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For the week of August 6 - 12, 2003

Sports

X-adventure race
coming to Stanley,
Sun Valley

$50,000 Raid Series event Aug. 8-10


Team Montrail’s Pat Harper and Rebecca Rusch, two of the world’s best adventure racers, were in Ketchum last Wednesday promoting a first-time adventure race to be held in the Stanley and Ketchum area.

Team Montrail adventure racers Rebecca Rusch and Pat Harper won’t compete in this weekend’s adventure races, but they are helping promote the first-time event in Idaho. Express photo by David N. Seelig

Sponsored by Solomon and Saab, the X-adventure Raid Series will be staged for a $50,000 purse Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 9-10 from the Stanley area to Trail Creek Cabin east of Sun Valley.

"This is the first adventure race of this type in Idaho," said Harper, 35, who grew up in the Wood River Valley and teamed with Rusch on the winning team in June’s Raid Gauloises adventure race in Kyrgyzstan.

Next weekend’s two-day event will cover between 180 and 220 kilometers and will include mountain biking, running, navigating, paddling, rappeling and in-line skating.

Rusch said about 20 European teams are expected in Idaho next weekend along with local and regional teams.

Mixed teams of four athletes will compete in a series of four-hour sections, interrupted by 20-minute breaks. Three of the four teammates will be on the course at a single time, with the fourth rotating in.

Organizers estimate that the winning teams will arrive at Trail Creek Cabin next Sunday in about 18 hours of race time.

Precise details about the order of events, and location of the course, won’t be revealed to the athletes until the check-in Friday, Aug. 8 from 2-7 p.m. at Mountain Village Lodge, Stanley. At that time maps of the course will be provided.

The Idaho adventure race is part of the new Adventure World Cup consisting of qualifying events held in Scotland in May, France in July, Idaho in August, Spain in September and New Caledonia in October.

The top-ranked teams on this year’s X-adventure Race Series will be invited to compete in the 2004 Raid Series World Championships.

At next weekend’s Idaho race, the first-place team will win $15,000, the second-place team will earn $12,000 and the third-place group $10,000. Prize money will be paid to ten places, according to Harper.

Team entry fee is about $800. Athletes will be required to provide things like mountain bikes, wetsuits, camping equipment, food and, of course, up-to-date medical certificates.

World-class paddler Rusch, who comes from the Chicago area, said she and Harper are trying to entice local teams to sign up for the event. Race volunteers are also needed.

Rusch said, "There’s a lot of teamwork involved and that’s what is cool about this race. If you’re not in the race and want to be involved, I’d suggest becoming a race volunteer."

"The format is a good for a first-time participant in adventure racing. Because of the quality of athletes here, and the benefit of knowing the area, many people here should be able to finish with no problem.

"My advice is pick some really fun teammates who are well-rounded athletes and have to ability to stay calm. The race can be super hard, but you can go at the pace you want."

Harper added, "The race will be easier than the Baldy Hill Climb, but just a little longer."

Among teams will be a local team with Dave Harrison, Dave Bingham, Brooke Baughman and Novak Thompson from Australia. Thompson was a member of Team Montrail’s winning squad in the 828-kilometer adventure race in Kyrgyzstan ending June 16.

For more details and to access Raid Series regulations, visit raidseries.com. Or call Rusch at 310-880-9356.

 

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The Idaho Mountain Express is distributed free to residents and guests throughout the Sun Valley, Idaho resort area community. Subscribers to the Idaho Mountain Express will read these stories and others in this week's issue.