Let's Get Outside!

Media Release / 23.02.2011

Mountain biking, trail running and adventure racing are again booming around the country, especially as part of the mushrooming number of outdoor multi-sport races presented around SA. As a means of getting people of all walks of life into the great outdoors, this Run / Bike / Swim / Paddle scenario has got to be the best way to get people off the couch and into the fresh air zone.

As a brand Merrell understands this 100%, therefore it came as no surprise to see them join forces with the Adventure Addicts when the team's previous sponsorship came to an end late last year. "Moving on was a natural progression for us", says Graham Bird, captain of the Adventures Addicts foursome, "and with Merrell, the team knew right from the start that we all have exactly the same vision for the coming year".

Judging by their race calendar, 2011 is indeed going to be a massive year for the Merrell Adventure Addicts. A couple of smaller events will build up to the GARMIN Wartrail, a 3-day suffer fest of extreme trail running, mountain biking and paddling in the remotest reaches of the Eastern Cape. Athletes will run 60km (ascending at least 2 200m) then MTB a gruelling 130km route before paddling 60km to the finish line along a resurgent Orange River.

The next big thing on the Merrell Adventure Addicts calendar will be the brutal Expedition Africa, a true expedition-style, non-stop AR incorporating everything from running, biking, paddling, swimming and kloofing to Coasteering. Teams of four will race for up to five days over a 500km route crisscrossing the southern Cape mountains along the Hermanus Whale Coast. This will be an extreme test of team dynamics, but the foursome is certainly upbeat.