I just got this email from the USARA and wanted to pass it on:

“The United States Adventure Racing Association is proud to present the 2007 Collegiate Nationals Adventure Race. On April 15th, 2007 top competitors will converge on Reno, Nevada to represent their Universities and battle it out for bragging rights as the collegiate national champions. Two member teams will mountain bike, trail run and paddle their way to victory. Categories will include coed, male & female. This event will be televised on CSTV.”

I’ve been critical of the USARA in the past for what I perceive as a lack of promoting the sport as a whole. I think this event is a good step in the right direction though. The earlier you get people hooked on your sport, the greater chance it has to flourish. AR is a cash hungry sport and generally people in high school and college are short on cash. Notice the conflict there?

I hope the race is a success. This is the first I’ve heard about it, but let’s hope word travels quickly and teams from around the country descend on Reno to take the championship. I’d like to see some type of scholarship associated with the race. Maybe the winning team gets their books paid for next semester or something. The price is only $90, so the price is right for the cash strapped college kids.

Everytrail is a site where you share your adventures, trips, or workouts with the world. You can easily upload your GPS data and create waypoints which can have notes, photos, and more associated with them. You can leave comments or ask questions on each trip. The waypoints are plotted on a Google map and you can download a kml file to view the trip in Google Earth or download the GPX data to upload the trip data to your own GPS. This trip on Mt Tallac is a good example of what you can do with Everytrail. I’ve actually been on this trail to the summit of Mt Tallac and you can get a feel of the hike with this trip.

While browsing the Primal Quest forums this afternoon, I picked up on a few good articles.

It looks like Ian Adamson, perhaps the best adventure racer we have seen, has decided to retire. This article, says he recently announced his retirement but that’s about it. There’s nothing more about his plans or nothing on his personal website or the Team Nike website. I briefly met Ian at Primal Quest a few years ago, seemed like a pretty nice guy. I’m sure he’ll find something to keep him busy post adventure racing; best of luck!

On to Primal Quest, it looks like it’s definitely not going to happen in 2007. Martin Dugard, a long time adventure race author and participant, said the 2007 race was cancelled in late November. In the post, he also gives an interesting view on adventure racing and how it has changed. According to this “ad” (I took a screen shot since the file has been updated and no longer contains the PQ reference) on a sports and travel website, the 2008 Primal Quest location is also up in the air. If you pony up some cash Primal Quest just might head to your neighborhood.

I’d like to take a moment and say thank you to each of our sponsors in 2006. Without their sponsorship, your swag bags would have been lighter and the prize bag smaller. Our sponsors were very gracious this year and we want to take a moment to highlight the companies that helped us in 2006. We choose sponsors that produce/deliver products that we use ourselves or that we think would be of interest to those who participate in our events. We hope you enjoyed the goodies provided by our sponsors. Please think of them when you are making your next racing related purchases.

Tecnu Extreme: Tec Labs (makers of Tecnu Extreme and other products) sent us a nice sampling of a number of their products which were given away at both A24 and UOG. I used their Rash Relief after one scouting trip and I have to say it did the trick. I’ll be buying some to go along with me on future course scouting trips.

Hammer Nutrition: Hammer Nutrition makes a ton of products for endurance athletes and provided samples and prizes for both the A24 and UOG. I’ve sworn by e-caps for a number of years.

Potable Aqua: Potable Aqua provided water purification tablets for each team as part of a mini gear sponsorship for the A24. We had a few tablet packs left over so we gave them as prizes for the UOG. When we ran out of store bought water during the VERY hot UOG, we used some left over Potable Aqua tablets to purify some more water for the racers. No one could taste the difference between the purified and store bought water. Stash a packet of these in the bottom of your pack, and if you get lost or run out of water you will be thankful you had them.

SnowPack: SnowPack provided a number of their reusable ice packs as prizes for the A24. Though it appears their website is down, I can tell you the product got a number of good reviews around the internet. The texture of the gel was made to mimic snow, and provide a way to get the “ice” in those hard to ice places.

Terrapin Beer: Terrapin Beer provided refreshments at the end of the A24. I’ve been a fan of their beers for a number of years and I even got Patrick hooked on several of the beers from their Monster Beer Tour (more on Terrapin in an upcoming post). Do yourself a favor and go out and buy any of their beers, you WILL enjoy them. Also know that your purchases will be supporting some great people too!

Zanfel: Zanfel provided some prizes for both A24 and UOG. Cathi and I have used Zanfel after placing checkpoints in Poison Ivy infested areas the past two years. I think the most either of us got after using Zanfel was maybe one or two bumps with zero itching.

SportShield: 2toms, maker of SportShield, provided samples and prizes for both of their products to both A24 and UOG. SportShield is a roll on liquid that applies a coating to the skin which greatly minimizes friction. BlisterShield is a powder that helps to reduce heat build up and blister formation. What is great about these products is that they come in a one time use package (larger sizes are available) which you can easily carry with you.

Road ID: Road ID makes a number of personal identification tags for the athlete. Road ID has always been great about supporting events with Road ID gift certificates; including A24. If you ever need a Road ID, you will be very thankful that you had one.

Burt’s Bees: Burt’s Bees filled the A24 goodie bags with a number of products made from natural ingredients. I’m a big fan of their beeswax lip balm. As a matter of fact, I think I need to put some on right now.

Mytopo: Mytopo printed all the maps for our events this year. They make it affordable for us to give you great maps. You can print out your own custom map at their website too.

Maranatha: Maranatha provided samples and prizes for both A24 and UOG this year. Their natural peanut butter is quite good and I’m looking to buy some of their Cashew butter. Cashew butter and jelly sandwich never sounded so good.

Paceline Products Butt’r: Paceline Products provided samples and prizes for A24 this year. Anyone who has ridden a long ride without Butt’r can tell you what a great product it is. Any ride over 2-3 hours shouldn’t be done without Butt’r.

Maxxis: Maxxis provided some goodies for the A24 swag bag this year. Maxxis produces a tire for any bike or condition you can shake a bike pump at. They are good at supporting local events and athletes; they even sponsor a cycling team.

There you have it, a recap of our 2006 sponsors. Thank you all!

Danelle Ballengee, one of the top female adventure racers in the world, is currently recovering from a nasty accident in Moab, Utah after spending three days out in the backcountry. While going for a run, she slipped on ice and fell nearly 60 feet and broke her pelvis. Her dog, Taz, eventually led rescuers to her location. Danelle is a former member of Team Nike and a current member of Team Spyder. You can read the full article, with video, here. Send good vibes her way for a speedy recovery!

Update: This story has more details about her accident and rescue.

Update2: There’s a great article about the rescue here and a video with her and Taz on the Today Show here. The video is best viewed in IE.