Raid The North Extreme Adventure Race Video

The Raid the North Extreme adventure race took place in the Canada's West Kootenay region in the final week of July. It was a six-day long, 500+km race that put coed teams of four against one another on a very grueling and intense course. Sprinkle in some bad weather, and the racers were literally pushed to the limits.

While at OR last week I had the opportunity to speak with racers who were at RTNX and it seems that the race was plagued with logistical and management challenges, and while they weren't exactly happy with how the event played out, they had few complaints about the course itself. The video below not only gives you a glimpse of how beautiful things were there, but some of the various mountain biking, paddling, and trekking challenges they faced while competing.


Raid the North Extreme from Solos Productions on Vimeo.

RTNX Update: WildernessTraverse.com Wins!

While most of the teams are still out on the course, the winners of this year's Raid the North Extreme have been crowned, as Team WilernessTraverse.com came across the finish line early this morning, to claim the victory. Congratulations to the team, which consists of Captain Bob Miller, Jakob Van Dorp, Gordon Blythen, and Sarah Fairmaid, on the impressive win.

The rest of the podium has yet to be decided, although it does appear that Team Wild Rose has a firm grip on second place at the moment. They're on the final mountain bike stages, and will transition back on foot later in the day, as they make their way to the finish. Behind them, there seems to be a battle brewing between DART-nuun, Atmosphere MOMAR and Tecnu Extreme/StaphAseptic for third place, while the Team GearJunkie/YogaSlackers, the only other team on the full course, seem to be MIA from the leaderboard at the moment.

This year's RTNX is being run in the West Kootenay region of Canada's British Columbia. The 500+km (310 mile) race promised "real wilderness" to anyone who signed up, and it seems that most teams have gotten all of that and more. With only six teams still competing on the full course, and 15 others going unranked, it appears that the race has lived up to its billing. It also seems that the teams are having a great time and are enjoying the course, despite having poor weather conditions early in the week.

Good luck to the rest of the teams. Get home safe!

RTNX Update: WildernessTraverse.com In Command!

We're now several days into the Raid the North Extreme adventure race, which is taking place as we speak in the West Kootenay region of British Columbia. With more than four days of racing under their belts, the teams have already had to endure some tough challenges. In fact, the course is so tough that only six of the 30 teams racing have a chance at completing the full course.

As of this writing, Team WildernessTraverse.com seems to have a commanding lead, and are currently on foot and steaming towards the next Transition Area, where they'll climb on their mountain bikes for the last leg of the race. In second place, and chasing hard is Team Wild Rose, followed by DART-nuun in third. At this point, the only other three teams who have a hope of completing the full course are GearJunkie/Yogaslackers, Team Atmosphere MOMAR, and Tecnu Extreme/StaphAseptic. There are also 10 teams that are continuing unranked at the moment, most likely due to a team mate dropping out of the race.

The full course teams will cover more than 500km (310 miles) by the time the reach the finish line on Saturday. The race has been a tough combination of trekking, mountain biking, and paddling, with plenty of navigation mixed in as well. There is still a lot of  miles to cover, and with serious navigation involved, anyone can get lost, but at the moment, the trailing teams will be hard pressed to catch WildernessTraverse. They seem to be running a good, solid race with few mistakes, and as a result, they've built a comfortable lead. For now.

Stay tuned for results tomorrow or Saturday.

Raid The North Extreme Is Underway!

The Raid the North Extreme adventure race got underway yesterday with 30 teams setting off on a 500km (310 mile), six day race through the West Kootenay region of British Columbia. The coed teams of four will now trek, paddle, mountain bike, and navigate their way through the beautiful and demanding Canadian backcountry.

As I write this, the teams are roughly one day into the Raid, and as of now Team WildernessTraverse.com is in first place, having passed through Checkpoint 4 on the course as they continue on their mountain bikes. Behind them is Team Custom Cellular, although coming on quickly is Team GearJunkie/YogaSlackers. Each of the lead teams still have a ways to go on their  bikes before transitioning to the kayaks for the first time.

Race headquarters has a host of live feeds to help keep you updated on the race as it unfolds throughout the week. Not only is there a running Twitter feed, but you'll also find a live leader board and a course tracker to show you where the various stages begin and end, as well the current locations of all of the teams. It is a slick interface that gives fans of adventure racing the opportunity to follow the action as it unfolds, while also keeping them up to date on the current standings in the field.

Look for the fastest teams to start arriving at the finish line on Thursday or Friday of this week. It seems that at the moment, weather conditions are good and the course is a beautiful challenge for the athletes to enjoy. Stay tuned for updates as the race continues throughout the week.

Adventure Racing News

News from the world of adventure racing continues to roll in, as we march towards some big races that are yet to come this year. Like the Raid the North Extreme which will be held in British Columbia's West Kootney region at the end of July. Last week, organizers for the race announced a partnership with Canadian gear retailer Atmosphere, naming them their title sponsor for the event. The company will promote the race in their stores of course, as well as provide gear and contest prizes for racers and volunteers alike. The RTNX will cover more than 500km and is set to take place from July 23-31.

Congratulations are in order for the Thule Adventure Team, who claimed victory at the Le Grand Raid, held between Calais and Lille, France this past weekend. It is the second major victory for the team this year, who also took place at the Huairasinchi, Ecuador back in March. The Thule Adventure beat out second place Kiwi team Wilsa AFG and Buff Thermocool, who crossed the finish line in third place. 

Finally, the latest rankings for the Checkpoint Tracker Series have been released following a full weekend of racing that saw Team Tecnu Extreme/StaphAseptic win the Endorphin Fix in West Virginia. The race saw some top teams go head-to-head and served as a great tune-up the RTNX, which is now less than a month away.

Checkout the latest standings below as teams jockey for position heading into the Checkpoint Tracker National Championship in October. 

Checkpoint Tracker North American Rankings - Coed Elite Division
Rank	Team	Points
1st	Checkpoint Zero/Tech4o	470
2nd	Odyssey Adventure Racing-ImONPoint.org	430
3rd	Tecnu Extreme/StaphAseptic	406
4th	TeamSOG	389
5th	Mountain Khakis/Rev3 Adventure	386
6th	Florida Xtreme Adventure Racing Club	293
7th	WEDALI	280
8th	Goals ARA	266
9th	Green Paw Adventure Sports	212
10th	Big Mountain Adventure Racing	175
View Complete Rankings by Division

More Adventure Racing News

It seems that there has been a steady stream of adventure racing news of late, partly because the season is in full swing here in North America, where a number of races are preparing to challenge teams throughout the summer.

One of the most highly anticipated races is the Raid the North Extreme, which will take place July 23rd - 31st in the West Kootenay region of British Columbia. That means the race is just over a month away, so you know that teams, volunteers, and organizers are gearing up for their event. The last time I posted an update on the race, it was to announce that it would be televised in both the U.S. and Canada later this year. At the time, it was announced that New Edge Entertainment would be taking charge of the production of the show, but they want to get the teams in on the act as well.

While New Edge crews will be on hand to film as much of the race as they can, they realize that it is difficult to capture all the amazing and dramatic moments of any adventure race. That's why they're also looking for any first-person footage, shot out on the course by teams competing in the event. They will accept highlights that are up to 30 minutes in length, but would like to know which teams could provide them with said footage before the race begins.

So, if you're competing at the RTNX and you're planning on strapping a helmet cam to your head, you may want to let them know. Contact Julie at New Edge asap if your team is interested at 778.297.7377 ext 117 or julie@newwedgeentertainment.com.


Also, it was announced today that registration for the second annual Checkpoint Tracker National Championship will open July 1st. Teams that are interested in competing in the October 21st event will want to sign-up as soon as possible, as the event is limited to just 300 racers, although the top ten teams in each division at the end of the season will get a guaranteed entry. The entry fee is $250/racer and this year's championship will be held in the Land Between the Lakes area of Kentucky.

Watch the Checkpoint Tracker website for more information and for the registration to go live.

Raid The North Extreme To Be Televised!

One of the top adventure races on the schedule for this summer is the Raid the North Extreme, which will take place from July 23rd-31st in the West Kootenay region of British Columbia. The event is a 500km long expedition length race with all the traditional adventure racing elements, namely coed teams of four trekking, mountain biking, paddling, and navigating their way through an amazing wilderness setting.

The organizers for the Raid have now announced that they have signed a deal to bring the race to television in both the U.S. and Canada. The race will be filmed while it is underway by an experience crew from NewEdge Entertainment, and is scheduled to air in Canada this December on Global TV. Additionally, another 60-100 PBS stations in the United States are also expected to broadcast the race in early 2012.

This is fantastic news for fans of adventure racing, who have often had a hard time finding the sport on any television stations, let alone ones that are so readily available. Television coverage has long been the holy grail of the sport, and it has often been a hard sell to the networks, so kudos to the RTNX team for being able to put this deal together. It is a major accomplishment, and I'm already anticipating watching the show.

I can't say too much at this point, but I do know that there is the possibility of more adventure racing coming to television in the semi-near future as well. The deals aren't done yet, but there are conversations being had which, if they come to fruition, will give the sport even more great exposure. *Fingers Crossed*

Mandatory Equipment Episodes 1 and 2

Awhile back I posted the trailer to a new webseries called Mandatory Equipment that was set to give us an inside look at what it takes to train for an expedition length adventure race. That teaser gave us a sample of what was to come as Team Mandatory Equipment  prepares to race in the 600km Raid The North Extreme this summer. Since that time, the team has released two episodes, and a third is on the way.

I've posted both of these videos below, and they not only serve as a great introduction to the sport, they also give you a taste of the training and preparation that are involved with major event such as the RTNE. In the first video, the team asks themselves "What Have I Gotten Myself Into?", which is a common response when teams take on a race of this length and in the second video they really get down to the training and the daunting task of getting ready for the Raid. Fans of the sport will no doubt enjoy this "behind the scenes" look at the training regime. It'll either motivate you to want to do your own race, or confirm the reasons why you never have! Enjoy!