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Stay updated on exclusive promos, exciting trips and outdoor events by Nomad Adventure.
Malaysia's only Adventure Company with ISO 9001: 2008 certification
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Home > Adventure Racing > Eco-X Races > Eco X-Capade & Eco X-Sprint 2003
Newsletter Two: 15 September 2003 Download Entry Forms here:
Dear Competitors, Volunteers and Friends, Stop the press! Hot news! Due to overwhelming requests, we are going to open a 2 person team category for the Eco X-Capade. The two-person team will be a ranked team in the Eco X-Capade, but the team will receive a 45 minute penalty. This time penalty is to compensate for the fact that one team member less will mean faster times on the technical rope sections. There are really a lot of rope elements in this race, so we figure 45 minutes will still make a two-person team reasonably competitive. Entry fee for a 2-person team is RM 250. A big hand to all the teams who have sent in their application forms! Those who still have not, please do send them in as soon as possible. It's really difficult for us if you do not sign up early. Such stress! Also a big thanks to our generous sponsors, Camelbak, Gatorade, Powerbar and Syuen Hotel. We also appreciate all the help and assistance we have received from the Malaysian Karst Society. By the way folks, the Nomad Adventure Pro-shop still has some Salomon products on sale at 50% discount as well as everything else you will need for the race. Have fun out there, Chan Yuen-Li
In this newsletter, we will be covering the following topics:
Dates to Remember From now: Hoards of race entries pouring in daily... Saturday 20th Sept: Sunday 21st Sept: Thursday 25th Sept: Saturday 27th Sept: RACE DAY 27th September timetable at Gua Tempurung Base Camp: 10am – 12pm: 1:00 pm: 2:00 pm: 5:45 pm: 7:00 pm: 8:00 pm: 8:30 pm:
Race Course and Disciplines Well, the good news is that this upcoming race is going to be the physically-easiest race we'll organize this year. We guarantee that you'll have lots of strength to boogie at the after race barbeque! It's a race course you can enjoy without going into huge oxygen debt and killing yourself. We figure 3 ˝ to 4 hours for the winning team and 6 hours for the last team on this spectacular course. The race base camp is at Gua Tempurung. From the North South highway, take the Gopeng exit (about 25km south of Ipoh). From the toll gate turn LEFT down the old trunk road. Go down about 4km until you see a huge sign to Gua Tempurung. Turn left onto a new, wide tar road. This will take you to the visitors car park. Be aware that the carpark fill up with tour busses and tourists' cars. So grab your parking spot early! Mountain Biking There's 30km of this and 20km of it is pancake flat! See, I told you that this is one of the easiest races we have organized. Most of the mountain biking is on old mining land, so it's flat and sandy, making it a great mountain biking course for beginners. Veteran racers can get their thrills by going faster. There's also some nice varied terrain, going through orang asli villages and fruit orchards, as well as 4 river crossings to vary the pace. No mountain biking for Eco X Sprint. On-foot Most of the on-foot section will be in the cave, so it will be nice and cool with lots of interesting things for you to look at to take your mind off the pain! There really isn't going to be a whole lot of running in this race. Caving The caving section is absolutely fantastic and super long! It will take up about half the time of the race for most teams. Be prepared for it to be pitch dark and wet. (I assumed that most people would think that caving would be in the dark, but a few people have surprised me. So I suppose I should state the obvious.) There's a river running through the cave, and you will be wet. Be prepared for long crawls. Even though the minimum is 4 lights per team, I would strongly recommend that everyone carries AT LEAST 2 lights. I always carry 3 light sources (but I won't share during the race!). You are going to be using the lights for many hours, so it's really important that you have back-ups. Rope work, Abseiling and ascending For the Eco X-Capade teams there are going to be a whopping FIVE technical rope elements altogether. They are:
For the Eco X-Sprint teams, you will do everything except for the 200 foot I-need-new-underpants abseil. River section Weather permitting, there will be a 1.5km float/ swim/ run down a beautiful section of nice cool river. The water will be about knee depth. So do waterproof your gear well! P.S. The Nomad Pro-shop sells a great range of dry bags, waterproof headlamps, waterproof camera cases, etc. Sorry not for Eco X Sprint. Navigation Yes, bring a compass and your wits! Eco X Sprint exempted.
Compulsory Equipment There has been no change to the compulsory equipment list from Newsletter 1.
Accommodation Package OK folks there are a couple of accommodation options. 1. Syuen Hotel in Ipoh Our race co-sponsor, Syuen Hotel is one of the top hotels in Ipoh. This city hotel is only a 25 minute drive from Gua Tempurung and well-situated for you to sample the culinary delights of Ipoh. World-famous Ipoh chicken is available all night long on Saturday and there's great Tim Sum on Sunday right opposite the hotel. Syuen Hotel has very kindly offered competitors some great rates. Family Room (1 King size and 1 single bed) …RM 215 (Limited number left!) Deluxe room (1 king size or twin beds) …RM 150 (+ RM45 for an extra bed) Please call or email Nomad Adventure and we will make the bookings for you. Call soon to avoid disappointment! 2. Camping Well, it is possible to camp at the base camp in Gua Tempurung. (Hope you can tell that I'm not hugely enthusiastic about this.) The facilities really are not at all great. There are some cold water taps to bathe with or a stream nearby. The toilets are a disgrace, so bring a spade. If you really want to camp, please call or email us and I'll discuss the options with you.
Travel Package We have put together a travel package from Singapore to transport people and their bikes, but we need a minimum of 10 teams to sign up! Please let us know if you are interested as we need to compile the headcount. It will cost RM 200 per person for bus transfer and transportation of your bikes from Singapore to Gua Tempurung base camp. The bus will leave Singapore on 26/09, Friday night at 10pm (We are open to suggestions as to the leaving time. Hey, it's a democracy!). It will leave Ipoh/ Gua Tempurung on Sunday morning around 9:00pm. We can arrange for a 6 hour stop in KL for shopping, climbing or other sinful pastimes, if you all agree to it. If you are interested, let us know:
Payment Method Singaporean teams, please send your payment to Kim Yap of Paddle Culture.
He will be in at following days and time: 14/9 (10am-5pm) Pls call/ email before seeing him.
Volunteers We are still looking for technical volunteers. Please email us if you are interested in helping out. Thanks!
Further Enquiries For further enquiries please e-mail eco-x@nomadadventure.com. You can phone us at (603) 8024 5152 from 11 am to 6 pm Or drop in at : The Summit Climbing Gym,
Cheers from the Nomad team and Shameela, and Yuen-Li,
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