Dear Eco-Challengers,

In January we emailed a brief update to all team captains. I would like to recap some of the key points I made in January:

Argentina 1999 As most of you followed the race via the internet, you know that Argentina ’99 was a spectacular race with 34 of the 51 teams officially finishing the course. Team Greenpeace of New Zealand (John Howard, Keith Murray, Andrea Murray and Neil Jones) won the 6th Eco-Challenge in 5 days and 33 minutes.

Keith Murray (a three-time winner of Eco-Challenge) said of this year’s race:

“I am proud to have won Eco ‘99, as it is probably the most competitive adventure race to date. Things are only going to get tougher each year, and that, together with the high profile that adventure racing is getting through races such as the Eco-Challenge, can only be good for the sport.”

As Keith said, it was a fast-paced, extremely competitive field with the closest finish in our history (his team slept a total of only 9 hours):

• The second place team, Sierra Nevada of Spain, was only 50 minutes behind Greenpeace;
• Team Condor of Argentina was only 70 minutes behind the Spanish team;
• Team Atlas Snowshoes/Rubicon of the US (three females and 1 male) were just over 4 hours behind Condor.

These timings are phenomenal considering that it was 5+ days of NON-STOP racing with no Dark Zones!

On to Borneo 2000 Many of you are new teams who have never raced in an Eco-Challenge. We are really looking forward to having new teams experience the race (which was our goal for 2000) and are excited about seeing every single one of you stand on the starting line in Sabah, however we want to be very clear from the beginning that we will NOT COMPROMISE the difficulty or the quality of the race. Some of the world’s best teams will be racing against you in Sabah and we are committed to providing a challenging race for the top teams.

New Teams: The next few months are critical to your race preparation therefore please consider this advice:

• Choose your teammates wisely. You will not have a successful, enjoyable experience if you struggle with conflict amongst your team. Resolve that issue now.
• If possible, participate in other races as preparation for Sabah. Learn to work together and test your team dynamics. Determine your strengths and weaknesses. Learn to make smart race decisions.
• Ask for advice. Use the ARA mailing list and the growing internet resources to solicit advice from the best. From what I have seen, the best racers tend to be friendly and willing to offer suggestions and advice to those who need it. To subscribe to the ARA, send a message to Listserv@AdventureRacing.Org. The body of the message (not the subject) should say, “subscribe ARA-L your name.”

There is no excuse for showing up in Sabah with team dynamic problems, the wrong shoes, a 70-lb pack, poor navigation skills or inadequate gear, use your resources and be prepared to RACE. I am excited about this year’s race and I promise it will be a challenging experience you will never forget. The jungles of Borneo are exotic, dense and will require your expert navigation skills and smart decision-making. Your competition is real, and I expect you to arrive prepared, knowledgeable and ready for anything that lies ahead.

Prize Money: $100,000 We are proud to announce that for the second year in a row, Eco-Challenge will award $100,000 in prize money to the top 5 officially finishing teams:

• 1st place $50,000 USD
• 2nd place $20,000 USD
• 3rd place $15,000 USD
• 4th place $10,000 USD
• 5th place $5,0000 USD

Race Course Survey I will meet my Race Coordination team in Sabah for an extensive survey of the course in February and March. At the conclusion of this survey, we will inform you in Newsletter #2 of specific details, requirements and equipment for each discipline.

Good luck finalizing your team members and securing sponsorship; I look forward to sharing course details with you in Newsletter 2.

Best Regards,