All the latest news
The latest race news, gossip and announcements. All in a handy web page you can fit in your pocket.
EnduroAR win again in the Peaslake MTBO
27th September 2009
So near but so far as EnduroAR narrowly, by just one checkpoint this time, missed clearing today's Peaslake MTBO race. A little annoying as the team secured yet another win; fastest pair/team in the event and second overall.
The event was well organised as usual and this time was sponsored by both Cycle Surgery and our very own sponsors Astounding Adventures.
Astounding Adventures provide mountain biking, navigation and adventure race skills for beginnings courses in The Surrey Hills, Grizedale Forest in the Lake District, Gwydyr Forest in North Wales and Dalby Forest in The Yorkshire Moors.
Thanks again to the organisers for a great day. The next race is on the 25th of April 2010. Registration is already open!
EnduroAR win first Adventure Race Series
16th August 2009
Yesterday saw the team competing in the Final Ace Race of the year at Queen Elizabeth Country Park and, despite to usual jinxed episodes that always seem to happen to us at Ace Races, the team came in a creditable second place.
This combined with two third places in the previous two races, gave us the female pairs title!
We'd like to think this was an acknowledgement of our supreme race fitness, strategy, tactics and sheer determination, but the sad truth is that we were the only female pairs team to compete in all three races. Still, as a wise friend once said, "You can only compete with those who turn up. A win is a win."
The team is looking forward to next year's Ace Race series; hoping to defend the title in a more auspicious style.
Another mountain bike orienteering win!
26th April 2009
Another near clearance in yesterday's Peaslake MTBO event gave Team EnduroAR another win; fastest pair/team in the event and fifth overall.
The event was organised by a group of parents from Peaslake who, after their village school was closed, bought the premises and reopened it as a free primary school for local children funded entirely from donations.
The event was every bit as well organised as established series like the Gorrick Trailtrax series and was much enjoyed by all participants. Peaslake MTBO intend to run two races a year based around the beautiful Surrey Hills. The next race will be in September.
Third again in the Open 5 Series
6th April 2009
Team EnduroAR came in a solid fourth in the Hope Valley Open 5 Series race in The Peak District yesterday; a result that, despite only racing in three races out of five, gives the team their second series third place in a row.
A stronger result would have given the team the title but, realistically, the series was lost in 2008 when the team was struck down with flu and viral fatigue in the later half of the year causing them to miss the first two races of the season; the first of which was particularly high scoring.
Attention turns now to the Open Adventure Endurance Series. 2009 will be Team EnduroAR's first entry in the series, although there is still a little doubt over this as the team are still looking for a series sponsor.
That's four wins in a row
15th March 2009
The team are celebrating their fourth win in a row in the Gorrick Trailtrax Navigator series. At the latest race in Blackwater Valley, Berkshire EnduroAR beat all pair teams in all categories with a near full clearance; seventh overall if you include the solos.
The 95% clearance achieved was tantalisingly close to a clean sheet were it not for one particularly hard to find control and a unlucky broken chain. A full clearance is top of the list in the team's programme of continuous improvement.
The next Trailtrax is in August as there are only three races this year. This is a terrible shame as it's a great events for serious athletes, family teams and anyone who wants a fun challenge. Hopefully, with better attendances at this year's races, next year we'll get at least five races or even the full eight from a couple of years ago. Come along and join the fun!
We're improving!
3rd March 2009
After a superb 82.3% clearance in the last Open 5 Series race, we thought it would be interesting to look back on all nine Open 5 race entries that Team EnduroAR have competed in to date. The results were very interesting. As the graph clearly shows the team has consistently improved their percentage clearance over the last three years.
High clearances are key to a series victory; far more so in fact than lots of individual race wins. Hopefully this improvement will continue for the last race in the season in The Peak District. Fingers crossed!
Close finish for a podium in the Yorkshire Dales
1st March 2009
The team's second Open 5 Series race of the year went without a hitch but, despite a determined effort, first place was missed by the margin of just 11 points. Although disappointing, the team managed a 82.30% clearance; the best yet in an Open 5!
The Malham scenery was the perfect setting for the race with lots of interesting nooks and crannies to hide controls.The weather did its best to dampen things down, but eventually cleared enough for a few rays of sun to shine down on weary racers.
The team's series aim of improving on last year's third place looks to be on target with second and even first place within reach.
EnduroAR enter first XC race
15th February 2009
Jessica Weston and Danielle Sheridan apprehensively entered their first Gorrick XC at Tunnel Hill today. Used to longer distances and times how hard could an hours spin around the woods be? Well quite tough as it turned out.
At the start line with the other Female Masters category racers, Jessica in her new Dirt Divas colours and Danielle in her Astounding Adventures jersey, the chat was all very friendly. Jacqueline, the owner of Dirt Divas was full of support as she waited for her start time a minute later. Then we were off...
The racing continued purposefully but in the same friendly vain, totally in contrast to the elbows and psych-out stares we had imagined. After two laps we were both ready to drop and were a little in the dark about our finishing position. When the results came through we found we finished a creditable 6th and 7th.
It was great to experience singletrack racing at the sharp end. We'll definitely be back for the next one.
Get the latest EnduroAR team news on Twitter
7th February 2009
Team EnduroAR are delighted to announce that you can now keep up-to-date with the latest team news on Twitter from today.
You've probably heard about Twitter in the news recently as there's a lot of buzz around it. Twitter is a micro-blogging service that lets you keep in touch with people or organisations through the exchange of quick, frequent messages. It's free to sign up and you can follow news from much than just us. We like to follow BBC News, Stephen Fry, Russell Brand and even President Obama!
2009 will be busiest race season yet
6th February 2009
2008 was a difficult year for Team EnduroAR with a combination of illness and accidents conspiring to leave the team with just two full race entries. Also the patter of tiny feet made getting to races difficult with the arrival of two new junior team members - Twig and Flint the Border Collies.
2009 in contrast will be Team EnduroAR's busiest year ever with a record number of race entries and a foray into pure XC racing. The team hope to add the Open Adventure Endurance Series and Ace race Series to their ongoing involvement in The Open 5 and Gorrick Trailtrax Series'. On top of this a first Rat Race and Polaris entry are planned in the summer.
2009 starts with a bang!
1st February 2009
After a relatively quiet 2008 in terms of race entries, 2009 started with a bang with another Open 5 Series race with up on The North Yorkshire Moors.
The course and conditions were amongst the hardest experienced in an Open 5 Series race with lots of climbing, freezing wind and claggy muddy sections. With 12 female pair teams competing, the competition was tough too. However a good race strategy and a little hard graft won through in the end resulting in the second best score of all female pairs in the season so far.
With two races to go its looking good for the season if this early form is anything to judge by. The target is to beat last years 3rd place.
EnduroAR win their first Open 5 Series race
28th January 2008
With bellies still full from the Christmas season and the last training day a distant memory, Team EnduroAR could not have been less prepared for the first Open 5 Series race of the 2008.
Luckily for racers Danielle Sheridan and Jessica Weston everybody, in the female pairs category at least, seemed to have overdone on the turkey too. This allowed Team EnduroAR to win their first Open 5 Series race in, perhaps, less than spectacular style.
Playing the usual run first then bike card Danielle and Jessica initially sped around the reasonably flat courses. Navigation was straightforward too, though sometimes the long gaps between checkpoints made points progress seem slow. Eventually feeling knackered and unmotivated they rolled back spitting turkey feathers to the finish line a full 25 minutes early.
Still, a win is a win!
EnduroAR grab third in the Open 5 Series
25th November 2007
The last Open 5 Series race of the season saw the largest field of the year congregating at a school in Coniston; not least in the female pairs category that EnduroAR had lodged an entry. The team, sitting in second place after four rounds, were well placed for a podium position but competition was hotting up.
Choosing to run first, EnduroAR racers Danielle Sheridan and Jessica Weston, were soon back on their bikes with the intention of clearing an extremely points-heavy mountain bike stage. Sadly luck wasn't with the team as their well-laid plan fell apart with first, a broken chain for Danielle, and second, a disastrous navigation blunder that left the Jessica and Danielle struggling up what appeared to be a mountain of mud.
With just ten minutes remaining and two controls still reachable the team drew on their deepest resources to score the points; overtaking at high-speed numerous fellow competitions on the final technical descent to finish just four seconds within the five hours!
However coming in fifth overall was not enough to hang on to series second place and sadly the team had to settle for third overall in the five race season; not bad for their first full year.
Attention now shifts to 2008 when the team are well placed to build on this years success, although doubtless the completion will be as heated as ever with many other teams on the rise.
Smells like Team Spirit!
1st October 2007
Despite a larger field and stiffer competition from some of the better financed teams, EnduroAR managed a creditable third position in the Grassington Open 5 yesterday.
Still nursing injuries, and suffering from a lack of training due to accidents and other commitments, racers Danielle Sheridan and Jessica Weston enjoyed excellent weather and trail conditions around the sleepy Yorkshire Dales village to earn their highest points tally of the year.
However, still chasing a win this season, ENDUROAR drop to second in the Open 5 Endurance Series with just one race to go. The last race of the year in Coniston promises to be an exciting event with competition increasing and with the Female Pairs leaderboard containing four or five potential series winners.
We're back!
21st September 2007
The summer of 2007, quite apart from the weather, was not a good time for Team EnduroAR. Injuries were the biggest issue leading to team members dropping out of several events including the Open 5 Endurance Series.
Over the summer Danielle Sheridan managed to break a finger, shed much of the skin from her right leg and almost lost an eye! Team mate Jessica Weston got off lightly with only being hit by cars twice on her road bike; once head on!
Despite this team members managed a fantastic trip to The Alps topping out on some classic 4000ers in Switzerland, Danielle Sheridan managed to qualify as a rock climbing instructor and was also accepted as an Aspirant on the International Mountain Leader Award programme.
Now that Autumn is here the team is fully fit and raring to go. The final two races of the Open 5 Series in Grassington and Coniston are exciting prospects with Team EnduroAR still at the top of the leaderboard. Also in the diary are the team's first Hellrunner race and there is also the possibility of some pure MTB racing in the Gorrick Autumn Classic Series.
Still top of the leader board
13th May 2007
Despite ongoing injury problems and some mechanical difficulties Team EnduroAR put their recent run of bad luck behind them to finish a creditable second in this weekend's Open 5 Series race in Keswick.
Danielle Sheridan, racing with a battle scarred leg and an untreated broken finger, managed to hold it together for the full 5 hours, including 4 hours on the bike, to turn what was originally conceived as a damage limitation exercise into a strong podium finish.
The result further consolidates Team EnduroAR's lead at the open of the Open 5 Series leader board; beating their closest competitors Ilkley Harriers Jo Foster and Nicky Jaquiery and Team Saracen/Buff's Gill Watson and Emma Cox into 5th and 6th place respectively.
Shattered dreams
5th May 2007
Injury problems persist for EnduroAR racer Danielle Sheridan as last week's nasty leg injury is added to with a second mountain biking accident today.
On her first ride since crashing in Wales two weeks ago, Danielle was zipping down a hill behind team mate Jessica Weston when Jessica stopped suddenly for some walkers on the path ahead. Danielle rode around the corner and couldn't quite stop in time, clipping her little finger on Jessica's handlebar as she came to a halt.
Her little finger was sticking out ar a bit of an odd angle and, after a visit to A&E, an x-ray confirmed her worst fears; a spiral fracture of the 5th metacarpal in her left hand (imagine twisting/breaking a chicken bone). A full prognosis will have to wait until Tuesday at the Fracture Clinic where the possibility of an operation will be discussed.
This all looks bad for the Open 5 Series race next weekend in Keswick. EnduroAR are currently leading the championship and therefore a zero score doesn't bear thinking about. It is possible that Danielle will be well enough to go for some damage limitation by focusing on getting all the running points before retiring after a single MTB checkpoint.
Off the pace in Cannock Chase Ace Race
28th April 2007
Sadly EnduroAR failed to make an impression on the leader board at the Ace Race in Cannock Chase today.
After losing team member Danielle Sheridan to injury earlier in the week, the team struggled on as a mixed pair only to be beset by mechanical problems. First Stuart Barclay's mech hanger broke and then, racing on his newly single-speeded Rocky Mountain Vertex, he suffered the final indignity of a snapped chain.
The handy LBS sadly did not stock the required spares so it was an early bath for the team on what was an otherwise lovely day in South Staffordshire.
Pass, Bang, Wallop!
25th April 2007
Today saw EnduroAR racers Danielle Sheridan and Jessica Weston both pass their SMBLA Trail Cycle Leader Award assessments at Plas y Brenin in Snowdonia.
The day was only marred by Danielle's horrific crash where she left a good deal of skin behind after losing control over a small jump - who says the TCL is for kids!
Next up for Danielle and Jessica is the Mountain Bike Leader Award which, hopefully, they should have all wrapped up by the end of the year.
Thanks to SMBLA tutor Jonathan Collins of Snowdonia Cycle Hire for giving us a great day out. Thanks also to mock students Darren Stribling, Petra, Suzie Hughes and Tim Hannah for offering themselves up as stoogies.
Sadly Danielle's accident means she will unable to compete in this weekend's Ace Race in Cannock Chase. Jessica and Stuart Barclay will however be racing for glory as a mixed pair.
Victory in The Candovers
23rd March 2007
Like buses you wait for ages and two come along right after each other. Another superb victory for the team in the Gorrick Trailtrax in The Candovers gives EnduroAR a perfect two out of two in this year's 180 pairs series.
Top of the leader board
11th March 2007
EnduroAR finally attained our rightful place at the top of the Open 5 Series leader board with the help of a solid second place at the latest Open 5 event at Sutton Bank.
With three races out of five left to fight, we're well placed to build on this excellent start.
The next race in the series is also the first race in the Open Adventure Endurance Series and is likely to attract a much wider field. Fingers crossed we can stay at the front of the pack.
