Entries for Anaconda Adventure Race Lorne close this weekend

Entries for the Anaconda Adventure Race Lorne close on November 26th. That's this Sunday!

We'll still accept late entries up until the Saturday before the race, but they'll incur a $30 late fee, and you'll miss getting your name in the race program.

We had a great day at Lorne last weekend for the familiarisation day, where over 100 athletes enjoyed a sneak preview of the course while romping around in the sea air and rolling tracks of the Otway Ranges. Come race day, Lorne will be abuzz with 1,000 athletes and thousands more supporters cheering everybody on.

So enter online now and get down to Lorne on December 10 to enjoy a wonderful day out.

Anglesea MTB Race - 8th December, 2006

Entries are now open for the Anglesea MTB Race. Click here to enter online right now.

The Anglesea Mountain Bike Race, hosted by the newly established Surf Coast Offroad Riders (SCOR) mountain bike club in partnership with Rapid Ascent., organisers of the Lorne Anaconda Adventure Race, is to be held on Friday 8th December, 2006 starting at 6.00 pm.

This race is a prelude to the main Anaconda Adventure Race and kicks off a huge weekend of action. If mountain biking is your main thing or you need something a little extra to make your weekend complete then get your entry in now. Anglesea is set to be the next hot spot in mountain biking. With the recently completed Anglesea Bike Park mountain cross track designed by world renowned course designer Glen Jacobs, the foundations have been laid for the creation of further world class mountain bike trails.

Anglesea is surrounded by 15,000 acres known as the Anglesea Heath and is the eastern gateway to the Great Otway National Park. The race begins at Coogoorah Park, Anglesea and utilises the extensive existing trail network in the Anglesea Heath. The Heath offers a great mix of challenging climbs and long descents ensuring plenty of passing opportunities and tight racing. Throw in a good amount of single track and this rounds out the 20km course finishing back where you started at Coogoorah Park, near Anglesea.

Get your entry in for now for this one ...

Athlete Profile, Anaconda Adventure Race Lorne: Tim Ellison

Tim Ellison, 42, works over 60 hours each week, and has six children. He still trains most days, and twice on weekends. Tim has raced five Ironman triathlons with a PB of 9:10 in 1993, and a Hawaii PB of 9:27. Tim's now moved to adventure racing.

To ride up a hill higher than 200m, Tim must travel 130km. His kayaking training partners are box jellyfish and crocs and he sweats 3 litres an hour when training. Tim won the veteran section of the Gold Coast Anaconda Adventure Race on a mountain bike he bought from a French backpacker. Tim's a hard man.

At Lorne, Tim's greatest fear is getting an ice-cream headache in the swim. Tim's from Darwin. {Click here for the full story.}

Otway Odyssey field hots up: Athlete Profile, Tory Thomas

Over 500 riders have entered the Otway Odyssey Mountain Bike marathon, and with 10 weeks to go, the field will reach its capacity well before entries close. So if you haven't entered yet, get your entry in now!

You'll be joining a star-studded field of mountain bikers including Chris Jongewaard (2nd Herald Sun Tour, 4th Commonwealth Games), Tim Bennett (2nd Cycle Epic), Shaun Lewis (winner Highland Fling), Emma Colson (7th Commonwealth Games) and Tory Thomas (winner Cycle Epic).

In the lead up to the Otway Odyssey, we'll profile some of the riders, both the big names and the weekend warriors. To kick things off, we chat to Tory Thomas, winner of September's Cycle Epic ... {Click here for the full story.}

Athlete Profile, Anaconda Adventure Race Lorne: Prickly Pair

Peter Foster, 46, will return to Lorne this year to race in the Veterans pair's category, after placing 3rd in the individual veteran's category in 2005.

As one-half of Prickly Pair, Peter will devote himself to the paddle and run legs. Known as Fozzey to his friends, Peter is celebrated as an Olympic bronze medalist in the K2 1000m Kayak Pairs at Seoul in 1988. Peter also won numerous Australian titles in surf life saving, "When I had a full head of hair."

Peter entered the Anaconda Adventure Race at Lorne for the challenge. "It also gives me a reason to get up and train and whilst training motivates me to go harder." says Peter.

Peter's weekly training for Lorne includes three paddles, 2-3 gym sessions, 2-3 runs and a session of yoga.

Peter Bolton, 46, is the second half of Prickly Pair and is responsible for some fast swim and mountain bike splits. Peter has excelled in a number of sports including water skiing at state and national level and cricket and car racing. Peter also has a strong history in triathlon, having represented Australia at the World Triathlon Championships 1991.

Unfortunately, we don't have any file photos of Mr Bolton, so we can't tell you about his hair.

Good luck at Lorne chaps!

Burnet Institute - donate to a worthy cause and win an amazing prize

The Burnet Institute is Australia's largest communicable diseases research institute, investigating some of today's most serious viral infections such as HIV/AIDS, hepatitis and measles.

The Burnet Institute is the only medical research institute to be accredited for funding by AusAID, an Australian Federal Government overseas funding agency. Rapid Ascent donates $5 of every entry fee from all Anaconda Adventure Races to the Burnet Institute, but Burnet need all the help they can get.

You can donate to the Burnet Institute by sponsoring your favourite competitor in any Anaconda Adventure Race (this includes competitors from Lorne, Geographe Bay and Gold Coast).

The competitor who raises the most money for the Burnet Institute in 2006, via Rapid Ascent's competitor sponsorship program, will win an amazing prize: Free entry AND accommodation to all four Anaconda Adventure Races in 2007 (Gold Coast, Forster, WA and Lorne).

In addition, every person who donates to the Burnet Institute via Rapid Ascent will also go into the draw for a return airfare to the Gold Coast (or if from Queensland a return trip to Melbourne) courtesy of Burnet and Rapid Ascent. Our current leader is Adam Fahey who has generated $210 in donations.

So if you think you can beat Adam, get busy raising money for this worthy cause now and you might find yourself at the start line of all four Anaconda Adventure Races in 2007!

Leaderboard

1	Adam Fahey	Geographe Bay, WA	$210.00
2	Jane Windsor (Kusasi`s Still King)	Geographe Bay, WA	$200.00
3	Stacy McBeath (Random)	Gold Coast, QLD	$140.00
4	Adrian English (UNDERDONE)	Lorne Surf Coast, VIC	$120.00

Donations over $2 are tax deductible. For further information about the Burnet Institute, click here.

Water safety for the Enervit Ocean Kayak leg of the Lorne Anaconda Adventure Race

Competitors set to do the Enervit Ocean Kayak leg of the Anaconda Adventure Race at Lorne should feel reassured that the best possible water safety and emergency procedures are in place for the event on December the 10th. The following points detail many of our procedures and processes for assessing the conditions on the day and for the safe conduct of the leg during the race ... {Click here for the full story.}