Journalist Shaen Adey took part in Expedition Africa 2016 in the Merrell Mentored Team. In this article for Country Life Magazine, she offers six tips for those contemplating Expedition Africa 2017 in the Baviaans and Kouga region.
Here are Shaen’s 6 tips for Expedition Africa newbies:
- Train hard, every drop of sweat now will mean less tears and more fun down the line.
- Pack light; super light, you don’t want to be lugging a bag of potatoes over a mountain, either in your pack nor on your waistline.
- Make a promise to yourself not to whinge once, it will help you cope if you happen to hit the wall or if a team mate falls apart at the seams.
- Do a twenty four hour non-stop race before the big day, push hard, in fact push yourself out of your comfort zone for most of the race. It will give you a good indicator of your strengths in the team and where you still need to focus.
- Once the route is released, make a list of exactly what you need to pack into your bag at each transition and stick it inside the boxes lids as your brain will not think clearly after day or two without sleep.
- Pack some fruit into the transition boxes. Race food gets tedious after a day or two and you’ll crave something fresh.
Read the full article with images on the Country Life website.