More Northern Exposure

Some follow up on Team Gore-Tex / GoLite, who won the recent Red Bull Northern Exposure adventure race in the Cairngorms.

If you read our recent news story you'll know that the three male members of the team were pretty sick during the event. Pasi Ikonen explained: "Ski, Peter and I drank from a stream" explained Pasi "which proved not to be as pure as we thought." Team co-ordinator Anna McCormack, on the other hand, was in good shape: "I feel pretty sore, but I only drank from the hydration system in my pack, so I didn't get what the guys did. When we started the race I was uncertain about my fitness level as my training had been somewhat interrupted this year; but I really enjoyed myself out there".

Their general response to the event was overwhelmingly enthusiastic, which should please the two Steves from On The Hill who put it together. "The mountain bike section was beautiful" said Anna "a little technical - just enough to keep you awake, but no serious uphills, just an undulating trail through the forest". Curiously though, the teams got a first day of pure Highland drizzle. Who'd have thought it eh?

The team are being co-sponsored by the US ultra-lightweight specialists GoLite, partly, we'd surmise, as part of an initiative to overcome prejudice in the UK about the toughness of their lightweight kit. They quote Ikonen as saying of his Speed Pack: "Truly amazing - you look at the thin fabric and think it won't be strong enough, but it's incredibly tough. I packed it full of kit and it held everything."

Of course you'd expect supported athletes to be positive about their sponsors, but it's good to see GoLite getting out there so people can see the gear being used for real.

For more information, reports and pics from the event, see the race reports section of the burgeoning new sleepmonsters web site. Maturing nicely we reckon.