The Team
Nick Gracie (Team Captain)
Date of Birth: 6th February 1972
Occupation: Event Organiser
City of Birth: London
Hometown: London
Started AR: 1999
Favourite Discipline: Running
Favourite Races: 2009 Adventure Racing World Championships (Portugal), Adrenaline Rush (Scotland) 2003, 2004 Adventure Racing World Championships (Canada)
Best Race Results: 1st Wenger Patagonian Expedition Race 2011, 2009 Adventure Racing World Champion, British Adventure Racing Champion since 2005, 10th Adventure Racing World Championships (Canada), 5th Southern Traverse 2003.
Favourite Kit: adidas adizero XT shoes, Marin mount vision, clif shot bloks
Why AR? Adventure Racing has taken me to amazing places all over the world where we compete against a great bunch of like minded people. It brings all the sports I love together in an incredible and always unique journey that challenges the body and mind.
Tom Gibbs
Date of Birth: 4th May 1972
Occupation: Aerospace Designer
City of Birth: Taunton, Somerset
Hometown: Backbarrow, Cumbria
Started AR: 1998
Favorite Discipline: Eating, Sleeping, Navigation (in that order)
Favorite Races: 2009 Adventure Racing World Championships (Portugal),
2003 Arctic Team Challenge, 1999 Eco Challenge (Patagonia), Hebridean Challenge
Best Race Results: 2009 Adventure Racing World Champion, British Adventure Racing Champion since 2005, Over 80 race wins and 100 podium finishes
Favourite Kit: adidas Adistar Tops, Marin Mount Vision, clif shot bloks
Why AR? Adventure Racing is life condensed, all the highs and lows
packed into a short time, plus I seem to be reasonably good at it!
Warren Bates
Date of Birth: 1969 (yes he’s that old)
Occupation: Full time athlete (ooo eee that made me chuckle)
City of Birth: Chester (UK)
Hometown: Kowhitirangi (NZ)
Started AR: 1999
Favorite Discipline: Biking
Favorite Races: 2009 Adventure Racing World Championships (Portugal),
Adrenaline Rush (Scotland) 2003, 2004 Adventure Racing World
Championships (Canada)
Best Race Results: 2009 Adventure Racing World Champion, British
Adventure Racing Champion since 2005, 10th Adventure Racing World
Championships (Canada), 5th Southern Traverse 2003.
Favourite Kit: adidas TERREX feather jacket, clif bars, Leki Poles
Why AR? My life would be too easy without AR. An expedition length adventure race is an opportunity to reconnect with something primitive inside in a way that modern life could never allow me to do.
Sonya Clark
Date of Birth: 10th September, 1975
Occupation: Personal Trainer and Mum
City of Birth: Gore, NZ
Hometown: Auckland
Started AR: 2001
Favourite Discipline: Running and sleeping!
Favourite Races: 2006 Adventure Racing World Championships (Sweden),
Best Race Results: 1st Southern Traverse, 5th ARWC (Sweden), 1st ARC New Zealand 24hr, 1st Cape Brett off road run.
Favourite Kit: adidas adizero XT shoes, clif shot Bloks, Sudacream
Why AR? I enjoy the challenge of a long race. It teaches you a lot about yourself and how to work as a team. You also get to see the best parts of the world condensed into one week.
Nicola Macleod
Occupation: Doctor
City of Birth: Edinburgh
Hometown: Gillingham, Doeset + where ever work takes me!
Started AR: 2000
Favorite Discipline: Trekking
Favorite Races: 2009/10 Wenger Patagonian Expedition Race, 2009 Adventure Racing World Champion (Portugal)
Best Race Results: 2009 Adventure Racing World Champion, 1st Place 2009/10 Wenger Patagonian Expedition Race
Favourite Kit: adidas adizero XT shoes,
Why AR? Started racing with friends at uni. Love the races which involve a journey: introduced to the long stuff in the 2001 Southern Traverse and have had some stunning times in Newfoundland, America, Europe, Africa, UK, NZ, Chilie with AR folks. I have had many racing highs and lows throughout my racing time, becoming a World Champion in 2009 is by far the best high anyone can have.
Mark Humphrey
Date of Birth: 3rd June 1973
Occupation: Design Engineer, Civil Engineering
City of Birth: Crowborough
Hometown: Bagshot
Started AR: 2001
Favourite Discipline: Mountain Biking & Eating
Favourite Races: Wenger Patagonian Expedition Race, Southern Traverse, Trans Rockies Mountain Bike Race.
Best Race Results: 1st 2009, 2010 & 2011 Wenger Patagonian Expedition Race, 10th Adventure Racing World Championships (Canada), 5th Southern Traverse 2003.
Favourite Kit: adidas TERREX feather Jacket, Exposure Lights.
Why AR? It all started a long time ago racing mountain bikes cross country style then moving into Polaris and KIMM’s/LAMM’s for the navigation element. Having a background of climbing, kayaking and map making and the thought of racing combining all these skills led me to having a crack at Adventure Racing….and I was hooked. Having been racing AR events for over 9 years now I have been fortunate to have raced some of the most well known venues around the world gaining valuable expedition race length experience. “I guess it’s the buzz of being in some desperate and sometimes frightening situations combined with amazing sights and sounds and great team work that make AR so appealing to me”.
Bruce Duncan
Date of Birth: 9th September 1980
Occupation: Event Organiser
City of Birth: Penrith
Hometown: Keswick
Started AR: 2004
Favorite Discipline: Running
Favorite Races: 1st Place 2009, 2010 & 2011 Wenger Patagonian Expedition Race (Chile), Explore Sweden 2009, Open Adventure Coast to Coast
Favourite Kit: adidas adizero XT shoes, Marin Team Titanium Bike, clif shot bloks
Why AR? For the adventure and competition. I have been lucky enough to race against some of the best athletes in the world in some of the most stunning locations, all the while doing something I love with brilliant friends. Pushing myself to the total limit and discovering what the human body and mind is capable of.