Spot LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Globalstar Inc. (NASDAQ: GSAT) and a leader in personal satellite messaging and emergency communications today announced that it has partnered with RaceTracker to provide a safety and tracking solution to competitors at the 25th annual Sultan Marathon Des Sables adventure race in Morocco.  The enhanced next generation SPOT Satellite GPS Messenger™ will be carried by competitors in order for race organizers and fans to track their progress online between April 4 and 11th 2010 on http://www.darbaroud.com.

The Sultan Marathon Des Sables features international teams of co-ed athletes competing in a grueling 250 km adventure race through the Moroccan Desert.  One hundred and twenty competitors will be equipped with the SPOT Satellite GPS Messenger™ which sends location-based signals via a global satellite network allowing for real-time public viewing on the RaceTracker platform.

Due to the remoteness of the race, the SPOT Satellite GPS Messenger™ will also provide competitors and race staff with satellite-based messaging and emergency communications, independent of mobile networks to assist with on-course safety.

“SPOT is the perfect partner for the RaceTracker solution that we have developed for the extreme conditions of the Marathon Des Sables race,” said Tracking Solutions Business Development Manager, Quim Tomas.  “Their new SPOT Messenger is ideal for tracking the competitors in real-time online.  Additionally, its smaller size and ruggedness makes it highly desirable for the athletes and the race organizers”.
The new handheld SPOT Satellite GPS Messenger™ is the second generation in the SPOT product line following the award-winning SPOT Satellite Personal Tracker™ offering a robust and intuitive user experience in a smaller, more compact size.  New features include advanced GPS, a new Custom Message mode and a dedicated button for GPS Tracking.  Additionally, the new SPOT comes equipped with GPS acquisition and message sending LED confirmation.  In an emergency, SPOT will transmit an SOS message alert to an International Emergency Response Center with the SPOT owner’s GPS location updated every 5 minutes.  Since market introduction, the SPOT product line has initiated more than 550 rescues in 51 countries and at sea.

“The Sultan Marathon Des Sables is a one of the most intense and demanding human endurance races in the world and we are pleased to partner with RaceTracker in order to provide a vital safety and tracking solution to such a prestigious event,” said Spot LLC Global Marketing Director, Katie Schoeben.

About RaceTracker

RaceTracker is an online tracking and communication solution developed by Tracking Solutions S.L. for the outdoor activities market.  It provides an innovative way to follow online sports activities and events anywhere in the world in real time.  RaceTracker gives outdoor competitors and event management all the tools needed (live online tracking, customized image, exclusive communication channels and multimedia content management, etc.) to ensure fan loyalty, maximum visibility and increased audience penetration.  RaceTracker is also a perfect platform to manage and guarantee the security of outdoor competitors as well as an innovative marketing platform.  The platform enables perfect brand visibility amongst core target audiences including competitors and the wider outdoor consumer market.  For more information about RaceTracker, visit http://www.racetracker.es.

About Sultan Marathon Des Sables

This year, the Sultan Marathon Des Sables celebrates it’s 25th anniversary.  Since 1986, the event has welcomed over 10,000 competitors from over 40 countries.  Behind this great event, lies a great cause.  For several years, the Marathon Des Sables organizational team, in collaboration with other associations, has been contributing equipment to the local people including solar powered pumps, school materials, sanitary development and craft work-shop’s.  During the 25th Sultan Marathon Des Sables (which will take place from April 4^th to 11^th 2010), race organizers will undertake a full scale trial of the RaceTracker solution.

About Spot LLC

Spot LLC, a subsidiary of Globalstar, Inc. (Nasdaq: GSAT), provides lifesaving communications technology that allows users to communicate from remote locations around the globe. The SPOT product family uses both the GPS satellite network to determine a customer’s location and the SPOT network to transmit that information to friends, family or an emergency service call center.  Thanks to this affordable, cutting-edge personal safety device, the company offers people peace of mind by allowing customers to notify friends and family of their location and status, and to send for emergency assistance in time of need, completely independent of cellular phone or wireless coverage. For more information on how Spot LLC is helping users live to tell about it – from disaster preparedness to outdoor adventure purposes – visit http://www.findmespot.com.



As of today Checkpoint Zero, LLC and Checkpoint Tracker Adventure Racing are proud supporters of Leave No Trace.

If you’re not familiar with Leave No Trace you’ve been living under a rock…hopefully you haven’t made a mess of the place…regardless, here’s their Mission Statement:

The Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics is an educational, nonprofit organization dedicated to the responsible enjoyment and active stewardship of the outdoors by all people, worldwide.

We will embrace and teach LNT’s principles, we will support their various programs and we eagerly accept the Bigfoot Challenge.

We encourage all adventure racers to do the same.

The California adventure racing championship (C-AR-C) is a points series for completing qualifying adventure races throughout California and Nevada.  Teams of 2, 3 or 4 members will be able to participate in events as short as 2 hours or as long as 4 days.  Points will be awarded both for team placement at the race and for race distance.  Teams can do as many qualifying races, but only the 4 best team results for the year will be used to determine the California ARA champion.

More information is available here.

If you’ve spent any time at all in any of the myriad adventure racing forums on the Interwebs then you already know that every so often somebody drops a post about the “death of adventure racing”.

It happens often enough that those of us that have been around for a while consider it a running joke.

These doom and gloom prognostications almost always come from a newbie who just discovered the sport and is really worried because some big adventure racing event/show/magazine just folded up the tents and moved on to…bankruptcy…usually Chapter 7.

In fairness, when you look at the history of most adventure racing focused businesses…the BIG races, magazines, TV shows…it kinda looks like French military history…sorry Lotta.

You might think there’s something inherently wrong with adventure racing…something that prevents it from taking off like it should despite having all the required raw ingredients…like soccer in the US.

Nonsense.

The problem isn’t with adventure racing.

The problem is that most efforts at taking it “mainstream” were premature.

Every time adventure racing has been thrust into the limelight (Eco Challenge, Balance Bar, Raid World Series, Primal Quest) it…and by it I mean the grass-roots of the sport where the “regular people” compete…got a shot in the arm and benefited in the short term, but the sport hadn’t matured to the point that other adventure racing business owners were able to fully capitalize on the free PR.

Today some promoters do better than others…some do great, but adventure racing as a true sport is still largely all about untapped potential.

Adventure racing was…and largely still is…balkanized, disorganized…messy.

There is no governing body or federation. The USARA (United States Adventure Racing Association) is not a governing body in the USAT sense. It’s not even an association. It’s a for profit corporation. It provides affordable insurance, though better deals are now available elsewhere, and it produces a national championship, though it’s no longer the only game in town. More importantly it is not living up the obligations that come with the role it claims to play on behalf of the sport.

There are no virtually no standards, the racers’ experience varies wildly from one event to the next, entry fees are all over the map, events are scored in different ways.

Oh ya…solving a Rubik’s cube blindfolded, roller blading, horses and mud pits are…in order…stupid human tricks, best done on the board walk in Venice, an alien species to most adventure racers and last but not least…great for Muddy Buddy events. These things pop up in adventure races from time to time and I guess that’s ok…I guess (not really)…but their inclusion does nothing to foster a unified image in the public’s mind of what adventure racing is.

I could go on and on and on, but you get the idea.

Most of these challenges are minor in and of themselves, but they point to a larger problem.

Adventure racing has no cohesive public image…no center of gravity…no highly visible entity people can point at and say “that’s adventure racing”.

Not yet.

The story of adventure racing is still being written and there is cause for optimism.

Turns out adventure racing is actully growing. Participation was up a whopping 31.8% last year according to the Outdoor Industry Association’s 2009 Outdoor Recreation Participation Report.

As the guy about to be tossed on the cart would say…it’s not dead yet…it’s evolving…and the next time it gets a chance to show off…it will be ready.

The Mind Over Mountain Adventure Racing (MOMAR) Series is in full preparation mode for the 2010 race season, which begins on May 22 in Squamish, BC.

For the second year, MOMAR has received an exclusive permit to take racers both up and down the Stawamus Chief. Professional adventure racer Jen Segger, owner of Challenge By Choice fitness and race coaching, has once again designed an exceptional course, taking full advantage of the Chief. MOMAR has also gained access to some brand new trails in the area.

“We’re really excited about returning to Squamish this year” says Race Director, Bryan Tasaka. “This race location has been world-class from the beginning and it gets better year after year, this year being no exception. With the combination of Jen’s race design talents and the unbeatable Squamish terrain, anyone who has participated in this race before knows they’re in for an outstanding experience.”

With both the Enduro Course (~50km) and Sport Course (~30km), racers will navigate their way through a series of checkpoints by means of cross-country mountain biking, navigation, bushwhacking, trail running, and the signature rappel. Squamish Rock guides is offering six MOMAR rappel clinics throughout April and May. Check out www.squamishrockguides.com for more information.

Volunteer opportunities are still available, but space is going fast! All volunteers receive an award winning MOMAR T-shirt, entry to our infamous post-race dinner and party, and an unforgettable weekend experience. Participating in a MOMAR also means you’ll be supporting MOMAR’s official charity, the Make-a-Wish Foundation.

Information on racing, volunteering and MOMAR training clinics is available at http://www.mindovermountain.com/momar/ or call 1.866.912.3331.

2010 MOMAR Schedule

Mind Over Mountain Adventure Race 001
May 22, 2010 in Squamish, BC

Mind Over Mountain Adventure Race 002
September 25, 2010 in Cumberland, BC