Adventure Racing News
presented by Inov-8

Announcing The Gear Junkie's Choose-Your-Adventure Sweepstakes
posted Wednesday, October 15, 2008 by Yak @ 1:07 PM - 0 comments

The sweepstakes -- sponsored by Lazyman, a lifestyle apparel company, and REI Adventures -- will award a randomly-drawn winner their choice from one of five professionally-guided winter adventure-travel trips in early 2009.

In addition to airfare and the all-expenses paid trip, the winner will be outfitted head-to-toe with all the essential gear from REI, including backpacks, apparel and hardgoods like snowshoes and ice axes (depending on the adventure).

The winner and a travel companion will pick between one of five REI Adventures trips, including:
  • Mount Washington Winter Climb
  • Sequoia Winter Mountaineering Clinic
  • Yosemite Snowshoe Trip
  • Ice Climbing Basics in New Hampshire
  • White Mountains Hut-to-Hut Snowshoe
Attending the winter adventure with the winner and a guest will be The Gear Junkie, Stephen Regenold, a nationally-syndicated newspaper columnist and founder of GearJunkie.com.

After the adventure, a party sponsored by Lazyman will celebrate the weekend's accomplishments with music, food and drinks - with participants having "earned their lazy."

Finally, participants will receive additional gear for the chosen adventure from Adventure Medical Kits, Bear Naked Trail Mix and Wigwam, co-sponsors of the sweepstakes.

The sweepstakes will run from October 1 through December 17, 2008. The trip will be chronicled daily on a blog at GearJunkie.com and video and online slideshows will be produced.

For more information, visit http://www.thegearjunkie.com/sweeps

Odyssey Adventure Racing 2009 Schedule
posted Wednesday, October 8, 2008 by Yak @ 3:46 PM - 0 comments

Jan. 17-18, One Day Xtreme 30hr AR, Virginia

Apr. 16-19, Endorphin FIX 3.5 Day AR, West Virginia

May 23-24, Wild, Wonderful 24hr AR, West Virginia

Jun. 21-27, Adventure Racing Academy, West Virginia

July 25-26, One or Two Day AR (TBA), Virginia

Sept. 19, Trail Running Rampage (40, 26.2 & 13.1 miles), Douthat S.P., VA

It's Darn Tough to find good socks
posted Thursday, October 2, 2008 by Yak @ 12:07 PM - 0 comments

There are a lot of socks on the market. Many of them are good...some of them are great. Darn Tough socks are simply awesome and for that reason (among others as you'll read below) Checkpoint Zero is thrilled to announce Darn Tough Vermont as our newest sponsor.

I set out writing this intending to introduce you to Darn Tough myself...the company and the socks. In the course of clicking around their website it occurred to me that I was never going to do as good a job explaining what makes them and their product so exceptional (and so very different from their competition) as they already have.

So here's Ric Cabet on Darn Tough:

Over a quarter century ago our family opened a mill and began making socks in Northfield, Vermont.

Frigid winters and humid summers taught us that all socks are not created equally. Living in the most unforgiving climate in the lower 48 our socks had to be tough and of course they certainly had to keep our feet dry. Whether skiing, hiking, biking, or running, our feet were oblivious to the elements.

Time moves on. Technology advances. Innovations follow. Over the years, we have tweaked and modified our performance socks to perfection.

Just over a year ago we launched Darn Tough Vermont, The Premium All Weather Performance Sock, and dare we say, the toughest sock on the market, knit here, in our mill in Northfield. As a 3rd generation sock guy, I can tell you that what has kept my family in the sock business, in America, is the pursuit of quality. To date, DARN TOUGH VERMONT, is the culmination of those efforts.

It's a brand uniquely created around a single, fine gauge needle, which means all our socks, from our Mesh running sock, to our over-the-calf Full Cushion ski sock, fit your foot exactly the same. It's custom counts of Merino wool and an exclusive blend of Coolmax which makes our socks incredibly strong and comfortable. And It's all about the knitting. Three generations of knitting know-how means, well, we know how.

As the maker and marketer of Darn Tough Vermont we are unique. In an era of outsourcing and corporate takeovers, we are still true to our roots. Family owned and run, in Vermont, since 1978. In a word, local. Our experience is our reputation and we back it up with our lifetime guarantee. If our All Weather Performance Socks aren't the most comfortable and durable socks you've ever owned, return them for your money back."

As we like to say, "We know socks, we wear 'em year 'round."

Darn Tough will make it's debut as a Checkpoint Zero sponsor at the Upstate Adventure Race on October 25th in Cleveland, SC.

Labels: , , ,

SPOT Satellite Messenger Wins The Wall Street Journal Technology Innovation Award for 2008
posted by Yak @ 9:09 AM - 0 comments

SPOT LLC, a subsidiary of Globalstar, Inc (NASDAQ:GSAT) and the pioneer behind the award-winning SPOT Satellite Messenge, today announced that the company has received the prestigious 2008 Wall Street Journal Technology Innovation Award for its SPOT Satellite Messenger that was named this year's winner of the Consumer Electronics category. This marks the sixth industry award for SPOT since being introduced in November of 2007.

The Wall Street Journal received more than 700 entries to be considered for the Innovation Awards. Judges looked for innovations that broke new ground in their field and demonstrated a measurable impact. Only four percent of the entries received the final award in 19 different categories.

The SPOT Satellite Messenger is a hand held personal safety communications device that uniquely combines GPS and simplex satellite technology, enabling users to stay in contact directly and reliably with friends, loved ones and emergency responders from virtually anywhere around the globe - even the most remote places - independent of cell phone coverage.

"To be singled out by the Wall Street Journal as the most innovative consumer electronics technology for 2008 from a field of hundreds of breakthrough products is truly a prestigious honor for our team," said Darren Bassel, Director of Marketing for SPOT LLC. "SPOT was designed to increase safety in the outdoors where traditional means of communication are limited or non existent and to provide peace-of-mind for friends and loved ones through satellite communications. SPOT has quickly established itself as an everyday lifestyle product that does much more. Today, tens of thousands of people around the world - from outdoor adventurers to soccer moms to trucking companies and social networks, are using the SPOT Satellite Messenger to stay in touch and track the GPS locations of the people that are the most important to them."

SPOT is battery-operated (two AA lithium batteries), rugged, and waterproof, and allows users to send satellite text and email messages for help, or to check-in and inform loved ones that they are out of harms way. In an emergency, SPOT will notify GEOS, an international emergency response center used to dispatch local rescue authorities to the SPOT user's GPS location.

Since its debut the SPOT Satellite Messenger has helped save more than 40 lives with its 9-1-1 emergency message function. SPOT retails for $169.99 SRP with a $99.99 annual subscription service. SPOT is available at more than 5,000 points-of-sale including retailers in the United States and Canada and at www.findmespot.com.

Labels:

Registration for the 2009 Checkpoint Zero Adventure Race is now OPEN
posted Wednesday, October 1, 2008 by Yak @ 10:24 AM - 0 comments

After two successful events in Helen (2007) and Hiawassee (2008), the premier adventure race in the southeast is heading to Dahlonega, GA.

The 2009 Checkpoint Zero Adventure Race presented by Inov-8 will take place on March 7, 2009. It will be hosted by the R Ranch in Dahlonega.

An entirely new course, designed by Tony Berwald, awaits competitors that will travel from as far away as California, Washington and Vermont. They make the trip to be part of a race with a storied history and reputation for difficulty that challenges the more competitive racers and a format that lets less experienced teams reach the Finish in under 30 hours for an official ranking by skipping checkpoints.

The 2009 Checkpoint Zero Adventure Race will be part of the soon to be announced 2009 Checkpoint Tracker Adventure Racing Series presented by Inov-8.

The first 10 teams to register and pay their entry fee (in full) will receive their choice of Checkpoint Zero branded Velocity Visors or Adventure Hats from Headsweats.