Dan and Eddie size up their plastic craft after placing 10th and 11th in the 2nd running of the BRC 50 on Sunday. Dan on the 4.5 m Racing ski and Eddie on his 4m CTR (hired from BRC12 sponsor- Adventure Equipment) both learnt heaps during the challenging course. You never stop learning when you paddle the Barron at it varying heights but it was obvious that Dan had picked up a few tips when he tacked the Oak rapid at 1.93m (Mareeba Height) 3 weeks ago.

It's over till May 2013 for EDDIE and DAN.

Eddie (BRC50 comp no. 133) knew he was a little oversized for the Spirit CTR, however its’ comfortable turning arc made it the craft of choice for his first BRC50. At 1.77m at Mareeba, the Barron gives you 4 choices 1/3 of the way down Oak. 1. Portage river left- a sensible option for all novices at 1.77 and a compulsory option at levels of 1.88 and above for all novices who have not paddled the rapid.
2. River left on a technical line throughout  with tight boney turns as it empties at the bottom.
3. Middle channel. Large rock to avoid at bottom at 2012 levels. Fastest line for experts.
4. The Tindale chute: River left with a last minute dogleg left. Practiced by Rod Tindale in the inaugural BRC50 and perfected in race with minor damage to glass kayak.

Eddie chose option 2. Rod T was on River rescue duty to retrieve wedged paddle. Eddie is in awe of the white water skills used by Rod to collect his blade intact.

When the releases begin again next month you are sure to see Eddie practising his lines on the Oak.

Eddie(133) as the action begins at bottom of river left path down Oak Forest rapid.

Thumbs up from Eddie at bottom of Oak with bomb proof CTR Spirit Kayak.

Rod Tindale and Joshua sizing up the challenge.

Rod collects paddle

PDF results for BRC 50 here

PDF results for BRC 12 here

Event results online here

BRC 50 “leatherman saves veterans race”

Mates John Crawt and Ty Bensilum were drawn to the second BRC50 to finish under 8 hours and receive the iconic glass paddle. All turned pear shaped for Veteran John when he snapped his kayak blade tackling the mighty Oak Forest rapid.
Limping into checkpoint E at Myola causeway after holding the blade in place for 9 kms John was expecting the compulsory extraction from the race as he was over the 3pm deadline. However, officials quickly assessed up the situation and realised that John’s will and ability to finish were solid. Quick thinking Checkpoint official- Adventure fisherman Garry Smith instantly provided technical advice refined on his many Walsh River journeys and his trusty Leatherman to a thankful John.
The Result- A near new paddle and a dramatic slog to make it to the finnish checkpoint in 7:58:22.

Well done boys- The legend of the BRC50 grows. John Crawt was the oldest BRC50 finisher in 2012.
Exact Paddle repairs details will be published in the near future.

Keith and Jackie whip the Mareeba blokes across Finish line.

Overheard on Channel BRC 19 :Keith ” We have Harry and Chris 100m upstream of the Kuranda bridge, how much time have we got”
Finish line :Lindsey and Natasha ” Just a few minutes – we can see the yellow kayaks and they will make it, we can’t see you- there is a strong head wind”
Keith ” Thanks- we’ve had the whips out since Myola”
Natasha” Well -use the spurs too!”

Prologue: Harry Phillot and Chris Lea, once very fit Mareeba athletes – impress wives and family support crew awaiting at Kuranda beach.
Chris is impressed with the full body workout that 7:59:55 spent in a Melody plastic Canadian canoe has given him. Harry comments that the 55 seconds is the amount of time spent on paddle training- sitting in the canoe on dry land.

Chris and Harry thank Sweeps Paul, Keith and Jackie. They received their BRC50 Glass Paddles at the Presentation evening. They are keen to try out a SPIRIT PRS!

Footnote. BRC50 Risk assessment utilises 2 or more trained canoeists sweeping the river behind the last competitors. TCC and the competitors extend thanks to these volunteers, club and committee paddlers for providing this essential service.

Event results online here

Hi, my name’s Brad. I’m 22 and on the 1st of January 2012, I departed on a 4000km solo run across Australia. I left Canberra, Australia (The world’s second most southern capital city) and am runningunassisted all the way to the top of Australia (Cape York) near the equator.

Why?

There are two forces driving me. Firstly the innate drive for adventure and to challenge myself is what has me daring to run so far and to such a treacherous place. However, I am not without my sense of purpose, I am also driven to use all this energy and motivation productively. I am also running to the Cape in order to raise funds and awareness for mental health; specifically AFFIRM: The Australian Foundation for Mental Health Research. This is a cause which is close to my heart since growing up with someone in my family who had depression for the greater part of two decades. Ever since finding out about their mental illness and seeing the benefits that evidence based practise has provided in aiding their recovery, I have wanted to do my bit help this cause.

A donation of any size would be greatly appreciated. You can do that right here by clicking on the “Sponsor me” button at the bottom right hand side of the page or you can also donate by going to www.everydayhero.com.au/bradrunsnorth. Or if not, that’s not a worry, you can also just follow me as I meander my way towards agony and enlightenment. I’ll share with you the things which have inspired me throughout my life and the things which I learn on the way.

All Brads Gear!

The weekend of February 25/26 was a smashing success, if the Facebook comments, emails and phone calls were any indication. More comments than we’ve ever had from any event in the past.
Check our Facebook page for over 160 photos from the weekend – here

Swimmers Ahoy

Members had a choice of 10 events to enter and enjoy. By the looks of the photos the Adventure Runs – Dirty 30 (true to name) and Sweaty 60 were the most popular events over the weekend.

Paddlers away

We have already booked Camp Barrabadeen and ancillary areas for Adventures on a Summers Weekend on February 23/24 2013.
Huge thanks to all the volunteers who ensured the success of the weekend and to the enthusiasm of the competitors (and late night drinkers). The only downside was that 20 more people than booked turned up Saturday night for the BBQ and the Camp Kitchen ran out of everything, including Lennies Sunday lunch chicken. Looks as though only the organisers went hungry though!

164 pre-event entries, combined with 49 on the day/s entries, ensured that Adventures on a Summers Weekend is here to stay.

All the weekend results are now up on the website – click here

If you’ve got any ideas for next years event or comments about this years please post your comment below.

This weekend, February 25/26, Adventure Sport NQ hosts a weekend of fun in the outdoors, in the cool surrounds of Tinaroo.
On Saturday we’ll run 4 x 1 hour events:

• A Metrogaine (urban treasure hunt)
• An Orienteering event
• A bush Rogaine.
• a 30 minute or 60 minute Adventure Trail run,
• all followed by a BBQ dinner and a few cold drinks.

Sunday we have on offer 2 x Multisport (paddle, ride, run) events and 2 x off road Triathlons (swim, ride, run)  followed by a sumptuous lunch & swim at Tinaroo Lake Resort,

For all the gen and online registration click here

The 2012 Barron River Challenge (BRC 2012) canoe race is only 13 weeks away.
Whilst Tinaroo dam is still 3m from overflowing – rainfall in the catchment areas below the dam wall have allowed for training/ recon paddles during the last couple of weeks.

Mareeba river height between 1.60 and 1.90 is generally an indication that the river between Mareeba and Bilwon can be paddled safely with intermediate experience.

Two fiberglass Canadians made the trip from Low bridge to Bilwon (rogers road) in 3 hours comfortably on Sunday 29/01 with 1.59 at Mareeba and 1.61 at Bilwon, however it was the fresh from Granite creek which made it possible.

The major creeks along the course also have to be noted as well if you intend to paddle the lower sections below Oak Forest.

The 4 gauges
Tinaroo Dam
Mareeba
Bilwon
Myola

Give the Barron River course heights whilst two further stations ; Clohesy River (joined with Davies Creek ) and Flaggy creek, monitor two other sometimes major inflows which enter before the oak forest rapid and hence only contribute to the Myola station heights.

Quite a few snags are exposed in the upper BRC 12 course. Take note of the logs produced from Yasi in 2011. It is still a worthwhile paddle to get familiar with the BRC 12 section of the race even if the height is just above 1.65 as tricky shutes such as the run into the high rocks can be scouted in relative safety. Take note of the screen captures from the BOM site below.

Yes no cups, none, nought, nada, zilch, zero, zip, who would have thought? It makes sense really. Consider this:

The paper cup is made from a composite of materials: kraft bleached paper sprayed with a polyethylene coating, or sometimes even worse – polystyrene. Paper cups are often impregnated with toxic dyes which make them difficult to recycle. The plastic lining in disposable paper cups means they are not recyclable. Biodegradation of a paper cup can take 50 years or more (~500years for a Styrofoam cup!). On average, each disposable cup contains 5% of the raw materials involved in the process of making and delivering it.

Small acts can make a big difference – for better and for worse. The environmental impact of all single use items is phenomenal. Through good design and a little effort we can easily incorporate reuse into our events and daily routine for that matter.

Lost cost events – Metrogaines and Rogaines and the like (Trail Runs have been cup free all year) are all reasonably priced and are well catered for considering the entry fee. Reduction of overheads like single use disposable cups goes a long way to allocating the monies else where – like (every athlete’s friend) food or prizes!!

I cannot think of why anyone who participates in an Adventure Sport NQ event would not have a water bottle of their own either at work or in their car or in the cage of their water bottle holder on the MTB. We all know the importance of adequate hydration.

Recycle – next event when you get to the finish, think first before you go straight to the water or staminade drums. Walk over to the car grab your sports bottle and fill it up instead of using a disposable cup.

Or BYO cups – keep some in your gym or event kit and be prepared before heading to the event. One leading contender in the Dirty Northern Trail running series simply keeps a plastic measuring cup tied in his drawstring and scoops a drink from the nearest appropriate creek!

Rubbish – the most common complaint I hear from organisers is about cleaning up after the event. And the worst offender is . . . you guessed it disposable cups! While our events may not be as bad as the high profile marathon pictured above, The events are all held in beaut parks and reserves in our region and are left disgraceful, littered with paper or plastic cups. The Trail running crew have set the precedent - a competitor was disqualified for littering last year. Its not hard just put the cups in the bin, if there is no bin (or its already overflowing) take yours with you and dispose of it at home, or even better – don’t use em!

Pete from Top Knot Climbing will be at the Aeroglen site for an afternoon of fun outdoors Saturday 23rd July.

Come along and give it a try.

Gear provided.
go here to check in or here for Pete’s Facebook page and details of Top Knot Climbing.

Bastille day, July 14th, sees our first Winter Series Metrogaine hosted by Muzza at Duplock Park, Cnr Palmerston St and Stratford Connection Road, Aeroglen.

Event entry is $5 per head or $10 per family with teams of 2 to 5 welcome. All entries are on the day, commencing from 1730 for a 1800 start for 1 hour.

Events will be held on 6 consecutive Thursdays – July 14, 21 & 28 and August 4, 11 and 18

Website info for the 2011 It’s Extreme Winter Metrogaine Series will be updated over the weekend.