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Adventure Racers Don't know about you but we are still pinching ourselves, whatever happened to April showers - a few years ago it snowed in April yet last weekend sun cream was the order of the day, as they say in Adventure Racing expect the unexpected... So to Open Adventure news on the Open 5 series and the forthcoming endurance series with little snippets to keep your imagination and adventure taste buds running. Also a few pointers for where to get out on these sunny days whilst we further our mission to get more people outside in to this spectacular country we live in. 
Mountain Hardwear Open5
series Time comes around quickly and its less than four weeks to the next Open5 at Keswick on the 13th May (not the 12th as advertised in some quarters). The event promises to be a special one in the midst of the month of Adventure hosted by Cumbria Tourism. The event centre is at Keswick School which will provide more than ample space to spread out ones knackered body after 5 hours. As ever Accelerate will be in attendance so if you need to spend any pocket money they will be there to help you out with shiny bits of kit. http://www.openadventure.com/open5.htm Keswick - 13th
May 2007 Endurance series The endurance series made up of the Open5 at Keswick, the Open12 in the Dales and the classic Open24 in the Lakes is attracting record numbers, remember if you enter the series before the next Open5 you get 10% off all of the events.
The Open24 is shaping up particularly well with the whole event planned and key permissions sought, a little twinkle in the eye of yours truly as we have a stage never before included in Adventure Racing in the world, yet still very much sits within the spirit of the event - don't worry it will have all taking part grinning from ear to ear!!! Our plan is to get kit lists out for both the Open12 and Open24 by the end of this month - its likely that the Open12 kit list will be draft as permissions for certain aspects of the event are proving to be illusive, we have a pretty high standard for Adventure Racing and compromise is not something we take well. You can find the entry form online on the website here. http://www.openadventure.com/endurance_series.htm Open5 Keswick - 13th
May Event Support It's cheesy but we REALLY can not do this with out a little help, in fact lots of it - so if the thought of raising your pulse above 90 brings you out in a rash or you just fancy seeing what all the fuss is about why not come along and help, we have had pregnant ladies to vicars, teachers to engineers - the common factor is that they are all keen to help and get outside in some fantastic countryside whilst rubbing shoulders with some amazing racers. Put the dates in the diary and wing us an email.
Adventure Race Training The guys from Nav + Art are running a training day on Saturday 12th May (day before Open5) in the Lakes aimed at those going for the Open24, however if navigation is your rusty nail and you fancy a bit of advice, wing Joe and John an email it will be a pretty laid back affair by all accounts and will incorporate a chilled out evening so as not to knacker those at the Open5 on the Sunday. http://www.joefaulkner.com
For those at the last Open5 they will know that Tarquin Cooper raced with Stuart Hale for an article in Mens Fitness - Stuart wrecked poor Tarquin but they came in 6th, a pretty good show - you can read about Tarquins experience in this months Mens Fitness, although lads be careful where you leave the mag at home as the cover is sprawled with "Be a Sex God in your lunch hour". Also in the press is a cracking article in Runners World with top tips from Nick Gracie as well as the guys at Accelerate. A pretty balanced article with some good pointers to other races in the calendar and where they are. 
At the Races On the note of other races, thought it worthy to mention Open Adventure's neighbour up north "Wan Dae" John Laughlin is the man behind this venture with the backing of Detail events - we gave one ago of the weekend and had a great time. If you happen to be north of the border at the end of June check out their next event on the Isle of Arran. http://www.scottishadventureracing.com Arrogance does not work well in Open Adventure and whilst we are pretty proud of the events we run and are confident that they stand tall within AR in the UK, there is no question what the biggest event is UK Adventure Racing calendar is this year. The Wilderness ARC or as it is known this year the Adventure Racing World Championships - you can forget entries on the day for this 7 day epic, entries closed before Christmas and the line up includes pretty much all of the top Adventure Racing teams in the world. http://www.arwc2007.com
It also includes the best of our UK crop who are intent of giving the overseas guys a run for their money in what has historically been a very tough race due the terrain, weather and tricky navigation. It's 6 weeks to go, check out the team list here - you will see a good number of Open Adventure regulars picking a fight. Needless to say Rob Howard and crew from Sleepmonsters will be on the case and reporting the latest goings on during the race, if you have never followed a race like this online be prepared for addiction as it will be a 7 day Grand National with plenty of drama. http://www.sleepmonsters.com In the Outdoors Lastly we just thought it be useful to point you in the direction of a few handy websites. In the process of seeking access for our events, it soon becomes apparent that more of this country is open for running and possibly biking than initially thought from looking at an ordinance survey map. Looking through these websites we are pretty confident you will find places next door just ripe for that summer evening run.
Natural England - This website is Nature on the Map and highlights nature reserves, many have way marked walks with maps downloadable from the site. (NB SSSI's are Sites of Special Scientific Interest - bit sensitive). We found one local to us that included a 3 mile path through some spectacular countryside, just can't believe it was so close. http://www.natureonthemap.co.uk Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs - Landowners can receive payments for opening up land to use by the public (in excess of the Open Access Legislation). Many of the paths open up for use are not on OS maps and the only place you can find out about them is on this site or on a notice board by the path. You might be surprised what is in your area. http://countrywalks.defra.gov.uk/
Water Companies - the other place to check out for access is your local water company, many reservoirs have permissive paths and bridleways which are again rarely marked on OS maps. To find a link to your local water company check out the Water UK website. http://www.water.org.uk Finally on this list of resources is the Woodland Trust who manage huge areas of native woodland, these areas are often marked as Open Access on OS maps, but you can find out more details on your local woodland here. http://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk Enough of the education - hope you found it useful. Well we hope you find your way outside, Open Adventure is checking out the competion again in a few weeks time at the 1 day ACE Race in Cannock Chase with the Thurlows being accompanied by race marshal Jim Rounsley - if you see the tandem give us a wave.. See you in Keswick.. As ever no worries
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In the Papers 
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