20 Jul 08: Raid Canéo - 5 Days to go...

With 5 days to go before we head over to France final preparations are in full swing. On saturday I received the race book, caving and the canyoneering maps and the process of making sense of the 57 page booklet began! The A4 laminating machine has been working flat out today preparing sheets for the team and the support crew. All my final Iron on badges have finally been complete and the teams own race bibs and sew on badges prepared by my mum...Read More

13 Jul 08: Raid Canéo - 2 weeks and counting

With less than two weeks to go the team are busily preparing the mammoth equipment list required for the race. The team have just received over 100 sew and Iron on badges and logos that have to be placed on certain garments, and with a hefty 1hr time penalty per logo missing this will be the first task for the team...Read More

11 Jul 08: Race Report - The Turas 2008

With most of the usual team using up their ‘holiday allowance’ on the epic Raid Caneo Nature a scratch team of newbies Ian, Willow and myself (Toby), joined Nic to race Ireland’s first AR World Series event...Read More

06 July 08: Garmin

The team would like to thank Garmin for their support towards the Raid Canéo event. GPS units are allowed during the event to aid navigation and by having the Garmin edge 705 units on the biking sections and in reserve for the trekking the team are hoping to log as much of the route as possible. The data will be dowloaded during the event and uploaded into Garmin's motion based software afterwards for every one to view. Garmin are also providing the team with the City Navigator software for an already purchased Garmin 60Csx. The City Navigator memory cards contain detailed maps allowing the suport crew to have point-to-point routes between the many transitions ensuring a swift transitions for thew whole team. Thanks again to Garmin for their support.

For more information on Garmin products please visit their website at www.garmin.com.

29 Jun 08: Raid Canéo - Preperation Update

After months of behind the scenes preparation there is now only 4 weeks to go until the team arrive in France for what is going to be an expedition race like no other… all 1200km of it... Read More

21 Jun 08: New Sponsor - Memory Map

With only 4 weeks until we receive the route book (in French) the prospect of hand marking and laminating two sets of 33x 1:25,000 IGN maps, deciphering the route book back into English is a daunting prospect. We are anxious about this first task especially with all the logistics of packing gear and the usual frantic last shopping for extra kit! The route marking process has been made easier by the assistance of Memory-Map.

Memory-Map have kindly offered to us with the necessary IGN Top 25 maps of France at 1:25,000 digitally to cover the route. These maps are latest addition to the Memory-Map range and are produced by the IGN French mapping agency; the equivalent of the UK's Ordnance Survey and is reputed for providing detailed high quality maps.

The final route will be released to all the teams 1 week before the race starts in the format of a route book, and we are hoping that the organisers will issue all the checkpoints and transitions points in a useable GPS format (GPS is allowed in the event) This way the points can be uploaded straight into Memory-Map, then we will be able to transfer the points quicker and more accurately onto the paper copies.

I have been invited this weekend to compete in a 24hr MTB endurance event with the Memory-Map team. With a stand at the event complete with working PC’s I will have a chance to learn how to use Memory-Ma to its maximum as well as competing for them. The maps will be loaded onto my computer which will give me a few weeks to look through the areas we might be racing through and give us chance to learn the map symbols.

The team would like to thank Memory-Map for their support towards the team - Mark

For more information on Memory-Map please visit www.memory-map.co.uk

10 Jun 08: Caving weekend with Nigel Atkins of Pennine Organisation Ltd

In preparation for the caving in the Raid Caneo Nature in July-Aug 08 the whole team managed once more to meet up with Nigel Atkins, caver extraordinaire. Instead of running up ropes this time there was more emphasis on navigating our way around deep dark and very small underground passages.... Read More

6 Jun 08: The Turas: Extreme Adventure, Extreme Landscapes, Extreme Fun!

Ireland’s first World Series Adventure Race, The Turas, hits the West of Ireland from 14th - 21st June 2008. www.theturas.com

This Summer some of the world’s toughest athletes will be pushed to their limits and beyond as they take part in The Turas, a gruelling expedition-style race across some of the world’s most iconic landscapes – the Kerry and West Cork Peninsulas.

Participants will compete non-stop, day and night, for over 90 hours across 12 disciplines - including trail running, mountain biking, horse riding, navigating megalithic monuments, rafting, rope courses, rowing and kayaking on sea, lake and river. They’ll rely entirely on their own strength and stamina, with no outside to assistance allow and access to food ONLY at certain points along the route or where provided by the organizers. If they need to sleep, they’ll do so unsheltered along the way - and only when absolutely necessary!

The race will take them along the five peninsulas of Kerry and West Cork - through the mountains and waters of the Mizen, Sheep’s Head, Beara and Iveragh Penninsulas. The highlight of the race will be the longest zipline ever in Adventure Racing, spanning a glaciated valley in the McGillycuddy Reeks area. Well, it’ll be nice for the competitors to rest their legs for a bit won’t it?

But if all this sounds a bit too much like hard work, don’t despair! You can still head down to the West and soak up the excitement and the unique Turas atmosphere with festivals all along the race route, including Féile na Tine in Gougane Barra, music and dance in the Black Valley near Killarney, concerts in Schull and more fantastic events in Caherciveen and a Full Moon Party in Sneem.

The race finishes on 21st June - the summer solstice - and there’ll be a climatic festival at the finish line in the Gap of Dunloe to celebrate with DJs, live music and craic late into the night.

Profile: Team Helly Hansen UK (HELP FOR HEROES) - www.justgiving.com/teamhellyhansenuk

The regular team were running short of time off work and decided to expand the squad a little and enter a novice team to the Turas. The original Team Helly Hansen UK were first British team at the World champs last year and are preparing this year for Gerard Fusil’s 1100km Raid Caneo Nature in France in August.

Nic is taking some forces friends on a new adventure! None of Willow, Ian or Toby has raced a multi-day adventure race before and endurance training has mainly been pacing the corridors of hospital at work or sitting at helicopter controls. Their aim is two-fold: to enjoy a great expedition amongst friends and to raise a bit of cash for Help for Heroes a forces charity for injured service-people: inspiring people who we work with day to day. www.justgiving.com/teamhellyhansenuk.

We are very much looking forward to finishing hospital shifts and preparations for deployments and jumping on the ferry to explore from Dingle and enjoy some festivals and plenty of famous Irish hospitality!

Team Members

• Name: Nicola MacLeod
• Age: 29
• Occupation: Army Doctor

Nic races with team Helly Hansen UK all year round between work. She’s into the MTB, mountain, triathlon and kayaking side of things. In 2008 she won the 6 day Costa Rica Coastal Challenge run and is off to France later in the year with Mark, Ski and Howard for the Raid Caneo epic. She was also third in the P6 handwriting competition at Eastfield Primary School. Nic’s been racing for 10 years all over the world and is looking forward to a more relaxing adventure in Ireland!

• Name: Toby Williams
• Occupation: Army Doctor
• Strength: buying expensive kit
• Weakness: buying expensive kit
• Best AR moment: yet to come I hope
• Worst AR moment: also to come I fear

Talent spotted at his debut AR Toby is somewhat a novice but brings strength in breadth. The last couple of years have involved riding the route of the TdF and LEJOG, unsupported kite-skiing expeditions to Norway, Iceland, and Greenland, WW paddling in New Zealand, the OMM and various other bits to keep him busy and the adrenaline flowing.

• Name: Ian Evans
• Occupation: Army Doctor

From a Scottish mountaineering background Ian brings grit, determination and an innate understanding of the mountains (“they are big and hurt lots”). Gold medallist in Army biathlon. Ian is a keen mountain biker, has WW experience on four continents and climbed on five. Relatively new to AR he is relishing the prospect of the new challenge of expedition length races.

• Name: Mark ‘Willow’ Wielopolski
• Occupation: Helicopter pilot

Willow started life in sprint kayaking in South Africa and over the past few years has moved into a bit more long distance stuff. He’s just finished the Cape Epic on a mountain bike and a few years back managed to make the Devizes to Westminster last longer than almost anyone else EVER by doing it with a novice marine in an open Canadian! He hasn’t done a multi-day race before this and is off to Afghanistan a few days after finishing so his boss plans to castrate him if he comes back injured...

www.justgiving.com/teamhellyhansenuk

01 Jun 08: Raid Canéo - The countdown begins...

With only 8 weeks before the team arrive in France the build up to the Raid Canéo is hotting up. We've created a new page in the races & reports area that will keep you up do date with the preperation and logistics rerquired to reach the start line... Read More

18 May 08: Team Helly Hansen UK and Exposure Lights

Team Helly Hansen used the 2007 Enduro and Joystick lights during the world championships in all weathers especially on the mountain bike stages. The lights were used to their maximum in wet muddy conditions stored in damp boxes and they survived to light another night.

For 2008 Exposure lights have produced 3 new lights with even more power and battery life. Exposure will be helping out the team with a set of the new Joystick MaxX.

I have been using the light over the winter. With the added bonus of two extra batteries (1 small & 1 large) that are all compatible make this light a worth while piece of equipment to have. Having the new traffic light system allows you to know at what stage of power the battery is running at. If the light is on red then plug in the “piggy back” battery for a longer burn time – or to charge the main battery! I have been using this light for some night time orienteering events with it’s ultra bright white beam made the challenge of finding stations that little bit easier. It’s so light that you don’t realise you are wearing the light and there is no excess heat generated from the LED, all in all it is the light to own! - Mark

Exposure MaXx Battery Lights: Advanced technology lights which offer high output, excellent burn times and ultra light weight in one package. All have ultra reliable LED bulbs and Li-Ion batteries. They are the only lights on the market to offer all this without the need for a separate battery pack.

Enduro MaxX	Race MaxX	Joystick MaxX

For any rider or hiker who either wants a light for commuting, endurance riding and adventure racing the Exposure MaxX series lights is the perfect partner.

For more information on the 2008 Exposure Lights range checkout www.exposurelights.com

18 May 08: Team Helly Hansen UK and Schwalbe for 2008

For 2008 Schwalbe have decided once again to help out the team. After a very successful year with the Schwalbe range the tyre choice for 08 are the Racing Ralphs and Nobby Nic’s. Schwalbe have produced a 3 – Tyre – Race – System comprising of the the two above tyres and the Furious Fred tyre. These 3 tyres offer an ideal tyre combination for all terrain conditions. With the option to mix and match tyres to suit the conditions for racing increases the overall performance on grip and rolling resistance.

The Racing Ralph are the teams preferred tyre with excellent rolling resistance, and protection. The tyre has been revamped for 2008 producing a lower weight tyre, lower rolling resistance and better grip. The new tred pattern with its sharks-tooth pattern helps it grip more aggressively on cornering, Nobby Nics have superior grip and is ideal for those wet muddy events. On cornering with these tyres defies wash-out and still maintains low rolling resistance. These tyres are available in a tubeless version. The advantages of this are that punctures are fewer, riding at allow pressure is possible giving better off-road performance, no sudden loss of tyre pressure from a punctured tyre, valve tear off is impossible. The disadvantages of this are that special rims are required, the weight of the tyre is more than a non UST tyre. The fitting of the tyre is a little more complicated and punctures are difficult to locate.

For more information on Schwalbe tyres please visit their website at www.schwalbe.co.uk.

09 May 08: Nikwax - New Products for 2008

Team Helly Hansen are pleased to confirm that Nikwax are continuing there support for 2008. With Techwash, Base Wash, Wool Wash and TX-Direct still being used by the team to treat there clothing it was good to see some new products for 2008... Read More

29 Apr 08: HH and Nikwax for 2008...

With a strong relationship between Nikwax and Helly Hansen AR team, photographs of the team are being used to advertise both products. Last year an image was used to promote Nikwax at the Cycle Show in London. The most recent image used by Nikwax is in the new 2008 Plas-y-Brenin brochure, page 29 (or you can view the ad here ). The team have been using the Nikwax product range through the winter, proofing and cleaning their garments with great success. For 2008 the team are looking forward to testing some new products that Nikwax have been producing.

20 Apr 08: The Raid Canéo Nature

Team Helly Hansen learned this week that they have an entry into the Raid Canéo Nature adventure race to be held in France. The race has been produced by Gérard Fusil who was the founder for the Raid Gauloises series.

This adventure race is like no other the team members have ever undertaken. The difference between this and any other expedition race is its length and the amount of skills required to complete the course. To enable less able competitors the event will be split into 3 categories the Adventure Route 800km, the Raider Route approximately 900km and the Extreme route will cover some +1100km and this will be the team’s opted choice.

The 1100km will be split into only 6 stages and will start on the 28th July and finish on or before the 9th August, meaning the team could be racing for up to 13 days.

As always with this type of event new skills will be required and certificates gained in order to compete. For the team new qualifications in the following will be required, Horse Riding, Caving Skills and Cave Navigation. The team is looking forward to training with Nigel Atkins from Petzl and having some tuition from Lee at Skates Cool.

The disciplines for the event have been broken down into the following:

• - Ride & Run: 80km in 2 stages
• - Mountain Bike: 520km in 12 stages
• - Walking – Orienteering: 90km in 5 stages
• - Caving: 12km in 3 stages
• - Canyoneering: 12km
• - Kayak: 320km in 8 stages
• - Roller Blade: 30km in 2 stages

The kayaking routes will include Class 2-3 Rivers; Calm but powerful rivers no rapids, Canals, the sea and lakes.

2 Support crew will be required to transport the team’s equipment and food over the 2 weeks. They will be provided with a free GPS by the IGN to ensure that the crews do not miss the change over sessions; there could be over 30 of these so they will be kept busy!

A non-detailed route will be supplied to the teams in May to help start the logistical organisation for the crews. A list of IGN maps will be issued to the team that they will have to buy ready for the full race route which will be issued to the team 1 week before the event. This is so the teams can plot the 1100km route and prepare the maps and route choices, food, transitions and gear requirements. It’s going to be quite a challenge for the team to organise the route and strategy and tie this all in with the support crews.

There will be substantial TV coverage in France and on the web, with each team carrying a tracker device. Watch this space for more details on race exposure.

For more information see www.authentiqueaventure.com.

24 Mar 08: High Peak Marathon

Despite swearing after my first and second High Peak Marathons never to do one again, this was my third high peak marathon. I thought it would be a good idea because 200km of Costa Rica was ‘fresh’ in my legs so it would be merely a training run! The selective memory of the previous two was obviously in action as my mouth said yes to this team beleaguered by injury with only a few days to go before the start. I had a party in London on the Saturday so it seemed like a fair use of a Friday night…

My memories were mainly of beautiful pink sunrise and 42 miles of bright moonlight and crisp underfoot conditions on our first attempt. The running that year had been quick and icy, wading through snowdrifts and absolutely beautiful scenes of winter. I think I was secretly hoping for a repeat but the Sheffield skies had other ideas!

Stephen and I drove from Headley to Edale after work on Friday to join Barney and Andy of the North Downs Mountain Rescue team. We were 4,5,6 and 7th reserves or something equally illustrious for the original team so our registration was greeted with a knowing smile by the friendly organizers. The event is limited in entry as it crosses sensitive areas of land full of nesting birds and wildlife. It is always greatly oversubscribed and hundreds of teams are disappointed each year. Perhaps it’s the allure of the unavailable! Many adventure racers enjoy it as part of their single discipline training. The navigation is key to a good result and the tough stuff is all at night (depending how long it takes you to get around).

Our start was at 2312, closely followed by the local all girls team at 2313. We could see their big lamps bobbing up and down the hills much of the night. After 2 hours of moving quickly I remembered the reason I said I wouldn’t do it again. Pretty knackered at 1am, knowing more than 75% of the course was still to come I pondered the next 30 miles of bog, rain and ups and downs. We ran along the road to start the climb onto the moors when the voice of Tim who had been heavily involved with the organization and I had raced with a few years previously said hello. How wise I thought to be in a cosy thick jacket and standing on a road watching the runners flash by.

Six hours in and we were slogging across bleaklow. How appropriately named. I was feeling slightly guilty for not advising Stephen to take more clothes when we’d discussed what to carry earlier. Cosy in my helly warm hooded top and jacket I felt that maybe I should offer him a layer of protection against the biting wind, rain and cold but opted for self preservation and keeping moving. Andy was doing a brilliant job of navigating in barren conditions and Barney bounded along, strong as an ox, in the pitch black. None of us said a word for about 3 hours apart from perhaps the odd… dya want a jelly baby… or hello as we passed a sprightly marshall: eyes peeping from a weather-battered tent. At nine hours or so we were still there; now taking 2 steps back and one step down into the thick brown peat cuttings for every three forward as we tried to find our way with minimal effort through wet, peat bog. It was hard to laugh when, for the sixtieth time that night, a foot slipped into knee deep, near frozen brown sludge.

It was that classic British all pervading damp, wet, windy, sleety cold all the way across the tops. When we reached the famed Jacobs ladder we were looking forward to a run all the way up the paving through the moorland and along the ridgeline. Unfortunately though, we could barely stand up on the ridgeline at the top, never mind run!

There we were: four bedraggled runners taking the odd hop from rock to rock, spray rising from the cliff edge where the waterfalls emerged and every now and again someone blowing unpredictably sideways onto the heather. We were happier now because we were nearing the home strait. The dawn had turned to daylight and the views were magnificent over the watershed. The potential for motorway service station coffee was inspiring Steve and the jaffa-cakes in the car were drawing me.

A final bound through the heather and we were onto the ridgeline above Edale. This felt much shorter than a few years ago (the second time): perhaps because the villages and farms below were visible this time rather than obscured by a blanket of blizzard. We wound our way down to toy-town below and hit the road where we’d trudged up the farm track 11 hours previously. A short jog up the little road and we reached Edale village hall in a little bit less than 12 hours.

Tired and pleased to be finished the best bit was to come. Steve slept on the cold concrete, Andy and I downed hot stew and Barney supped hot tea. We declared yet again that this would be our last High Peak Marathon… Please will someone remind me next March! - Nicola

16 Mar 08: Fat Tyre Navigator Race

With the rain pouring down on the eve of the 15th I decided to change my tyres over to my Schwalbe Nobby Nic's in preparation for the Sundays Fat Tyre Navigator event. This is a 3.5hr MTB navigation event. I was up and out early to try and ride in some reasonable weather, but heading down the M4 with rain pouring down I knew this was going to be an interesting ride... The location was Kintbury and having cycled the area the day before I had a fair idea what was coming up. I set of with the temperature feeling like -10, good fast trails the day before were up to axle height with freezing water, the wind had picked up and the trails were a muddy slog! The Nobby Nic swap worked a treat, although having my first puncture for a long time made me become cold to the bone... TIP: Shake Schwalbes Doc Blue before inserting the liquid into an inner tube! On finishing I was frozen and several cups of tea and cake later I found that I had won the Mens Solo category. To ride my chosen route visit Motion Based. - Mark

15 Mar 08: Southern Trail Ride

It was up and out early for me to beat the forecasted rain! Heading to Kintbury (Oxfordshire) Trail Break were hosting their "Southern Trail Ride" event a 50km set route off-road ride against the clock. I managed a time of 2hrs 43 mins posting the second fastest time averaging 18.9kmph. The conditions were quite slippery on the downs chalk but the Schwalble Racing Ralph tyres worked a treat on the varying terrain’s. To ride the route visit Motion Based. - Mark

06 Mar 08: Where it all started

On the 6th March I headed back to where I first picked up an Ordnance survey map 24 years ago and decided to channel my career into mapping and my love for the outdoors...

Blacklands Farm campsites, now dedicated to the Girl Guides brought back plenty of memories as I learnt to navigate, paddle and climb here with the Scouts. It felt quite strange to be on the start line in the pitch black just about to navigate around the old woodlands.

The navigation was once again over a set time of 1hour. There were two maps, map 1 with 12 controls and map 2 with 10 controls. I had taken along my Joystick light from Exposure; the light was a hit with everyone as soon as I switched it on, as it out shone everyone’s light. Even more so as the time ticket by I passed several people running back on fast dimming head lamps. I managed to clear 20 controls but managed to get my timing wrong ending up finishing early with 12 minutes left.

It was a great event, really fun and good to see people from other events that I have done. Thanks to the organisers from Southdowns Orienteers - Mark.

23 Feb 08: Skates Cool

With a the potential of a few Adventure Races this year that will include Inline Skating I thought it would be a good idea to have a lesson to help me on my way. I booked on a ‘beginners crash course’, and even though I had already been on my skates a few times, this lesson was fantastic. The course was ideal to improve the technique in moving forward and the art of stopping whilst still looking cool! i.e. not falling on your ass!, and plenty of manoeuvres to aid stability, balance and leg strengthening.

The course was lead by instructor Lee in Hyde Park London. It lasted for 3 hours overall ending with the group being able to skate forward, stop using the heel brake, turn around, lemons & half lemons, toe-rolls, scoots and basic backwards skating and for a brave few taking on kerbs with your eyes shut!

I would thoroughly recommend this course for anyone who is just starting out on inline skates, as the lesson was friendly, informative and definitely improved your skating.

For more information and booking please visit Lee’s website on SkatesCool - Mark.

22 Feb 08: Helly Hansen Adventure Challenge Series 2008/09

Helly Hansen has announced the dates for its 2008/09 one-day adventure challenge series, organised by TrailPlus. There will be five dates across autumn 2008 and spring 2009.

The events are a good introduction into mixing mountain biking, trail running and paddling into one race with a few extra challenges to test the teams. The times for completion range from 3-7hrs with a goodie bag for every team who starts and a t-shirt for each competitor who finishes. There is no navigation involved and the course is pre-marked. The HH adventure racing team will be back to defend the mixed title….see you on the start line!

The dates and venues are:

• - Sunday 21 September 2008: Cannock Chase, Staffordshire
• - Sunday 19 October 2008: Longmoor Camp, Hampshire
• - Sunday 7th December 2008: Hawley, Nr Camberley, Surrey
• - Sunday 1 February 2009: Pirbright, Surrey
• - Early spring 2009: Cumbria - location TBC

For more information and registration please visit www.trailplus.com.

20 Feb 08: Urban Orienteering

It was back to Crowborough again for another urban orienteering event. This time the start was to the North of the town at the leisure centre. 42 competitors made it out to Crowborough to run in 5 degree temperature. Like the previous Crowborough event the map was a mass of lines marking roads and a few contour lines. They were handed out and before we knew it we were off, sprinting to the first control and breaking out in a sweat. The route I chose was very undulating taking me to several of the high point checkpoints and through the backstreets and across the golf course. From here it was uphill all the way picking off checkpoints. With the one hour time limit looming I had to leave a 30 point check point to make sure I made it back within time. This was another fun event and an enjoyable way to run some miles and to practise some navigation. Thanks again to Nick from Saxons Orienteering Club - Mark

20 Feb 08: The Coastal Challenge 2008 - Report

The 4th edition of the Coastal Challenge was in the NW of Costa Rica. The course moved NW from the Arenal Volcano to the Pacific Coast on the border with Nicaragua along a route almost identical course to last year’s race... Read More

09 Feb 08: Just for Fun

I headed back to my birth town of Crowborough on Thursday night to do an urban night navigation event. 42 people checked in outside Jarvis Brook railway station eager to set off. It was a fine clear evening as the maps were handed out. The format was new to me with a map representing a mass of lines (roads) and that’s about it. A description/question sheet had to be filled in per checkpoint. People headed off in many directions; my aim was to get back within the 1 hour time limit. The penalties were quite severe with 20 points deducted for every minute late back. The route took me along quiet lanes, muddy trails and through some of my old stomping ground. I ended back at the finish in 0:56:43 and visiting 16 stations and 270 points. This was just a fun event to do and free to enter, thanks to Nick from Saxons Orienteering Club - Mark

24 Jan 08: Twitter

We wanted to give you a better idea of what we're doing: training, preparing for events and racing... aside from the day jobs! Twitter allows a little insight into the world of adventure racing and multisport by allowing us to send messages by phone straight to the site. It keeps things up to date... and will hopefully allow live broadcasts from races all over world as well as from the dark winter roads on the bike and during a coffee break from kayak training!

So how's it going to work? We will individually be twittering and you can read these on our individual bio pages or of course by following us on Twitter. Mark and Nicola already are and we'll update you when we get Howard and Ski on board. We have also set-up a Team Helly Hansen Twitter which will collate our individual tweets into a single feed which you can see above.

24 Jan 08: River Dart source to sea - the longest shortest day!

At a ridiculous hour on Sun morning; the result of a few glasses of wine the night before; we set off to drop a car at Dartmouth and headed the put in for the Middle Dart 40km up the road. We shouldn't really call this a source to sea because we avoided the Grade 5 rapids of the upper Dart... but the trip was long enough to feel like it!

The ground was crispy cold and the sky was turning from navy to pink as we struggled into our kit. Luckily I had a Helly Hansen drysuit to keep me toastie but my partner incrime was in a mere drycag. We both clambered into playboats and in high spirits at dawn bounced off down the fun grade 2/3 middle Dart. A few little maneouvres are needed on this stretch- and a bit of white water confidence- but its pretty accessible to most depending on water levels.

We portaged a few dodgy looking weirs and finally reached the lower Dart. After 21 km of down river paddling in playboats we were certainly hoping for a helping hand from the tide when we hit the tidal stretch of the Dart estuary to head out to Dartmouth for a further 20km.

Woe betide us! A little flow high up turned into... a little flow 2 km later... and a little flow 2km later... and much more wind in our faces and a lot of waves for little playboats! It was a bit of a slog really but the scenery: rocks and boats and harbours and villages helped to make the next 10km a bit more bearable. The wind was probably about 10mph in our faces but it was enough to be a fair obstacle and very cold. We'd chosen a day when the tide wasn't moving quickly - (half moon) so it helped enough to get us to the mouth of the Dart before dark but wasn't as good as if we'd used a flood tide. Gladly we shoehorned ourselves out of our trusty craft at about 4pm... found the car- a bit of a run now that the tide had gone out and headed to the pub again for a log fire and long needed hot food!

All in all a great training paddle and good chance to spend a day in the open. Few tips if you fancy it:

• - Passes for the middle and lower dart available on the net.
• - Have a look at the weirs before paddling them or use a good guide.
• - Choose to reach the half way tidal point as the tide is turning out (preferably on a flood tide)
• - Longer boats for the sea section are better so consider using something longer than a little playboat!!
• - Remember your car key for the bottom
• - A headwind can make you freeze... wear good kit and have some spare.
• - It takes all day (6-10 hours)

17 Jan 08: Gideon Burke

Gideon Burke is joining the team for the Costa Rica Coastal Challenge. He can run quickly... but hasn't tried a marathon a day for 6 days before! He's been doing a fair bit of running on Salisbury plains: not quite the same terrain as volcanic foothills but a good start

11 Jan 08: The Longmoor Lollop XC Half Marathon

Nicola won the 13 mile x-country running race on longmoor last weekend. A crispy cold morning greeted the racers as they gathered in a frozen field to start the hilly off road race. Some of the terrain was familiar from one of the Helly Hansen series but the hills definitely seemed steeper! Nic led the girls field and was 6th overall in this training race for this months Costa Rica coastal challenge: a good bit of practice for the forests and volcanoes!

04 Jan 08: The Coastal Challange

Nic and Gidz will be racing on foot in Costa Rica to set the team off in 2008. The Coastal Challenge is a 250km stage race over 6 days in the wild north west. The route passes through forest, mountain, coast and volcanic territory in the remote north west.

The team at The Coastal Challenge are excited about this year’s event:

"Embracing the spirit of adventure, discovery and camaraderie, The Coastal Challenge will afford you the opportunity to compete at your highest level against an international field in one of the longest, toughest and most memorable running events you will ever experience"

Here begins 08!

01 Dec 07: Southern Trail Ride

The winter weather had certainly set in the day before this event making the cycling tricky on wet slimy chalk. Mark cycled the Evans Trail Ride a pre-marked 34mile off-road/road route. Not a race but as it happens Mark completed the route in 3hrs 2mins under the organisers estimated fastest time of 3hrs 10mins! And was the fastest rider that day. Mark even had to endure a puncture with a thorn that pierced his tyre in two places, not even Schwalbe’s Doc Blue could prevent his tyre deflating! The route can be seen on Motion Based.

17 Nov 07: Fat Tyre Navigator Race

Mark then raced the next day with Nicola in the Fat Tyre Navigator race, riding for a set time of 3.5hrs navigating between checkpoints, the most points wins. Both Mark and Nicola came in with 640 points losing 25 points for being 5 minutes late which put them 5 points in front of 2nd place. The route they navigated can be seen on Motion Based.

16 Nov 07: Southern Trail Ride

Mark cycled the Evans Trail Ride a pre-marked 31mile off-road/road route. Not a race but as it happens Mark completed the route in 2hrs 57mins under the organisers estimated fastest time of 3hrs 15mins! And was the second fastest rider that day. The route can be seen on Motion Based.

12-14 Oct 07: Earls Court Cycle Show

Both Mark and Howard took time out to visit this year's cycle show in Earls Court. This enabled them to meet current sponsors and potential new interests for the 2008 season. Importantly meeting Rory from Exposure lights and seeing the fantastic new range of MaxX lights now available. Rory has kindly agreed to support the team for 2008 supplying a set of Joystick MaxX lights for the team. It was great to see Chris Hearn from Schwalbe Tyres on a very busy stand which was clearly generating plenty of interest; Chris has also agreed to support the team for the 2008 season. Barney from Sundog eyewear and has being busy building up support in the UK for sundog, sponsoring events such as the Gorrick Autumn Classic MTB races in the South East. Having used Sundog eyewear for over a year now Barney is keen on supporting the team in 2008.

It was great to meet Specialized and thank them personally for helping mark out with a rear mech issue days before flying out to race the Trans Rockies MTB race.

21 Sep 07: Nikwax Ad

Sponsors Nikwax have used Team Helly Hansen UK for an ad in the cycling press. Well known in the outdoor community, Nikwax products are equally ideal for cleaning as well as maintaining specialist cycling fabrics. With this in mind Nikwax are keen to engage the cycling community and will formally introduce their product range at the forthcoming cycle show at Earls Court. You can view the ad here - Take note of the Free offer!

21 Sep 07: YouTube Clips

You can now see clips of our training and racing on YouTube. Check them out here or by clicking the YouTube logo above. More will be added over the next few months so keep checking back.

28 Aug 07: TransRockies Mountain Bike Race - Report

Howard and I with our race support crew of Heather and Fiona landed in Canada a week before the TransRockies mountain bike race. We spent the first few days relaxing and enjoying the sights in and around the Vancouver area before collecting our RV (Recreational Vehicle) and heading North through Squamish, then to Whistler where we both spent several hours in the mountains cycling on some excellent single track and encountering our first Bears!... Read More

27 Aug 07: Training Log

Using data collected from GPS devices and downloaded to the Motion Based service you can see where the team have been and the types of activities they get up to, during training and racing, and how hard they have worked! View the teams output here.

09 Aug 07: TransRockies Mountain Bike Race

The duo of Mark & Howard have arrived in Canada in preparation for the 2007 Trans Rockies Mountain Bike race. This supported event will have a maximum of 350 amateur and pro teams pedalling through the Rockies over a distance of 600 kilometres of wilderness trails and 12,000m climbing. It will be a test of physical endurance and mental determination for mountain bike enthusiasts from all over the planet.

11 Jul 07: New Sponsor - Zym

The team would like to welcome Zym products. Zym is the answer to all of your hydration needs. It provides an effective, portable, and convenient way to stay hydrated... Read More

20 Jun 07: Bristol Rat Race - Report

This urban adventure race took place two weekends after the World Champs and the format and pace was in stark contrast to Team Helly Hansen UK’s last race in the wilds of Scotland... Read More

13 Jun 07: It's All Over

All the hard training and planning for the WARC helped the team complete the World Championship course in 6 Days 19hours and the first UK team over the line. Race conditions were tough throughout, the team worked well to overcome each stage and meet the required cut-off times... Read More

27 May 07: The Race Has Begun

Finally after months of preparation, it was time to make the journey to the start of the World Championships! This started with a coach trip, followed by a short ferry journey over to the Isle of Rum. The wet weather was left behind in Fort William, and all the teams were able to take in the magnificent scenery of a little known island. This was to mark the start of the prologue, which would be a short course against the clock. This would give each team behind the leaders time penalties which would be set against the team during the big race. The prologue was a challenge within itself incorporating some tough navigation and incorporating three 700ft+ peaks.

Helly Hansen completed this well finishing in the top half, and the fourth UK team. The finish was at Kinloch Castle, where the teams had to pitch a tent and stay overnight. The main event then started at 8.00am on Sunday 27th May.

18 May 07: New Sponsor - Exposure Lights

The team would like to thank the support from Rory and Jonathan at Exposure Lights. They are supplying the team with Exposure bike lights for the forthcoming WARC. The Exposure Enduro Turbo lights will aid the team on the Mountain Bike night sections providing over 8hrs of battery burn time on a single battery... Read More

08 May 07: New Sponsor - Nikwax

We would like to welcome Nikwax onto our list of sponsors. Both Katie and Matthew have been very helpful, and have provided some useful tips on how to look after our kit using the Nikwax product range. They have kindly agreed to support us by providing some of their specialist cleaning product’s which are especially designed for out door clothing... Read More

15 Apr 07: Our New Gallery

We've just added some of our pictures to Flickr. Take a look at them here or by clicking the Flickr logo above. Keep checking back as we'll be constantly adding to our library with training and racing pictures as the season progresses.

05 Apr 07: New Sponsor - Salewa

We would like to welcome Andreas and Monica at Salewa International. They have kindly provided us with multi-purpose super lightweight Krypton helmets... Read More

01 Apr 07: The Full Monty

A big thanks to last minute team member Tom Gibbs for stepping in to make the team of four, when our original team member pulled out with an ankle injury. The event was 210km in distance comprising of a 30km paddle, 100km Mountain bike 50Km run and another 30km paddle to the finish. This was supported event meaning that we had two people ferrying around our equipment and looking after the teams needs. The event was very fast meaning that we were beating the estimated times of arrivals by up to two hours. This worked in our favour as we were able to use this time to rest and eat. We managed to complete the run in just over 7hrs 30mins, putting in the second fastest time increasing our overall lead time. In the end we completed the course in 20hrs 1 minute; the fastest time for any team.

28 Mar 07: New Sponsor - OMM Original Mountain Marathon

A big thank you to Mike Parsons from OMM Original Mountain Marathon for their support towards the team. Their tried and tested Classic Mountain Marathon 32L rucksack will be used for events and training throughout the year ahead. Visit www.theomm.com for pack product details and of course information on the most famous mountain marathon in the world... Read More

17 Mar 07: The Outdoor Show

Taking time out from training to visit the Outdoor Show in Birmingham was a high priority for the team. This was made more special to meet some of our sponsors face to face for the first time. Especially Chris Reed from Chillcheater products who has kindly helped us out with some excellent paddling & swimming equipment and to Geoff at Kari-Tek who gave us one of their amazing Easy Load Roof Rack to take away for use up to the event. A big thanks to Nigel Atkins and the British Caving Association for there assistance. Howard and Nicola had a great time hanging from their ropes for a few photos.

12 Mar 07: Fat Tyre Navigator Race

Mark then raced the next day in the Fat Tyre Navigator race, riding for a set time of 3.5hrs navigating between checkpoints, the most points wins. After getting a puncture, Mark came in with 660 points with 700 being the maximum. Unfortunately two other men came in with the same points but faster by 1 minute! So he came 3rd. "I'll be converting my Schwalbe tyres to Tubeless as soon as possible".

11 Mar 07: Evans Trail Ride

Mark cycled the Evans Trail Ride a pre-marked 40mile off-road / road route. Not a race but as it happens Mark completed the route in 2hrs 39mins slightly under the organisers estimated fastest time of 3hrs 15mins! And was the fastest rider that day by 19mins.

03 Mar 07: Ropes training day with caving legend Nigel Atkins

Mark, Nic and Howard met Nigel Atkins, a top British Caver (and musician!) who runs Pennine Outdoor, to get some top tips on running up and down ropes in practice for the rope stages in the World Champs. A few hours dangling from a viaduct over a river helped to slicken the pace.

19 Feb 07: Weekend with Nigel Dennis in Tarifa Spain

Mark, Howard & Nicola spent 4 days training in Spain. This included mountain biking in Tarifa and Morocco, paddling the Triton II around the coast of Gibraltar and even managing a few rolls in warmer waters! A big thanks goes to Nigel Dennis for the use of his boats and to Phil for his time spent paddling with us. Also, a big thank you to Kari-Tek for the loan of one of their trolleys. We had great fun using this on the beach and getting used to the set-up.

01 Feb 07: Support Crew

Thanks to the people behind the scenes who are helping us out throughout this seasons racing. Without them and their support these events would be much harder to organise and compete in.

These are Heather & Fiona, support crew and partners to both Mark & Howard, Willow Nicola's partner and John for his support. Also, Brendon the team bike mechanic and technical expert for all his help keeping our bikes on the move. Finally, a big thankyou to all our family, friends and work colleagues for their continued support.

01 Feb 07: Welcome

Howard Lowe, Ski Sharp, Nicola MacLeod and Mark Humphrey are Team Helly Hansen UK.

Formed this year for a season of racing in multi-sport, endurance and adventure races we have raced together since 2000 in a range of sports.

Our first big race of the year will be the Adventure Racing World Championships which are coming to Scotland in May. We will trek, run, climb, kayak, swim and bike 500km together, non-stop, through the stunning Scottish wilderness as one of the UK's representative teams.

Other big events on the horizon include the Trans-Rockies; a 600km mountain bike race in pairs across the Canadian Rockies, the Etape du Tour and heaps of races on the UK and international Adventure Racing, Mountain Bike and Triathlon circuits... Read More