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Photos by members of CamRacers, James Kirby and
R and R Photos



2008 News 2015 - 2014 - 2013 - 2012 - 2011 - 2010 - 2009 - 2008 - 2007 RSS Feed
Portugal World Series Expedition Race
Paul, Sabrina, Jason and Jeff travelled to Portugal for the World Series, 100 hour non-stop event.
For Jason this was to be his first expedition race. Indeed, it was only a few months earlier in the year he was completing his first 5 hour adventure race! They used inline skates, MTB, hiking, trikkes, kayaking and swimming to work their way around the course. They gathered a suitable number of bruises, aches and pains but stuck with it as a team to make it to the finish. They were unfortunate to be stopped from a night kayak stage but bounced back into 18th place overall out of 31 teams from around the world. Without this stoppage they would have ranked significantly higher as they had a good start. The real achievement though was overcoming their individual problems and working together as a team to get through the course. Reports.
A successful night for CamRacers at Rodings Rally

A total of 9 of us travelled down to Epping with help from Jean for a warm November night, solving cryptic clues and hunting for checkpoints. We had three teams and all of them completed the full long course within the 8 hour limit. Paul, Jason, Sabrina and Jeff formed one team ready for their trip to Portugal as a team. They were the fastest mixed team (although there are no prizes for this category!) and were second overall.

Nicole and Pat teamed up again which left Russ, Ben and David as the third grouping. When the aggregated team times were computed, we were unfortunately 3 minutes behind the fastest group, so left empty handed - but we'll be back next year to try again! The event formed a part of a longer team training session including overnight mountain biking, kayaking and inline skating. Event Results.
Third placed team in Rat Race Adventure Series 2008
CamRacers have been confirmed as taking third place for the Rat Race Adventure Series 2008. Aberdeen Asset Management took 1st place ahead of Sleepmonsters/inov-8.
We achieved good placings in all the events we competed at in Bristol, Brighton, Edinburgh and London. Congratulations to Russ, Paul, Sabrina, Jeff and Rob that made up the squad. Sabrina also won a prize for the most number of completed events. The Edinburgh event is being screened on Channel 4 Saturday 8th Nov 7am and the London one on Sunday 23nd Nov 8:20am.
Jean marshals at first ever OMM to be abandoned.
Jean marshalled at OMM, which was abandoned during day 1, due to high winds, rain and floods, for the first time in its 41 year history. The story made press reports around the world by mistakenly reporting that most of the competitors were 'missing'. Julia and Pat were both competing.
5th Mixed team at London Rat Race
In the final Rat Race of this year's series, we were up against some very competitive teams. Sabrina, Paul and Russ were also racing against CamRacers teammates Jeff, Ben, Maria and Tarquin racing as part of other teams!
We had a very good start absolutely blasting around the streets on the saturday prologue making full use of our experience of rat races and racing together. We finishing the evening in 3rd place. We kept up the pressure on the Sunday over a long course dropping back to 5th mixed team overall. A great end to the series. Results. Report.
Top UK team at World Rogaine Champs!
The World Rogaine Championships were held in Estonia this year. The event takes the form of a 24 hour score orienteering event from a central camp which provides camping and food during the event if you wish to return there. There is also a 2 hour planning period before the start when teams are issued with the overprinted maps. Russ and Jeff chose to be self-sufficient for the event and not return to pick up food or sleep.
Seven water stations as the only source of drinking water were provided around the varied terrain with a lot of water underfoot. Despite some poor route choices and navigational errors through the night, Russ and Jeff had some energy left in the morning and were 26th in the mens open and 37th overall out of over 330 teams. Results. Report
Multiple successes at final SKINS 6 hour event
The final event of the SKINS 6 hour series was based at New Mills near Kinder Reservoir. It was a big turnout for CamRacers on a day that can only best be described as a bit wet, although the sun came out at times and there were some good views to be had.
Julia was placed 2nd in class of the shorter event and Pat succesfully partnered Nicole around her first event. Richard also joined us in the vet males in which Russ took 2nd place. Ben & Sabs did their first race together in the mixed class and Jeff & Jason also partnered for the first time in the male pairs having a very strong day to take 2nd place in that class as well. Results.
Personal successes in Chamonix
The Ultra-Trail du Mont Blanc is perhaps the hardest ultramarathon in Europe. At 166km and 9400m of ascent, it was a key aim for Andy this year and he completed it in style, finishing in an amazing =16th position as the first British male runner home. An outstanding achievement.
Meanwhile Wendy was enduring her own, only slightly less tough route, covering 98km and 5600m ascent of the Courmayeur-Chamonix course. She gradually worked her way through the field to complete in 22 hours, placed 24th in her class. Both remarked that it was a fantastic atmosphere for the races. Andy's Report.
A Struggle at the Czech 3 day race
There are many things that have to go right for a successful race: transport, equipment, navigation etc. Fitness and health are often taken for granted or something that can be overcome.
For the 2008 Czech Adventure race, 3 of the 4 of us became sick during the race and it proved too much to overcome. Having said that, all of us managed to recover to some extent and go back out on to the course to complete later stages - such is the determination and spirit in adventure races. All of us completed the early 35km long skate and Jeff and Sabs also finished the longer 40km skate before they slept - a significant achievement for us. We were made really welcome and there was good translation for English speaking teams. The rope stages were especially interesting compared to what is offered in UK races these days.
Bikeless in Turkey!
After all the preparation and anticipation of this event, it was with some disappointment that Sabrina and James lined up on foot at the start line alongside all the other teams on their bikes.
However they still completed the first bike stage and the flying fox but were then forced to miss stages due to their bikes still being in Paris somewhere. They were made really welcome and had a great holiday/race joining in to do their share of getting lost on the mountain treks together with most of the other teams. Report.
Paul and Jason Complete Open Adventure Endurance Series
The Open 24 in Mid-Wales lived up to its reputation as the best UK Adventure race. Paul and Jason had a great time on Jason's longest event to date.
They were the first of the sit on top kayaks to finish the short course and went on to clear the next MTB stage before an evening on the hills, a reservoir kayak and downhill MTB trail before finishing off with canyoning and more biking. They were 18th in the male pairs which ranked them 11th in the series. Event video. Report.
Sabrina takes a tumble at Edinburgh
After recent successes at Brighton and Bristol, we had obviously been tipped as a team to watch in Edinburgh as Dreamteam TV sought us out for a pre-race interview. We started with a good saturday prologue.
One mistake dropped us from 3rd place to 5th but still left us only 10 minutes off 2nd place with 8 hours of competition to come on the Sunday. We were holding our own until about halfway around the course on the Sunday, having kayaking under the Forth bridges and cycling back towards Edinburgh. Sabrina came off her bike whilst on tow suffering bad cuts and grazes. This slowed us somewhat for the remainder of the course, but we completed and still managed 9th place overall earning more series points. At this stage we are third in the series behind Aberdeen Asset Management and Sleepmonsters/Inov-8. Report. Images from Channel 4's Adrenaline Rush.
Trophies galore for Andy at the 3 Peaks Yacht Race!
Andy joined Martin Beale as the two runners aboard EADS Innovation Works, skippered by Geoff West. In one of the quickest races due to favourable winds and also one of the closest, Andy and Martin won trophies for being the fastest team on each of the Snowdon, Scafell Pike and Ben Nevis runs as well as King of the Hills for the fastest times overall.
They were narrowly beaten into 2nd place for the race overall by the Journeymaker 5 team in what should make excellent viewing on the DreamTeam TV programme to be screened later in the year. Web Reports. Andy's Report.
3rd placed team at Brighton Rat Race
Russ & Sabrina persuaded Rob to try this as his first adventure race at short notice with some hectic logistics to get to the start line, but were rewarded with a fast race and some great weather.
From early in the race, it was a 3 way battle between Aberdeen Asset Management, Sleepmonsters/Inov-8 and ourselves. Aberdeen were clearly the stronger, but at times we were gaining on Sleepmosters/Inov-8 until the event closed down before we had used all our alotted time. With a 4th place and now a 3rd in the series, there will be everything to play for in Edinburgh. Race Report.
A true adventure in Ireland's first World Series Event
Russ, Tarquin, Tim and Maria travelled to South West Ireland for this week long expedition race. For everyone apart from Russ, this was to be their first expedition race. It's a beautiful area and the hills are very rough and pathless.
We placed around 11th after the Monday Prologue, but soon into the main race, the rough seas and our lack of training were our undoing. Tim and Tarquin capsized close to the final headland of the initial paddle and had to be rescued from the cold waters. This help made us unranked in the competition but we rejoined the main race and were soon moving back through the field. On the long trek we thought we were going to make the cut off time, but when we arrived we were told the time had been changed so we were moved on to the shorter course with several other teams. This gave us a 12 hour rest before the final 24 hours of cycle/canoe/trek over the highest mountains in Ireland to complete the shortened course. We worked well as a team and a lot was learnt as well as journeying through fantastic scenery and making some friends along the way. Team Page. Race Coverage. Article.
4th place at Bristol Rat Race
In our first time at the Bristol Rat Race, Jeff, Paul and Sabrina made a stunning start, visiting most of the checkpoints to lie 3rd overnight from the saturday prologue.
Sunday was much longer with a wide variety of activities. Our friends from team teacake.com unfortunately managed to overtake us (Colin sometimes trains with us!) and push us into 4th overall. Still a fantastic result and our best yet in a Rat Race. Web Reports.
Andy wins Endurancelife Devon Coast to Coast
Following on from an impressive 6th place in the Fellsman 60 mile run in May, Andy won the Endurancelife 2 day Devon coast to coast race.
On a bike he borrowed from Paul, he first had to cycle a considerable distance to the race after the train service was replaced by bus! He then went on to run, bike and paddle the 130 mile course to win by a clear margin.
Russ and Wendy win Mixed Pairs at SKINS 6hr Carsington event
Round 3 of the SKINS 6 hour events in the Peak District involved kayak, run and MTB.
After battling against the waves on the reservoir, Wendy and Russ cleared the foot and orienteering course which took them up to Harboro' Rocks and then leapt on the bikes for a final 90 minutes to win the Mixed Veteran pairs by just 1 point and also overtake the younger Mixed Pairs . Report.
Paul wins M45 class in Endurancelife Coastal Marathon Series
Congratulations to Paul in taking the title in the M45 class of the Coastal Marathon Series. This consisted of 5 coastal trail marathons in the scenic south west of England. He was 1st M45 in 4 of the 5 races and often in the top 10 overall so it came as no surprise to find he was the series class winner overall after the final race on April 12th 2008.
A Trophy from the 4 Inns Walk, Derbyshire!
Russ, Paul, Hamish and Jason formed a team for this event on April 5th 2008 at short notice after a friend told us about it. It's a 40 mile event over the Peak District from Holmbridge to Buxton organised by Derbyshire Scouts which attracts fell runners as well as walkers. We battled through snow, sleet, hail, and sunshine to finish in 9 hours 24 mins and won the George Keeling Trophy for the fastest team with all members new to the event. We were 9th fastest overall of 90 teams.
Bergson Winter Challenge, Speed Race, Poland
Paul and Jeff headed out to the Polish Mountains at the end of February for this testing 150 km / 40 hr race. The weather was very mild so they were only in the snow for a short while. They were the only British Team in the speed race and finished in just under 29 hours in 19th place from 60 starters.