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07-Sep-2010 12:08:34 |
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The Turas Taking Shape |
| 14-Mar-2008 10:31:12 |
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The phones are ringing, entries keep coming in, the course is finalized and the countdown to the big day is officially on!
Southwest Ireland has had quite strong storms blowing over its lakes and hills for the last few days but apart from a few fallen trees and minor flooding, the race route for the Turas is unaffected and will have completely recovered by summertime.
We sent the unlikely team of an adventure racer and an expeditionist out over the weekend on one of the stages. They returned bandy-legged and weary but with toothy grins after one of the most challenging treks they had done in a while. It nearly came to blows when the adventure racer, choosing what appeared to be the faster route, got them both swallowed by a monstrous bog hole. Take heed adventure racers, appearances are often deceiving. Especially in rural Ireland where even the most solid looking ground isn’t what it seems and locals dress as leprechauns!
I geared up and joined some of Ireland’s top mountain bikers on a section of the course. Racers will be heading into completely unknown biking territory, exclusive to a lone, local mountain biker. He will probably regret having revealed his secret playground in years to come. I got a strain in my neck and almost broke it too from looking sideways at the breath-taking scenery. Keep your eyes on the road and your hands upon the handlebars!
Hype is also building among locals who are trying to come to terms with a zip wire going across the most famous valley in Ireland. It will be up to the teams to prove to them that it IS indeed the fastest way to get from one side of the valley to the other. We’ll leave it to the professionals.
As money makes the world go round, and to encourage more cut-throat racing, there will be an added incentive to cross the line first on Stage 1 for a cash-in-hand bonus prize. We'll leave it for you to decide what races are worth your while entering this summer.
Fiola Foley
The Turas Race Management
Teams Entered
Aberdeen Asset Management GB
La Fuma Sport 2000 FRA
Buff Coolmax FRA
Halti NOR
Zissou USA
Irish AR Green IRE
Peak Adventure AUS
Cotswold UK
Lundhags Adventure SWE
Cam Racers UK
Issy Adventure Garay FRA
Dart USA
Powered by Velvet NZ
Running Free CAN
Army IRE
Irish AR Gold IRE
Helly Hansen UK
Gaelgor IRE |
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