Sudoku for Navigators Anyone?? New Navigation Challenge Book from AR Navigation Supplies.

After many requests from local racers, AR Navigation Supplies has just released the first volume of its Table Top Adventure Race and Navigation Challenge books. Think of this book as Sudoku for navigators.

The book is designed to allow navigators to practice and improve their navigation skills while at home, in the office or traveling. All you need is a Compass, UTM tool and a pencil and you're ready for a table top adventure that will test your skills and improve your navigation regardless of your current expertise. The book contains 12 separate navigation challenges covering 8 different states from New York to California using USGS 1:24,000 scale maps.

The goal is to find your way around each map by following the rules of travel, plotting the route and answering the questions presented for each CP.
If you get lost there is a help section that will guide you through
the common navigation techniques and adventure racing terms to get you back on track.

Challenge your friends to the table top competition and see who should be the team navigator at the next race, it may surprise you.

For all the details on the Navigation Challenges and a preview of the first volume follow the link below.

http://www.arnavsupplies.com/product_pages/nav_challenge/nav_challenge.html

Good luck out there!

Mark Manning
AR Navigation Supplies.

Super Supporter Hailey Curtner takes 1st at San Jose International

Sunday June 21st was a great day for Gel Ladder rider Hailey Curtner
who took 1st place in her division at the San Jose International
Triathlon and 6th woman overall. This was her first outright win!!
Congratulations to Hailey on a fantastic
race.

AR Navigation Supplies - NorCal Woman's AR Clinic

Last weekend baarbd.org hosted the first NorCal women's adventure Racing Clinic... AR Babes!  We had a cohesive and hearty group of women who have NEVER adventure raced  and learned a TON from our amazing partners and sponsors. Team LUNA Chix taught the ladies how to roll down the dirt with colorful bruises to prove it!  AR Nav Supplies showed them the ropes to navigation and what all those lines mean. :) Sea Trek took to the seas and brought on proficient paddling... no swimmers - phew. Big Blue Adventures wrapped it up with a practice session to put it all to the test! We had 100% up take... watch out for these women, they're going to take the AR circuit by storm!

The Breast Cancer Fund 

Project Athena 

Zambrano Coffee 

Mikes Bikes 

Zanfel 

TechNiche 

Ellsworth

Brunton

INOV-8

Deep thoughts by GSisler

Gym should be a 4 letter word. I don't really know why people go to the gym for fun. I can see going to the gym if you want to look better, or to recover from an injury, or if your training for something, but I don't get the idea of going to the gym for a good workout. The gym sucks.
I've started going to the gym this year for the first time in a long time, and all I know is that it hurts. Hurts to the point that doing normal things doesn't feel good after you've gone. I know, I know, it's good for you, it prevents injuries, etc. but if you go to they gym to strengthen running muscles, it just isn't that cool.
There is nothing cool/fun about stepping up and down on a block 20 times while holding a dumb-bell that weighs 5 lbs. Same thing with lunges, people see you walking all over the gym, taking big steps and squatting, they look at you funny. I don't care who you are, it's just hard to take when you're walking around w/ a 5lbs. weigh in your hands while grandpa next to you is hoisting up the 25 lbs dumb-bells and giggling at you.
Same thing for the classes. I went to an ab class on Tuesday of last week, I couldn't cough, or sneeze until Sat. On top of that the big people, the little people, the old and the young were all kicking my ass, definitely hurts the ego when grandma is knocking out more sit ups then you.
Still, I'll be back at the gym later this week, thinking that once I've gone enough times, the pain will go away, and maybe next week, I can use the 7.5lbs. weights.

Deep Thoughts, by GSisler

People always ask people who trail run why they do it? That answer was made simple for me yesterday in Arches National Park in Utah.
We were out there for a "bachelor party" (is it really a bachelor party if you return in better shape then you left?) of my good buddy and running partner Jon. We parked the car and started down the trail, man was it crowded. Sure enough, just a half mile away from the parking lot, everyone just disappeared. Now it was the 5 of us on a sweet trail run, checking out the arches, running around on the slick rock and seeing just how well the Inov8's really do grip with no one around us (insane is the answer, I think I could walk up a wall in these).
2 Hours later we returned to the parking lot and all the masses, but all that time away from the parking lot, it was just 5 friends out on a sweet trail run with no one around to bother us. That's why I trail run.

New Ride Logging Site - Beta Test Invite

Hey Guys, Do you have a Garmin 305 or 705?? There is a really cool
new ride logging site that a friend of mine has put together and I
want to invite you to the beta test.. The site allows you to be
competitive with your friends on your favorite rides using the Garmin
devices as the referee :-)

Drop me an e-mail if you're interested and I'll get you set up with an
account. They're also providing screaming discounts on the Garmin
devices. Basically wholesale pricing if you need to get one.

Cheers,

Mark..

Supper Supporter Hailey Wins her Division at District TT

With the elevation at 5000 feet and the oxygen level low, super
supporter and Gel Ladder rider Hailey won her division at the Northern
California and Nevada District Time Trial with a time of 1:03:45 for
the 40km distance using the Gel Ladder for her nutrition.

Congratulations Hailey!

Super Supporter Hailey's Xterra Race Report

Yesterday Mark had designed and set the course for an 8 hour adventure
race and had gotten some very favorable feedback. Racers came and
told me of the terrain that I would see the next day for the Xterra-
many of the trails were the same for the two courses.

The sun was shining and transition was set. Off to the water for the
pre-race briefing. Note to self, pre race briefings by guys who put
on adventure races, where the object of the game is to find your way
around, not be guided, are very important! Not to say I wasn't paying
attention but I think I missed a few key "tips".

The gun goes off and we are off to swim 1200 meters, a two lap course
with an ITU style get out and sprint for 100 yds after the first loop
swim! Nothing like a run mid swim to get your heart rate going :)

I think that Stefani was the first gal out of the water, no wonder she
and Erin are pals! I was right behind her and saw her on the bike
after she had taken a fall and "lost some of her oomph" :( The trails
were not technical per se, but very gravely aka slippery and there
were some serious hills! Now if it were an all uphill course, I would
be a champion! Too bad I need some lessons from my pro Mark before I
hit the trails again. Oh well, we will work on that later. The 17
mile bike course takes me 2.5 hours...yes you read correctly, almost
my split for a half ironman! Crazy terrain, but tons of fun and loved
the sunshine!

Onto the run, where we were in for a serious treat. Although I think
Jeri's sister, Xterra queen Barbara would debate the word "treat".
The course was marked with ties in trees which weren't that easy to
spot and there was about a half mile in a creek- which was AMAZING on
this hot day. Then we head straight up some hills and hit an aid
station where I hear tons of talk of lost soldiers, I myself had
stopped at one point not knowing where to go and saw no one to guide
me. But this is what Xterra is, an adventure in the woods. I picked
my pace up on the down hills and the flat heading to the finish and
was done is 3:44- wowza what a day!

I also finished 2nd in the 25-29 age group which was cool- i think
it's been the only race where I knew that I could make up ground on
the run and not the bike :) That being said, the bike was like
floating on air as I was riding Mark's team-issued swanky Magura
equipped Ellsworth Truth- what a bike!

Hailey

Too Cool Sprint Winners and their Basic Roamer AR's

The 'perseverance' winners at the last Too Cool Racing sprint with their Basic Roamer AR.   

 

 

AR Navigation Supplies is a sponsor of the Too Cool Racing Series.

Deep Thoughts, by GSisler

I think deep thoughts might be a bit strong, but I always was a fan of Jack Handy, he did make me laugh on the Saturday Night Live skits, so I figured that was a good name. If you have no clue, what I'm talking about, then go to:
http://www.deepthoughtsbyjackhandey.com/ It's a fun read when you should be doing work.
So Coach Mark Manning told me that I was allowed to blog. It's a bit scary for him, and for me b/c I'm not very good at filtering my thoughts and sarcasm doesn't come over a piece of paper that well, so there's a good chance that people think I'm a jerk. Mark figures that excluding family and friends, no one will really read this, so it doesn't matter that much. Well, we will see.
For now, I don't really have a ton to say, but as things pop up as I'm running they will. The main focus for the next month is going to be the Tahoe Rim 100 miler. I just got my new Inov8's today, so I've got a month to get them ready to take on 100 miles of Tahoe's best trail. I've done several 50 milers and a 100km in the Roclite 285's, but now it's time to see if they can last the full 100 miles. The first pairs already have a couple hundred miles each on them, and so far, so good!
I've got a hill repeat workout with Coach Manning tomorrow, so hopefully I'll have something articulate (is cursing articulate) to say after that!

AR Navigation Supplies Mari Chandler is now National Long Course Duathlon Champion

Team AR Navigation Supplies/Inov-8 would like to congratulate Mari Chandler on becoming the women's 2009 Long Course Dualtlon Champion with a time of 4:48:59.6 to beat the existing course record by 10 minutes. 

Here is a quote from Mari when I asked how the race went.  "The first 3k was an easy trail run, and then we hopped on the bikes for 56 miles of decent rolling hills with a few steep climbs.  Supposedly there was 6000' of climbing, but I don't believe it.   The 1/2 marathon was a very slow coarse with lots of turns and a few hills with a mix of fire road, single track, and pavement.  I ran the first 10k at a good clip, and then when I was comfortable that no one could catch me, I settled in for a comfortable pace to the finish."

Congratulations Mari!

Next up for Team AR Navigation Supplies will be the Ocean Blue Adventure Race in Half Moon Bay, CA on July 11th.