Welcome to this organizational meeting of the Shell Guam Extreme Adventure Race Four or Shell GEAR4 to be held on the island of Guam on September 20, 2003. The race course is of course secret until race day, however, we will release distances to you that are approximate today so that your training taper off dates can be set prior to the race.

We also would like to reiterate the importance of being able to take care of your team during the race this year; particularly with regard to heat exhaustion, dehydration, and standard first aid while on trail. In prior years we have had the opportunity to use telecommunications that could get assistance to you immediately; however, with race course design taking people this year deeper into the jungles of Guam than ever before ﾐ it is very important that you are able to handle these issues as a team. Every year we stand before teams prior to the event and say this; and every year many people ﾔbonkﾕ due to inadequate hydration, non replacement of sodium in the system, or an electrolyte imbalance. We all know about these things, however, we still have to deal with it. It is recommended that all athletes take steps prior to the event, during the event, and after the event to prepare their teams.

What to expect out of the course:
Race will start at a location to be disclosed here on the final Wednesday (September 17, 2003) night prior to the race. This location will be emailed to teams in Japan, Hong Kong, Australia, Saipan, and Guam simultaneously that evening.

Teams are to be checked in and ready to race when the horn blows at 4:00 AM on the morning of September 20, 2003. The first checkpoint will be visual i.e. a light or fire visible from the start line. The visual reference will start at 3:30 AM for navigators to ready their initial bearings and direction of travel prior to the start.

It is expected that this course will test the most seasoned adventure racers immediately and throughout the day. Support crews will be able to set-up and ready areas for themselves at the start line and will wait there for their teams to return from CP#1 and the unmanned remote CP#2. As CP#1 will be unmarked on the maps, it is imperative that teams learn to navigate to a point utilizing visual references.

The race will involve trekking, mountain biking, coasteering, kayaking, and swimming with fin assist. (There is no rope section as Guam does not have an active enough mountaineering group to assist and insure safety)

Kayaking legs will be two by land and two by sea; with only two team members kayaking at one time. If teams would like to utilize a sail they may do so; however, it must be done utilizing items from the equipment list specified on the website and cannot alter the kayak in any way.

Coasteering will be done in proximity to the ocean; teams are allowed to travel up to forty meters inland (about 130 feet) to get past dangerous wave sections or cliffs that make passing at the shoreline impossible. Unmanned remote checkpoints may be utilized to keep teams honest and ensure that the spirit of the coasteering leg is kept intact.

Orienteering will be extremely challenging on a few of the legs and decision making will be very important. The course is designed to test your teamsﾕ choice of routes ﾐ choose wisely.

Mountain biking will be along a set course and may involve hike-a-bike sections to get you from one section to the other. It is imperative that you stay on the trail as this is where we will look for you when you donﾕt return...Guam does have a lot of fun mud to cake onto your bike, and braking without disc brakes can be difficult.

Trekking will be over every imaginable terrain that Guam can throw at you. Expect elevation gains and losses to test your fitness, considerable amounts of distance on your feet, and exposure to the elements on 90% of the trekking legs.

Okay distances...

Utilizing the current design we are at about 50 miles for the pro division. This includes the following distances:
Trekking ﾐ Approximately 23 miles
Coasteering ﾐ Approximately 4 miles
Bike ﾐ Approximately 13 miles
Kayak ﾐ Approximately 9 miles

The social division will have the following to contend with just over 30 miles of racing:
Trekking ﾐ Approximately 13 miles
Coasteering ﾐ There will be no coasteering in the social division.
Bike ﾐ Approximately 9 miles
Kayak ﾐ Approximately 9 miles

There will be support crew accessible checkpoints at seven different locations and a total of 15 checkpoints including the start and finish lines. Of these fifteen checkpoints, three will be remote unmanned checkpoints with information that needs to be recorded.

This has been sent to all teams as of 5:00 PM; August 13, 2003 via email to
http://groups.yahoo.com/gearsports or just go to Yahoo Groups and join the Gearsports site. You may also access information via http://www.guamextremeadventurerace.com

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