Luboš Seidl

I am what you could call a "lifelong athlete". I did athletics when I was young; I even held the Czechoslovak junior record for 300m hurdles for 28 days. But so much water has flown under the bridge since then that there is no Czechoslovakia any more and actually neither is this athletic event.

Then I devoted myself to the dog sled sport in which I represented the Czech Republic at the World Championship, European Championship, and European Cup and World Cup races. Perhaps the most significant achievement was the victory in the World Cup finals in skijoring (cross-country skiing with a dog) in Fairbanks, Alaska in 2000, and 1st place in the overall ranking of the European ESDRA Cup (even this association no longer exists) in the canicross (running with a dog) / bikejoring (MTB with a dog) category in 2005.

With an increasing number of children and decreasing number of dogs, I started taking part in regional MTB marathons. In 2017, I made my dream of participating in a 1000-mile adventure non-stop race across former Czechoslovakia come true and discovered the magic of bikepacking. In my first time, I finished 2nd, but what was more than the result for me was the experience itself, and I found that it was the way I wanted to go further.