News

10 September 2010 - Breede River Training weekend - This past weekend saw the Adventure Addicts descend on the picturesque Overberg district for some training and team building in preparation for their participation at the 2010  AR World Champ, held in Spain later this month. It was to be the first official group training session with newbie Donovan Simms and was planned to coicide with the annual Breede River Canoe Marathon.

The team arrived at the Felix Unite “Round the Bend” camp, which was to be their base, late on Thursday night. Training was kickstarted early on the Friday morning with a solid bike ride along the rolling dirt roads towards Infanta followed by a gruelling run through the plantation covered mountains behind the historic town of Swellendam, and then came the fun and games as the team took to the steep tarred hills of the town itself on their Rollerblades!

Saturday morning dawned bright as they travelled to the start of day 1 of the Breede Canoe Marathon at McGregor Bridge just outside Robertson. With both teams starting in A-batch, it was going to be interesting to see which of the boats made it to the finish line at Bonnievale first. The in-team competition between Hanno and Don, and Tatum and Tweet was high and paddles flew like rotor blades as the gun went. The river was medium with no swims for either of the crews as they finished within the top 40. The afternoons bike ride saw them once again taking to the fast rolling dirt roads surrounding the camp, with the day rounded off with some well deserved socialising, giving the guys and gal a chance to get to know each other all a bit better and enjoy the entertainment on offer!

Sunday morning, day 2 of the Breede started In Bonnievale and finished just outside Swellendam. After yet another successful day out, everyone headed back to their various homes to take on the new week of work and training, and nursing their broken bodies back to health!

9 September 2010 - MERRELL Eden Duo - The Adventure Addicts have confirmed that they will be competing in the upcoming MERRELL Eden Duo to be held in Wilderness on the 30th October. 

Race Director, Jan Heenop had this to say: "RACING THE EDEN - We hosted the Merrell Eden Duo event the past years in the heart of EDEN territory, between George and Knysna. The format is for pairs of any combination to come and race. We had wonderful experiences with the best adventure racers to take part over the years and we ‘ve give developing teams opportunities as well as for juniors to take part.

You can come and race in a triathlon over 150k’s or in an adventure race over 200k’s in pairs. The adventure race will discover new territory in 2010 with navigation being part of the endurance component of the event. If you are a mountain biker, or a runner or a paddler the option is to build up a relay team of 4 members. They will also be racing in pairs but you can relay through the terrain, giving legs or arms a rest till the next discipline. Why would you do it…because you can!

So this is the EDEN! The event boosts with absolute great natural beauty, amazing views and great comrade. The event is there purely  to enjoy the outdoors and a healthy lifestyle with a friend."

Checkout the Race website here and go an enter!

9 September 2010 - Do-It-Now - The Addicts feature on the cover of the latest edition of Do It Now magazine. The Magazine also features a comprehensive article on the teams exploits at the Australian XPD and has some stunning photo's from the race. You can view the magazine online at www.doitnow.co.za  Go check it out.

23 August 2010 - Hi-Tec Puffer - This past weekend saw Addicts Tatum "Hobbit" Prins and Graham Bird compete in the 80km Hi-Tec Puffer. This race starts at Cape Point and winds it's way through the numerous mountain tracks and paths to the Waterfront. It is a tough race and this past weekends high winds and cold weather made the going even tougher. Tatum Prins had a storming race and finishing in 8h37 in a brilliant six overall and second woman, while Graham Bird had a horrific race finishing way off the pace in 11h56. The busy racing schedule over the past few weekends that included the 40km Outinequa traverse trail run and the 230km Trans Baviaans MTB race had Graham feeling tired right from the start. Check out the Google Earth track of the Puffer route here (as download from Polar RS800CX).

Tatum reports on the Hi-Tec Puffer: 

Puffer  - The Mother of all Mothers

After finishing Australia XPD AR in June I set my sights and goals on Puffer…  “The Puffer is a no-frills, not-for-wimps 80km ultra for runners who run for the fun of it. There is NO prize money, NO big media coverage, NO fame.”  I so badly wanted this race. It is a long, hard run which was perfect for me….but not necessarily so perfect on the day..

Brrrrr! We woke up to howling winds and rain spattering the window. “Oh no… why today?” We all piled into the car and headed to Cape Point, nervous banter and chatter all round. We couldn’t figure out why we were doing this to ourselves. It just wasn’t making any sense at all! We arrived, no rain, just wind. I had to give myself a stern talking to. It went something like this:“Oh for heaven’s sake pull yourself towards yourself you weak *******  *****!” That was that! We got off the bus at Cape Point, the gun went off and we scurried off to run 24kms on tar. This I might add goes against every grain in my body.

Doof, doof, doof, doof, that was all I heard for that first 24km as we stomped our way through the reserve, up Red Hill and finally joined the track leading into the mountains. Thankfully I was running in a bunch and managed to sneak behind them, conserving all the energy I could. (thanks Brett!)  Somewhere along the tar I got the split that Caroline was 13min ahead. Holy smokes was all I could think and I couldn’t help but wonder how she was going to maintain that. “I’ll get her in the mountain I thought..” I ran the next section to Black Hill strong, getting a lead on the bunch I was with as we hit the single track. At this stage I had met up with a good friend Dom Strano who came out to join me for a couple km’s. It was so good to have a smiling face meet me on the track.

Once we hit Black Hill it was just Angelo and myself. I was very upset when he stopped for a pee in the Woodcutters trail. I so badly wanted some company up Die Ou Wa pad – it was not going to be pleasant in the headwind.. alone. Somewhere up Die Ou Wa Pad I met the cheerful trio of Jacque Marais, Karyn and Shane from Hi tec. They offered huge cheers of encouragement. I managed to splutter a couple of windswept words and ran on. I couldn’t afford to stop for even 1 second. Caroline was still hitting that pace hard. I had only managed to pull 4 minutes on her and I hadn’t even give a thought to what the race was doing behind me. I just knew I had to go hard and I and couldn’t let up, not even for a second.

By the time I got to Constantia Nek I had hit a low. From Silver mine dam, and up and over Vlakkenberg was sluggish for me. I should have got someone to run with me there. I was frustrated and getting anxious that I couldn’t pull any time. Once I arrived at the Nek I heard we were been taken around the mountain. My spirits crashed. I needed this mountain section. Running around would be difficult for me. Luckily at this point another great mate Costa Dimopolous joined me all the way to the  Waterfront. He was like the shining sun with his positive energy, quirky chirps and his usual full of sh*t self. What a treat to have him run with me.

We ran this section well, every now and again I felt a twinge of cramp in my calves. It would come like a little lightning bolt and my whole leg would kick out straight.
EAT, DRINK, EAT some more. I think I ate everything I had, drank 2 electrolytes and put my head down. If I wasn’t going to win I had to finish this race knowing I had tried my frigging best. When I didn’t want to run anymore that is just what I thought. “As long as you know you have given it your all..” Running the trail from the turnstile to Tafelberg road was crazy. The wind was so strong at times, it didn’t make any sense to run. It just blew us backwards. We hit the tar road and again the twinges began. My head and body just don’t do tar. It’s as simple as that. Once we reached the contour on Platteklip I started feeling ok again, the trail was fun and I knew it was home time soon.

Just Signal Hill left and what a mare! Just the thought of more tar was enough to make me stop dead in my tracks. This time Cos said it me. “Tats- is this everything you got? You got to finish knowing you did everything you could.” AAAARGHGGH!!! I kept running, my body was tired, the ligaments in my feet were hurting like a I don’t know what. Finally we got the check point and what a relief knowing it was downhill from there. I didn’t even notice the last bit of tar, all I could think about was crossing that line. Home sweet home. It felt so good to cross that line. 2nd  place and 6th  overall.

Even with the disappointment that I didn’t get what I wanted I absolutely gave it my best shot which is worth just as much. If I had got to the end and still had some in the tank I would have been horribly disappointed. Massive congratulations to Caroline!! She had a goal this year, a specific focus and she ran like a bat out of hell. What a superb race she had and so incredibly well deserved. 

A huge THANK YOU to all the people who made that day for me…   Serena, Martin and your team – thank  you for all the effort you put into  making this special event happen. Dom and Cos who were so awesome to come and run with me. Such gems! Such inspiration! Thank you to my support/ cheering squad,  namely my husband Lofts and the pups, Mom, Duds, Clay and Linds ( the family ) as they cheered and shouted at me when I went storming past. I didn’t even offer them a hi, sometimes  just a nod in their general direction. What they put up with.  Thank you guys.

Then to my fantastic sponsor, Salomon - the shoe that gets me across every trail and every mountain I set foot on. You are the best!

Over and out for now….next up 600km AR World Champs end of Sept! Watch this space..
Hobs"

17 August 2010 - Addicts successfully complete the Trans Baviaans MTB race - As part of the preparations for the upcoming ARWC, the addicts headed out to Willowmore in the Eastern Cape to compete in the Trans Baviaan's MTB Race. "Starting in Willowmore the route winds through beautiful mountain ranges into the magnificent Baviaanskloof, the Trans Baviaans is not only the longest single stage MTB team event in the world, but also one of South Africa’s premier mountain biking events." After  cycling through the spectacular Baviaanskloof, stopping off at well stocked watering tables and checkpoints, the race finishes at Jefferies Bay, 230km later. Adventure Addicts; Graham “Tweet” Bird, Hanno Smit and Donovan Simms completed the race in a time of 10h22 finishing in 17th position overall.

Checkout the race profile (as download from Polar RS800CX) here.

Donovan wrote this brief report: "I have often thought about doing the Trans Baviaans but shuddered at the mere thought of the 230kms of undulating terrain and how I might not be able to sit for a week. Then “Tweet” called and it was game on. Saturday morning saw Tweet, Hanno and myself set off on one of the best mountain bike rides I have done. The start was way too fast and had Hanno and I out of our comfort zones early, but things settled down after about 30kms. Other than a blow out on my back wheel which cost us about 20 minutes, the ride was pretty smooth sailing. A fast transition at Bergplaas saw us make up much wasted time. As it got dark we started some of the looong climbs I had heard so much about, these were made a bit easier by not being able to see just how long they really were. Finally after 10 hours and 21 minutes we crossed the finish line after a job well done. I would like say a special thanks to Kathy, our second, she was an absolute star."

Kathy van Dyk, the support driver for the addicts wrote this report: "Long lonely hours by yourself in the back up vehicle, following a string of other drivers, with the music blaring to keep yourself awake and then getting to checkpoints and meeting up with the other weary, but excited back up drivers anxiously awaiting the arrival of their teams.
 
Life as a back up driver is very different to that of a participant actually riding the race.  You have your responsibilities and you cannot let your team down.  You have to make sure you are prepared for their arrival and also to make sure you know your directions to the next check point as well.  If you do not arrive and check yourself in on time, your team will get a time penalty. 
 
I started off by busing it up to Willowmore, on Friday 13th August, with a team from Port Elizabeth.  Lots of laughing, but no stories out of this bus, as what happens on tour, stays on tour :)
 
We arrived just before sunset on Friday and boy, are the Karoo sunsets spectacular.  There was a jet stream across the sky, just as I remember it from last year.  The year may change, but the schedules and dates stay the same.  There were plenty of familiar faces at registration and while I was waiting for my team from Knysna to arrive, I went and found all my friends who were staying in the nearby boarding school and said hello.
 
Once my Team Adventure Addicts had arrived and we had our introductions, I checked in as their driver and got my booklet of instructions and a map.  I read it over and over again incase I missed something. 
 
My new team was amazing.  A group of adventure racers who did not appear in the least bit phased that they were to take on a 230km race the next day.  They casually packed their check point crates deliberating on how much time to stop at each and calculating the distances between each check point.  The main debate was where they thought they should leave their lights.  I remember spending hours trying to decide on what to pack into what box as there is always plenty to eat at most check points and boy, were our crates full compared to these guys.  I guess they are used to going 100% unassisted for distances and times way longer than they were anticipating for the next day.  They were still casually discussing getting "home" by Sat evening.  When I rode last year, I knew I would be no where near home by the same day :)
 
Thanks to a team member’s wife, we had a hearty supper.  It was an amazing lazagne and 5 of us managed to polish off a really big dish.  We stayed in a Willowmore family's home, complete with cat, dog and kids.  It is amazing how the entire town comes together and completely welcomes all these crazy mountain bikers once a year.  The weather was remarkably good, but non the less, still a freezing winters evening for us who normally reside at the coast.
 
We sat down to a hearty Karoo breakfast prepared by our hostess the next morning and the men casually prepped themselves for the "ride" doing a few last minute bike checks and by 9.45am we were on our way. 
 
I drove my support vehicle down to the start and watched the hundreds of cyclists taking off into the dusty distance.  Fellow driver James and I sat down to a coffee (caffeine yes please) before heading off back towards Uniondale, Joubertinia and finally Hankey, Patensie and Hadleigh.  I stopped at Padlangs Cafe for a 3pm lunch with my other driver friends Ian and Conrad before going to Check Point 5 (Hadleigh Pakhuis) and clocking myself in at 3.46pm.  We had to be there an hour before our teams arrived and my team had given me good estimations of their arrival times.
 
My guys arrived at just before 6pm, so it wasn’t quite dark and this is the first time I had seen them since take off that morning.  They were mostly looking rather strong considering the speed they had evidently been riding at.  They had encountered one mechanical en route.  A side-wall slash which they had to stop twice for and which cost them 15 minutes.  I heard later they had only stopped for 7 minutes at the top of Bergplaas (CP4).  Time enough I am sure only to put on their lights and a very quick bite to eat.
 
CP 5 transition was just as fast.  I had hardly wiped out my eyes, given them warmer clothes, fresh snacks and a packet of baby potatoes and juice and I was back in the van now heading for CP7 which was 43.5 kms away at Zuurbron Farm.  I knew they were fast and I had to check in way ahead of them.  So, without breaking the speed limits and trying to read the map which was now rather dog-eared, by torch light, I managed to make my way in the dark to CP7. 
 
It is always amazing to hear a familiar voice from out of the darkness.  I was offered a cuppa coffee by Mug a Transbaviaans Training Camp partner while we watched some of the top teams coming in and while I was awaiting my teams arrival. 
 
Good estimation of their arrival times was in my favour.  They only filled up their water bottles at this stop.  I quickly ran to get my check out sticker, jumped back in the van and when I was ready to drive off, only then were they allowed to go.  On my arrival I had already reset my trip meter so in the haste to get out I would not forget and had re-studied the map and trip distances to J-Bay, Kabeljous, which was the finish line.
 
I arrived within my 20 minutes required time and cheered them over the finish line at just after 8pm.  Spur burgers were free to all riders and drivers and I collected my team’s burgers and gave them cokes and we all sat down and tucked into what was possibly the best burger I have eaten in years :) Spirits were high and yes, they had arrived at the finish line in the same day.
 
After dropping them at their B&B for some well deserved rest a hot shower and a comfortable bed, I then went back to the finish line to wait for my previous year’s team mates, fellow Fat Tracks members and friends.  I was there till just after 12pm and there were still weary cyclists coming across the finish line, but all with one thing in common, a smile on their faces. 
 
I know it’s an amazing achievement for anyone and to be on the support side of things gave me a completely different perspective.   I thoroughly enjoyed my job as back up driver and support but I will hopefully be back on the bike and well trained by this time next year so I too can take on the challenge of 230kms, through the Baviaanskloof within the specified 24 hours and maybe also arriving home on the same day."

16 August 2010 - Donovan Simms joins the Adventure Addicts for the ARWC 2010 - Experienced East London Adventure Racer Donovan Simms will be joining the Adventure Addicts for the ARWC at the end of September 2010. Donovan has been AR since 2003 and was a raced in numerous races all over South Africa as well as two international races at XPD Portugal in 2007 and XPD Australia in 2008. Donovan raced with the Adventure Fanatics at Swazi 2009 and brings a great mix of strengths to the team.

15 August 2010 - Tatum on Go Multi Cover - The Addicts "Hobbit", Tatum Prins features on the cover of the latest edition of Go Multi Magazine. The Magazine also features an article on the Hobbit. Go check it out.

1 August 2010 - Adventure Addicts prepare for World Adventure Racing Championships - The Adventure Addicts are in the final eight weeks of preparation for the World AR Championships that will be taking place in Spain at the Bimbache Extrem from the 30th Sept to 8th Oct 2010. The team has a number of events lined up as training events before heading into the final few weeks of "speedwork". Events planned include the Houtbay trail run in July, the Outeniqua Traverse Trail Run, Trans Baviaan's MTB race and the Puffer Trail run - all in August. Reports from these races to follow.

28 July 2010 - Winning team at XPD misses a Checkpoint - so it has now been almost three months since the Adventure Addicts successfully completed the XPD in Australia. The race was a 700km and  was one of the toughest events the individuals in the team had competed in. The race took the team just over six and a half days to complete through the harsh terrian that northern Queensland offered. It has take a number of months to get over the phyiscal, mental and emotional stress the team members went through.

As it turned out there was a final leg of the race that the team have spent the past few months battling through. The Adventure Addicts completed the race late night Tuesday 25th May finishing in second place, four and a half hours behind Team Blackheart from Australia. Final prize giving took place on the evening of Friday, 28th May. About an hour before prize giving we heard a rumour that Blackheart had missed a checkpoint. Upon hearing this, Team Captain Graham Bird approached AR World Series director, Geoff Hunt to enquire about this. Geoff knew nothing about this but proceeded to find out from the XPD race director Craig Boycroft. Geoff reported back to us about 20 mins before prize giving that it was indeed true that Blackheart had missed a checkpoint and had been given a 1 hour penalty. As can be expected we were horrified and went to chat to the race director, who seemed more concerned with starting prize giving on time that sorting out the issue of the leading team missing a CP. Prize giving proceed and we subsequently submitted an appeal to the penalty handed down to Team Blackheart. In our minds, clipping the compulsory checkpoints in an adventure race are a fundamently requirement of AR and missing a CP would result in becoming unranked. We have spent the past few months in correspondence with the Race Director, the AR World Series and fellow adventure racers. It seems the decision has not been a popular one. The race organiser has justified the "lightness" of the penalty by claiming adherance to the XPD race rules, but fails to identify the "Race Penalties Committee" that imposed the penalty as required by the XPD rules. So ultimately it seems the team that was awarded the victory at XPD missed a CP. It has been a long and hard road for the Addicts to come to terms with, considering they received an effective 60 hour penalty at the Bull of Africa 2008 for failing to clip a CP. 

31 May 2010 - McCain goes extreme at XPD - SA’s Team McCain Adventure Addicts recorded their best international result ever in Australia, where they took part in the XPD Cairns 2010 expedition race. This no-holds-barred, multi-disciplinary event – a key race in the Adventure Racing World Champs - saw the SA foursome race non-stop for six and a half days over 700km to claim second place. 

This time, they seemed to have bitten off more than they could chew … The four McCain campaigners may be old hands when it comes to adventure racing, but trekking, running, kayaking, snorkeling, biking and rafting through croc territory for six days or more might be pushing the limits, even for them.

Let’s say that the ‘Adventure Addicts’ were able to avoid the ‘salties’ (local parlance for the salt-water crocs, which max out at up to a 1000kg), they would still run the full gamut of other Australian nasties. The fact is, they were facing up to the XPD Cairns 2010, a 700km expedition race, constituting a gruelling course through one of the wildest regions on the world’s most dangerous island...

‘Stinging trees’, which the teams ran foul of on Day Two within the Misty Mountains rain-forest near Ravenshoe, were a case in point. Contact with the toxic trees caused extreme pain and distress, and treatment by the race medics reduced several hard core adventure racing heroes to tears. Skin areas exposed to insidious thorns are treated with a solution of hydrochloric acid in order to break down silicon tubes broken off in the skin. Following this, the area is waxed repeatedly in an effort to remove remaining capsules, thus adding even more pain to the ‘cure’.

Despite the gauntlet of vicious vegetation, extreme white-water and the gnarly topography of the Cairns region, McCain hit the straps right from the word go. The daunting event, which started with a snorkeling and orienteering leg at midday on May 19th commenced at pace, but McCain realised they had to go hard and stick with the front runners, or lose out on the biggest race of their lives.

And so McCain did just that, which is the only way to go when you’re running with the big dogs of AR. From the start gun, they snorkeled, trekked and coasteered Dunk Island, then banged straight into a 100km mountain biking stage before rafting the white-water thrill-ride that is the Tully River gorge. A massive monster of a trek followed on Day Two (as did their encounters with the ‘stinging trees’) and yet they persevered.

Together with the leading bunch, including world-beaters such as Teams Blackheart, Orion and Merrell, they toiled tirelessly, and steamed into mid-camp after more than 70 hours of non-stop racing. With the exception of an enforced sleep at the start of the race, they had not rested and, as expected, the dreaded Sleep Monster pounced during their ensuing paddling leg along the spectacular Walsh River.

Not wanting to lose sight of Orion, Merrell and Blackheart, the Adventure Addicts pushed mind, body and soul to the limit as they trekked towards Mount Mulligan. But, after nearly 34 hours of bush-whacking, their minds and bodies could do no more and, in the words of their Team Captain Graham Bird, “we collapsed like dead bodies in the transition area to pass out for a solid three-hour sleep’.  
 
Strangely enough, this much-needed rest rejuvenated McCain, and despite being more than 12hrs behind the leaders (and four hours behind 3rd placed Merrell), their new-found energy allowed them to kick up a gear. Within less than a day they had overhauled Merrell and cut the overall lead down to a mere six hours. Unbeknownst to them, Team Orion had to withdraw from the race after over-cooking the last two legs, and the SA foursome were now lying in second place!

So far, they had managed to survive (or avoid) poisonous plants, marine ‘stingers’ such as the box jellyfish (rated the most lethal sea creature on the planet), tarantula spiders as big as side plates, the odd crocodile and a selection of seriously venomous snakes. According to Bird, their most dangerous encounter came within the last few kilometres of the race as they were navigating their way through the streets of the city of Cairns.

“Tatum was walking along the sidewalk and, after six and a half days with less than eight hours’ sleep, we were all out on hour feet. What looked like a stick turned out to be a 1.5m extremely pissed-off snake, but at least this meant we crossed the finish line fully awake”! The XPD took its toll, however, and both Bird and Iain-Don Wauchope had to spend the night in hospital to undergo treatment for dehydration and serious infection on leg wounds encountered during the night hikes.

Thousands of fans around the country followed the progress of McCain Adventure Addicts though live satellite tracking, and there must have been collective cheers and tears as they finally reached the end of their epic expedition. In a telephonic interview with the team, they all echoed the words of their Team Captain: “This was without a doubt the toughest task we have ever faced in our lives”.

“We aimed for a Top 10 finish”, says Team Captain Graham Bird, “and therefore placing second against the top Adventure Racing teams in the world is ultimately satisfying”. Bird hails from Knysna in the Western Cape, as does work-horse Hano Smit. Tatum Prins, also known as ‘Hobbit’, from Cape Town, and AR Newbie Iain-Don Wauchope made up the rest of the foursome. The team members excel in a range of disciplines as varied as paddling, mountain biking, trail running and navigation, and the extreme climate, topography and conditions in north-eastern Australia suited their style of racing down to the ground.

29 April 2010 - ADDICTS HEAD TO AUSTRALIA - After a quiet second half of 2009, after their brilliant fourth place finish at the AR World Series Race in Spain at the Bimbache Xtreme in May 2009, they once again find themselves taking to the sky as they travel to North Eastern Australia with the Tropical city Cairns as their ultimate destination. 

The Australian XPD Adventure Race, a 700km expedition style event which takes place from the 17th to 28th May and is set to be the World Champs in 2011.
The Addicts are up against 50 teams of four competitors from around the globe, as they trek, mountain bike and kayak for five to ten days in this world renowned expedition. These adventurers will race day and night over a 800km course pushing themselves to the ultimate limits of human endurance. The 5th Edition of XPD will be held in Cairns and promises to take teams through the most beautiful terrain that Queensland has to offer. 

“This race couldn’t come at a better time as “actual racing” is the best preparation we can do for the AR World Champs that will be held in Spain later this year”,  says Tatum “Hobbit” Prins.

Extract of Course Details - “The course is generally linear and it will be “as much an expedition as a race”. Teams are provided a course booklet and maps 24hrs before the start. The course booklet contains the location of each of the race checkpoints. To complete the course teams must navigate through all the checkpoints and arrive at the finish line at Race HQ. The course will be challenging for first time expedition racers and experienced teams alike.
It is expected that the winning team will complete the course in 4-5 days. All other teams will be permitted up to 10 days to complete the course. Organisers have removed mid race cut-offs and allow the full 10 days for teams to complete the expedition. This format is particularly attractive for teams attempting their first expedition length adventure race. If you finish early then you are encourage d to remain at Race HQ and enjoy some of the local activities or just kick back and relax.
Organisers plan to take competitors through the Great Barrier Reef and nearby islands, the rich and diverse rainforests of the wet tropics, over waterfalls and cascades that feed crystal clear rivers, across lakes of the tablelands and through eucalypt woodlands of the Eastern savannah country. Organisers even plan to incorporate some of the iconic legs undertaken in the Eco-Challenge of 97.”

4 April 2010 - AN ACTION PACKED YEAR AS THE McCAIN ADVENTURE ADDICTS GEAR UP FOR WORLD CHAMPS - After a rather slow start to 2010, the Addicts have been working hard at increasing their speed as they gear up for the exciting line up of races on both the national and international AR calendars.  December holidays saw the addicts drifting lazily down the Orange River, exploring the forests of the garden route and of course paddling the open seas in search of that elusive “big one.”
With the arrival of January and what is to be an action packed 2010, the team has started to get more streamlined – and by this I mean not only around the middle – with the decision to race only one team, consisting of Graham “Tweet” Bird, Tatum” Hobbit” Prins, Andre “Gie-man” Gie and Hanno ”Smelly” Smit.

WARTRAIL 19th – 21st March 2010 - On the racing front, first up for the Addicts was the Wartrail. Set in the picturesque North Eastern Cape, this 3 day event tested the mind, body and soul as competitors took on the 65km trail run through the Southern Witteberg, 135km cycle along the Tele River and Lesotho border to the banks of the mighty Orange River and finally paddling its brown swirling waters to Aliwal North, some 60km downstream.  This event, organized by Bloemfontein based Adrian Saffy, was every bit as challenging, enjoyable and brilliantly organized as years past. Well done to the Addicts as they came out tops with Andre “Gie-man” Gie taking top honours in the men’s race and Tatum “Hobbit” Prins in the ladies race.

AUSTRALIA XPD 17th– 28th May 2010 / 700km - The Addicts will soon be taking to the sky as they travel to North Eastern Australia with the Tropical city Cairns as their ultimate destination.  The race, a 700km expedition style event which takes place in the second half of May, promises to take teams through the most beautiful terrain that Queensland has to offer. This race is the perfect event to get the Addicts sharp for the 500km Adventure Racing World Champs that will be staged in Spain later this year…their ultimate goal.

KNYSNA FESTIVAL - July 2010 - The World Cup will certainly be a good excuse for some recovery time after XPD, with feet up and a plate of McCain oven baked chips close at hand, the addicts will have all they need to ensure that come July and the Knysna Oyster Festival, they are ready to perform at full throttle.  There is certainly no shortage of fun to be had at this annual sports festival. The first weekend kicks off with a 80km mountain bike race followed by the not so soft 13km featherbed trail run, the Xterra at the Pezula field of dreams, the ever popular forest marathon and just when the upper body starts to feel left out, the waterfront rush will certainly get the blood going and if you’re looking for something a little less heart stopping, there is even a canoe race with which to end off the weeks festivities – oh, and did I mention the fabulous social engagements? The events are endless and the Addicts will be there! Come and join in the fun 

OPTIONS ARE ENDLESS… August 2010 - August is set to be one of the busiest months on the calendar. There is something for all the Addicts to enjoy. Addicts Graham “Tweet” Bird and Tatum “Hobbit” Prins are going to take tackle the 80km Puffer running event while Hanno “Smelly” Smit will bike the Transbaviaans - 235km to be completed in 24hrs. That’s not all, the addicts will also enjoy a bit of white water and sprint race action at the Palmiet River Festival. So with all this to choose from, the Addicts are going to be very busy indeed!

ADVENTURE RACING WORLD CHAMPS / 500km BIMBACHE EXTREME - October 2010
The Addicts’ big goal for the year! This year the AR World Championships will be held in Spain at the Bimbache Xtreme. The event is to be held in the drier inland regions of the country starting in Avila and finishing in Salamanca.  It will be the main focus for the Addicts this year as last year they had a very commendable top 5 finish in the Bimbache, despite a last minute change to the team line up. The Addicts will have to navigate over 500km’s while they paddle, mountain bike, trek, in line skate and much much more. The lineup will include all the top teams from around the world as they race their guts out to see who will be the 2010 World Champion.

EDEN DUO - October 2010 - October brings along the annual Merrel Eden Duo organized by Jan Heenop. This is a great race for novices and old salts alike with easy navigation and a single day multi stage format, taking competitors through some of the most beautiful terrain the Garden Route has to offer.  Last year saw a great tussle amongst the McCain members, this year promises to be no different!

The year will be rounded off with the Sabrina Love Ocean Challenge in Plett. This two day event in aid of charity has something for everyone, swimming events, a paddle, beach run, mtb and kids duathlon.  With so many different events to choose from, the Addicts will certainly be kept out of mischief for at least some of the time...and I didn’t even begin to mention all the mountain bike, trail running and paddling races the Addicts will do for training…phew…the life of an Adventure Addict.

Let the fun begin!

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