Happy New Year..

Two dates are looming, the first is the Open5 event at Dalby Forest, yet another new venue to explore on the 27th January, and secondly if you are after a bargain the 1st of February is the deadline for cheaper entries for the Open12 and Open24. Read about these offers and a little book review below.

Open5 Dalby Forest - Yep its only 13 days away, another cracking venue - Paul Gomersall an Open Adventure regular is planning this event and we are pretty impressed with some of the surprises he has in store. Whilst Dalby Forest insinuates its in the trees, we plan to get you out of the woods to see some of the great wilderness the moors has to offer. We have also changed the website and added some ideas on how to make a weekend of your visit to the North York Moors so check out the details here.
http://www.openadventure.com/open5

We have moved the closing date for entries and changes to entries to midnight on the Thursday before the event, so if you are one of those who enter last minute on the Friday you might want to amend your calendar.

Merrell will be in attendance showing off their adventure wares, as well as the Accelerate Shop with some special offers from Mountain Hardwear (see below). We also hope to have a new sports nutrition brand on board for this event to keep you going over the five hours.
http://www.openadventure.com/open5



Endurance Series 

You really can't afford to miss these events if you are at all in to Adventure Racing. This series was rated very highly by all that took part last year. So best clear those diaries and make those apologies to your relatives wedding and find your way to the Open5, 12 and 24. 

The Open5 is in Open Adventure's back garden of the Lakes, and the 12 is planned for the Peaks where we have some real treats in store. The 24, well it needs little introduction - I thought it be tricky to beat our previous events but I have been astounded by the welcome and the variety of what we can do in Wales. One not to miss.
http://www.openadventure.com/endurance

Whilst we raise the flag of our events to competitors we always only just seem to make it through with volunteers so if you have a spouse or fancy finding out what the fuss is about it would be great to see you or them at the 12 or the 24 or any of the 5's for that matter.

Stuart from Accelerate dropped us a line to see if we could remind competitors about some of the offers he has for the Dalby event. You may want to pack a few more pennies as 20% off the retail price for these two is a little difficult to pass by.

The Mountain Hardwear Quark jacket (left of picture) weighs in at a minimalist 284grams (men’s large), has a water and windproof fabric and is surprisingly breathable.The recommended price is £140, whereas Open Adventure Competitors can purchase it for only £112

Also on offer is the popular Transition Featherweight. Made from Gore’s Next to the Skin fabric it is the favoured outwear of many competitors, or is that mid-layer, or perhaps even base layer… It is versatile, windproof and with a soft fabric inner to wick moisture away it is highly breathable. It only weighs 255grams so is ideal for training and racing. The normal retail price is £80, at Dalby you can get it for £64.

Little Print: Offer open to all Open Adventure Competitors by calling Stuart or Debs at Accelerate on 0845 8620276 or see them at the Accelerate stand at Dalby Forest. This offer is available till they run out or until March 10th 2008. For further details check out their website at http://www.accelerateuk.com 

One of our volunteers Jim Rounsley, who we also race with occasionally, has been making his 6 monthly pilgrimage to the states to play in the snow. He passed me one of his literary cast offs Ultramarathon Man - a very inspiring read which I thought I'd conclude this newsletter with.

Its one of those, 'I can't put it down books', 'excuse me if I am rude but I need to finish this book' type of rare finds. I have to confess the choice of American sporting biographies would not figure highly on my wish list. The whoop whoop high five slapping approach to sport makes my toes curl, but on the other hand a dose of enthusiasm is always refreshing.

So ladies once you have passed the pictures of the well toned body of Dean Karnazes you will find quite an amazing journey of how this overweight American graduated to endurance running. Its a story which really does convey what endurance sport is about. So if you need an excuse to sit on the sofa, pick this up from Amazon - but be warned it won't last long.

To buy it from Amazon click here

No worries
James Thurlow