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Posted by Grant on 9. November 2009 20:45
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This much I know: I don't have a great picture of what is unfolding at the AR World Championships in Portugal, but I do know some things.
The things I do know are summarized over at Adventure World Magazine in my latest contribution there. Thanks to Colin, Twitter, and a host of blogs in various languages, I think I can report that Nike and OrionHealth are racing neck-to-neck.
One item that I didn't include on Adventure World was that a team had lots of gear stolen from their car on Sunday night, after the prologue but before the "real" race began. Colin mentioned he thought it was a Finnish team, or it could be team #53 (which is Czech team AlpinePro), and that the team was figuring out a way to carry on and compete in the race. It always is a heartbreaker to learn of teams having gear stolen, and I'm sure the hosts in Portugal are going out of their way to get replacement gear together. Often times, other teams will pitch in and share equipment where they can. That's one thing to love about this sport: everyone recognizes how hard it is to participate in a race like this, and if there is something another team can do to keep the AR dream alive for somebody else, they'll likely do it. So, hopefully this sad story of equipment thievery is more about a team overcoming adversity than it is about some Portugese kids selling really nice wesuits, trekking poles, and race food on Ebay.