Anaconda Forster - Entries Close September 7th

Little more than a week is left for you to get your Anaconda Forster entries in.  This 2 day event held on September 22nd & 23rd sees competitors competing in each of the 4 Anaconda disciplines  on both days, with cumulative times counting towards your overall placing.

This format especially suits teams, with the opportunity for a great weekend away from the big smoke as good an incentive as you'll find.  So pick a few of your mates, pack up the car and head up the coast for a look at a side of Forster most people never see. For those intimidated by racing back-to-back, there's always the Anaconda Half on Sunday September 23rd, where you can get a taste before coming back for the big Kahuna next time around. Enter here.

2008 Lowan Otway Odyssey

We have a new partner on board - everybody please welcome Lowan Whole Foods as naming rights sponsor for the Otway Odyssey  !  And with their range of high energy, low GI cereals, muesli, oats & breads, we couldn't think of a more appropriate  partner for an event where you'll certainly need all the sustained energy you can get.

Entries are already open and filling fast with over 200 entries already received in the first week.  Congratulations go to early bird prize winner Jorgen Forzberg who wins his entry fee back, a set of Rapid Ascent race gear + free entry to the Tahune Forest Airwalk MTB marathon in Tasmania.

Read about Jorgen here, and enter the Lowan Otway Odyssey here to beat the field limit which was reached in its inaugural year.

Ski Camp Safari - Dunsborough

As one of the principle partners of the Anaconda Adventure Race Geographe Bay the Department of Sport and Recreation teams up with Rapid Ascent to create a unique experience born from the understanding that people attain confidence, health, friendship and fun by enjoying sports together. 

This free weekend event focuses on promoting fun and participation in a supportive and professional environment that actively encourages beginners right through to expert paddlers with the opportunity to take part in customised ‘ocean paddling’ sessions that will sharpen your skills and give you the confidence to explore beyond the shore this summer. { Click here for more details.}

Keen Adventure Race Alps To Ocean, Entries Open Soon

The second installment of the instant adventure racing classic - the Keen Adventure Race - is set to open its entries on Monday September 17th.  Edition II sees competitors (vying for a stake of the $30,000 prize money) start in Victoria's high country, and work their way southwards to a finish at lakes Entrance over 5 days from April 8-12, 2008.

The 2008 version sees some important changes: the new category, "2 of 3" (where teams of 3 compete with only 2 racing at a time) allows a self-support option using their spare (resting) team member instead of using up friendship credits. Also, entrants can book a boat with their entry to help make life easier, while swimming and big-seas ocean paddling - are kept to a minimum.  {Click here for full story.}

Final Anaconda Forster Familiarisation this weekend

The second of our ever popular course familiarisation weekends is being held at Forster on September 1st and 2nd and we invite you to come give it a test out. With two spectacular courses through the magnificent scenery of the Great Lakes this is an ideal get away idea!

Bring up a boat and give the paddle legs a go, one goes under the awesome cliffs of Bennet's Head and the other traverses scenic Wallis Lake. Or throw the runners in head out on the run around Smiths Lake or the picturesque day 2 run down Lighthouse Beach and through the bush. Or oil up the mountain bike for some of the best riding around - all are part these two incredible courses. {Click here to read more and register.}

Think you’ve conquered the Anaconda – how about conquering the Poles ?

The Rapid Ascent team often gets wind of other great adventure races and events happening in the World but not many involve Arctic exploits! The Polar Challenge and South Pole Race are two events that we’ve read in amazement about lately. Read on if you prefer your adventures served on ice !

The Polar Challenge is an exhilarating 350 mile race in the Arctic to the 1996 location of the Magnetic North Pole and beyond which takes place during April and May each year. Competitors race on skis across the harsh but spectacular environment that is the Arctic, in temperatures as low as -50C. {Click here for full story.}

Want paddling tuition from one of Victoria's experts?

Current Australian Sprint Adventure Racing Champion and two times winner of the Murray Marathon, Jarad Kohlar has a wealth of knowledge, experience and enthusiasm to offer any keen paddler and is now up and running with his own paddling coaching business, Peak Adventure

Jarrad is a qualified Level 1 Flat water kayak coach and expert in the trade so if you are interested in learning to kayak, improving your technique, training for competition, getting fit or just paddling for fun, then Jarad has several session that can help you.

{Click here for more details.}

WA Crowd-Pleaser

Dunsborough's high energy paradise shared its secrets last weekend at the first course familiariser that saw a full compliment of fun-seeking Anacondameisters brave barreling surf, hoof it up the secret slopes and ride a rowdy mudfest to come through with flying colours.

THE VERDICT..

Sean O'Neill ... "The course is sensational! The bike and run courses are excellent with a mixture of everything. Just make sure there a plenty of hard nuts out on the mtb at the next familiariser weekend so there are plenty of stacks and more entertainment value ..."  {Click here for full story.}

Anaconda Gold Coast, Keen Jnr Survivor event videos

Event videos from both events on the Gold Coast earlier this month are now available.  Now that the pain has subsided, what better way to remember your day than on the big screen ?  Grant Middleditch has brought his expertise in the area and a sizeable crew to the event to create this especially for you, the competitors.  You can view a teaser of the video for the main event here (1.4Mb, requires QuickTime player).

Keen Junior Survivors are not left out either, with full race coverage of their event also captured on film. Prices are $35 for the junior event, and $45 for the senior event. Order now by contacting Grant Middleditch either via email or by phone on (07) 5578 6932.

Romp for charity

Rapid Ascent’s charity partner, the Burnet Institute, has just launched its major new fund-raiser, the Go for your life/Yarra Trams Melbourne City Romp that will take place on Sunday October 14. The Romp as it is affectionately known, is a cross between a Treasure Hunt, the Amazing Race and the Da Vinci Code. Using a map, clue sheet and mobile phone, teams of between 2 and 6 people will visit checkpoint locations where they will be allocated checkpoint challenges. Points are scored for each successful challenge completion, and points can win prizes, in fact there are $100,000 of prizes on offer. 

{Click here for full story.}

Anaconda Gold Coast - Race Report

Guy Andrews & Christie Sym have both repeated their impressive 2006 performances at the Anaconda Adventure Race on the Gold Coast on August 7th. The race was run in perfect conditions for the nearly 500 competitors, and with the absence of both runners-up from last year (Jody Zerbst and Karla Gilbert) - offset partly by a host of new contenders - Andrews & Sym both stormed to emphatic wins.

In the men’s race, 2006 Anaconda Lorne winner and number 1 seed Jarad Kohlar got off to a poor start, losing time to all his major rivals in relatively benign conditions in the 2km 2XU swim. Guy Andrews was not Jarad’s only concern, as a number of emerging stars also put space between themselves and the off-road running specialist ... {Click here for full story.}

Burnet Institute - Anaconda Forster, WA & Lorne

Would you like to be in the running for a free entry into the entire 2008 Anaconda Series, including accommodation in each State?

Participants in the Anaconda Adventure Race will tackle some immense off-road challenges during their races. The charity partner for the Anaconda Series, Burnet Institute, likewise faces immense challenges in its search for vaccines to conquer some of the world’s trickiest infectious diseases and cancers. Rapid Ascent donates $5 from every Anaconda race entry to Burnet; this is used by Burnet in its varied medical research and public health programs in Australia and abroad.

Click here to donate now.

Subaru Interactive @ Docklands 12hr & Kona 24hr

Proper tough guys ride for 12 hours a day. Celebrating 5 years of FGP mountain bike events, the Subaru Interactive @ Docklands Melbourne 12 hour Enduro is back again on September 15th, 2007

Once again the Melbourne 4x4 Training Ground is the venue for one of Victoria's most popular mountain bike enduros. To celebrate the events 5th birthday, we are giving the course a 'makeover'. In recent editions the rocks that have made this course famous have taken their toll and now it's time to incorporate some new lines, reinvigorate some old sections and generally give the course a good ol' onceover.

Click here for more details.

Anaconda Geographe Bay commemorative wine

Premium Margaret River Wine producers Happs Winery have become this year's official wine partners of Dunsborough's Anaconda Adventure Race. The winemakers at Happs have bottled a limited-edition 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon 'Endurance' especially for the event.

“As all good winemakers know a wine that endures a little hardship and struggle bears fruit that has greater character and flavour. With that in mind we have dedicated this wine to the athletes of the Anaconda Adventure Race"

All orders to be picked up at registration at Geographe Bay. Click here to read more and place your order.

Joshua Foote shows a clean set of heels at the Keen Junior Survivor Challenge

Close to 500 enthusiastic children aged between 7 and 13 years old jostled for position on the start line at the Tugun Surf Life Saving Club for this year's Keen Junior Survivor Challenge.

The inaugural event in 2006 attracted over 250 'Survivors' all of whom successfully made their way through parts of the Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary. This year's event brought an improved course with an array of new challenges and twice as many competitors.

Click here for full story.

Anaconda opens further stores around Australia

Anaconda – Australia’s largest camping and outdoor superstore has recently opened its first stores in WA and SA, and a second in Victoria. The massive Superstore in the northern Perth suburb of Joondalup opened a month or so ago, this was recently followed by an opening in Mile End, Adelaide and then last weekend on August 18th a new store in Geelong, Victoria.

This fantastic adventure retailer (that is Australian Family Owned) continues to expand across Australia and now has a total of 9 stores across the country – in each of the following locations: Ashmore QLD, Auburn NSW, Bayswater VIC, Everton Park QLD, Geelong VIC, Logan QLD, Townsville QLD, Joondalup WA, Mile End SA.  Check out their website for more details.