SINGAPORE (Team Geared Up) - Apologies to everyone who sent in all the excellent emails, tip-offs, press releases and links over the last 2 weeks. I’ve been offline (adventuring - so I’ve an excuse!) and missed posting them.

Rather than post lots of old news - I thought I’d do a round up.

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Starting on the 16th of June, Ireland will host ‘The Turas’, a six-day World Series Adventure Race. A global television programme will follow teams of athletes as they compete across Southwest Ireland for €100,000 in prize money.

Close TGU contact Vanessa Lawrenson, publisher of Outsider magazine and an experienced international adventure racer and founder of ARI the organising company says:

“I’ve competed in a lot of these events before, including world championships, but this will raise the standard to a whole new level. Not only are we offering the biggest prize in Adventure Racing history, but the athletes will love the buzz of the festivals and will appreciate the community support.”

Forty mixed teams of four will travel from all over the world to compete over a 400-mile course spanning the 5 peninsulas of Kerry and West Cork.

It looks huge & great! If anyone wants contact details for the PR Team - leave a comment below and I’ll mail you the direct phone number that I was sent.

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Ian Taylor emailed to say the Everest2008.ie team are now leaving Namche Bazaar and trekking to Deboche. Their official permit has been granted and their expedition freight arrived.

Our bags that had been in freight finally arrived this morning as they were fast tracked, or should that be fast yak’d up the valley.

Good luck in the acclimatisation boys!

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Sean Murray organiser of the Total Experience Adventure Race on April 19th 10am in Blessington, Co. Wicklow, mailed to announce the race to TGU.

Please contact Total experience if you would like to have some time in a sea kayak or open boat previous to the race. Leave a comment below if you’d like contact numbers mailed to you.

The race looks great with Sport and Extreme classes. Get it on your calendar!

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Via press release, the Irish Coast Guard have launched a Automatic Information System (AIS) and encourages small leisure boat users and small fishing vessels to install AIS and other safety equipment onboard their craft.

Small craft fitted with AIS will therefore be electronically visible to commercial traffic in poor visibility. The boats current position and historical track will also be visible as a live picture in the Coast Guards rescue Coordination Centres in Dublin, Malin and Valentia.

if an alarm is raised as to the whereabouts of a vessel the AIS system can be queried to look for the missing or overdue boat and draw a picture on the electronic chart of where it was last visible to the system and what track it had followed over the preceding hours. The Coast Guard considers that this will greatly improve their ability to find missing and overdue boats fitted with AIS once the 999 call is received.

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Alan Masterson paratiger.co.uk
mailed to point out Dave MacLeod’s has become the first person to climb the notorious “Don’t Die of Ignorance” route on Ben Nevis without the use of aids.

It wasn’t Dave without ropes that was at risk, it was the roped cameraman who had an ‘incident’ midway!

The hairiest moment the pair experienced was when Mr French slipped on one of the most difficult sections of the climb and was left hanging by a piece of rope known as a wrist loop above a 300ft drop.

It took two hours before he was able to drag himself back up the rope to join Mr MacLeod, who by then was shivering with extreme cold after shedding several layers of clothing to make himself lighter for the climb.

Read it in the Herald
and on Daves blog.

Thanks Alan!

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An email from Fearghal O`Nuallain from RevolutionCycle.ie met Ben Saunders last year at the Explore conference at the Royal Geographical Society in London. Ben is now going for the North Pole Speed Record!

We previously posted a profile of Ben in October as the youngest person to ski to the North Pole.

Check out this great teaser video!

Ben Saunders from Ben Saunders on Vimeo.

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(Image Credit: The Turas, Valerie O’Sullivan)

SINGAPORE (Team Geared Up) - While doing a Reuters News Quiz (check it out, very good!). Last week in the wake of Sir Ed’s death, I answered that ‘Ed Hillary summited Everest in 1953′ but was told I was incorrect. I sent in a news correction piece and look what I got back…

They have published my correction, nice one!, on their ‘Good The Bad & the Ugly’ blog (all the editorial mistakes).

Let’s call it a draw then. TGU 1, Reuters 1.

-Robin-

P.S. On this weeks quiz I only got 5 out of 10 right. How do you score?

SINGAPORE (Team Geared Up) - An anonymous email slipped into our mailbox about 60 seconds ago. It contained a leaked list of Irish Blog Awards nominees for the Best News/Current Affairs Blogs in Ireland. Well what could we do, other than to publish it :-)

Best News/Current Affairs

• The Limerick Blogger
• Maman Poulet
• Ireland Logue
• The Chancer
• Present Tense
• Richard Delevan
• Splintered Sunrise
• That’s Ireland
• Ceithearnacoille
• Towleroad
• Gavin’s Blog
• Alan in Belfast
• Fatmammycat.com
• Dublin Opinion
• Mozlink

-Robin-

SINGAPORE (Team Geared Up) - Remember Tough Guy last year?

Over 4,000 people brave mud, ice cold water, and flames to prove that they are tough. The Tough Guy race in the west of England, takes place over a two-mile long obstacle course designed by a former Grenadier Guardsman. Competitors must wade through energy-sapping mud, negotiate flames, smoke bombs and taunting marshalls.

Well, Reuters have posted an excellent Slideshow of this years event.

Last year I said I’d do it this year. Maybe next year!

-Robin-

(Image Credit: Reuters Tough Guy Slideshow by REUTERS/Darren Staples)

Madrazo broke a week of silence Wednesday, issuing a statement in which he said the allegations of him cheating were nothing more than political attacks meant to discredit his sporting career and his as-yet-unlaunched foundation, Marathon: A Foundation for Competition.
“I never declared myself the winner in Berlin with the time distributed by the media nor did I receive any medal for the alleged first place,” Madrazo said

This Qoute is from WTOP News. (If he wasn’t claiming to have done the course why would he be pumping his fists in the air for his finish line photo?!)

Apparently his chip time had him running faster than Felix Limo’s world record for 15km of 41 minutes 29 seconds between kilometres 20 and 35! That would be some running for Haile, never mind a 55 year old recreational runner!

-Aisling-

Photo from Wtop News: AP Photo/Victor Sailer (who’s credited in some news stories with reporting Roberto as looking suspiciously overdressed as he crossed the line!)

Some good News clips from the site:

TomTom to go ‘visual’

Yacht skipper fined 6,000 for going wrong way at marker

World’s smallest Personal Locator Beacon launched

Thanks to reader ‘Gavin O’ for link submission.

-Robin-