SOLE Blog
December 1st, 2008
Team SOLE finishes 3rd at World Championships of Adventure Racing
Jericoacoara, Brazil, November 6, 2008 - Team SOLE's adventure racing team finished in 3rd place at the 2008 Adventure Racing World Championships held in northeast Brazil.
The line-up of teams read like a who's who in adventure racing, with every top team in the world showing up for the start line at the 2008 World Championships. Team SOLE (Paul Romero and Karen Lundgren of Big Bear Lake, CA) were joined by Ian and Nora Edmond of New Zealand and Brazil to make a two-man, two-woman team. Many thought the foursome with two women had no chance of winning in this incredibly strong field of teams, all made up of three men and one woman.
Team SOLE had a different plan in mind. "We went into this race knowing that we weren't the strongest team so we had to be the smartest and most strategic team," said co-captain Paul Romero. "We vowed to run our own race from the start and follow our own plan," added co-captain Karen Lundgren.
The team's first real strategic move involved connecting the two, two-man boats together to make a single four-man boat. It was a great move and Team SOLE paddled significantly faster than the other teams, making up time and heading to the front of the pack.
"We continued throughout to manage our team in the 120 degree heat. We made good decisions, took care of each other and managed to avoid any significant navigation errors," said Paul. "It paid off and we continued at the front of the pack battling for the lead."
After 550 kilometers/96 hours of running, biking, and paddling, Team SOLE found themselves just minutes behind 2nd place and atop the podium with the bronze medal at the Adventure Racing World Championships.
"We did it! We surprised everyone, maybe even ourselves a little," said Lundgren.
"We ran our own race and ran the smartest race we could. We were the best team we could be and it was an incredible experience and a great result," added Romero.
For additional information on Team SOLE contact Ian Anderson at Backbone Media (www.backbonemedia.net) or see www.teamsole.com.
ABOUT TEAM SOLE: Team SOLE Adventure Racing (Paul Romero and Karen Lundgren) are based in Big Bear Lake, CA and for this event were joined by Ian Edmond and Nora Edmond, who were married just two days before the race began. Ian is from New Zealand and Nora is from Brazil. This is the first race that the foursome did together as a team. Team SOLE is known throughout the world as one of the top adventure racing teams and always a threat for the podium. Team SOLE is sponsored by SOLE (Custom Footbeds, Sandals and Socks), based in Calgary, Canada.
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