A participant practising bouldering. Pic courtesy: BAR organisers.

Adventure enthusiasts in Bangalore can now get ready for the first edition of Bangalore Adventure Race (BAR).

The race being held on Saturday, January 8th promises to be a rush of adrenalin as it combines the thrill of cycling, kayaking and bouldering. It is a single-day format, multi-discipline, endurance and adventure race kicking off at Turahalli, a hillock off Kanakapura road, loops around Manchanbele lake and returns to Turahalli.

The backbreaking 12-hour adventure begins at the crack of dawn at 4 am with teams of three participants each. The race will test the endurance and strength of participants and is definitely not for the faint-hearted as it is split in to five grueling phases.

"The first and the last phase will have participants road biking for a distance of 50km each. Second phase will require them to trail bike a further 20 km. Third phase involves kayaking about 10km of flat water and the last phase, a more skill intensive task will see the teams bouldering", says Kavitha Kanaparthi, one of the organisers. She adds, "There is also a BAR Lite version, which is for teams without a climbing participant. Teams do not have to do the bouldering but as a penalty have to do the kayaking course again."  The catch is that bouldering has higher higher scoring potential (30) than redoing the kayaking course (20).

Turahalli. Pic: Srikanth Parthasarathy

The registration fee is Rs 1500 and 20 teams have already registered to participate in the event. "We can take up to a maximum of 25 teams for the event and registrations will close on 6th January. So interested participants can log on to the site and register. We provide the kayaks but participants will have to get their own bicycles", said Kavitha. The race is points-based and the highest scoring team will be declared the winner.

Teams with a woman participant get 10 points at the start of the race and if there are more than one woman participants the bonus points awarded is limited to a maximum of 15. The race will test the mettle of the participants both physically and mentally. They are expected to be at their fittest for the gritty race. An ambulance will be on stand-by for emergencies.

Participants practising kayaking. Pic courtesy: BAR organisers.

The race requires a high level of skill but participants without teammates can log on to the website to find a partner. The winning team will be awarded three Suunto heart-rate monitor watches, the runners up will win a two-night stay at Linger, Balur vacations and third prize will be be sponsored by Aquapac, the outdoor travel gear company.

For more information about registration and rules of the race, log on to: www.bangaloreadventurerace.com

Citizen Matters is the official media partner for the event.

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