Been there? Done that? Bought the lightweight, breathable zip tee? Then you, my friend, need an IGO Adventure trip. Definitely not for those whose exercise ‘regime’ is a lacklustre lap of the local baths, these expeditions are Hardcore (yes, that’s an italicised
Hardcore with a capital ‘H’: pretty extreme).
IGO offers four-day, four-stage, four-discipline expedition races in some of the world’s remotest places, testing participants’ fitness, team skills and inner resolve. And if you don’t possess that covetable hat-trick of attributes when you start, you’ll definitely have them when/if you conquer your chosen challenge.
Founder Bobby Melville came up with the idea of IGO after experiencing the euphoria of completing his own life-changing trial, the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge, or ‘World’s Toughest Row’, covering 3,000 nautical miles during a back-breaking 48 days at sea.
‘I wanted to give that “adventure ecstasy” to people who only have a week to spare,’ says Melville. ‘The answer was IGO.’
For 2017, the company is lining up the N60° Norwegian Challenge, featuring skiing, fatbiking, snow trekking and dog sledding; the W114° Montana Challenge, comprising running, swimming, kayaking and mountain biking; and the NW05° Moroccan Challenge, with desert and mountain biking, kayaking and running. Time to get training.