Mark Webber Pure Tasmania Challenge 2008
Last updated 10/13/2008 9:13:18 PM
Mark Webber Pure Tasmania Challenge 2008
British based Australian F1 racing driver Mark Webber has persuaded a range of sporting heroes and others to take part in a six day adventure race in Tasmania between November 18-23.
Two Aussie League football stars, a pair of Beijing Olympic gold medal winning rowers and a Paralympic Champion along with some rather more unusual competitors have agreed to participate in the race through Australia's adventure island.
This year's 2008 Mark Webber Pure Tasmania Challenge is a mix of 80 athletes and competitors rising to the challenge set by Webber in a more exciting than ever before event.
There are even t wo porters from the Papua New Guinea ‘No Roads Expeditions' adventure travel company who have been persuaded by Mark to travel 2000 km out of their comfort zone to compete in their first ever adventure race. Having never been out of Papua New Guinea before and with no prior experience either on bikes or kayaks, albeit much in the way of trekking, both will be practising on bikes provided by Webber in the last few weeks leading up to the Challenge.
Using disciplines of trekking, cycling and kayaking, the event is a challenge for each and every competitor, albeit in different ways.
Others in the event include Scott Brennan and David Crawshay, Olympic gold medal winning men's sculls; will be on the starter's line with AFL greats Glenn Archer and Leigh Colbert. Also in the elite squad is World and Australian Paralympic champion Michael Milton.
The pro-am event, which takes place over 280 km of the most demanding and dangerous terrain in Tasmania's spectacular wilderness, is also attracting corporate teams keen to test their stamina and endurance against some of the world's sporting heroes. Teams from the Royal Bank of Scotland, Telstra and Europcar are among those taking up the Mark Webber Challenge, all for his chosen charities.
The Mark Webber Challenge Foundation is raising money for the Leukaemia Foundation and the Save the Tassie Devil Appeal.