Details – Muskegon

MUSKEGON STATE PARK Edition

You and your teammate(s) will race together to find as many checkpoints as you can in the time period. Both courses feature a nice mix of packed, marked trails and off-trail running with manageable amounts of sand, scenic flat-water paddling, and fast gravel and paved road biking (no singletrack trails in the area). Most teams are projected to get the majority of checkpoints within 4 or 7 hours. We will give a bonus hour for each race to help those teams get back to the finish in time so the final cutoffs will be 5 and 8 hours.

New to Adventure Racing? You Can Do This. Here’s Why…

Don’t let the duration keep you from an incredible experience. Just adjust your pace, maintain a positive attitude and make sure you know how to follow a topographic map and use a compass to find off-trail checkpoints. We can help you get ready with a free clinic and lots of online resources. If you are new to adventure racing, scroll down to the bottom of this page for a short tutorial.

“Muskegon State Park is a gem! Challenging but achievable course.”

“Lots of variety and go at your own pace with no pressure at all! Friendly people. Very welcoming event.”

Divisions

• Solo: females, males
• Two-person: mixed, females, males
• Three and four-person: mixed, females, males
• Family (2-6 person): One person must be 14 years or younger. For teams of 3-6, at least two from the same immediate family or two from one family and two from another family. If you have kids who should not be on the shoulder of moderately busy roads, you can just skip those points and do the biking portion inside the state park. You should have quite a bit to do without the street biking.

This race comes with a lot of great stuff!

• Short sleeved tech shirt
• Pizza and fruit after the race
• Chance at $4,000 in top finisher and raffle prizes
• Free navigation/compass clinic
• Free 9-week training plan (see below)
• Handcrafted wood team trophies and wood individual medals!
• Canoe and kayak rentals are separate. Bring your own to save money.

Course Design

The ultimate flexible race format. The trekking, paddling, and biking sections AND all of the checkpoints within each section can be done in any order and all are optional (you could even skip the bike or paddle if it’s not your thing). You won’t know who is ahead of you and how many checkpoints they have so race hard to the end if you are vying for a top finish!

Trek

Experience some of the finest navigation in Michigan as you hike or run on and off Muskegon State Park’s great trails. Expect a variety of terrain, from hardwood forest to lakeside swamp to views of Lake Michigan dunes and from epic ridge climbs and descents to fast-moving woods. More beginner-level checkpoints on the 5-hour race; intermediate-level sprinkled in on the 8-hour race, not too far from the state park’s gorgeous trails. Some will require a compass, others just good map reading. Super detailed LIDAR maps.

• 5-Hour: 4-5.5 miles
• 8-Hour: 8-9 miles

Bike

Bike on dirt, gravel and paved roads. There are no singletrack trails on the course. Gravel, hybrid, and even road bikes are allowed, although be aware there are some stretches of dirt.

• 5-Hour: 12 miles (or do a 2.5 mile “short course” section if biking isn’t your thing)
• 8-Hour: 30-34 miles

Paddle

Gorgeous flat water paddling. Soak in the scenery. Rent a canoe or kayak via the registration process or bring your own. We will NOT be paddling on Lake Michigan or the channel due to potential rough water.

• 5-Hour: 3 miles
• 8-Hour: 4 miles

Schedule

Directions & Parking

Race HQ and parking are at the Snug Harbor Pavilion across from the park headquarters. Google Map coordinates: 43°14’51.2″N 86°20’06.7″W. The beach house at Lake Michigan is under construction. There is not enough parking at Snug Harbor so please carpool if possible.

1. 8-hour Parking: in the parking lot(s) just east of the Snug Harbor pavilion/start.
2. 5-hour Parking: park where volunteers direct. If parking is full at Snug Harbor, we will have you drop off your teammates and bikes at the circle drive just east of the entrance to the complex. Drive to the Channel Beach Pavilion, park, and catch a shuttle vehicle (driven by fellow racers) back to the starting area. Please only park in designated spots (not on the sides of the roads or the grass). We’ll share details and maps in a Race Update.

Parking requires the Michigan Recreation Passport or one-day parking fee. Click on the link for details.

Lodging

Muskegon State Park Campgrounds
Check out the Visit Muskegon website for additional lodging options, restaurants and things to do.

Required Gear

See the Required Gear page for details. Required gear will be standard adventure racing gear (bike, hydration pack/containers, compass, emergency blanket and a few other small items). Scroll down to see other suggested items, many which are smart to have, but not mandatory.

TRAINING PLAN

Simple, effective 9-week plan to help you get ready for the race. Repeat Weeks 1-3 if you will be starting your training earlier. Thanks to Stuart Coaching for the plan.

Canoes & Kayaks – Own or Rental

You may bring your own canoe(s), tandem kayak(s), or solo kayak(s), in any combination depending on your team size and stage it along with your paddles, PFDs at the start of the paddle before the race (we’ll communicate in advance where to drop it). You must retrieve your boat immediately after the race or lock it to a tree. Put your name and team number on the seat so it doesn’t get mistaken for a rental.

If you will be renting watercraft through the registration process, you can rent any combination of kayaks or canoes for your team. Life vests and canoe or kayak paddles included. If you are a 3-person team, you can rent a canoe with a person in the middle, a canoe and two kayaks, or three kayaks. Tandem kayaks are also available; most are sit-in style. Watercraft will be ready for you along with paddles and PDFs at the start of the paddle and you’ll leave all paddle gear there when you’re done.

Because the paddle is short and can be done at any time, we will not have a boat for every team. Watercraft will be first come, first served, which allows us to substantially reduce the rental fee; you do still need to rent a boat. You’ll likely have no wait for a boat but if you do it will be very short (and we’ll keep track of your wait time and subtract it from your final time). Or, rather than wait you can do a trek or bike section and try the paddle after!

Transition/Aid Station Areas

We will have water and Gatorade at the “hub” where you will return each time so you can race light and refill fluids and change gear after each section. The 10-hour race will also have water and Gatorade out on their bike course.

Navigation/Race Preparation Clinic

Join us on Saturday, May 23 (rescheduled from the previous Saturday) for our free Navigation/Adventure Racing 101 clinic to get you ready for the race! At Seidman Park, just east of Grand Rapids.  Includes in-field practice. 1.5 hours. If you can’t make it, check out the Navigation 101/201 clinic presentation and other sources on our Learn More page for tips. See our free training plan below as well.

Race Entry includes:

• Short sleeved tech t-shirt (or pick our stainless steel pint, or buff/headwear)
• Post-race pizza and fruit
• Chance at over $2,000 worth of top finisher prizes and dozens of raffle prizes, including gift certificates from Gazelle Sports, Bill & Paul’s Sporthaus
• 9-week training plan from Stuart Coaching
• The first place team in each division will receive handcrafted wood team trophies. The top two teams will get a sponsor prize. The top three teams will receive wood individual medals.

Shirt

Referral Discount

Invite your friends! If you invite a separate team of two or more that has never done one of our adventure races and they register for the race as a result, let us know their names and we’ll take $15 off your team entry.

Merchandise

Shop and pre-pay online during registration and receive at packet pick-up or shop in person the day of the event.

Rules & Age Limits

Please read through our standard race rules. Special rules that apply for this race only will be listed in one of the race updates you’ll receive. Obey all traffic laws. This is an open course so you may encounter vehicles and pedestrians at any point. Racers must generally be at least 14 years old due to biking in traffic; a parent may discuss the possibility of an exception with race organizers. For example, teams with younger bikers can skip the high traffic areas and just bike the low-traffic section or skip the bike altogether. Racers under 18 must be accompanied by an adult and have a parent or guardian sign the waiver/consent form provided during online registration.

After the Race

We encourage you to hang out after the race. Grab some delicious pizza, congratulate the top finishers (and yourself!), hopefully win a raffle prize, and share stories of getting lost and found. It’s also okay to grab your award and head home to family once we confirm your placement. Guests can pay for the meal under the Purchase Event Items on the registration site. We will have a relatively small shelter. Please bring a chair or blanket to sit on. Also bring rain gear or warm clothes if the weather requires.

Questions? www.facebook.com/miadventurerace is a great place to ask questions and get answers so others can learn from your question. For questions specific to you, email Mark VanTongeren, race director.

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For Beginners: How an Adventure Race Works

Adventure racing is like no other sport! It involves a mix of brains and brawn, individual effort and teamwork, speed and endurance. For such amazing rewards, it requires a little effort to learn how it works and get better over time.

The goal of adventure racing is for you and your teammate(s) to find as many checkpoints as you can in the time period. All checkpoints will be pre-plotted on topographic maps. The race will be broken up so that you’ll do one activity for a while, then another, etc. so your body (and brain) will get nice breaks. Usually your bike is the consistent mode of transportation from one place to another throughout the race, from start to finish. You’ll stop at various “transition areas” to leave your bike with a volunteer to paddle and to trek/orienteer on foot before returning to your bike to continue on.

Checkpoints may be out of view, tucked behind trees or a hill, but generally are not intentionally hidden (except in public areas to minimize risk of theft). Check your map to see where the point is located and consult your race instructions sheet for the description which will help you determine its more exact location. Some points will require use of your compass, topographical map and an understanding of how to read that map. Others you can find from just looking at the map. Each checkpoint will have an orange and white flag with a punch attached to it.

The goal is to maximize the number of checkpoints on your passport within the time limit. A team that gets 25 checkpoints with seconds to spare will finish ahead of a team that gets 24 checkpoints with one hour to spare.

Questions? www.facebook.com/miadventurerace is a great place to ask questions and get answers so others can learn from your question. For questions specific to you, email Mark VanTongeren, race director.