Expedition Race for the ‘iron men’
Showcase for ‘toughest sport on earth’
TIF you thought Ironman was hectic, think again because Expedition Racing is arguably “the toughest sport on earth”.
“Imagine doing the Comrades, the Duzi Canoe Marathon and the Cape Argus all back-to-back, without stopping, three times over and doing this all off-road, where the course can include caving, climbing, glacier crossing and ocean paddling. That is a bit what expedition racing is like,” Knysna-based racer Mark Collins says.
Collins is captain of crack expedition racing squad Team Sanlam Painted Wolf, and will talk about his racing career at the Knysna Literary Festival.
The team includes Collins, his brother John, Robyn Owen and Andre Gie. Adventure racing is a multi-discipline endurance sport, where competitors compete in teams, navigating from control point to control point in a number of disciplines.
These disciplines include mountain biking, trekking, kayaking, rope work and orienteering.
“Expedition Racing is arguably the toughest sport on earth. Typically, fourperson teams race nonstop and unsupported for up to 200 hours over mountains, rivers, jungles deserts and in the ocean,” Collins said. “To be successful, racers need to learn to race beyond their limits of physical and mental exhaustion.”
Collins, who has been racing for 18 years, will recount the team’s recent performance in the Adventure Racing World Championships in Australia, how a small town got behind a team with big ambitions and the team’s ongoing quest to be world No 1.
The talk is next Sunday at 11.30am at Conrad Pezula. More information from the Knysna Literary Festival website.