PRESS RELEASE - Friday, October 30, 2009
For Information Call Anne Peterson at 208-373-7368
or Bob Evancho at 373-7369
OUTDOOR IDAHO Goes “Adventure Racing”
— Airs Thursday, November 5, at 8:00/7:00 p.m. MT/PT; no Sunday repeat
— See it in HD Thursday, November 5, at 9:00/8:00 p.m. MT/PT and Sunday, November 8, at 8:00/7:00 p.m. MT/PT
OUTDOOR IDAHO picks up the pace for “Adventure Racing.” Scenery, speed and competition fill this new episode filmed in and around Farragut State Park at the southern tip of Lake Pend Oreille.
“I first heard about adventure racing when we were producing the “Extreme Sports” show. We had intended to shoot the race at Adventure Sports Week in northern Idaho as just one segment in a larger show,” says Idaho Public Television producer Thanh Tan, who soon realized the sport was a story in itself.
The show premieres Thursday, November 5, at 8:00/7:00 p.m. MT/PT on IdahoPTV’s main channel (digital sub-channel 1). It also airs in high definition Thursday, November 5, at 9:00/8:00 p.m. MT/PT and repeats Sunday, November 8, at 8:00/7:00 p.m. MT/PT on HD channel (digital sub-channel 2).
Adventure racing, according to the United States Adventure Racing Association’s Web site, is a sport where just completing a race is often considered a victory, with emphasis placed on teamwork for the two-to-five member teams, rather than individual achievement. Competitors may find themselves mountain biking, orienteering and hiking, canoeing or kayaking, and even rappelling off a rock face.
The sport is attracting adrenaline seekers who must be ready at any moment to rely on their limbs, their tools or their minds as they race through different terrain, using different modes of travel.
The Adventure Sports Week at Farragut attracts teams from throughout the United States. Race organizer Dave Adlard says, “There’s a certain amount of sadism that goes into designing the course. Part of the thrill of it for the racers is finding a course that challenges you and pushes people to their limits.”
Adlard is also the founder of the Funtastics Adventure Racing Team based in Coeur d’Alene, which has entered the competition at Farragut for its first competition as a team.
“My friends are out here and this whole adventure racing concept is about friendship for me,” says team member Andy Tucker.
Jeni McNeal helped start the Funtastics in 2008 and says she has never been an endurance athlete. “So when the subject of adventure racing came up, for me it was about the competition and the endurance,” she says.
The reasons people are attracted to the sport are different but on the course, they will be tested, especially rookie Chris Baker, who is racing in Adlard’s place the first day. “I’m just excited to be here,” he says. “I want to push myself physically and mentally and see if there’s a breaking point.”
Former professional adventure racer and Idaho native Michael Tobin says everyone is bound to make mistakes, get lost, get tired, get exhausted, or have conflicts with teammates. “So it’s a matter of overcoming those obstacles and having a good attitude about it, which helps your teammates and helps yourself,” says Tobin, who is a retired member of Team Nike’s adventure racing team.
“In order to make this show happen,” IdahoPTV producer Tan says, “we had to have a larger crew than usual. Four photographers spread out around Farragut State Park to follow these racers as they ran, hiked, biked and kayaked through miles upon miles of terrain and across an arm of Lake Pend Oreille. I’m excited to share Idaho’s beautiful scenery and potential as an adventure racer’s paradise.”
She says, “Adventure racers absolutely fascinate me, because of their determination to move as a team and endure some truly treacherous and challenging terrain. I think viewers will feel the same once they see what it takes for these racers to finish a two-day race.”