The Final Preparations

The Scottish liquid sunshine is not putting a damper on the scene for teams who are gathered near the bank of loch Linie on the last day of preparation prior to the announcement of the course . some teams are still struggling with lost equipment and having to search out local sources for replacements, one team from Australia not only lost equipment in transit but also lost their woman team member. In the 11th hour a replacement was found Sara Odell, who has good expedition racing experience having competed in the Raid Gaulloises and also raced with former world champions Team Nokia.

Some teams have spent enormous sums of money on their kayaks rather than use the locally supplied ones, so it will be interesting to see if their investments pay off. The equipment checks and tests have been thorough and for abseiling all teams have to have a secondary safety device some using a prussic loop while others are depending on mechanical devices which weigh a few ounces more.

Many teams are racing together for the first time which can add extra stress during the race if they have not trained together before hand. Once the teams gear checks were completed they handed in their equipment boxes ready for transport to the first location which will be announced later today.

Teams Gather in Scotland for AR World Championship Final

Teams are gathering in the Nevis Centre for a day of gear checks and tests for the unsupported expedtion race which will crown a new AR World Championship team... It maybe Nike but Ian Adamson is no longer racing with them so the faces will be different even if they do win again.

There is a lone team from South Africa McCain Adventure Addicts, who are all good paddlers so that they will be hoping there is pleanty of sea kayaking in the course that will be revealed befor the start. The team do have a good pedegree having finished 13th out of 90 teams in the Primal Quest in Utah USA Jul 2006.

Once the checks are completed the teams will be sorting their equipment into boxes that the organisers will transport between support points along the route of the race. there will of course be some last minute packing as no one knows what the first leg of the course will be.

The AR Race of The Year

Teams are already gathering in Scotland for the 2007 AR world championships.

Nike are the defending champions and are expected to have a fight on their hands as at least 20 of the 49 teams are expecting a top five placing. The Wilderness ARC is aptly names as the teams will visit some of the wildest places in Scotland from Glen Coe, Lock Ness and Ben Nevis to the wild more and peat bogs of the North, all in all they will travel some 500 Km with height gains of 25,000 metres, by means of mountain biking orienteering and sea kayaking. There will also be rope sections strung out along the course to test the nerves of the best racers in the world.

Daily reports will be posted in this block and a full race report publish at International Adventurers http://International adventurers.com

Latest news briefing Humphreys,Perhaps its too tough. Wewill see. The weather will make it or break it for many teams, and that is very unpredictable. There is so much uncertainty ... Where will it start? Where will it finish? How many teams will complete the full course? What's the prologue all about? Will the satellite tracking work? Its so exciting!

Reunion D' Aventures May 2007

Tuesday 15th May 2007

The third day of the Reunion D' aAventures was almost exclusively devoted to orienteering for all three categories of competitors.

Teams in the Extreme category found traversed Grand Bassin before continuing via Piton Bleu and Piton Tortue, towards the Dimitile and its abrupt edges like that of the Grande Jument. The ascent went via the Calumets.

The Adventure category also had the Dimitile on its programme. The routes of the two categories Extreme and Adventure, joined at the foot of the Piton des Neiges with teams from the Discovery category who arrived directly from the Plaine des Cafres.

Reunited on a common route, all the competitors had to climb up to the Piton des Neiges before descending towards Hell Bourg.

At 6 pm, three Extreme teams and eight Discovery teams had completed this ascent and were descending towards Hell Bourg. Almost all of them were forced to camp outdoors without having reached their destination as night fell. Two Discovery teams also spent the night on the flanks of the Piton des Neiges. None of the Adventure teams had reached the shelter of the Dufour cavern yesterday evening, the obligatory point of passage before climbing to the Islands peak. Two Extreme teams were in the same situation.

There were no notable changes in the ranks. Five teams are in the Extreme category, including the leaders which team 14 LES ARCS QUECHUA-1, in front of team 4 AIGLE SYBELLES ESF and team 15 LES ARCS QUECHUA-2.

Ten teams who were unable to reach the Bateau cave by the cutoof time, are now in the Adventure category, with team no. 6 CAP OPALE-1 leading.

Finally, ten teams are classified in Discovery, where team 2 XTREM BORDACHES, holds the first place.

Three teams are continuing the race unclassified, due to injuries on the first day. One is continuing on the Extreme course, the two others on the Discovery course.