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Who are we and what are we?
We are simply a group of friends who like competing in mountain marathons and adventure races, and who enjoy helping others. ‘Team NAV+art’ was born a few years ago to participate in The Wilderness Adventure Race, finishing a creditable fourth, in 2006. Since then we have also finished well in the World Adventure Race Championship and The Hebridean Challenge, as well as many other short races. NAV+art training courses have been around for ten years. Originally the idea of a KIMM training course came from Ken Ledward and Mike Parsons, both being people involved in the very early stages of KIMM and all things lightweight. ‘Guru Ken’ was concerned that too many people were entering the KIMM and simply having epics; which was not good for neither event safety, competitor enjoyment, or ‘PR’ ! Ken brought me in to help at a very early stage as ‘young blood’ and it grew from there! My ethos was for an intensive ‘hands on’ programme, delivered by a dedicated group of tutors. My back ground is in training, education and outdoor education and so I apply that to NAV+art programme. And What about Me I am a qualified Mountaineer, (MIA, Winter MLC) and used to be a full-time outdoor tutor, instructing a full range of activities, but no longer teach the wet stuff, and only work part-time.
I was a big fan of ACE races, favouring the Two Day events and have clocked over 33,000 points in 20 events. Many of these were solo, but also in a team and mixed pair. A few podium places and a top 10 place in the Career Points are quietly rewarding. I have also enjoyed Mountain Triathlons, such as Helvellyn and Ben Nevis. You’ll note that I have been using the term ‘enjoyed’ which does reflect upon my ethos. These long races always give you time to think and reflect on what I’ve done. I’ve never won many prizes but that is not what I do it for. It’s over 30 years since my first ‘adventure race’ as a young and somewhat rotund teenager and I guess I’ve learned a few things about pacing one’s self since. My back ground has been in long distance running, having discovered that I can keep shuffling on . . . . .but never go any faster. I have run many ultra’s such as the Longmynd Hike, The Fellsman, High Peak Marathon LDWA ‘100’s’ and Bob Graham rounds and Paddy Buckley Round. The longest of the long stuff must have been the amazing ‘Dragons Back’ in 1992 – and reading about that now I have to remind myself I was there, in my prime, at the age of 30 (if you were wondering) Wackier stuff ranges from The Sydney Striders 24hour Track race – 118 miles around a 400m track, and Butter Crags fell race – the most pain ever, and less than 18mins . . . I’ve done my stint of road running, several marathons between 3:15 and 3:45 but would still like to run a ‘good one. I’ve also raced The Three Peaks Yacht Race and Two Scottish Island Races, as well as sea kayaking around the West coast of Scotland including some hairy island crossings. I’ve climbed and trekked in many parts of the world, including some hard stuff in the alps. Qualified Mountaineering - Mountain Instructors Award, Winter MLC, SPA, etc. Mountain Leader Training Board - Trainer and Assessor. I am an ex- British Canoe Union Kayak and Canoe Instructor, currently hold a four star Sea Kayak certificate. (Heb certified) I am a Mountain Leader Training Board - Trainer and Assessor. I’m also IRATA Level I and PPE qualified. My personal Highlights :
The success of NAV+art courses has been due to an excellent team of tutors who have worked with me for a while and have helped shape and refine the programme. All the team either work as outdoor tutors now or have done in the past. Some have proper jobs, too, but most importantly they have real event experience. The team strength is that we collectively have a wealth of hard fought real experience, and none of us, with the exception of Marcus, would claim to be really elite or ‘sharp end’ competitors. We are just pretty good at what we do. I’m fortunate that many good people have worked for NAV+art, and contribute to a great team. Here are the main players; John Allen John has quickly established himself as a mainstay in our team this year. His strength is his all round AR experience. I first met him when he did our GL3Day event a few years ago and have seen him record some impressive results over the last few years, all attained in a magnificently sporting manner. He knows how to keep a team together and go well all the way to the finish. His navigational score strategy is brilliant – he’s taught me a few things recently. John and I did the KIMM Long Score in 2006; enjoying a steady round to finish 24th overall. John is a great mountain biker and MTB ‘O’ specialist. Creditable results include:
Marcus Scotney The opposite of me – small petite, fast and furious he is our ultra-light weight fanatic. Marcus has worked on the NAV+ art programme for seven years. Listening to him talk about lightweight kit is fascinating. His personal goal this year was selection for Scotland at the World Mountain running, and he has an incredible 10km road PB. Sadly an ankle injury prevented selection this year, but another good KIMM Elite finish does him credit. He quotes the High Peak marathon as his favourite race. Other creditable results include:
Pete Smith Pete has been a loyal team member for many years. Ex-Outdoor Ed tutor turned IT whiz he is the real gentleman of the team. A very fit, very mellow and very excellent tutor and coach is how I would describe Pete. Pete will undo the mysteries of map and compass to the biggest sceptic. Ric and Carol I’ve worked with them both for a long time in the free-lance Outdoor industry. They run their own company based out in West Cumbria so you can read more about them at www.carolclimb.co.uk Carol and Ric are truly professional in all they do. Sometimes it seems Ric was doing KIMM’s before I was born, and he has planned events too. What he doesn’t know about the outdoors isn’t worth knowing. Carol proudly states that she enjoys a more leisurely pace to her outings but is a first rate all round mountaineer. Carol and Ric also teach and assess Mountain Leader Training Awards, amongst many other things and their teaching skills are first class. Stuart Smith Stuart is a full-time Outdoor Pursuits instructor and development trainer. He has climbed and travelled all over the world. He’s also been compared to a mix of Peter Kay, Alexi Sayle and Eddie Izzard - he’s got a sense of humour. He is also a very accomplished mountain athlete and does himself justice in mountain marathons and MTB events. He also paddles, and …. www.adventure-in-mind.org.uk
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Who are we and what are we?
I’ve been fortunate to enjoy a long and rewarding career in long distance trail and fell running and latterly adventure racing. Over the years, I’ve taken part in all the classic fell races, many mountain marathons such as KIMM, LAMM, SLMM and now OMM. I’ve also done Polaris and Trailquest events. I’ve done dozens of mountain marathons over the years including Elite, A, B and Score classes. 
The Team
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