Foto: www.jacquesmarais.co.za
-What does a typical day look like for you?
A typical day for me is eat/train/work.
– Do you perform some kind of special training? How do you prepare yourself for a race all along the year?
We often go by the feel but we make sure we touch all disciplines in the week. It will also depend on what race is coming up
If i have a 200km paddle race coming up i will be paddling more than the two other disciplines. If i have an ultra coming up I will be building up my running.
But whatever the race coming I always try to keep myself ready for a last minute unexpected race.
– What is the best experience you can remember from an adventure race?
The best experience I can remember from an adventure race is always getting to the finish line of an expedition race.
But race specific I loved the whitewater stage of ecuador this year
– What was the hardest moment?
The hardest moment I had a few but I think Ecuador and the muddy trekking section would be one of the top one
– How do you think the adventure racing world has evolved ? Which direction should the adventure racing take in your opinion”
I don’t think I have been expedition racing long enough to see a big evolution in the sport. My first expedition race was in 2010
Although I think the national thing is a good thing.
Even if it makes it harder to find teams
I think and would love adventure racing to gain popularity by being more known…How? I have no clue but I do think it’s a great sport and I wish there was a lot more smaller races to make it accessible to all the spartaners and mud racers out there to show them how cool this sport is. Right now a lot of people are afraid by the length of the races and they don’t realise that it’s not as hard as they imagine it .
– On our website, there are many reports about women’s participation in the world of adventure. What can you tell about other woman participants that you have met?
The other women I met in AR are all amazing. They are all an inspiration to me. Just to name a few of the most badass and super cool girls out there: Sophie Hart from Godzone, Karen Lundgren, Barbara Bomfim from Columbia vivaraid, Mari Chandler from Technu, Liza Pye and lots more.
Foto: Randy Ericksen
– If case you had to organize an adventure race, what would you do to let participants to enjoy the race? How can we achieve a broader dissemination of the event?
If I had to organize an AR I think I would try to make sure that everybody can finish the course even if it’s on a short course.It is mentally very tough to never go through a finish line…
I don’t know how to achieve a broader dissemination of the event.
– What do you think is the reason underlying the gap between these top-teams and the rest?
There are a few reason underlying the gap between the top teams and the rest: First of all they are some very talented and strong racers. There is no doubt about it.
But there is also the time of training they can dedicate to the sport. By working full time it is a little harder to spend as much time training as we wish. And the quality of the training is certainly not the same either.
The location where the athlete lives can be a factor too.
Foto: Untamed New England Adventure Race
As I am typing it is -35C outside…There is no way we will be able to paddle before a few months still…or MTB or Trail run…So we have alternatives like XC skiing, Snowshoe running and we can paddle on an ergo but at the end of the day it isn’t the same .
And finally there is also the level of sponsorship
AR and especially expedition racing is very expensive. And as much as racers would like to do 4-5 expeditions in a year the financial aspect is often a barrier.
Most of the racers I know can only afford to do 1 big race a year. And i think there is nothing better to get you stronger at expedition races than doing a lot of them .
-Maybe it is too soon, but in which races we will be able to see you this year. Are you going to participate in the organization of any races or related events?
This year we are trying to put a team together to go and race in Paraguay in August but it’s really uncertain at this point. But other than that I unfortunately don’t have any AR plans.
I will keep fit for the just in case something comes up but I also have awesome ultra plans
I should be running ultra races from May to september from 50 to 100km races.
and in august I am planing on doing a 200km paddle race .
I work part time as a The North Face sales representative and part time at Environment Canada .
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