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.