By Daily Press staff
A 24-hour adventure race that starts and finishes in Santa Monica next weekend will test the physical and mental endurance of the world’s top racers.
On Nov. 16, the fifth and final stop of the 2002 Balance Bar 24-Hour Adventure will land in the 1550 beach lot just north of the Santa Monica Pier, which is the main site of the event. The race will start and finish near the pier and be the site of a festival for spectators that will feature clinics and games, as well as ongoing race commentary and updates.
The decisive adventure race is already a sellout with 100 teams preparing for the final competition. Team SoBe, winners of two of the previous four stops on the tour, lead the standings with 380 points. In second place, 108 points behind Team SoBe, is Team Balance Bar. The third place team is Team Oxydol, just seven points behind.
The adventure race includes mountain biking, trekking, kayaking, ropes and navigation. The 82-mile course will be laid out across the Santa Monica Mountains and includes 43 miles of mountain biking, 10,000 feet of climbing, 24 miles of trekking and 15 miles of kayaking in the Pacific Ocean.
A highly technical ropes course will be set up in Malibu Creek State Park, which is full of unique and dramatic rock formations.
The race already has made stops in Phoenix, Hood River, Ore., Boston and New York. Winners receive $15,000 per event, and the race offers a total purse of $110,000. The entry fee for each team is $750.
The adventure races will be televised on the Outdoor Life Network in one-hour feature presentations. Upcoming broadcast airings include the Boston race on Dec. 4 at 7 p.m.; New York on Dec. 11 at 7 p.m. and the Santa Monica race on Dec. 18 at 7 p.m.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on November 8, 2002. Read the original PDF.