFree.cahas a LONG and detailed race report from the Adventure Racing World Championships on their site:

...At daybreak, Bill and I scouted the route. We were not that far away from the lake which was a 4k coasteering leg to the CP. It took Wendy about 25 minutes to hobble 400m. Bill tried to carry her and even then it was dicey on the uneven terrain. We scouted out a location by the beach where we started another fire and tried to get our radios working. Under the cloud cover and deep in the valley it was impossible to get reception. Bill began to build a shelter for Wendy as getting help would take awhile...

http://www.runningfree.ca/adv_ARWORLDS.htm