<< Back 10/30/02 Adventure Sapphire Adventure Racing National Championship comes to Jackson County By Don Hendershot The growing sport of big-time adventure racing is coming to Sapphire Valley. The United States Adventure Racing Association (USARA) will hold its 2002 Adventure Racing National Championship Nov. 7-9, at the Fairfield Sapphire Valley Resort in southern Jackson County. The championship will be followed on Nov. 10 by the Sapphire Sprint, a four- to six-hour adventure race. “Sapphire Valley provides great terrain for this race and Fairfield Resort is a first-class venue to host our event,” Don Mann, president and founder of Odyssey Adventure Racing (OAR) said. OAR will stage the 24-hour endurance test and Mann is race director. The course is being designed by OAR staffers Bill Davis, Greg Vogel and Jono Senk with assistance from Bobby Bryson of Sapphire Valley’s ski patrol. “OAR has the most experienced staff in the industry,” Mann said. “Our medical staff is made up of doctors and EMTs who are adventure racers themselves. They know what signs to look for and what questions to ask the athletes. Our climbing crew, the Dirty Dozen, installs the safest climbing rigging I’ve ever seen.” And Mann has seen his share. The veteran race director has participated in more than 1,000 endurance events around the world and has coached hundreds of elite athletes. The former Navy Seal cut his adventure racing teeth on the renowned Raid Gauloises 10-Day Adventure Race. Mann has completed four Raids, more than any other American. “Sapphire Valley is excited about this opportunity to partner with Odyssey. It extends our season. The timing is perfect, after the leaves drop and before the snow. With the racing teams, their support crews and constituents, the event will have a positive economic impact on the entire community,” said Scott Rao, Sapphire general manager. Mann said registration for both events has been excellent. The 40 four-member teams signed up for the championship make it USARA’s largest championship to date. And there are 50 solo and/or two-person teams signed up for the sprint. Mann said he is confident the course will provide a championship challenge. “The idea is to make all disciplines equally challenging, but you are guided by the lay of the land,” Mann said. The USARA championship will challenge racers in trekking, mountain biking, orienteering, open water canoeing and rappelling. Mann is very tight-lipped about specifics but said that really good, technical mountain bikers might have a slight edge in this year’s race. Rao credited the Sapphire Valley Masters Association with making the event possible. He said that he and Mann emailed back and forth about a year ago and set up a date for OAR to put on a presentation. “Members of the masters association attended the presentation and gave the event their full support,” Rao said. Fairfield Sapphire Valley Resort has donated facilities for registration and pre-race events and activities and the awards banquet following the race. Rao extended special thanks to Jack O’Connell of Mica’s Restaurant for providing lodging for the OAR staff. Rao and Mann both expressed optimism that this year’s events would lead to more adventure racing in the Valley. Rao said it would be a great way to lengthen the season a bit, especially with a spring race added. Mann said the Sapphire area had the potential for many challenging courses. Mann said OAR liked the idea of long-term partnerships and noted OAR’s Endorphin Fix, a two-day adventure race that has been staged in the New River Gorge of West Virginia since 1998. The 40 teams vying for the USARA championship all had to qualify by finishing in the top rankings of USARA sanctioned adventure races. Awards will be given to the 10 top finishers of this year’s race and the winning team will receive free entry in USARA’s 2003 championship. Sprint racers on Nov. 10 will get a glimpse of the championship course as they test their skills in a four- to six-hour race.