24-HOUR RACE: AN ADVENTURE IN DISCOMFORT.Byline: Kirby Lee Special to the Daily News Mortgage brokers John Luke Sir John-Pearce Luke CMG (1858–1931) was a New Zealand politician. Luke was Mayor of Wellington from 1913–1921 and Member of Parliament for Wellington suburbs 1908–1911 and Wellington North 1918–1928. and Chris Marsh Christopher "Chris" Marsh (born 14 January 1970), was a British footballer who is best remembered for his time with Walsall football club. He signed from them on leaving school in the summer of 1986 and quickly established himself in the first team. and private investigator Eric Rolph leave nothing to chance when making decisions in their professional careers. The 40-something businessmen are taking a similar strategy to the Balance Bar 24-hour Adventure race Saturday in Santa Monica Santa Monica (săn`tə mŏn`ĭkə), city (1990 pop. 86,905), Los Angeles co., S Calif., on Santa Monica Bay; inc. 1886. Tourism and retailing are important, and the city has motion-picture, biotechnology, and software industries. . But they aren't quite sure what to expect in the daylong competition that includes biking, trekking, kayaking, climbing ropes and navigation. Three-person teams will follow an 82-mile layout that traverses the Santa Monica Mountains The Santa Monica Mountains are a low transverse range in southern California in the United States. Geography They run for approximately 40 mi (64 km) east-west from the Hollywood Hills in Los Angeles to Point Mugu in Ventura County. . It will entail 43 miles of mountain biking mountain biking Sports medicine A sport in which participants use specialized bicycles to navigate rough, steep trails covered with unforgiving rocks Injury risk Concussions, fractures, death. See Extreme sport, Novelty seeking behavior. with a 10,000-foot climb, 24 miles of trekking, 15 miles of ocean kayaking and a ropes course A ropes course is a challenging outdoor personal development and team building activity which usually consists of high and/or low elements. Low elements take place on the ground or only a few feet above the ground. at Malibu Creek State Park Coordinates: Malibu Creek State Park is a California state park near Malibu, in Calabasas. It opened to the public in 1980, using property purchased from 20th Century Fox that the studio had owned since 1946 along with adjoining properties. . The exact course will not be revealed by race organizers until the night before the race. The Santa Monica race is the final event of the 2002 series that has included competitions in Phoenix, Hood River The Hood River is a tributary of the Columbia River in northwestern Oregon in the United States. Approximately 25 mi (40 km) long from its mouth to its farthest headwaters on the East Fork, the river descends from wilderness areas in the Cascade Range on Mount Hood and flows , Ore., Boston and New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of . Luke, 47, of Moorpark and Marsh and Rolph, both 40, of Camarillo, have been cycling partners for more than a decade and have diligently prepared for the Santa Monica event since August. The group, which entered as Team Amgen Cycling, is up between 4:30 a.m. and 5 a.m. weekdays to train. In recent weeks, Luke, Marsh and Rolph have been training along portions of the Backbone Trail in the Santa Monica mountains to familiarize themselves with possible areas that the course might include and running and mountain biking in darkness Adv. 1. in darkness - without light; "the river was sliding darkly under the mist" darkly . ``We're just trying to get a flavor of what we are doing,'' Marsh said. ``There's only a certain amount of trails and we're almost guaranteed to see it during the race. You start to get familiar with the landmarks. It's better to do your homework instead of getting lost for two hours going the wrong direction.'' The top teams will finish in about 14 hours, most others around 24 hours. Some teams might take as long as 36 hours. Luke, Marsh and Rolph said they will have an advantage over out-of-area teams but there isn't a consensus on projecting a finish time. Marsh is hoping for less than 20 hours. Rolph would like to finish in the 16-17 hour range. Luke isn't making predictions. ``Having the race in our back yard is definitely a confidence builder and to be able to run at night on trails we are familiar with. The race is going to be tough enough without navigational distress.'' Luke, Marsh and Rolph come from strong cycling backgrounds. Rolph is also a veteran triathlete tri·ath·lete n. One who competes in a triathlon. who has completed four Ironman Triathlons in Hawaii and the rugged Escape from Alcatraz triathlon in San Francisco six times. They became interested in the 24-hour Adventure Race as a change of pace during the cycling offseason. Marsh and Luke competed in a shorter adventure race several years ago. Saturday's event seemed like the next step. ``I think it's been a progression over the last 10 years,'' Luke said. ``It's a big challenge.'' Prize money of $7,500 will be awarded to the coed elite division. But Luke, Marsh and Rolph, like most of the 100 other teams, will be out for personal achievement rather than financial gain. Families and friends won't be able to see much, if any, of the competition in the isolated expanses of the Santa Monicas. Also, competitors will not be allowed to carry cell phones or walkie-talkies. ``Training-wise, it's been somewhat of what I expected with the time and effort, the tired legs and going to 8:30 at night,'' Luke said. ``The mental preparation of not knowing what they are going to throw at us will be a shock.'' Luke, Marsh and Rolph agreed that much more than fitness from cycling will be needed Saturday. They have taken courses in navigation and rappelling. The three have also completed a 3-hour kayaking trial run in Ventura Harbor and runs of up to 15 miles. ADVENTURE RACE What: Balance Bar 24-Hour Adventure Race Where: Santa Monica Pier The Santa Monica Pier is located at the foot of Colorado Avenue in Santa Monica, California and is a prominent landmark. Attractions The pier contains Pacific Park, a family amusement park with a large ferris wheel. , Saturday, 6:30 a.m. Notable: Three-person teams will compete on an 82-mile course that entails the disciplines of mountain biking, running, trekking, mountaineering, kayaking, climbing and rappelling and navigation. The race starts and finishes along the shore at Santa Monica Beach (lot 1550), just north of the pier. There will be an event-site expo from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Information: (818) 707-8867, www.balancebar24hour.com CAPTION(S): box |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion