Raid the North official opening set for Saturday

The much anticipated Raid the North Extreme is almost set to finally get underway, a year later than planned and with a few new obstacles that had to be overcome due to the flood conditions of two weeks ago in the Terrace area.

With the wild and unpredictable nature of the Nortcoast weather in the spring, plans had to be changed to relocate portions of the race over to the Charlottes. Which should make for an even more unique venue for the seventh in these annual competitions, the first to come to the Northwest.

The Daily News featured a couple of stories on the last minute plans for the competition in th Wednesday paper.

World’s best adventure racers ready for wild time
By Kris Schumacher
The Daily News
Wednesday, June 20, 2007

Page one

As Prince Rupert prepares to host the six-day, 500-kilometre race that is Raid the North Extreme 2007, the city is abuzz with excitement.

Exact details of the race are unknown, as the course coordinates and logistics are kept secret from everyone, including the participants, until the night before the race begins.

But what is known is that the gruelling adventure includes trekking up thousands of metres in elevation, negotiating fixed ropes, paddling through portions of ocean swells, and mountain biking along remote and long-forgotten portions of trail.

And while this is the seventh official Raid the North Extreme race, founder and president Geoff Langford says that Prince Rupert provides a couple of unique experiences for participants.

"The first thing is the community spirit and community involvement that Prince Rupert has," said Langford, who's been busy planning this year's race since December of 2005. "We've never seen such a community payoff with our event. The second aspect is the terrain. Such incredible, wild and exciting terrain."

In fact, because it's so wild Langford and his group of planners had to throw out more than a year's worth of planning for the course because of the flooding of the Skeena River and surrounding areas.

"We even had backup plans that were thrown out the window," said Langford, who's also directing the race and will be on location each day. "So half of the race has been moved to the Queen Charlotte Islands, and they were happy to accommodate us."

While the race is designed only for those people willing to test their own physical limits and endurance, Langford says he wouldn't turn a team away if they still wanted to sign up.

"The website has a lot of information, and we do some testing at team registration," said Langford. "But we really leave it up to participants to determine if they can handle it."

Because of the sheer difficulty of the course, only around 60 to 75 per cent of teams are expected to cross the finish line. Each team of four racers is outfitted with a vacuum-sealed GPS tracking system for emergencies, or if they get lost.

In Frontier Adventure Racing's 10 years of operation, they haven't had to deal with injuries any wose than a torn shoulder or broken ankle.

The sport of adventure racing originated in France and New Zealand, and today there are events similar to Raid the North Extreme held all over the world. And through coordination with the major companies in New Zealand and Europe, Frontier has been able to draft safety standards that are used by most races regardless where they are put on.

Despite relocating, there will be a number of ways for the community to get involved with the race, including participating in the Adopt-A-Team or Check Point sponsorship programs, volunteering, and attending some of the free public events being held locally. The official start of the race will be held at Mariner's Park at 8 a.m. on Saturday, when racers will bike down to catch the 11 o'clock ferry, giving Prince Rupert residents a chance to see the teams in action before they travel to the Queen Charlotte Islands.

Aussie is the first among hoards of raiders
By Leanne Ritchie
The Daily News
Wednesday, June 20, 2007

Page one

The first Raid the North Extreme racer to arrive in Prince Rupert is looking forward to taking on the tides of the Pacific Oceans and the hills of the Coast Mountains.

As long as he doesn't get eaten by a bear.

Andrew Love of Sydney, Australia, a member of Team Intrepid Travel, arrived in Prince Rupert for the event on Sunday.

"It's a bit colder here than I expected it," Love said of the drizzly morning. "I've been here once before, about four years ago. I spent a lot of time up in the Yukon, and I came down here to get the ferry to Vancouver Island. I think that having Raid the North Extreme here will be great. The Coast Mountains are beautiful, and there are all the inlets, bays and waterways."

Team Intrepid Travel also includes Pete Cameron and Leanne Mueller of Bolton, Ontario, and Sean Roper of Toronto. On their on-line profile the team comments: "We're definitely off the beaten path for this one. Rumour has it that the tides are stupid huge, grizzlies like to eat Ontarians (& Aussies), and the mountains wield unforgiving punishment to flat-landers. Sounds like a challenge to us."

Team Intrepid Travel has been adopted by the Prince Rupert and District Chamber of Commerce. The Adopt-a-team program is designed to ensure that racers have the best experience possible and to allow local groups and businesses a way to participate more fully in the event.

Raid the North gets underway this Saturday when coed teams from around he world begin a 500-kilometre adventure.

The teams will be required to trek, mountain bike, paddle and negotiate fixed ropes, while navigating the unmarked racecourse through the wilderness.

Upon arriving in Prince Rupert, Love learned of this weekend's announcement that the course will now include BC Ferries and the Queen Charlotte Islands / Haida Gwaii.

He was ecstatic.

"That will be great," he said. "When I was first talking to Pete Cameron about where we were going, he said, If they take us to the Queen Charlotte Islands, that would be awesome.'"

There are many opportunities for the community to become involved with the race, including participating in the Adopt-a-team or Check Point sponsorship programs, volunteering, and attending some of the free public events.

People wishing to meet the teams are invited to attend the Opening Ceremony at the Lester Centre at 7 p.m. on Friday, where general details of the course will be unveiled. People can also attend the first Pub Night at Breakers Pub on Saturday.

Pub Nights at Breakers will continue throughout the event, supported in part by CFNR and the Prince Rupert Daily News, with daily updates on team progress.