GEAR 7 on the way

While the CNMI has the world renown XTERRA Saipan Championship to lure adventure seekers to its shores, the folks down south have an adrenaline-pumping race of their own as organizers of the Guam Extreme Adventure Race are gearing up for the seventh season of racing.

The gut-wrenching heart-pounding gnarly off-road course is never the same, and that is one of the reasons why hundreds of competitors keep coming back for the best and worst that Guam has to offer.

Tyce Mister, Yosh Gabaldon, Stephan Samoyloff, Chris Fryling, Peter Sinclair, Richard Sikkel, Rob Carruth, Mieko Motoyoshi, Dawn Hammermeister, Bob Gardner, Kathryn Sinclair, Laura Kustaborder, Deena Samoyloff, Jean Sakovich, Grant Buebret, Blaine Rogers, and Nate Hawley have participated in the event representing the CNMI in past years and the window is open for more local racer as well.

Quinn has participated in each of the previous events and said that each one was a life-changing experience. He has been a member of three second place teams and managed a championship finish but he is still looking for more.

The question posed by race director James Oelke is whether or not prospective racers are tough enough to enter, much less complete the 40-mile GEAR 7 event.

“We are also looking for people of a like mind to participate so if you know of some folks that seem at home in the great outdoors, people that strive to do things differently, women and men that have heart, stamina and courage to try something new—please invite them to join this list and we will get them into the races coming up,” said Oelke.

According to Oelke, the race has evolved into a compacted version of its original version with racers competing for at least 12 hours and as many as 24 hours doing just about anything they can to get from start to finish. Teams of four engage in mountain biking, trekking, coasteering, navigation, swimming with fin assist, and kayaking along the course.

It makes no difference if the competitors are male or female because all racers are considered the same, but the event is so rigorous that all teams require support crews of up to four people per team to help get them the materials they need when they need it.

The next GEAR is set to test wills on May 27, 2007 and organizers promise that next year’s version of the race will be everything it was in the past and more, though they remain stingy with the details in order to keep the course a secret, until they release the info an hour before the start of the race.