Pico2Playa Expedition Training Week, Mexico

Jacqueline Windh / 19.12.2007

Frontier Adventure Racing have just released the details of their Pico2Playa Expedition Training Week, that will take place in Jalcomulco, Mexico. This advanced training week will take place March 15-22, 2008, immediately following their one-week basic AR Training Camp. Athletes can sign up for just one course, or do both of them back-to-back.

The format of the Expedition Training Week is that of an expedition race – with instruction taking place as athletes travel around Mexico’s Veracruz area on foot, by mountain bike, and on the water. Aside from technical skills such as ropes (ascending, rappeling, traversing and self-rescue), mountain biking (towing, effective hill-climbing), and paddling (stroke technique, river-reading, rescue), racers will learn much about the “softer” skills that are every bit as essential for successful racing in an expedition format: nutrition, risk management, navigation, high-altitude injuries and more.

The courses are organized by Frontier Adventure Racing – well known to adventure racers around the world for organizing the Raid the North series of races – and Esprit Rafting, also based in Canada, which since 1992 has been organizing whitewater tours and training courses around the world. The instructors include:
Geoff Langford, who is an AR racer who has been competing internationally since 1999, and has been Race Director for Frontier Adventure Racing since 2002
Lawrence Foster, captain of Team Holofibre and designer of AR courses including AR World Champs (Newfoundland 2004) and Raid the North Extreme (British Columbia 2007)
Erin and Jim Coffey, co-owners of Esprit Rafting, who between them have years of international-level whitewater competition experience as well as even more years of experience as instructors in whitewater skills, swiftwater rescue, first aid, and wilderness camping
Bob Miller, captain of Team Supplierpipeline, and a very experienced AR course designer and instructor.

The expedition-race format will have racers sleeping in refugios and hostels – until the last night, when the final wrap will take place in a luxurious hotel on the main square in Veracruz, on Mexico’s eastern Caribbean coast.

Organizers are offering a bonus kit with some swag and registration discounts to the first five people to sign up for either week, and are also offering a $100 discount to anyone signing up for both weeks. For more information on either of these AR training courses, including day-by-day itineraries for each, visit www.far.on.ca and click on “training”.