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Posted by Grant on 27. December 2010 01:47
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Priorities shift now that I'm a parent, and adventure racing has to take a back seat to changing diapers and snuggling with the little bambina. 2011 still looks like a phenomenally adventurous year for me, though, with the following highlights already on the calendar:
- Swiss Winter ultra run (54 km) in late January 2011, with plenty of ice and snow and mountains and -- hopefully -- stunning scenery. Details over at http://www.UntamedAdventure.com/CRUX
- ARWS race in Ecuador for me and my "old" teammates from the USA in early March 2011; Sherry, Joel, and Russell will join me. Racing in the Andes is something I've always wanted to do, and who better to do it with than these friends I've known for a long while? Sherry and Joel raced in the very first HRAdventure race I organized in Virginia, a 6-hour sprint in Newport News park in 2004 -- and they're still racing, too. Life is about those lasting relationships and shared experiences, and I'm certain Ecuador will be a highlight. Race details are at http://www.elretoecuador.com/mushoq/huairaSinchiIngles/frontEnd/home.php
- In late May, of course, is our Adventure Racing World Series race in Switzerland that will be the biggest expedition race in the Swiss Alps in 10 years! Details on this race are at http://www.theAPEXrace.com and in the next week or so look for major new announcements regarding this event. Just some hints: besides opening race registration and announcing details on the schedule and gear requirements, the list of disciplines for this race will really excite anyone with an adventurous spirit . . . and we're working hard to keep the equipment requirements to a minimum (which means, where possible, we will be arranging for things like wetsuits, helmets, parachutes). Racers could travel light to the race, just bringing to Switzerland their good mountain bike, trekking gear, and clothing for the variety of weather possible in the Alps in the Spring.
After the Spring, my calendar is intentionally clear since our family will be doing the move back to the United States. We don't know exactly where, or exactly when, but it's safe to say that by the 4th of July 2011 we'll be settled in a <hopefully> dynamic town and getting on with things in North America! Staffan will stay in Switzerland to continue our efforts with the Apex race - Alpine Expedition . . . this race is generating a lot of excitement in Europe and sponsor support is only going to grow from this point forward, so I see it being a part of the AR landscape for the future.
I do predict a visit to Virginia later this year, hopefully to overlap with an HRAdventure event (to race or volunteer -- since Chris Roberts is one of our key staffers for Untamed events) and to deal with the giant storage unit we have in Newport News with all our earthly possessions from 2006 sitting inside it.
Living in a foreign country for several years guarantees that we'll return dramatically different people than when we left, and I personally hope that a meteor shower demolishes the Virginia storage unit and gives us some cold hard insurance cash instead of us having to sort through old couches, boxes of stuff, and the other *things* in there. Failing a meteor shower, though, I guess I should add a Virginia adventure in UHauling and storage unit archaelogy to my 2011 calendar.
Have a great final week of 2010 and hope to see you in 2011!