Before the Eco-Challenge mesmerized primetime America, there was the Raid Gauloises. Before Mountain Dew men cruised the mall in Gore-Tex hiking boots, there was Ed Bugarin.
From April 29 to May 11, Ed and the Raid will be as one -- till exhaustion, hypothermia or the finish line brings the end.
The adventure race involves several racing and survival disciplines, but teams won't know exactly what to expect until 24 hours before the start. Based on the equipment racers are required to bring, the race will likely involve mountaineering, white-water swimming and rafting, mountain biking and canoeing. Much of the race will be at high altitude, starting at 12,000 feet, with temperatures expected to range from very hot during the day to freezing at night.
No problem, says Bugarin, 50.
"There used to be adventure races when I was in the military," the retired Delta Force member says. "We called it combat."
At the precise moment this story is posted, Bugarin will be on an airplane headed from Hawai'i to Katmandu, Nepal, where he will meet up with the rest of Team Dusk2Dawn, a world-class racing team he founded with English racer Pete James. After a week or so of checking and re-checking their equipment, and drilling and re-drilling their crew, the five-member team will head to Tibet for the start.
Joining Bugarin and James are Americans Matt Siegel and Mike Snow and Australian icon Jane Hall, who captained a second-place team in the 1998 Eco-Challenge. Though they've never raced together, each team member is eminently qualified and rigorously trained. How well and how quickly they mesh their talents will be critical as they trek across Tibetan desert through the Nepalese Terai to India.