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24 thursday june 27 2002 c economist sun stouffville tribune sports staff photoerin riley fraser pegg from left brad sterling mark severn and connie pegg are a fourperson adventure racing squad adventure racing tests mind body by mike hayakawa staff writer cliff redford used to run marathons and described himself as a canoeing enthusiast more recently though the 28- yearold markham resident had become bored with longdistance running and believed there were no canoeing competitions to test his skill all this changed when he was channel surfing one day and found a tv program on adventure racing it included all his favourite outdoor activities and mr redford became a fanatic described by mr redford as a ross between orienteering and a wilderness triathlon an adven ture race can be as short as four hours or as long as 14 days it is staged primarily in remote wilder ness settings with coed teams of up to four people who must navi gate their way nonstop and in unison from several check points using various means of transportation disciplines may include trekking running and hiking mountain biking mountaineering rappelling ascending fixed ropes kayaking canoeing white- water rafting and navigation originating in europe and new zealand during the early 1980s adventure racing eventually found its way into north america in 1995 the first race in canada was in 1996 since then it has become one of north americas fastest growing sports annual growth rates for adven ture racing average 275 per cent there were 65 races worldwide in 1999 340 races in 2000 and more than 500 in 2001 mr redford said my wife joked with me and said why not get into an eco- challenge the adventure racing series that he watched on tv recalled mr redford of the events leading up to his introduction to the sport after watching his first adven ture race mr redford went in search of websites he eventually found one called raid the north which stages a series of adventure races and accommodates new comers by placing them on a local team doing events at which theyre adept making his adventure racing debut last year in ottawa in a race called outlast mr redford said the 24hour event was unforget table there were only 13 teams it was a small race physically we had the strongest team and we had mental toughness but we made one rookie mis take that cost us we were lost for six hours in the middle of the night we said forget the race were in trouble he recalled although he was in an embarassing situation before eventually crossing the finish line mr redford said the experience was a rush and he now captains a markhambased foursome called frontrunners mr redford isnt the only york region resident who has found fulfillment in the sport fraser pegg 31 and his wife connie 25 were intrigued by adventure racing and jumped in to the sport by first volunteering as race marshalls in the adventure see team page 25 take a hike region says mike adler staff writer from now on you have no excuse because no matter where you live in york region there is a trail nearby complete with natural setting where you can walk a kilometre or two or maybe 10 the free take a hike guide released by the region today as part of its greening strategy will show you exactly where it is the handy booklet a firsttime collection of 32 recreational trails and 18 paths through the regions forest tracts also tells you how long a trail is its surface activities you might try on it and where to park walking is growing in popularity as well as interest in the natural environment take a hike comes at a great time according to harold sellers hes the president of the oak ridges trail association and a representative of hike ontario which contributed to the guide along with the regions nine municipalities its two conservation authorities and rouge park walking is growing in popularity as well as interest in the natural envi ronment said mr sellers who wrote the booklets introduction and the trail users code commonsense tips for comfort while hiking as regular hikers we recognize its a healthy activity he noted take a hike offers plenty for everyone including children and seniors except for the more strenuous parts of the oak ridges trail most of which the guide does not show in detail there are few pathways in the region too hard or too long for most see guide page 25 strata tour professional golf balls s w 34 99 dozen free rrata c a callaway steelhead woods x 3 s 7 woods steel gvetphite mens ladies golf shoes i from 48991 topflite xl2000 3pw 39999 reg 599 mrh mlh steel shafts 97ur 0ncju9 choose from callaway ping nike greg norman titleist caps 1299 or a for saioo deluxe i staff travel cover wwheeas 5999 reg 13999 find it s ef3 iii 1l jbssl 2 dlmarcoi 8221 hwy 7 bast wwwdlmarootfolfoom spteial buy pinst 9 inch cart bag 14999 reg 34999 golf clearance centre 9gs479s077