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Posted by Grant on 17. November 2009 21:46
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Racers emerge from the forests of Untamed New England
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I came back from Portugal fired up about Untamed New England next year. There's lots to be excited about! We have an exciting TV contract in the works with a major New England ABC affiliate; we have some promising grant proposals submitted that should elevate our race infrastructure and alleviate a lot of the search & rescue stress from 2009; we have a really fun conservation project submitted for approvals, we are building on the community relations from previous years and genuinely integrating with the towns of New England -- this could be a race where every night is a major transition area, and also a major festival involving the villages the race goes near. I'm talking live music, bbq, and authentic New England hospitality. These remote New England communities are excited to support the amazing athleticism and determination on display in their wilderness.
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You might think: Grant got all this fresh energy from being at the
World Championships and you're right. Even though the race in
Portugal was controversial in format, and they abused their staff in
many ways (just ask Colin the Intern we haven't killed yet), I had a
bit of a revelation. We're on to something very special in New
England; many races can't fold the rugged off-trail elements that we
enjoy in Untamed New England. In Portugal, indeed in all of Europe,
humanity has dug in and spread everywhere. It's hard to find untouched
areas to the same degree as the Great North Woods in New England. I
spoke to many non North American teams at the World Championships who
were excited about the prospect of racing in such a wild and mysterious
area. The fact we don't permit support crews, either, makes the race
all the more accessible to those teams wanting to experience the
wilderness with as little hassle as possible. As far as I know, every
other race in the AR World Series requires a support crew.
One final element has me excited. We're homing in on Aug 11 - Aug 15 for our 2010 race dates and this, being one month later than last year, should make for a drier race than 2008 & 2009. We're really at the height of summer in the North Country, and you couldn't ask for a better time to experience the region.
So, look for a fresh release of the Untamed New England website in the weeks to come, an official announcement about dates, and the opening of registration soon. With this new TV deal we may opt to limit our teams to just what makes sense for coverage (30 teams?). You see, if we have the right TV revenue, we don't need additional teams to shape the race budget. This is virgin territory for us, as an organization, maturing into a true media property as well as an extreme endurance event.
Lots to be excited about!
One last thing: if racing is beyond your level of interest, we're going to need some exceptional volunteers in 2010 and we'd like to get them involved early in the conversation. We've got a new volunteer section for our website in development, but if you know of anyone who wants to see the Untamed New England up close and contribute to the success of the race, we want to talk with them! In particular, I'd like to track down a whitewater/paddlesports director (Bill Vickers I'm looking at you!) as well as a few other key roles . . .