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Description
> Sept
2001 - Adventure
Racing Canada - Montebello, Quebec |
The
race start, Saturday morning, Sept 1, 2001
The racers lined up at about 650 this morning Last night's clouds
were breaking up, promising a sunny day with cool temperatures,
perfect for an adventure race. There was a palpable buzz in the
air as the racers made last minute checks and adjustments before
cramming between the gate and the start banner. When the
race organizer announced the 10 second mark a riotous cheer went
up from the racers, then 3, 2, 1 and they were off. Most of
the racers sported broad grins as they headed out. While the front
runners sprinted, the trailing teams jogged around to the back of
Norwood Lodge, passed the bridge and broke out onto the trail.
They followed the trail to the put-in on the Rouge River for the
rafting leg. From the raft take-out, they headed west across
the bridge. From the bridge, they would be directed to the point
where they had to enter the woods. There was a 2-hour penalty for
any team choosing an alternative entry point. Back on foot, the
competitors raced into the woods on their way to CP3 at the
southwest corner of the lake. Both CP3 and 4 were unmanned. To
prove that they successfully reached each checkpoint, the racers
had to find a yellow sign with a checkpoint code and record the
code for later verification. In the woods, in very dense forest,
the orienteering offered serious challenges. Many teams had
difficulties and, because of some costly mistakes, the field
strung out. From their launch point, the paddling took the
racers into the river canyon and through the Seie Ronde and
Maskinonge Rapids, then down to the Rivington bridge and PC 2. The
captain of Adventure Pocono indicated that the team really liked
the raft section. At least one other team, which got pinned to a
rock for ten minutes, might not have agreed. Note: As of 1045
a.m., 29 teams had passed CP4. The front runners were
Adventure Pocono in first place, followed by 2 Beat in second and
Naya in third. CP5 is south of the falls/dam and from here
the going got tricky. The teams couldn't use any roads and had to
make their way along the shore and/or swim this section. They
dropped the last of their paddle gear at Eau Vive Rafting to make
the swim across the river to pick up their bikes. As the trailing
teams made the swim, their fatigue was already becoming obvious
Saturday
afternoon, Sept 1, 2001
The next leg, on mountain bike, consisted of small country roads,
jeep track as well as single track. The route would take the
competitors back to the Lodge and included two more checkpoints on
the way. The lodge acted as CP9 and the teams had to pick up their
climbing equipment for the next leg, the ropes section.
As the first team entered the CP, Out-There asked the leading
team, Adventure Pocono, for their take on their race so far.
"We feel we've aced these first sections and we hope we can
continue at this level for the remainder of the course," said
Derek Lawrence, team captain. Team Pocono set out on the bikes
without bike shoes, no doubt in anticipation of the ropes.
As the teams came into CP 9, just before the rappel, the leaders
by about 50 minutes were Adventure Pocono, followed by Team Neo,
then Naya and the Wilderness Plumbers in fourth. 2 Beat had
unfortunately skipped a beat or two and fallen back into sixth.
The rest of the front runners were rounded out by Gears Racing,
Canadian Sportrent Aurora Borealis and AgeGrouper.com. The
rope section consisted of an ascent and a rappel. The race
organizers have two imperatives - safety and timing. The first of
these speaks for itself and the Subaru team, fully understanding
this, ensured that safety was of paramount importance. The timing
factor is another issue and is particularly problematic in a
24hr/36hr race. The rope sections are much like a supermarket
line, first in, first out. If there are a lot of teams, the line
starts getting longer. This factor helps the front runners
by allowing them to get away unencumbered (the reward for
sprinting from the start) and, of course, backs up late arrivals.
The problem for a course designer, then, is to know when the
racers should hit the rope section in a shorter race. Too soon,
and you bottleneck everybody. Too late, and the slower teams must
work the cliffs in the dark, compromising safety. This is the
course designers' dilemma. There is no simple solution.
After the ropes, the racers were back on their bikes on the way to
CP 11 where they again slipped on their hiking gear to wend
through several more check points to CP 15. The lead groups made
it past CP 15 in the daylight. The following teams would be pushed
into the more difficult nighttime orienteering stages, which would
undoubtedly take its toll. By CP 13, most of the following teams
would have to deal with the problems that darkness brings. Again,
the front runners had an advantage here, since they covered more
territory in daylight hours - but of course, everything has its
cost. Note: Adventure Pocono was still in 1st place and had
managed to extend its lead. An unconfirmed report had Team Neo,
the second place team, dropping out, which would have left Team
Naya in second place, about 1 hr. and 45 minutes behind Pocono.
The next leg saw the racers leave Norwood on bike and included a
river crossing, with the bikes and equipment crossing over by
raft. It was getting cold. Teams arriving at Norwood paused to
work out their next moves. These included Team Sportrent Aurora
Borealis, La Maudite Equipe, Reckless Abandon, Gears Racing and
Team P.H.A.R. The common debate seemed to center around the
possibilities of resting and regrouping or pressing ahead. The
decisions made here would be critical and would ultimately decide
the race outcome for these front running teams.
Saturday
night –Sept 1, 2001
After crossing the river with their bikes on a raft, the
competitors moved on to CP 16, 17 and 18 then back to Norwood
Lodge, which was now designated as CP 19. Racers had been coming
through the Lodge area all night. Some had yet to complete the
river crossing while the front runners had moved well ahead. The
temperature fell to 3 C Saturday night, making the river crossing
very distasteful. Note: As of early morning the lead teams
were Adventure Pocono in first place followed by Naya, about 1.5
hrs back, then Wilderness Plumber, Canadian Sportrent Aurora
Borealis, Team P.H.A.R., Reckless Abandon and Team Chasimawa.
After crossing the river with their bikes on a raft, the
competitors moved on to CP 16, 17 and 18 then back to Norwood
Lodge, which was now designated as CP 19. Racers had been coming
through the Lodge area all night. Some had yet to complete the
river crossing while the front runners had moved well ahead.
The temperature fell to 3 C Saturday night, making the river
crossing very distasteful. Note As of early morning the lead teams
were Adventure Pocono in first place followed by Naya, about 1.5
hrs back, then Wilderness Plumber, Canadian Sportrent Aurora
Borealis, Team P.H.A.R., Reckless Abandon and Team Chasimawa.
Sunday
morning – Sept 2, 2001
The checkpoints that followed include numbers 20 to 24, which took
the competitors to the final leg of their race. At this point, it
would be back to the water again, from Lake Devin to the Rouge
where the teams would continue down river. Once on the Rouge they
had several paddle sections along with two portages, where they
would have to carry their canoes around the rapids. Some of
the teams used kayak paddles in the canoes for a double stroke
effect, making the canoe leg of the race much faster. Finally they
had to find the sandbar, the last takeout. At this point they were
just a short distance from fulfilling their quest. The finish line
beckoned.
The
finish – Sept 2, 2001
It's official, Team Adventure Pocono, has held off Team Naya to
win the final Subaru Outback race of the season. They crossed the
finish line at approximately 10:40AM. Pocono essentially led the
race from start to finish but were dogged by several teams
including, Naya, which was rarely more than an hour back until the
very end of the race. Congratulations to Derek, Brian, Daphne and
Jeff of Team Adventure Pocono for a great race.
Team Naya came in about 2:30 this afternoon and appear to be just
about 1 hour or so ahead of the Wilderness Plumbers, who should
secure third place. |
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