Race Recap #2

Congratulations to all the racers on completing a race few people ever will do – 8 or 20 hours of intense physical and mental endurance, navigating your way across rugged terrain with no one to tell you where to go. Here are the final results

20-Hour Results (final)

8-Hour Results (final)

Race Recap
We’re so impressed with you all. You deserve a high five just for showing up to attempt a race that very few people would ever have the courage or strength to tackle. You make it so easy to put on a race with your great attitudes, smiles, and effort. A special congrats to all the first-time racers and those who doubted their ability to do this.

Please forward this on to teammates who were not getting updates #2 or 3 (from teams that signed up in June or July when only the team captain’s email address was captured).

Thanks to:

• The fantastic volunteers, including those from Safe Haven Ministries. We’ll be sending a share of the race profits to them as they work to end domestic abuse.
• Our great sponsors: Gazelle Sports, Bill & Paul’s Sporthaus, West Michigan Bike & Fitness, Jamie Geysbeek Photography, and Zanfel.
• Amazing partners like Pine River Paddlesports Center which decided not to charge us for many of the canoes that did not get used, D&D Printing for discounted maps and passports, LogoSpot for the cool trophies and Caberfae Peaks Resort for a great venue and buffet. Consider supporting them and letting them know you appreciate their support of the race.

Preliminary Results

8-Hour Results

Thanks for your patience! Please email me by tomorrow if you think there’s a significant error and I’ll dive into the passport pile to check it out. Finally catching up on sleep so I certainly may hve screwde smoeting up! For teams that reported CP 34 missing (stolen), if we did not yet correct for that in your final CP tally, please email me. I’ll go back and do a re-count but it will help to have confirmation from you. We did not fix this for teams that were not in the running for top finisher prizes because we wanted to get going with the awards ceremony asap.

For those of you who came back after the 8-hour limit, I still need to count up your checkpoints. They are still valid as is your race – we just had to drop you down to the end of the list because of the deadline rule. Next time we’re sure you’ll plan to get back before the cut-off.

Getting Better
If you struggled out there, start with reviewing your route and decisions using your race maps (PDFs below). Go over your bonehead mistakes and brilliant strategery. Here are copies of the maps so you don’t have to use your nasty sweaty, ripped, muddy maps to review.

Maps
Map 1 Caberfae east bike/trek
Map 2 Caberfae west trek
Map 3 Bike
Map 4 Manistee River paddle

One checkpoint in particular tripped up more teams than any other. The infamous CP 38 in the pond. You had to paddle west along the bridge and road through the gap in the cattails (which the race instructions stated had replaced the sand shown on the map). Many people headed north upstream instead. One thing I’ve learned over the years is to always take a bearing at the start of a paddle. It doesn’t seem necessary and that’s why you should do it. Also, don’t just follow other teams on the paddle (or anywhere). Assume that they do NOT know where they are going; take a bearing at least and see how it lines up with their direction of travel. Human beings are social creatures. We like to follow each other. Break that habit when you are racing!

I think CPs 1 and 2 were also particularly challenging. One thought on these CPs is to return to CP 3 or 4 and re-plot your bearing if you can’t find 1 or 2. The famous line “Not all who wander are lost”  from the Lord of the Rings really isn’t a good motto in adventure racing. Wandering too long means you’ve probably “lost contact with the map” and should go back and find a known checkpoint or other feature close by. I would have started at 3 or returned there if lost since it was only 300 meters from 2, trekked west to 2, then 1, then retraced back to 2 (easy), then 4, 5 and so on.

This is one reason why adventure racing is so addictive to so many people once they have the courage to try it. You learn so much each race and can’t wait to apply those lessons in the next race. Well, at least that’s our hope!

More tips

• Check out our new series of Navigation Lessons online if you haven’t been reading them on Facebook. 
• Download the free Terrain Navigator Pro app (iphone link here; also available on Adroid I believe). You can then hike through the woods in any public area and see how the topo map looks compared to the real terrain, plotting CPs and creating practice courses.
• Review Cooper and Michelle Green’s post-race analysis from races over the past several years.
• Do more races including the Fall Challenge 2-4-6 adventure race on September 23 in Rochester Hills and the shorter orienteering events through the Southern Michigan Orienteering Club events (mostly on the southeast side of MI).

Survey 
Please complete our 2-minute survey. Especially you first-time adventure racers. This survey helps us improve our races and plan for the future. I’m a “wisdom of crowds” guy, in part after reading this interesting book if you are looking for an educational but easy summer read.

Race Photos
Thanks to Jamie Geysbeek Photography for the amazing race photos.Check them out on our Facebook page. More to come on our Flickr account later in August. Contact Jamie for special rates only available to racers, on weddings, corporate events and special occasions.

Lost & Found
Email me if you lost something and I’ll check around for it. I have a fit bit and some sunglasses and maybe a few other things once I tear apart the pile of race

What’s Next?
September 16  Lord of the Springs singletrack+gravel road bike race. Yankee Springs/Barry County. 26 miles (or 6-mile singletrack beginner race). Bike races can be a little intimidating with all those serious bikers and expensive bikes. But the vibe for this race will be more casual, closer to an adventure race feel. Come try it!

October 7  Michigan Adventure Race: ArtPrize Edition. 2 OR 3-person teams (just adding the 3-person division in today). Bike and on foot sections. Weave your way through the largest public art competition in the world. Encounter Amazing Race-like challenges, many involving some aspect of art and ArtPrize, in popular downtown exhibits and beautiful green spaces beyond. Great race to invite a new adventure racer (or youth racer) to. Kids 13 and under are free. See Register page for details.

November 11  Dirty Duel trail race. The only trail race in the U.S. that offers racers a choice of courses. Join over 700 racers who will split off right after the start in a dueling dash back to the finish. Will it be the “easier” 6K course that speeds runners to a top finish or the shorter but brutal 5K “trail” that racers survive on their way to victory? Depending on the course chosen, you will face a sand dune, cornfield/maze, and off-trail sections. $34. Free buff/headware ($18 retail), donuts, and cider.

Thanks again for racing. Not to get too personal, but this will be the first race that will pay the mortgage for my daughter and me in the house and neighborhood that have given her consistency and easy access to her gazillion nearby friends during a dark and difficult year. To have a full-time job like this that keeps us where she needs to be and allows me to work for all of you amazing people is such a blessing. I’m already thinking about how I can hang flags until I’m in my 80s. Maybe a hover scooter?

Save the date: we’ll be back at Caberfae on Sunday, June 10, next year! Probably an overnight race on June 8-9 as well, if you want to target an even bigger goal!

Mark, for Greg, Brian and Matt