Bonanmanzi AR - Preview

Very little information has been made available ahead of this weekend’s Bonamanzi 88km Adventure Race. However the team is really looking forward to the race and we can feel the excitement growing! Team Lickety Split is entering 2 teams, the hares and the tortoises

Team Lickety Click (Hares)

Nando

Con

Adri

Team Lickety Split (Tortoises)

William

Mike

Sue

Everyone is leaving Joburg at 2pm and will be at the AR venue very far ahead of time. We have (hopefully) got accommodation and will be more than ready for the race starting at 4am on Saturday. Prize giving is at 9pm on Saturday. We know we have about 20km on foot, 60km on our bikes, and 8 km of tubing in the Steelpoort river.

The race organiser has released the start coordinates and has encouraged everyone to have a look at the terrain on Google Earth. This is against the standard AR principles of no scouting but does add a certain level of excitement to the race with some discussion on the team email list of terrain, roads etc. Looking at Google Earth and 1:50000 maps of the area (http://www.spatialreference.co.za/) shows a LOT of mountainous terrain which could make this a really tough race.

With new technology coming out all the time, it is getting even easier for teams to carry GPS logging devices that can help the race organiser keep track of where teams are at all times. At the end of the race for teams to compare their route choices. And for teams to keep friends and family updated with their progress and position in the race. It might be time for race organisers to start using this information to help them manage the events in the race a lot more easily.

In AR a certain amount of trust is necessary, that teams don’t get helped outside of transition, that teams always carry the required safety gear, that the team sticks together etc. And now with GPS available on all phones that teams do not use the GPS to give them an unfair advantage with positioning etc. I know that our team feels that as soon as we look at the GPS coordinates on the phone we are 1. Lost, 2. No longer official.

As always our team goals are to FINISH the race.