Legend is made

After some hectic last minute landowner approvals the Legend was on, then the race was on us to get the message out and the entries in. Teams were quick to respond and before we knew we had 11 teams raring to go. Unfortunately 2 last minutes teams could not make things happen. A big thank you to the teams that came and supported the last YstervARk..

11 teams competed and it was absolutely great to have all 11 teams finish between 12 and 18 hours, a first for YstervARk series – maybe we are getting soft and made the course too easy. What was quite amazing was that there were quite a number of first time adventure racers – well done !!!

The actual times and positions were the following (excluding any time penalties which did not affect the results). The splits will be available soon.

1 PS Hawkstone 12h 35m

2 Uncharted 13h 26m

3 Xhale 13h 31m

4 Olympus 14h 00m

5 Lickety Split 16h 05m

6 Stealth 17h 15m

7 Last Minute Novices 18h 45m

8 COSTUS 18h 54m

9 Lava 19h 05m

10 BAMF 19h 31m

11 Tshwane AR Club 19h 35m

Teams started arriving at Aasvoelkrans (south of Rustenburg) from mid afternoon, unfortunately we could not stay and welcome them as a final route check had to be done and Checkpoints set up. Arriving back at camp just before 8pm for registration a village had mushroomed up with a lots of activity, sorting, packing, re-packing, fixing bikes, preparing food……looked like a farmers market on a Saturday morning.

The race started at 11pm with a short scramble to spread the teams a little followed by a 45km mtb of “UNDULATING” dirt road and a lovely jeep track trough the flowering Cosmos which I doubt received much admiration in the dark. First transition sent the teams hiking only to discover it was a 30m abseil into Weltevreden caves, followed by a 3km hike inside a network of caves to find 8 checkpoints. The cave was kept as a surprise and thoroughly enjoyed by all teams who quickly adapted to this different style of navigating. it was a great surprise that no-one mentioned the bats – amazing little creatures, during our 3 hour trip in the caves we were not touched by one although we stood amongst a swarm of them. Novice team COSTUS arrived quite some time after the other teams at T1 after having to contend with 6 punctures, but took off with such positive spirit that I was not surprised to see them catching a couple of other teams.

Then it was another 50km mtb back to Olifantsnek dam, up to now there was a constant change in the first 3 positions with teams Uncharted, PS Hawkstone and Xhale chasing each other and Olympus breathing down their necks. The dam saw a 1km portage and a 7km paddle. Now there was an interesting choice to either swim 200m to start the hike or walk around to the other side, this is where team Hawkstone made their break by doing the swim put them nearly 1 hour ahead of the other teams. The 20km hike was a steep climb up the mountain, over a plateau with some awesome views and down a sheer rock face gully by means of a chain ladder.

Team Hawkstone exiting from Fairy cave (the only crawl in the caves) and coming down the chain ladder

A special thanks to Clint for masterminding and architecting the 4 events in the YstervARk series for the unrelenting enthusiasm and monstrous effort in making it such a huge success in putting the adventure back in adventure racing. It is going to be a tough one to match theYstervARk.

Thanks to Clint and Course Director Nicol for an finding the location, architecting the course, laying out such an awesome route, placing checkpoints and doing the maps.

Thanks to Daleen for organising the financials

Thanks to Leon Smit of www.outdoorfreedom.co.za for the GREAT prizes

Thanks to Brendan – DeltaV for sponsoring Tshwane AR club’s entry ( a new rule has been added that a newbie must form part of the team)

Thanks to Mandy for organising the marshals but unfotunately falling ill, for oupa Gert taking the brunt of the marshalling (lobbing up a backpack with tent, sleeping bag, food, water up the chainladder), Clint and Nicol for assisting where needed.

Thanks to Spirit of Adventure for running the abseiling, providing access to Olifantsnek dam, hiking route and watching over Transition 2

Thanks to Weltevreden Caves for making the caves exclusively available to us for the event

Thanks to Johannesburg Hiking Club for access down the mountain via the chain ladder

Thanks to Aasvoelkrans Nature Resort for accommodating our special requests

Thanks to our ER24 for medical standby

Thanks to Erik our photographer – I am sure we are going to see some great pictures soon, I saw him going some interesting places with his camera. For the awesome pics see http://www.adventurephotos.co.za/index.php many thanks Eric

YstervARk the Legend has dawned

Awesome…… the Legend has dawned, the race is on, the route is defined, the surprises lined up. Be sure to catch the final episode of the YstervARk series – it will be a Legend that will bring this exciting series to a close. Behind the scenes a lot of time and negotiations secured the features and unique experience (maybe a first for an AR race) that we wanted to bring to you to leave some special memories.

The date is Friday 8th April; race briefing at 22h00, race starts at 23h00, prize giving on Saturday afternoon 17h00. The route is 120km with an estimated average finishing time of 15 hours. First teams are expected at 10h30 Saturday and last teams at 17h30. Disciplines are mountain bike, hike and flat water paddling. No seconds are required and cell phone coverage over most of the area.

Entry forms are available on the website www.tshwane.wordpress.com, get your entries in as soon as possible we have space for 20 teams only. We look forward to having you enjoy this race.

The venue, within 90 minutes hours easy drive from Johannesburg & Pretoria, will be announced next week – we do not want you peeking on Google Earth.

Base camp has grassed camping sites, ablution facilities, pool and braai area, nice facilities for bringing the family with. A separate fee is payable for camping.

Some of your questions are already answered in the FAQ section on the website, if you have more questions please forward them to tshwane.arclub@gmail.com and we will answer them in the FAQ.

YstervARk – LEGEND – 24 Hour Adventure Race 8-10 April

Hi Everyone,

We are in full swing in getting some more landowners’ permission and finalising this awesome route.

It will definitely be old school adventure racing. Be prepared for flat water paddling and some rope work.

Following questions on planning your weekend the venue will be 1-2 hours drive from Pretoria / Johannesburg and as usual be made known in the week before the race.

We will make the entry form available as soon as all the permissions have been obtained.

YstervARk -LEGEND – 24 Hour Adventure Race – 8-10 April

Hi Folks

It is with great honour and pleasure to announce that the YstervARk LEGEND Race is going full steam ahead, powered by passionate people. We are working closely with the team to ensure we pass on as much of what we have learnt as possible and also to learn from them and their way of doing things.

So far some really unbelievable and LEGEND’ry land access has opened up to be used by the club for the next race. This is definitely another one you will want to take you camera’s with. And for sure, there will be LEGEND ‘ry stories you can tell your grandkids about.

So, it is with Great Pleasure to announce Francois Steyl as : YstervARk LEGEND Race Director.

Francois has a lifetime history of involvement in sport at all levels. A wealth of knowledge and passion that we are privileged to learn from. Be prepared for the unexpected!!

Nicol Jordaan will be taking up the role as : YstervARk LEGEND Course Director.

Nicol is well known amongst our club for his passion and performance in competitive adventure sports. He also has a great appreciation for great experiences and adventurous challenges. I am already excited by some of the idea he has already discussed. Be prepared for one LEGEND’ry EXPERIENCE!!!!

Another Awesome Privilege is to announce :

Mandy Morgan as YstervARk LEGEND Marshall Director

Mandy has been involved in adventure racing for around 10 years. In that time Mandy has spent more time Marshalling and helping out at Adventure Racing Events than anyone I know. Mandy’s fantastic depth of experience will help us make sure the marshalls are not only looked after and well co-ordinated, but also ensure they all have a LEGEND’ry time out there making the race possible.

Best Wishes to our organising team!!!

We Looking forward with great anticipation to another fantastic old school, club community organised Adventure Race

 

Team LAVA – Winner of the Mirey Map Board. — YstervARk and the AMAZINGrace

Hey Everyone,

After reading all the race reports Bruce, Leon and I have voted Nadine from team LAVA as winner of the Mirey Map Board.

Well Done for getting out there and also for having a go at navigation.

Mistakes is how we all really learn, so don’t give up.

Please collect your awesome Mirey MTB Mapboard Holder from Leon at Outdoor Freedom.

Regards

YstervARK and AMAZINGrace Organising Crew

Tshwane AR Club Team for YstervARK LEGEND 24 hour race

Hey Everyone,

Woohoo Great News, Leon van der Westhuizen, will be captaining our Tshwane Adventure Racing Club team for our next exciting Club race, the YstervARk LEGEND!!!!

Leon has lots of AR experience and was part of the unofficial 3rd fastest team on the first YstervARk and Lekker (8hr) race.

The requirements are that all team members are Tshwane AR Club members. Good Luck Leon in getting the team together and organised.

Everyone, we need your help. If you are a club member and are available to race for our club at the LEGEND race, Please contact Leon ASAP so he can put a team together.

Guys, don’t just think about it… get out there a do it… cos our next race is really going to be something “Legendary”

 

Tshwane AR Club’s – YSTERVARK and the AMA-ZINGrace – 24hours of old school AR

Hey Everyone,

Thank you for all the teams that were able to make it for the club race on the weekend. All of you were amazing out there and we trust that you enjoyed the course. Many teams commented that they felt like they were racing in another country.

A great win for the race was folks making the effort to step up to meet some basic paddling proficiency requirements in the paddling discipline. Thanks for all of you making the effort, I think the safety officers were quite surprised and impressed with all of you. Well done, it is a proficiency you will not have to re-do, and perhaps a good step for you to try out some great paddling races out there.

The RACE location was pretty central to allow for a fantastic provincial show down. Unfortunately KZN were not able to get a team together for a race right on their doorstep, however Tshwane, JHB and Free State were well represented.

11 Teams (9 official 4-mixed) came mushing into the Mnweni Cultural centre on Friday evening as the late afternoon storm set up a nice 4×4 course. For the rest of the race we were truly blest with some AMA-ZINGrace and had fantastic sunshine right through till Sunday afternoon.

Course Director, Bruce Arnette had and interesting challenge, with so much to work with and the resulting requirement… world class teams 15hour finish, mid-teams 24 hours and back markers 32hours. WELL DONE BRUCE!!! You got this spot on, and also ensured a nice balance between the disciplines.

The race started at 3am on Saturday morning with a very scenic hike. JHB team – Cyanosis, with 3-male team Hawkstone in chase, took an early lead with superb navigation in the dark to summit the kloof before sunrise. Free State was represented by team – For the LOVE. They raced neck on neck right down to the last CP’s with team Tshwane AR Club. What a great dice, all the way right down the field with positions changing all the time. Overall the attitude of all the teams was always positive and ready for challenges they faced. AWESOME!!!!

This is Adventure Racing (not Rogaining) and what is really great is that it does not matter whether you are world class or just an avid weekend warrior, the course was designed with no cut-offs and thus gave all teams the opportunity to finish. More importantly, aspiring teams got a good measurement from Cyanosis’s swift performance to compare their teams pace to world class standard.

The YstervARk and the AMA-ZINGrace was won by JHB’s – CYANOSIS in a time of 15:15, finishing just before nightfall on the Saturday. The battle between Tshwane and Free State raged right through the (very, very dark) night on the last hike and when sunrise came it was Free States – For the LOVE team that claimed second place in 25:44 and Tshwane AR Club finishing third in 27:57

The night Navigation got rather tricky, especially when CP16’s glotube was “removed”.

Well done to all the teams that made it to the start and did the race. No matter what your result, the real bonus is the first class RACING experience and wonderful scenic memories that you can add to your adventure resume.

Please see our club website for full results / splits :

http://tshwane.wordpress.com/2011-2/yster-vark-en-ama-zing-jan-2011/yvar-results/

I would like to thank every person of Tshwane Adenture Racing Club for making this race possible. It has truly a TEAM effort.

Thanks again to Bruce for a great location and course design.

Thanks to Carine for assisting scouting and for the Mug Medal Idea, folks LOVE IT!!!

Thanks to Nico for getting our maps printed (lol you are months faster than the govt printing department J)

Thanks to Daleen for bringing the Medals and for making all the club payments.

Thanks to Leon Smit of www.outdoorfreedom.co.za for all the GREAT prizes

Thanks to Brendan – DeltaV for sponsoring Tshwane AR club’s entry

Marshalls

Thanks so much to Fred, Jan, Jennifer for being out there for us

Thanks to our awesome Medic Lorna.

Photographer

Thanks Erik, (photos will be ready by next week)

You have all made this possible

Take Care and see you out there.

Clinton

Tshwane AR Club

www.tshwane.wordpress.com

Great News :Outdoor Freedom Prize Sponser for YstervARK

Hiya Folks,

I am sure most of you have already met Leon Smit of the fantastic shop Outdoor Freedom. It is fast becoming the place to get all your adventure gear. Certainly the closest shop to cater for most of your technical AR Gear needs. Whats more, if he doesn’t have it.. have a chat to Leon and pretty soon he will…

Great News, Outdoor Freedom have come forward and sponsored more than R5000 worth of brilliant prizes for the YstervARk race this weekend!!! Making it even MORE AMAZING!!!

Something great to look forward to after the finish line, so lets see who lets there first

Thanks Leon, You Rock!!!

 

Leon Smit - Outdoor Freedom

Tshwane AR Club Meeting: 12 Jan 2011

It’s 2011 – a new year with lots of promises for new adventures – and now is the time to plan them!

Please join us for the first Tshwane Adventure Racing Club’s meeting at Blos Cafe in Lynnwood Road, Pretoria

(directions and map at http://www.bloscafe.co.za).

You do not have to be a member to attend – everybody’s welcome!

DATE: 12 January 2011

TIME: 18:30 for 19:00

We have exclusive use of the restaurant and facilities from 17:00 onwards and you are welcome to come early and enjoy a good meal. There’s back-access to the Faerie Glen Nature reserve so if you are interested in bundu-bashing-trail-running beforehand you are more than welcome to test your legs and navigation in the backyard bush.

There will be a projector with a selection of rafting, kayaking and mountain-biking videos playing from 17:00 as well as a display of some white-water kayaking gear and equipment. One of our club members, Corne van Biljon, will be there to answer questions regarding the sport of white-water kayaking. He’s been doing it for the last 12 years and has paddled high-volume rivers like the White Nile in Uganda and the Zambezi in Zambia.

Being a club meeting we will be briefly discussing the club plans for 2011 with specific attention to the upcoming YstervARk en AMA-ZINGrace of 28 January 2011. Have a look on our new website http://tshwane.wordpress.com for more information. Come and hook up with similarly minded people and enter a team for the first Adventure Race of 2011. A race that will not be forgotten.

See you there!

 

Latest NEWS!!! – Tshwane AR Club team to take on YstervARk en AMA-ZINGrace 24hour race

Hey Everyone,

We are very excited and pleased to announce that at our next club race, which is promising to be unreal, we will have an all Tshwane AR club representative racing team.

After much thought, the choice for a club team captain for the race was obvious and we are glad that he has accepted.

Nicol Jordaan, a relatively new person to the AR scene has shown some fantastic talent.

In our first 8 hour club race he lead his official team Fly by Night to take a good second place result,
having raced well against the likes of Kinetic (winners of the 2010 Swazi X)
2nd Place – Fly by Night

In our clubs second race Yster vARk en Hoona Tand, he once again led an official team to a tight finish victory after almost 18hours of technical racing.

Nicol, you have proven yourself and we excited about how you will lead our club team will perform at the Yster vARk and AMA-ZINGrace at the end of January 2011

It will be a tough, yet exciting and beautiful race.

Folks, Nicol will be putting together a competitive ALL TSHWANE AR CLUB members team,

We need your help, If you are a club member and are not obliged to race with a sponsored team, please contact Nicol ASAP so that he can put you down.
I am sure a few pre-race training sessions will decide the final team composition. (will be announced before the event)

We wish you all the best in getting this team off the ground, and making us proud out there!!!

l8r
hardy