The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

economist suntribune sports thursday june 27 2002 25 team members play off strengths from page 24 racing canada series five years ago today the mount albert couple is entering its third year of competition and is on two teams a threeperson fit city entry and a fourperson squad we did a lot of mountaineering canoeing arid running so we wanted to find a way to combine all of them mr pegg recalled adventure racing com bines everything we do it was a natural progression to become involved as a former marathon and triathlon competitor bob miller was enticed to try adventure racing four years ago today the 27yearold unionville resi dent has competed in adventure races all over the world when i first saw adventure racing i said this is perfect this is what i want to do he said after returning from new zealand where he took part in several competitions among them was the southern traverse a sixday event that includes such steep inclines he said its renowned for being one of the toughest adventure races in the world it was an eye opener said mr miller who is part of an entry called team running free the fear level in the southern traverse was a lot higher than races in canada whats the ideal age for adventure racing mr redford said hes one of the younger participants at 28 on average though he said adventure racing entices individuals between 26 and 35 mr pegg however has seen com petitors in their 60s take to the wilder ness trails while it helps to be physically fit mr pegg said possessing a sound mind might be more critical to the success of a team a lot of adventure racing is mental especially in the longer races i know weve been in races where weve lost places because we just assumed a cou ple of things if you miss a target by 50 metres you could keep on going and lose places pretty quick he said it costs me per year in the thousands but i prefer not to look at it that way mr redford recalled from his adven ture racing debut in ottawa if he and his teammates had used their grey matter more effectively they might not have become lost what ive learned is its not the fastest runners or bikers that win its the team that takes care of each other that wins for example youre navigating on unmarked courses and the routes go through the bush in the middle of the night thats the challenge you have to play off each others strengths thats why i keep going in it im going in it for the long haul the chal lenge is physical and mental in preparing for an event mr redford said training is essential and is carried out almost daily about the only drawback is the financial aspect adventure racing is not cheap mr pegg said an upcoming 24- hour race he intends to take part in has a 1200 entry fee and thats not including accommo dations food or equipment he said the high cost to enter the sport could also account for participation demo graphics most participants are within the managerialprofessional category it costs me per year in the thou sands but i prefer not to look at it that way mr redford added although cash prizes in canadian adventure races are minuscule com pared with events such as the upcoming primal quest event in colorado with a us250000 purse mr redford and mr miller said they continue their pursuit of the sport because of the challenge its a blast its a ton of fun said mr miller its a combination of the cama raderie of racing with other people and interaction with your teammates where you go through a lot of emotions one minute you can feel like crap and the next minute you can feel great and when you cross the finish line you can look back at what you did and say wow its the challenge and satis faction you get for more information on adventure racing con tact adventure racing canada at 4164443899 or log on to wwwadventureracingcanadacom or try raid the north at 4167834464 or wwwraidthenorthcom guide on website soon from page 24 residents to complete even if they usually walk a dis tance no more than from a malls parking lot to the food court many trails in the guide can be used for bicycling crosscountry skiing or in line skating some of these are works in progress quite a few can be trav elled by people in wheel chairs or strollers regional staff say 30000 copies are being shipped to municipal offices conserva tion areas and libraries across the region within days visitors to the regions website regionyorkonca should be able to find the guide by clicking the take a hike icon the guide vastly improves on a previous edi tion published by the region a decade ago back then some paths detailed in take a hike did nt yet exist such as william granger greenway in vaughan or the nokiidaa trail which stretches from aurora to east gwillimbury some of these are works in progress said diane pomeroy a longrange plan ner for the region adding there are further opportuni ties to connect communi ties in york with walking trails a third edition of the oalf ridges trail association guide with 10 maps detail ing 200 kilometres of trail along the landform between caledon and rice lake in northumberland county was released a month ago its available to the public for 22 at some area retailers or from the club at wwwortaonca markham august isis 9hhi onourmg the celebrating the embracing the thurs aug 15 jim galloway wee big band markham theatre with warren vache fri aug 16 markham theatre bill evans tribute fred hersch with don thompson terry clarke and the toronto sinfonietta conducted by rickwilkins for concert tickets call 9053057469 the festival continues saturday and sunday throughout markham and unionville for complete details on all events and venues visit our website wwwjazzfestmarkhamonca or call the festival hotline at 90547 1 jazz 5299 prices in effect saturday june 22 until prioav july g2o02 open canada day 927s markham rd 4261 hwy 7 5812 main st hwy 48 1 6th west of main st stouffville in garden basket plaza unionville beside houston ford 9054722028 905-474- 1 89 1 90564293 34 sz mercedes benz ctra ohtawo a cou1cu coxhu ims ain dc itmmio economist sun the socan foundation