Seconding a team starts long before race day and finishes long after the race is finished. This is one time you have to be everything to everybody in your team all the time.

If your budget is limited as it is always is, you will have to beg, steel or borrow equipment long before the race. You will have to find packing boxes and containers long before you set out only to find that there just isn’t enough space and you land up bombing the very thing that you thought was an optional extra. The hardship of being there for your team during the race is your only reward. After the race you will need to thank the people from whom you stole, begged and borrowed the equipment, much of which doesn’t resemble anything like the shiny new thing you received in the first place.

You will never remember all this stuff and things will come to mind at the strangest times – think about a small hardcover notebook that can live with you forever. A book you can dig out of your pocket at any time, to jot down a good idea, a contact number or to add to your equipment list.

In this series we'll cover the essentials from pre-race planning & packing your seconding vehicle to camp cuisine and what to do when your team comes in to transitions. We will also touch on one of the most neglected aspect of Adventure Racing, that of communicating with your sponsors and making it worth their while to sponsor you again.

Seconding is fun and rewarding. And… it all comes down to a super-woofer sound system.

Your Team

If you're going to be following this series, you're either a friend or relation of a racer and have been blackmailed into doing this; or you're just interested in this great sport or would like to try seconding for whatever reason.

It is much more fun when there are two seconds and more efficient for the team, especially if it is your first race. Recruit/blackmail a friend into helping you. If you find somebody to help you then you will experience the luxury of the occasional bit of sleep while the other keeps visual for the expected team.

Once you have a team and a race date, the work starts.

Seconding vehicle

You'll need a seconding vehicle. Contact the race organisers for information on the terrain that you'll be covering. The general rule is a pickup and perhaps a trailer. You will need space for crates, tents, cooking equipment, mountain bikes and other gear - the volume of which increases with the duration of the event.

Bicycles need to be securely transported. The most practical way to transport them is one where the bikes do not obstruct access to your equipment. Consider a cycle rack on the trailer roof or a rack that can easily detach from the vehicle with the bikes still attached. Check the spare tyre and make certain that you are equipped with a jack, spanner, towrope and jumper cables.

Camping equipment

• If you're a Grade A camper: This isn't the place for you. You need the basics and a few extra bits so that you're suitably prepared for any eventuality. Many transition points won't be located near amenities like taps, showers or loo's, so bear this in mind when preparing your checklists. The easiest way to start planning is to run through the activities you'll be performing.
• A waterproof shelter: A big tent attached to the vehicle works well. Make sure you can stand-up in the shelter and that there is enough space for 4 people and their crates. An extra 2/3-man tent will come in handy for the night before the start and should the team come in to transition for a long (4hr) sleep, you will have a place to crash. Put this up at every transition because you never know what has happened and the whether the racers want to rest. Two tarpaulins/ground sheets: One for inside the shelter and one outside. Use the outside one for every transition. Most transition points don't even have grass, so the ground sheet provides a relatively clean floor. We've also used these to protect the bikes while travelling.
• Small fold-up table: Very useful. Handy for putting out meal things e.g. knives, forks, salt, tea & coffee. Crates (the ones with lids) double up as additional tables.
• Chairs: Stable fold-up chairs are another essential. When the team comes in to transition, they'll sit while they eat and change.
• Packing crates (lots!): Those plastic/metal crates with lids that can be clipped down make packing and unpacking the vehicle a pleasure. They stack, protect their contents and can be labeled.
• Racing trunks: Make certain that each racer has their own racing trunk. The big green plastic Addis "Roughtote" crate work well. The lid clicks on and stays there. It has my name on the top and on the sides so that my seconds know to whom it belongs.
• 2/3 Cadac's: Gas cooking is essential. Unless the transition is in a camping area, you are not permitted to make fires. Anyway, fires take way too long and the smoke makes everything smell. Pack in the regular flat attachment on which to put kettles and pots and if you're planning on using it, the skottle. Two full canisters will cope with all your catering requirements. If you have a lamp attachment, bring along a third gas bottle.
• Lamps (lots): There is nothing worse than fumbling around looking for something or trying to cook a meal at 2am, in the dark. Just as Impressionism brought light to art, fluorescent globes and gas lamps bring light to camping. Fluorescent globes work really well and can be hooked up to the car lighter. Glowing in the darkness, your team will be able to easily locate you.
• Mattresses (to fit 4 comfortably): Truth be told, after many hrs with no sleep, they'll sleep on any surface. It's a nice touch if you get something that is more comfy than those foam camping mats.
• Sleeping bags: The racing backpacks will be packed with bivvy bags and compact sleeping bags. Never remove anything from their packs except old food packets. You'll need at least 4 for camping the night before the race and for the team to sleep in during the race at transitions.
• Water containers (1x25l; empty coke bottles, thermos/airpot): At some transitions you may not have drinkable water. In any event, be prepared. Keep your 25 litre container filled at all times and you'll never run out. We keep the coke bottles filled and use them to mix drinks and easily fill Camelbaks. If you haven't got one of those big airpots - like schools always had to keep hot water in for tea and coffee, then bring along some thermos flasks. Keep them filled with boiling water all the time. You won't know exactly when to expect your team in and since it takes ages to boil water, if you have it prepared, that's one less thing you'll have to worry about.
• Rope (1 x 20m; 1x 10m): Whether it's used to tie down the tent, string up a washing line or tie up the other second after 4 days together, rope is always useful.
• Washing up stuff: You'll be doing dishes and possibly laundry. You'll need a tub, washing cloth/sponge, dish washing liquid, drying cloth, washing powder for clothing and a plastic packet. s intact...
• Cooking stuff: Here are the basics. Add what you will but remember, your Kenwood Chef isn't really going to come in handy on this outing. Kettle, 1x medium pot, 1x big pot (remember you're cooking for 6 people), wooden spoon, bread knife, sharp knife, breadboard, can opener, egg-lifter for the skottle, big serving spoon, 4 x cutlery sets, 4 x bowls, 4 x plates, 4 x mugs. You'll be eating and drinking when the team is out, so you don't need more than 4 of everything. Refer to Part 2 for more on food and cooking.
• Medical kit (big one): The team will be carrying a small emergency kit with them. You need a well-stocked kit in the vehicle. Here's a couple of essentials: anti-inflammatory cream (Voltaren/Reparil Gel), anti-inflammatory tablets (Besemax), stretch fabric plasters (all shapes and sizes and strips), arnica oil for quick massages, disinfectant (Detol/Savlon), cotton wool, gauze, Transact, second-skin, headache tablets (Compral/Panado), eye-drops, scissors, tweezers, anti-bacterial cream (Betadine), tape for strapping knees and ankles, knee guard (2), earbuds, sunblock, aqueous cream, vaseline and last, but not least, gentian violet.
• Bicycle spares: Speak to your local bicycle shop. You may need things like: chunky tyres (2), inner tubes (6), slime, tyreliners, puncture repair kits, spoke spanner, allan-key set, brake cables (2), gear cables (2), spare spokes (4), chain (2), chain lubricant, Q-20, insulation tape and cable ties. If possible try to take along a complete spare bike.
• Navigation: As a second, another of your roles is navigator. Besides locating transitions, plotting the next points for the team and identifying route options, saves the team time. Ensure that your order an extra set of maps when you fill in your entry form and keep a nav-set in the vehicle: compass, pens, pencils, calculator, ruler and highlighters.
• Other bits: Toilet paper aka fax paper. After a day or two, they'll need to send a fax. Nothing beats catching up with correspondence. Keep a couple of rolls within easy access.

  Lots of boxes of matches - assign each second a box and have a reserve stash. They're like cello-tape and scissors… they disappear.

  Clothes pegs - useful but not essential.

  Binoculars - fun for spotting your team approaching.

  Black garbage bags - Essential for wet, dirty laundry and trash.

  TM bags - useful for wrapping up stuff, trash etc.  

Good Luck!