Trail Talk Adventure Racing Teams - Inte rested?

“Fritz,

The training race on June 14-15 sounds good. I like the overnight idea for a saturday and sunday. Sass will be on afternoons then and it will be easier for my travel etc...

I will look at the atlas and check stuff out. Thanks!

Stickmanwalking, I feel your pain. Training in a city is a drag. I live in suburban Detroit. I focus mainly on endurance and frequency. When I can I trail run (1/2hr drive) and trail bike (same spot as run). I also own a treadmill so once a week I do a hill workout.

Endurance wil prolly beat skill in stuff like biking simply because many races are non-technical or fire roads etc... You may be a great technical rider but without the legs and lungs you are done.

City training has many benefts though. You get to work on your reflexes by dodging cars and buses.”

“Stickman,
Run with a crazy dog! dodging pulling, stopping suddenly and weaving are all good drills. lol

Actually I have quick access to trails and hills but if I didn't probably running stairs (bleachers at the school) treadmill with incline, preferably with a pack. And of course get out there and backpack!!!!

I'm really inspired and my kayak and bike are on order (they pretty much sold out at Galyan's birch) I did decide on the Perception Carolina 14/5 foot and opting for with rudder to help when windy. The bike is a Giant hardtail. Lots of upper end features in a light basic bike. It will be a couple of weeks but gives me time to get the rack on the truck etc. I'm getting really antsy to get started biking so borrowed my daughter's bike to ride the rails to trails out here. And Soooooo looking forward to kayak class next weekend!

I'm thinking of volunteering to help at one of the upcoming SMAC events to get a feel.

Happy training”

“Sounds like a un shopping trip D, we are geeked about next wknd...”

“so very very geeked! I got my boat down yesterday and sat in it for awhile, put on the spray skirt and fixed my rudder peddals, (abby had been yanking on the cables =( ). It was nice.

So, did you get to choose your color then Dhutch? Isn't waiting so hard?! Did you get the accesories too?”

“I got my kayak into Sanford Lake yesterday, for the first time ever. It was very windy, but this thing catches so much less than my canoe did. My whole upper body hurts so good! I'm gonna love kayaking.”

“Steve Menzie, Race Director for the Eco-Challenge North American Championship is pleased to announce Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario as the chosen host location for the Eco-Challenge North American Championship (ECNAC), July 18- 27, 2003”

“Cool that's relatively close to home. I wonder if they are in need of volunteers?”

“Deadline for volunteers was May 15th.”

“I've read about this race elsewhere. Its a shame I wasnt able to volunteer. It would be a great experience to be a part of an event like this...

This years Raid Galousies is in Kyrgystan (sp?) that would be a place to see a race...no TV coverage though.”

“Volunteered at the SMAC race this weekend to get an up front experience of what to prepare for.

The people were great and are hard core racers. SMAC races definitely focus primarily on navigational skill and strategy. I manned a bike point early in the race so missed seeing the canoe section. Road and mountain bike sections, paddling and a 20 point orienteering section with one rope section at cp 15. Racers were required to punch all paddling and bike section check points. However, the orienteering only required 3 of the 20 for a finish. The scoring was such that a team finishing within the 10 hour time limit that had hit every cp would always finish ahead of a faster team that had not. Very fair.

I assisted for the afternoon at the rope point. It was about a 300 yard zip line from ridge to a ground point. Because I helped run harnesses up the hill, I got to go down on the zip line. The first time made me a little nervous, but it was so fuuun!

The interesting part was the variety of racers from super fit triathletes to orienteers to a couple of college girls that didn't know that they would actually have to know how to use the compass required on the mandatory gear list. More power to them... they were in last place after the bike section at noon and were still giving it there all to get back under the time limit of 6 pm.

Overall it was a great opportunity to observe a well organized event and various styles of racing. Can't wait for my first race in August!!!”

“There's a race September 13-14 here in Kentucky. I'm thinking of trying the short sprint race on the 14th to get my feet wet, then trying one of the longer ones at a later date. Your report on volunteering makes me wonder if I might ought to do that once before actually competing in one.”

“Stickman W
I learned so much. Who's running the event?”

“It's an outfit called Odyssey Adventure Racing. Judging by the website and its content, it looks like it was a good success last year and will be as good or better this year.

Ky Adventure Race”

“Stickman, from what I have read and folks I've talked to, Odyssey puts on some incredible races. The Beast of The East is the "premier" race stateside...”

“Well, I'll go then, either as a volunteer to get my feet wet, or my brother and I will do the little 4 hour deal on Sunday.”

“I look forward to hearing about it stickman.

Dhutch, that sounded like a great time! I imagine it provided tons of helpful hints.”

“It was a great time! Yes lots of tips. Can't wait for my first SMAC race!

I've heard good things about Odyssey racing as well. Have fun Stickman!”

“Here's another site with a fairly good events calendar. Mostly VA and NC stuff.

http://www.blueridgeoutdoors.com/”

“http://www.racingahead.com

I have personal experience w/ th couple that puts on this series of adventure races in the NorthEast, plus SC.... they have some for the elite racers and then a race in Aug that is "Not So Extreme" for newbies. They're quite focused on racer safety, also.”

“Mairana80,
Your friends have a great site! I just got a moment to check it out. Wish they were closer to MI but there are some good tips and interesting stories. May be worth a field trip to Maine sometime.
Thanks”

“Anyone here run the 17.5 mile race at Big South Fork? It's in a month or two and I'm looking at it, but I've never ran a trail race before.”

“Is it just trail running or is there other stuff involved?”

“From what little I've read, it's just running. If it's the course I think it is, I hiked most of it back in March.”

“I'd be interested if it was more than just running.”

“I'd be interested if it was JUST running, or some combination of running and swimming and bicycling.

I'm not interested in navigation or bushwacking or rope work.”

“Go for it le Subtil! There are several race series' out there that don't have navigation or climbing involved. Check out HFPRacing.com.

I'm feeling more and more prepared for my solo race in August. It will be the warm up for a 24 Adventure Rage in Sept. The real expedition style deal with UTM coordinate navigation and strategy as key to success.

Birch, myself, a marathon runner/mountain climbing friend and a mountain biker/bike mechanic (handy!)/climber plan to complete this as a 4 person team. Now I've got to work even harder but I love it!”

“Anyone interested in the Balance Bar 24-hour AR in NYC on Sept. 20 and 21?

I think it is balancebar24hour.com, although the site seems to be down right now.”

“Fritz, If I had the time and didnt have a bum heal I would...”