Geocentric Outdoors, event manager of gruelling adventure challenge, XPD, have partnered with Rydges Esplanade Resort Cairns to give competitors the ultimate place to rest and recuperate. Rydges Esplanade Resort Cairns has secured its place as headquarters for the 5th annual XPD event when it is held between 17 and 28 May 2010. 

Race director, Craig Bycroft said he was delighted to have Rydges Esplanade Resort on board as the location for all pre and post race activities. "The fifth XPD will attract up to 200 Australian and international athletes to Cairns - all vying for a place on the winner’s podium following an exhausting 700km race taking in the disciplines of trekking, mountain biking, kayaking and roping.
 
"Tropical North Queensland is the perfect location to host our fifth XPD expedition. We plan to take competitors through the Great Barrier Reef and nearby islands, the rich and diverse rainforests of the wet tropics, over waterfalls and cascades that feed crystal clear rivers, across lakes of the tablelands and through eucalypt woodlands of the Eastern savannah country. We even plan to incorporate some of the iconic legs undertaken in the Eco-Challenge of 97."
 
As a member of the AR World Series, XPD is a qualifying event for the Adventure Race World Championship (ARWC). The AR World Series is an international circuit of premiere adventure races representing 10 countries creating a 12 month calendar of professional events around the world. The top two teams at each qualifying event receive automatic entry to the ARWC.