What is in this blog?

Hi!  This will be a blog about my experience in preparing for and competing in the Red Bull X-Alps, IMHO, the coolest race in the world!  With 29 other international athletes, next July, I will fly and walk the length of the European Alps from Salzburg, Austria to Monaco on the Mediterranean.  It's an enormous undertaking, and preparations began as of yesterday, when I found out I was one of the lucky 30 to be chosen to compete!

It all started like this:

             































And here is my and my wife Leanne's reaction when we saw it:

Rik made the cut for the 2017 redbull xalps!  We are thrilled!  #redbullxalps #rickbrezinaxalps #レッドブル xアルプス pic.twitter.com/tpzljNSfwi

— leanne (@vibromama) November 2, 2016

Too excited to sleep, I put on my paragliding pack and we walked around the neighborhood at 3am pretending to be on a mission in some Swiss town...kind of hard since we live in Japan!



In this blog I intend to record the training and mental preparation, study of maps and meteorology, gear choice and sponsorship; in short, all the things that will lead to the start of the race.  Wish me luck!