24hrs of Adventure

Well the Open24 has been and gone, and what a 24hrs it was - packed with canoeing, gorge scrambling, abseiling, mountain navigation at night, mountain biking, swimming, and running.  A relentless 24 hours in the south lakes, showcasing just a glimpse of what is possible in Adventure Racing :: competitors covered small and large distances seeking out as many of the 120 controls (points to visit) as they could in one day.

The general feeling was that it would be difficult for Open Adventure to surpass this event with any better, we are pretty confident.  The precedent has been set, the expectation is high, you can be sure Open Adventure will surpass this event in 2006 :: expect the unexpected.

Read the race reports from Sleepmonsters and check out the photos from James Kirby and Rob Howard (available for purchase) click here.

5hrs in the North Pennines

From Swaledale to the Lakes then to North Pennines, in recent recce's for the up and coming Open 5 event in Blanchland, North Pennines it's very obvious that this is a very different venue offering some very fast MTB and awesome views (assuming it doesn't rain that is!).  The local tourist brochures suggest that this is the last great wilderness in England , the scenery and vastness certainly leaves the mouth a gasp.

We have already received a good number of entries for this event, with plenty of new comers to Adventure Racing.  We don't as yet have an upper limit on Open5 events, with entries on the day still being made available. However at some point we might have to put a cap on it if the local landowners insist.  Put the dates in your diary and get that entry in.  

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2006 and Open Adventure

I know it's only August, well we are keen - this is our first year and to be honest it was a bit of "lets see how it goes, before we commit to 2006".  Well the Open 24 and the interest and numbers coming to the Open 5 events have really let us know that we have hit a sweet spot.  We hope to have leaflets with dates and locations ready for November, as soon as they are confirmed we will let you know by email.

One thing which we would have liked to see happen this year is for the Open 24 event to have been televised - it's great for the sport, competitors love it, and it would do a great job in promoting the area used. We didn't have the money and although we had TV slots in the bag we never managed to get a sponsor.  We are determined to see it happen in 2006, so if you have any ideas on how we can make it happen let us know.

And finally

We wish all of our competitors competing in the forth coming Wilderness ARC all the best (5 day non-stop adventure race in Scotland starting on Saturday 21st). Race coverage will be on Sleepmonsters.  We will be at the next 2 day ACE Race in the south of England on the tandem, chasing the opportunity of winning the ACE Race series as a mixed pair.  Give us a wave and a smile.

Hope you have a good day.

No worries
James Thurlow