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Segger taking on the world in Portugal

Squamish adventure racer ready for 820 km race after treating Achilles injury
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Squamish adventure racer Jen Segger had a lot on her mind Tuesday with last minute packing and race preparations, and how much she would be charged for all her extra luggage.

Segger is heading to Portugal to take part in the annual Adventure Racing World Championships, which get underway on Nov. 5. The race is long even by adventure race standards at over 820 kilometres, with sections of mountain trekking, mountain running, ropework, orienteering, mountain biking, river and sea kayaking, canyoning, swimming, coasteering (navigating a rocky coastline), inline skating, caving, climbing and even surfing. The top teams in the world are expected to take roughly five days and this year Segger and other members of Dart-NUUN want to be one of those teams.

But back to the luggage.

"I'm really dreading to see what my luggage weighs in tonight," she said. "I have a bike box, an eco-bin full of gear that is already way overweight. I have my (inline skates), I've brought some of my race food with me, three pairs of running shoes, paddling gear and lifejackets, helmets, a wetsuit because we've been warned that the water can be cold in the canyon sections, portage wheels because we know we'll have portage sections with the boats, climbing gear, descending gear - it's a pretty big gear list overall, one of the biggest yet."

Segger is no stranger to the demands of adventure racing by this point in her career, and her endurance has helped her team to climb the ranks to the point where Dart-NUUN Adventure Racing is among the top teams in the world. At the Adventure Race World Championships in Brazil last year her team jumped from a low of 14 th to sixth overall after picking up the pace closer to the finish line.

But while adventure races have a lot in common with each other in principle, each race has its own unique quirks and challenges. In Brazil, it was the heat, long paddling stages and a sailing stage that had to be thrown out in the final analysis because of the differences between the boats and captains.

Portugal's quirk is its European-ness. First of all, teams have a choice between four inline skating sections or two sections on a Trikke bike where you push back and forth to generate momentum. Her team opted for the inline skates, partly because they are easier to pack into your luggage.

"So we've all been out training on our blades," said Segger. "I've been out with Thomsen (D'Hont), so I got some good tips from one of our Nordic athletes, and two races I've been in in the past had inline skating. It's actually pretty funny - I go out at weird hours so nobody sees me. But the sport is alive and well over in Europe so there are no surprises it's in this race."

Her team has a lot of strengths, but there are a few areas where Segger says they should be able to make good time.

"It's long and I know for our team that longer is usually better because we can put our heads down and keep going, and we usually finish pretty strong," she said. "The mountain bike sections should also really favour our team, everybody is riding really strong and I've been putting a lot of extra time on the bike this year with an Achilles injury so I'm feeling like that's my strength as well."

Segger is also looking forward to racing in an area with so much history, as opposed to the middle of the wilderness.

"One of the neat features is that a lot of the checkpoints are in castles, in ruins and in places like that, which puts a really neat European twist on it," she said.

"We also go through a lot of little villages, which adds to the flavour of the race, and being able to ask locals for directions is really big. You can also buy food along the course, and the organizers are encouraging us to get food at local bakeries and things which could be a big help. If you're on a big leg and you're running short on food you can refuel that way - although I really have no idea about the course or what to expect. It should be interesting."

Segger's main concern is strategy, as the race is a Rogaining event. Some checkpoints will be worth more than others, and it's up to teams to decide whether it's better to get every checkpoint and bonus checkpoint, or to miss the occasional checkpoint and take the time penalty.

"There's so much to consider," said Segger. "It's obvious that some of the furthest checkpoints are probably going to be worth more, but a lot of European teams are going to be in the race this year that really know the format, and so the odds are against us a little."

Still, Dart-NUUN has set a goal of finishing in the top-three this year, although a top five finish out of 60 teams would also be something to celebrate given the calibre of other teams in the competition.

Segger's Achilles tendonitis, which she aggravated in the Rock and Ice Ultra last winter, is also a wild card, although she was finally given the clearance to run two weeks ago - that's after running the Comfortably Numb Trail Run earlier in June, and then bisecting Vancouver Island from end to end by foot and bike later in the summer.

"I've made huge leaps and bounds," she said. "I've taken six weeks off running and doing anything that aggravates it, and I've been going for treatments three or four days a week with Laura Miller in Squamish, with active release. I haven't lost any fitness because I've been training so hard on the bike, and I'm back in Crossfit as well. I'm feeling ready to go and prepared, and if it does flare up I know I can push through it and take time off in the winter."

Results will be posted online in real time at www.arwc2009.com. Jen Segger's website is www.challengebychoice.ca, and Dart-NUUN adventure racing is www.dartadventure.com.