Forster to Host Mountain Designs GeoQuest 2009

From 5-8th June this year the golden beachside town of Forster on the NSW North Coast, 3hrs North of Sydney, will play host to over 500 competitors, support crew, family and friends for the Mountain Designs GeoQuest 48hr adventure race. With the perfect winter climate, Forster and the region will witness the annual pilgrimage of the sport to Australia’s premier adventure race. Race HQ will be based at the central Forster Beach Caravan Park. Not only is a great HQ for an adventure race, but it is also the perfect location to bring family and friends for the Queens Birthday Long Weekend. See the website for more details.

For competitors, the Mountain Designs GeoQuest 2009 is looking to be one of the best GeoQuest events ever to be staged. An incredible new location taking in Forster and Barrington Tops sees some modifications being made to the original format to allow teams to visit some truly spectacular areas. Barrington Tops is an unspoilt wilderness including subtropical rainforest, ancient beech forests and subalpine woodlands. The Forster region boasts a glittering mosaic of inland waterways based around the impressive Wallis, Smiths and Myall Lakes networks – known as the Great Lakes. These lakes are surrounded by an undulating network of forests just waiting to be explored by adventure racers.
2009 will see the addition of Grade 1 white water kayaking using inflatable kayaks provided by Geocentric. This is the first time white water kayaking will be included in the Mountain Designs GeoQuest and will provide teams a massive "fun factor" in this exhausting event. Add to this a roping section on some exposed cliffs, some great mountain biking, trekking, a rafting mystery discipline and you have the premier adventure race of the year!
Mountain Designs GeoQuest involves 48+hrs of non-stop endurance racing in the major disciplines of trekking, mountain biking and kayaking. Mixed, Male or Female teams of four must navigate their way through an arduous 200+km course that is only revealed to them the evening before the race. The Mountain Designs GeoQuest is held annually on the Queens Birthday long weekend in June. The race is moved each year to a different location with exciting new challenges for the teams.

The Geo-Half adventure race is run at the same time as the Mountain Designs GeoQuest. It covers only half the distance but teams have the full 48hrs to complete it. The legs will be challenging, but with the additional time available to complete the half course, teams have a greater chance to reach the finish line.

Early bird entries are a significant saving and are NOW OPEN until 8 March.

The event runs receives enormous support from its sponsors Mountain Designs, Suunto and Vero Fit.

For more details go to www.geocentricoutdoors.com.au