"Atomic Adventure Race" via Josh in Google Reader

2012 Atomic Adventure Race Announcement

josh@teamrocgear.com (4LPH4 1337 Adventures, LLC) — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 07:31:57 PDT

In the three years that 4LPH4 1337 Adventures produced the Atomic Adventure Race presented by Fuji Bikes, love it or hate it, we pressed the envelope and experimented with the style of adventure racing. And because the race started during a time when the economy began weighing heavily on the racing scene, we reinvested all of the proceeds back into the sport and those companies that support it.

Ours was a mission of reinvention of the style of adventure racing, reconsideration of the norms in race production, and experimentation in techniques and atypical formats--all in the interest of growing the sport. Out of all of these experiences, it became quickly apparent that there is a present interest in high quality events with a fresh image.

We believe that it is critical to the future of the sport that those within the community continue to reconsider ideas that may no longer have a place in modern adventure racing. It is of vast importance to draw on our experiences from the sport and on those others around us, but ultimately to decide for ourselves what the future of adventure racing holds.

4LPH4 1337 Adventures is proud to announce the Atomic Adventure Race presented by Fuji Bikes will return to North Georgia on May 12th, 2012. We are pleased to pass the production of the event over to Pangea Adventure Racing, one of the premier adventure racing companies in the country. As a result, Pangea will be adding this destination event to their already impressive portfolio of 13 events.

We feel this transition is a natural progression--Pangea Adventure Racing is a full-time event production company, and directing the Atomic Adventure Race has become a full-time challenge. We felt it was in the best interest of the race to find a company with the resources to carry on the legacy that is the Atomic, and Pangea is quite clearly the best-equipped suitor for the job. The course design next year will be done by Florida Xtreme, an incredible and well loved adventure racing team from Florida.

Naturally, we are sad to no longer produce it; but on the other hand, really pumped that we'll finally be able to race it! See you there in 2012!

2011 Detailed Results

josh@teamrocgear.com (4LPH4 1337 Adventures, LLC) — Wed, 25 May 2011 13:10:08 PDT

The detailed results for the 2011 Atomic Adventure Race presented by Fuji Bikes. The first tab in the spreadsheet has times for the CPs. The second tab contains CPs acquired, statuses/penalties, and finishing rank.

Google Docs Spreadsheet Format

2011 Atomic Adventure Race Closing Statements

josh@teamrocgear.com (4LPH4 1337 Adventures, LLC) — Tue, 24 May 2011 07:45:38 PDT

Thanks again to all the teams that came out to compete in the 3rd Annual Atomic Adventure presented by Fuji Bikes. It is always an awesome experience to produce an event like this one and this year was no surprise.

And of course, I'd like to reserve a special thanks to this year's partners, whose support of this adventure race has propelled it into being one of the most recognized and anticipated races of the year:

Fuji Bikes
Reality Bikes
ROC Gear
Injinji
Hammer Nutrition
Tri All 3 Sports
Hi-Tec
55nine Performance
REI
MyTopo
Zanfel
Outside World
Numa Sport Optics
Road ID
RDBoard.com
Megan Roberts Photography
Gold Rush Mother Lode

2011 Atomic Adventure Race Images Overview

josh@teamrocgear.com (4LPH4 1337 Adventures, LLC) — Tue, 24 May 2011 07:22:25 PDT

Scaling Back

josh@teamrocgear.com (4LPH4 1337 Adventures, LLC) — Tue, 10 May 2011 18:36:43 PDT

Some of the tougher decisions race directors must make with regards to event production estimating their capacity and making commitments to match prior to the race. Everybody wants to go big, but oftentimes constraints limit their ability to do so. In the past, we have prided ourselves on providing the best day race live coverage out there. We were slated to provide some this year topping the last two years' races. Alas, we have run into a number of issues that are preventing us from executing on that plan. And so with great regrets, we will not be providing live internet coverage of the race this year.

2011 Teams - Team Greenpaw Adventure Sports

joanna@teamrocgear.com (4LPH4 1337 Adventures, LLC) — Tue, 10 May 2011 06:29:21 PDT

Team Greenpaw Adventure Sports are a "smokin fast" team hailing from the Florida coast. In 2009 they narrowly missed a victory and in 2010 they led the Floridians charge and victory over the Georgians. They are returning this year to take on the challenge of the Atomic one more time as described by team captain Tim Buchholz below:

"Team Green Paw Adventure Sports is back for our 3rd Atomic Adventure Race! Anna and I are both back this year, with Mark Bolyard as our third (I believe he's done all 3 Atomic races as well), so we're hoping our Atomic experience will give us an advantage this year. As you may recall, we almost won in 2009, but a wrong turn put us on a forbidden route within a couple miles of the finish line. In 2010 we had some bad luck that pushed us back to finishing in 5th place. We hope we'll have some better luck this year, in addition to a strong race. We're coming off of a win in the Georgia mountains at NGAR a couple months back and can't wait to get out of Miami to get back up there to race again. We're super excited to race against some of the best teams in the country, and are looking forward to all the surprises that the Atomic Crew has in store for us."

Be sure to keep an eye on these guys as the race progresses since they're sure to be leading the Floridians once again.

2011 Teams - Team Greenpaw Adventure Sports

joanna@teamrocgear.com (4LPH4 1337 Adventures, LLC) — Tue, 10 May 2011 06:29:21 PDT

Be sure to keep an eye on these guys as the race progresses since they're sure to be leading the Floridians once again.

Competitor Map 2011

josh@teamrocgear.com (4LPH4 1337 Adventures, LLC) — Thu, 05 May 2011 13:23:24 PDT

View 2011 Competitor Map in a larger map

RU2 - Gear, Schedule, and Other Things

josh@teamrocgear.com (4LPH4 1337 Adventures, LLC) — Tue, 03 May 2011 09:52:43 PDT

Racer Update #2 is here:

http://www.trailblazerar.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=7801

And was emailed out.

If you were not on the email list, contact ben@teamrocgear.com .

A Chance to Qualify for Worlds

josh@teamrocgear.com (4LPH4 1337 Adventures, LLC) — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 09:52:41 PDT

I announced a few weeks back our partnership with the GoldRush Mother Lode 4-Day Expedition Race--that one of the roll-down winners' prizes is a $500 discounted entry into the race.

Well, now I'm announcing that if you want to qualify for the Adventure Racing World Championships, the GoldRush Mother Lode 4-Day Expedition Race is the only qualifying race in the United States. So if your team is looking to go to worlds and do it inexpensively, the Atomic Adventure Race presented by Fuji Bikes is your best bet.

RU1 - Orientation and Additional Gear

josh@teamrocgear.com (4LPH4 1337 Adventures, LLC) — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 07:29:44 PDT

Racer Update #1 is here:

http://www.trailblazerar.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=7777

And was emailed out.

If you were not on the email list, contact ben@teamrocgear.com.

It's On Like Donkey Kong

josh@teamrocgear.com (4LPH4 1337 Adventures, LLC) — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 07:31:23 PDT

WEDALI (We Eat Dust And Like It), the runners-up of the 2010 Atomic Adventure Race presented by Fuji Bikes, are returning for the 2011 edition of the race.

The bar just got raised for those with their names in the hat to be a victor of this year's race of champions.

Currently on the roster are all podium teams from 2010, the 2nd place team from 2009, and the near-victors from the same year. They'll all be vying for the championship of the third installment of this year's race.

No doubt Team Checkpoint Zero, who emerged champions over WEDALI by a mere 4 minutes after 24 hours of racing last year, are planning to stay ahead. Earlier this year, Team Checkpoint Zero officially merged with Team EMS, one of the most dominant teams in the nation, to form Team Checkpoint Zero/Tech4o. These guys are bringing the big guns in for this year's Atomic Adventure Race presented by Fuji Bikes.

That won't scare WEDALI, the 2010 USARA National Champions, though. These guys are smooth operators; the symbol of confidence in American adventure racing. They show it in both their interviews and their racing swagger. Most adventure racers take on the motto, "Start slow and taper off from there." In every race I've watched WEDALI in--from day races to expeditions--they reverse split. This has proved an incredibly devastating strategy against elite teams: no matter what kind of lead a team may have, if WEDALI's in the race, the leaders feel as if they have no room to breathe.

Make no mistake--WEDALI's reserve tank is quite large. At the Badlands edition of Primal Quest, one of the most difficult endurance events in the world, their final day surge was well-recognized by those within the adventure race community as proof of how much WEDALI still has when the rest of the world's best are running out of steam. And last year's Atomic was no exception--in the final leg of the race, they pushed 25% faster than Team Checkpoint Zero, the next fastest team through the section. With that kind of blistering speed so late in the race, when all teams are giving it everything, no team is safe from their reach.

WEDALI is hungry--with the 2010 Atomic being the only race last year that they didn't take home the Gold, and with the margin of their loss being so narrow, captain of Team Checkpoint Zero Peter Jolles' will need to dig deep in his bag of tricks if he wants a repeat of last year--the same bag that will be carrying the 10lb cast iron Atomic AR Trophy, mandatory gear for last year's champions in this year's race.

So when I say it's on, it's on. It is on. We're talking rematch of the year, folks.

Tri All 3 Sports a Second Time!

josh@teamrocgear.com (4LPH4 1337 Adventures, LLC) — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 07:19:31 PDT

Last year, we welcomed long time endurance sport supporters Tri All 3 Sports onboard for the Atomic Adventure Race as Gold Sponsors. As a result, a couple of lucky racers won one of their paddle cases and one of their bike cases. Our team (Team ROC Gear/4LPH4 1337) used their Velo II bike cases for a race in Nevada that we attended. These boxes are tough and durable and everything you would want to protect your carbon fiber bike and paddles.

This year they are BACK, renewing their support of the race and providing more gear for the racers!

Next 3 Captains to Sign Up

josh@teamrocgear.com (4LPH4 1337 Adventures, LLC) — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 13:36:41 PDT

Hi-Tec is on the Gold Sponsor list, once again the official footwear sponsor of the Atomic Adventure Race presented by Fuji Bikes. With their V-Lite Infinity technology, Hi-Tec is continuing to push its innovative ideas to adventure racers everywhere, renewing their commitment to adventure sports last year.

This year, Injinji and Numa are joining Hi-Tec in pushing out gear to racers to sport during this year's Atomic Adventure Race presented by Fuji Bikes. As a result, the next 3 captains to register and pay will receive one of the following:

Hi-Tec gift certificate to order ANY pair of shoes they carry.
Numa sunglasses
Injinji toesocks

First come, first pick.

A race before the race. Register now!

Atomic AR - The Future Race

josh@teamrocgear.com (4LPH4 1337 Adventures, LLC) — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 07:57:19 PDT

The Atomic Adventure Race presented by Fuji Bikes. Man, I'm getting pumped about this year's race.

I'm thinking about watching it unfold again--watching the determination and grit that racers display during the race, and remember my wife's impressions of the racers:

"Even more impressive was the amazing attitude of every team I came across. How do you people remain so positive during all of this? For the first time since Josh began racing I feel like I have finally gotten a full picture of what adventure racing is all about. The team dynamics, the snap decision making, the encouragement and coersion to get to the finish, all add up to something a bit like day-time television, without the terrible acting."

I love that--it sums it up perfectly.

Just as with last year, this year's course design ethos has changed, and so we'll be experimenting with a more-commonly used design (still new to us) to provide you guys with yet another change. Our core principles remain the same--estimation accuracy. With vetting actively happening, we'll be fine-tuning the overall design soon; it's looking good so far.

One last ever-important factor in my excitement is that this year's race is the last one we'll be sure to produce as a team. Beyond this, the future of the race and who produces it is uncertain. This adds to my anticipation of the race because there are a whole host of memories associated with being able to provide you guys with a playing/competitive field to really discover yourselves, and I treasure them.

So while I'm saddened by the future of the event, there is a part of me that values this last year more than all the others because it is such a rarity to be able to play a part in such a high-caliber event.

I want this race to bigger and badder than ever, so get your crew together and be a part of one of the greatest races in the country.

Coop-erating with REI

josh@teamrocgear.com (4LPH4 1337 Adventures, LLC) — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 19:47:28 PDT

REI jumps on board with the 2011 Atomic Adventure Race. Recreational Equipment Inc. has joined the esteemed list of Gold Sponsors, providing coupons and gear giveaways for the racers.

REI began as a group of 23 mountain climbing buddies and is now the largest consumer cooperative with more than three million active members. Their passion for the outdoors is clear, whether you walk into one of their 100-plus stores, phone them, or visit the REI website.

We're extremely happy to have this staple in the outdoor retailing world support the race.

55Nine Performance Joins the Atomic Adventure Race

josh@teamrocgear.com (4LPH4 1337 Adventures, LLC) — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 19:52:55 PDT

Eddie O'Dea, the founder of 55Nine Performance, is bringing his company onboard as a Gold Sponsor of the 2011 edition of the Atomic Adventure Race. With Eddie comes a wealth of knowledge in the performance cycling world, and his company specializes in getting every ounce of efficiency out of you and your bike. 55Nine Performance have been providing Laser-precision Bike Fitting, Dartfish Video Analysis, Sports Nutrition, Coaching, private instruction, and clinics in the Atlanta area for the past 5 years.

Eddie's dropping $600 in gift certificates on the racer prize table, so folks won't go home empty-handed. On top of that, he's offering up a 10% discount on fittings prior to the race for those customers that mention us. Take advantage of it, because veterans of races years previous know that mountain biking speed can make or break your race at the Atomic.

Don't take my word for it, take it from one of the best:

"My fit has been great on both my mountain and road bikes. I feel like I'm getting more power to the pedals. One of the biggest things is that I have been working on rolling my hips forward, I feel that makes a huge difference. Also "wiping mud" on the bottom of the stroke. The fit has been well worth it for me. Thanks for the help!"

- Chip Whitworth (Elite adventure racer).

Winners Take Home the Mother Lode

josh@teamrocgear.com (4LPH4 1337 Adventures, LLC) — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 19:34:36 PST

The Gold Rush Mother Lode, a 4-day expedition race Sept. 8-11th in Central California and the Atomic Adventure Race have decided to form a partnership in 2011.

The Gold Rush Mother Lode Expedition Race presented by Tecnu Extreme is a point-to-point race crossing the High Sierra Nevada mountains. For 4 days, coed teams of 3-4 racers can expect fantastic scenery with historic connections. And the price is right. "At $2245, the race is the cheapest expedition race in the world, and we are NOT skimping", says race director Doug Judson.

Doug Judson and company have also been racing as team Tecnu Extreme/StaphAseptic. Regarded as one of the best teams in the country, the team grabbed top 5 finishes in 2010 at both USARA Nationals and Checkpoint Tracker Nationals--so they bring racing experience to the table. But that's not all, with 10 years of race directing under their belts, they know how to organize events that racers will like.

The winning elite team of the Atomic Adventure Race will receive a $500 discount into the Gold Rush Mother Lode 4-Day Expedition Race, pushing the already inexpensive race's cost down for the team that accepts this roll-down prize.

Amicalola Falls Lodge

josh@teamrocgear.com (4LPH4 1337 Adventures, LLC) — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 10:43:34 PST

So I've heard some folks are looking at the Amicalola Lodge's website and the rooms are showing as booked for the weekend of the race, but upon call-in they are NOT booked. Also, there are rumors that they are disregarding the 2-night minimum at the lodge. Book your reservations now, because the above surely isn't a guarantee.

2011 Atomic Adventure Race Trailer

josh@teamrocgear.com (4LPH4 1337 Adventures, LLC) — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 10:54:58 PST