IAN ADAMSON

[ODB]

From the Checkpoint Zero web site:

THE WORLD'S BEST ADVENTURE RACER . . .
IAN IS CAPTAIN OF TEAM NIKE ACG/BALANCE BAR . . .
. . . THE WORLD'S WINNINGEST ADVENTURE RACING TEAM!
Ian is the consummate adventure athlete having competed internationally in triathlon, wind surfing, ocean yacht racing, orienteering, canoe, kayak and adventure racing. He is a three time Eco-Challenge champion, including an unprecedented seven podium finishes, and winner of Primal Quest, Raid Gauloises, Raid World Cup, Southern Traverse, Balance Bar and HiTec sprint races and the ESPN X-Games X-Venture Race. He is a two time and current world record holder for endurance kayaking and former member of the US and Australian Canoe Teams.

Ian Adamson's Top Ten Adventure Racing Tips
1.Practice sleep management not sleep deprivation and have a good sleep strategy.
2.Eat "real" food like sandwiches, not just energy food in long races.
3.Put equal amounts of time into training for each of the main disciplines. If you train 12 hours a week, then 3 hours each should be devoted to running, biking, paddling and "other" sports (navigation, climbing, inline skating etc.
4.Save weight where it counts. It's easier to loose 5 lb from your body than from your bike.
5.Prevent problems so you don't have to fix them later. This means asking for assistance before you really need it (as you get tired, hungry, sore feet, etc.), and offering help before it is asked for, as you see a temmate deteriorating.
6.To develop skill in a sport, train with the single sport experts, and race single sport races. The top adventure athletes are competitive in several individual sports and aim to eliminate their weaknesses.
7.Navigation is part aptitude, part feel but mostly practice. Join an orienteering club and attend their meets.
8.Develop a high athletic capacity (aerobic, endurance and strength) for the base sports. This will reduce the effort you have to put out in races since you operate at a lower percentage of your capacity.
9.Don't train for sleep deprivation, going without sleep is physically and mentally damaging. Instead recognize when you need it in a race and make sure you don't dig yourself into sleep deprivation hole.(which is hard to climb out of).
10.Stay safe, build friendships, have fun and have the best race you can.

Notice that he mentions sleep deprivation twice. One year in the Eco-Challenge race as teams ahead of him got to the start of the river rafting and were told it was a dark area (which means they cannot start until daylight) the teams tried to sleep in the cold on a rocky beach under the rafts. This after carrying the rafts for 1/2 a mile to the beach. Seeing this coming up Ian had his team stop early at a small abandoned farm house with cots in it and got a good nights sleep got up early and was on the river totally refreshed with the lead teams that had gotten little rest in the cold. He went on to win the race.