Registration Opens For 2010 All-Military Wilderness Challenge

By Mark O. Piggott, Naval Weapons Station Yorktown Public Affairs

April 5, 2010 - YORKTOWN, Va. (NNS) -- Registration opened April 1 for Navy Region Mid-Atlantic's Morale, Welfare and Recreation (MWR) Department's 10th annual all-military Wilderness Challenge. The Wilderness Challenge is scheduled for Oct. 7–9 in the heart of the Appalachian Mountains.

The event is hosted and co-organized by ACE Adventure Resort, West Virginia's largest outdoor outfitter.

More than 300 military people, representing teams from around the world, are expected to compete. Only the first 60 teams will compete, so teams interested are encouraged to register early.

"The MWR Wilderness Challenge continues to bring together the best athletes in the armed forces and puts them to the test," said Michael Bond, event coordinator. "The competition gets tougher and tougher every year."

Bond encourages teams to register early to reserve their space in the competition.

The Wilderness Challenge contains a series of six outdoor adventure races in a team format designed to bring camaraderie, competition and team spirit between all the branches of the armed forces. Teams participating in this year's challenge will compete in an 8K mountain run, a 14-mile mountain bike race, a 14-mile forced hike through the mountains, a 13-mile whitewater raft race on the Gauley River and a 7-mile kayak race on the New River.

Wilderness Challenge 2009's winner was the "Dale Milton Racing" team from the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, Camp Lejune, N.C.

"The Army and the Navy have yet to win the Wilderness Challenge," stated Bond. "This is a great opportunity for a team from one of these services to step up and win big."

"It is not an easy competition and only the strong survive, so the winning team will be the best of the best in outdoor recreation and physical endurance," said Bond.