SINGAPORE (Team Geared Up) - If you’ve got BBC2 TV channel there’s some can’t miss TV on tonight…Across the Andes: Beyond Boundaries - Fri 9 May, 9:00 pm - 10:00 pm. A friend’s sister, Julie who I’ve been in email contact with, is a star of the show! All of them are physically disabled, but they are determined to overcome the hurdles they face, to prove something to themselves and the world, and to go Beyond Boundaries.

Ten teenagers attempt the journey of a lifetime. Starting in the Amazon rainforest in Ecuador, they try to cross the 300 kilometres separating them from the Pacific Ocean, climbing the mighty Andes Mountains in the process.

With the exception of Expedition Leader Ken Hames, none of the group have been to Ecuador before, and as they fly to their rainforest start-point their first sight of the Andes is when the enormity of the expedition sinks in.

Whether dealing with snakes and spiders, struggling to get the wheelchairs through the rainforest, or just pitching camp and cooking dinner, the challenges come thick and fast.

-Robin

SINGAPORE (Team Geared Up) - The Rat Race (I took part in the London Rat Race last year) is coming to Ireland. Great news.

The much-loved event, having experienced runaway success in Britain, is now set to reach the shores of the Emerald Isle with 2 new and exciting events planned for Galway and Belfast this summer.

Why foreign events call our island the ‘emerald isle’ when advertising to the Irish, I don’t know. We invented that term to increase American tourism, we don’t actually call ourselves that.

Belfast has an event base at City Hall. On the 9th August, the Rat Race sees competitors running, biking, kayaking, abseiling, climbing and navigating their way around the city in a course that is only revealed hours before they begin.

Here’s our transformation in 2007 from Rat Racers to TGUers!

Rat Race Creator Jim Mee gives a preview:

“Belfast offers a really eclectic mix of adventure opportunities for the Rat Race. From the obvious natural facets such as Cave Hill and the river, to more overtly urban features such as the re-generated city centre and the wealth of landmarks scattered around the city, the Rat Race in Belfast will reveal so many different layers of adventure within the city in a manner never really experienced before. Whether it’s zipping around the Cathedral Quarter on a bike or getting to grips with some aquatic pursuits, or simply revelling in the hustle and bustle of the city whilst hunting for quirky checkpoints we have set up with local venues and businesses, this event is really going to entertain. We aim to showcase Belfast’s industrial past alongside the fast-paced urban development of the present day and this quirky event gives us the opportunity to really shine a different sort of light on the city, to residents and visitors alike. We think there is a superb mixture of sights and sounds on and off the beaten track that we can feature in the event. This is an exciting event to plan, which means it will be even more exciting to take part in!”

Galway is on the 6th of September.

With the success of the Gael Force West multi-sport races in Mayo and Galway, the Rat Race organisers know this area well and with their office just up the road in Westport, this event is sure to uncover the very best of this superb fun-loving city.

My video from 2007 in London:

Unfortunately, both events will operate on the Rat Race’s new 1 day “Nine 2 Five” format and not the 2 day (night & day) event like London.

I’d quite like to do at least one of these… might be a good opportunity to see Belfast.

Full entry details, training tips and full event information can be found at www.ratraceadventure.com or telephone the Rat Race Ireland office on 098 28324/ 098 28316.

Email Siobhan at the Rat Race Westport office at info@ratraceadventure.com for particular questions on either of these new and exciting events.

-Robin-

SINGAPORE (Team Geared Up) - We know less about our oceans than we do about Space. Google are about to shift things a little and produce a consumer tool (a version of Google Earth) that lets you fly around the seabed, through canyons and over buried treasure.

Announcing Google Ocean:

The company has assembled an advisory group of oceanography experts, and in December invited researchers from institutions around the world to the Mountain View, Calif., Googleplex. There, they discussed plans for creating a 3D oceanographic map, according to sources familiar with the matter.

The tool–for now called Google Ocean, the sources say, though that name could change–is expected to be similar to other 3D online mapping applications. People will be able to see the underwater topography, called bathymetry; search for particular spots or attractions; and navigate through the digital environment by zooming and panning.

This is great news for the adventure & scientific communities. From being able to see the depth of channels for sail racing tactics or diving to knowing what’s under your kayak right now. Link this up to a GPS and actually find out what is under you without just a depth sounder.

Add in some multimedia, imagery, video and some educational material and you’ve got a serious educational tool. For example, watch this amazing video of an octopus vanish with camouflage (unreal!):

And if you want to see the full thing, it’s in a 5 min TED talk (worth watching) by David Gallo:

David Gallo shows jaw-dropping footage of amazing sea creatures, including a shape-shifting cuttlefish, a pair of fighting squid, and a mesmerizing gallery of bioluminescent fish that light up the blackest depths of the ocean.

I’m looking froward to using this.

-Robin.

BANGKOK, THAILAND (Team Geared Up) - Ben Saunders clearly has a love of the cold. An unknown name to me until last week, I found out that Ben was the youngest person to ever ski solo to the North Pole.

Born in 1977, Ben grew up in Devon, was educated at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and lives in London. He is passionate about the great outdoors and is a record-breaking long-distance skier, with three North Pole expeditions under his belt. He is the youngest to ski solo to the North Pole and holds the record for the longest solo Arctic journey by a Briton. Since 2001, Ben has skied more than 2,500km (1,500 miles) in the high Arctic, which he recently worked out equates to two percent of his entire life living in a tent.

Starting late March, Ben is going on an expedition to the geographic North Pole, with the aim of setting a speed record, less than 36 days, solo, unsupported. Ben is also planning SOUTH (October) which will be the first return journey to the South Pole on foot, and back to the coast again. At 2,900km and four months, SOUTH will be the longest unsupported polar journey in history.

Ben has a book coming out in 2009. Keep your eyes peeled for it! See BenSaunders.com

-Robin-

(Image Credit: bensaunders.com)

LONDON, UK (Team Geared Up) - The Wee Adventure Film Festival will be held in Dublin on 7th February 2008.

The Wee Adventure Film Festival is an amateur film festival that will show adventure sports films made by people who do adventure sports.

If you are into MTB, rockclimbing, free-running, kayaking, caving, skiing, parachuting, skate boarding, bouldering, BMX, surfing or any other adventure sports we invite you to participate in the Wee Adventure Film Festival by submitting a short film (up to 10 minutes long) to the festival. The best of these films will be shown at The Wee Adventure Film Festival 2008.

Hopefully we’ll have a submission ourselves.

-Robin-

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A Russian Ice Climber trains on the front of an Apartment Block in winter. No wonder the recent K2 West Face was no problem to them!

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Cycling routes around Dublin have been put on a site called RouteSlip.com via SportCrazy

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Garmin Nuvi 200W is pretty cheap from MemoryC.com (Irish online store) at €242. My family have a Nuvi and it’s unreal. Recommended.

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A very creative advert for a kids climbing centre. Can your mates do this hopskotch? via The Piton

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And finally. A Skiing Ostrich. Yes, an Ostrich. (Very funny advert!)

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-Robin-

DUBLIN, IRELAND (Geared Up Blog) - A book has been published with over 200 pictures of the race on over 80 pages. A great coffee table book for all those who took part! You can purchase the book online from Sleepmonsters for £35 including delivery(but maybe not to Ireland).

To attempt to portray a race of the immense scope and scale of the recent 2007 Adventure Racing World Championships in Scotland is a Herculean task, and one few could attempt, and fewer still could succeed in. With the publication of his coffee-table photographic book of the race (published just two months after the race) Wouter Kingma has succeeded.

The book is a landscape format photo-essay following the race, from excited preparation to exhausted finish, with an accompanying text by Travis Macey and contributions from Mike Kloser of race winners Team Nike, and from Karine Baillet of Team Wilsa Helly Hansen. There area also commentaries from the Race Director and Course Planner which give some insight into the demands of organizing such a race.

-Eoin

CHRISTCHURCH, NEW ZEALAND (Team Geared Up) - I was off researching another article and came across this snippet that Dean Karnazes was won this year’s “2007 ESPY award as the Best Outdoor Athlete.”

The official list of all winners can be found on ESPN’s site here.
A more detailed description the final outcome can be found here, but basically he blew away the rest of the field - but wouldn’t you if you’d run 50 marathons in 50 days in 50 states?

Image Credit: Wired Magazine Article, January 2007 on Dean Karnazes

- Neal :) -

Format This is a race of 5 stages for teams of 1 to 5. Own car, bike and kayak required. The race starts and finishes at the house. 1. 11K mountainbike stage on tracks and minor country roads.
2. 15K mountain run on Blackrock Mountain and Mount Leinster
3. 19K mountainbike stage on Sth Leinster Way and minor roads.
4. 9K Kayak on Slaney from Clohamon to Ballycarney (no weirs!)
5. 3.5K uphill lane/road run back to house.

Most interestingly here’s what lined up for stage 6:

Stage 6 Shower, Jacuzzi, Food, Drink and Party Party Party + stay the night

If you’re involved in Irish Mountain Running you’ll be well familar with the Porters and they’re unmissable presence and personalities at the hill runs. By the looks of the forum they’ll have lots of company this weekend to break in the new home.

-Aisling-

A qoute from someone involved:

The lumpy throat highlight was of course a sub XX minute (fill in yourself) last mile to the tape breaking finish by the pair of them. I thought Gary (Tallaght AC) might just have pipped Tony (Clonliffe AC) by a blistered toe to the line, but the officials (you know the guys that appear at the finish of all the important races in their new Adidas gear) called it a dead heat. Dead yes, but not to much heat at 8.56 pm.

Big congrats to good mate Gary who seemed to go above and beyond many levels of endurance to complete this and for that I think he’s a real hero. And to my husband Tony who was being sent good but worried vibes all the way from France and who today has feet and ankles that look like pigs trotters. They have a big story to tell……
Big thanks to Eoin for his good wishes and to those on the IMRA forum. The lads can never thank their support crew enough of Eugene, Finn and Grainne who gave up their entire weekend to do amazing work!

So to all you mountaineers, there’s the time to beat!

-Aisling-