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Diary
> Nov 2003 - Dont Get Lost 25K Adv Run - Hamilton, Ontario |
Arial
race map from CP1a-CP1b
1:20,000
race map showing Adventureheads routes from CP1-CP13
1:20,000
race map showing Adventureheads routes from CP13-CP20
1:20,000
race map showing Top Teams routes from CP1-CP2
Intro:
Normal Team Adventureheads plans call for a Spring/Summer 24/36 race and a similar race in the late summer or early fall. This year our team decided to “step it up a notch” and try a 48 hour or longer race in the fall. We adjusted our schedules and had our sites on an October 4th and 5th 48 hour race put on by Outlast in the Montreal area. We managed to recruit some new teammates from the Chicago area. Everything was set for the next chapter in Adventureheads racing. However, Mark from Outlast began having difficulties attracting enough teams to make the race happen. 1 week before the race Mark from Outlast canceled the race…….MAJOR BUMMER.
We all wanted desperately to do a race of some sorts since we had trained hard all summer. Tom got hooked on the Orienteering bug. Tom met Dave L from a local Buffalo Orienteering meet and learned of an event call Highlander. As Dave L put it the Highlander is the super bowl of O meets on the East coast. Tom agreed and headed to Harriman State Park (just north of NYC). The Highlander was a 26km course designed for the US National Orienteering team. From Tom’s perspective, a very humbling event. The race consisted of 4 loops and had a strict cutoff of 6hrs for completing the 3rd loop and 8hrs to complete the 4th loop. Tom started out very strong for the first ½ hour but soon dropped back to a slower group. Tom followed this slower group for the entire first 2 loops. Tom learned a great deal and was amazed how accurate the routes were with no wasted energy. The pace was a fast walk and hardly ever a jog. Tom felt confident from a fitness level that he could follow this group and finish under the 8 hours. However, Tom felt the best way to learn navigating was to go solo. Tom broke away from the group for the 3rd loop. Tom was able to navigate to the general vicinity of the control but had difficulty pinpointing the exact marker. Time was wasted at each control much different than the previous group. None the less Tom finished loop 3 under 6hrs with only minutes to spare. With a great sense of accomplishment and jubilation Tom continued on the 4th loop still solo. With a few mistakes and lots of hard work Tom finished the Highlander just over 8 hours. Almost everyone had left but finishing the Highlander was a major accomplishment since it was only Tom’s second O meet. As a result of the great training for AR Tom decided to recruit the rest of the gang to do a similar O meet called Don’t Get Lost. Tom had heard great things about past Don’t Get Lost events and knew the competitive practice of orienteering was “just what the doctor ordered”.
Pre-Race:
We tried to assemble the normal Adventureheads teammates of Dave D, Tom and Jim, but Jim had a conflict. As a plan “B” Tom recruited Dave M. who ran multiple marathons but never an AR. Tom felt Dave M. had the right fitness and simply had to play “follow the leader”. The date and team were set for the Nov 9th race in the Dundas Conservation Area, just north of Hamilton, Ontario. Tom was feeling quite confident from the recent Highlander and felt a top 10 finish was possible. Mike, the race organizer, had done several Highlanders and told Tom via email that this race would be simpler. In order to give our team the best chance of success Dave D and Tom drove to Hamilton on Saturday before the race to pickup the race kit. Tom wanted to study the map the night before. Dave D and Tom took their daughters over the border for lunch in Hamilton and picked up the race kits at Outback Outdoor store. It took a long time to cross the border twice and what should have been a couple hour trip turned out to take most of the day. Getting the map the night before was good but next time going early Sunday morning before the race would be just fine. The Saturday map was a 1:20,000 orienteering maps. It showed CPs 1 thru 13. Tom studied this map knowing ahead of time the long trek between CP1 and CP2 would probably decide the race. The map for CP13 thru CP25 would be picked up at race time.
Race Briefing:
The drive from Buffalo to the Ancaster Community Center on the North side of Hamilton went fast early Sunday morning. We got there at 7:30 before the race briefing. Right on schedule at 8:30 the pre race meeting took place. We saw Frank, Glenn, and Janine racing as team Endless Innovations. Tom had raced with them on his very first race, the RTN in April of 2001. Due to some team differences Tom formed a new team after that first memorable race. After seeing the old teammates, Tom silently said to his team, “I don’t care what place we get as long as we beat those guys”. As it would turn out later our Nav skills were much better and our splits showed it. For the next race this time before the start is plenty to digest the maps. We still did not have all the maps and the organizers said there would be a BIG surprise at the start. We had no idea what was in store. There were about 65 teams of 3. Probably more Orienteering types than Adventure Racing Types. Same sex and coed teams of 3 were accepted. We boarded the busses and got at the race start at 9:30.
The entire group of about 200 racers gathered at the SW corner of the pond near CP1. Mike, the race organizer, began to explain the BIG surprise. The idea was to split up the large group so inexperienced teams could NOT simply follow the leaders to CP1. Mike did a great job of creativity to start the race. While we were standing there in our Team LEKI jerseys we overheard a rookie team say “if you are not sure of a direction just follow a team with matching jerseys……” Normally not a bad plan but soon the pack would be significantly split up. The idea was each teammate had to run a lap around the pond and then go to CP1. After a quick team meeting we decided the order would be Tom, Dave D, and Dave M.
Race Start:
With a loud ….Ready…..Set…..Go the race was off. Tom did a good job of staying with the leaders and was probably in the top 10 or 15. Tom tagged Dave D. During Dave D’s lap he had to pick up map #2. Dave D dropped a few places but the leaders were still in sight. After the tag Dave M ran a great 3rd leg and picked up a map in a sealed envelope. The rules stated a 1 hr penalty would be granted to any team who opens the sealed envelope. Later in the race we will get back to the sealed envelope……Per the BIG Surprise agenda we took map #2 and had to run to 1A and 1B prior to CP1. Map #2 showed 1A and 1B on an aerial photo map. We quickly oriented ourselves with the newly received map and ran to 1A as a group. The control was a series of orange ribbons with a code written on it. It was very close to the rode so we got it no problem. We backtracked a little going north on the road back toward the start and picked up a trail heading east. We could see several teams. After a short distance on the trail running east we broke off at a field and headed due south. CP1B was in a slight gully but we code the code easily. Quickly looking at the map we decided to save some time and not head back the way we came. Instead we bushwhacked straight due east to hit the road. Normally a good plan but we lost a little time because there was an old farm wire fence which was not easy to scale. None the less we got to the road, turned North and easily found the parking area. From the parking area we went to the Northeast corner of the pond and electronically “tagged” CP1. It turns out that Team EAS Hammer, a successful AR team from Hamilton, got second place just minutes behind the winner. The winner was an orienteering group so for comparisons we will show EAS Hammer splits, our Team
Adventureheads, and Team Endless Innovations. At CP1 the times showed:
EAS Hammer = 11.41 in 7th, Adventureheads = 16.17 in 25th 7.11 behind the leader, and Endless Innovations = 16.42 in 28th.
CP1 to CP2:
Now the real nav would take place. The O map was a 1:20,000 map with grid lines every 500m. On the map 1cm is 200m. As the crow flies the distance to CP2 is 2000m or about 1 ¼ miles. Tom had some time to study the route choice because he studied the maps the night before. From CP1 we headed approx SE to pickup a small trail heading E. We followed this trail as it bent S and merged with another. We took this 2nd trail E and then crossed over to the road. We headed NE on the road. Just before the development we took a trail heading E at the top of the ridge. When this trail ended we scurried down the ridge and followed the streambed. At times there was a trail. We continued on a general SE direction. Just N of CP2 are 2 steep cliffs shaped like a U and in open land. We used these as landmarks to climb the cliff on top of the ridge, cross the trail and then down the other side to a small gully at CP2. This flat stream route would save us elevation gains and was almost a straight line. In hind site the only difference in our route would have been instead of climbing the N side of the ridge near CP2 and then going down the other side, would be to simply continue past the 2 bear U cliffs and go around the ridge staying on level ground in a clockwise direction. All in all the times at CP2 were: EAS Hammer = 28.10 in 2nd, Adventureheads = 45.37 in 21st 21.38 behind the leader, and Endless Innovations = 57.51 in 43rd.
CP2 to CP3:
The route to CP3 was mostly a trail run. As the trail near CP3 bent we noticed the deep reentrant and saw CP3 on a small hill at the bottom of a valley. Here we noticed several teams near us and this helped us find the controls a little faster. EAS Hammer = 33.31 in 2nd, Adventureheads = 54.37 in 22nd 24.50 behind the leader and Endless Innovations = 1.14.45 in 48th.
CP3 to CP4:
We took a quick compass reading directly to CP4. When we hit the 2nd trail we followed it E until it bent N. At this point we took another quick reading and headed down the slightly steep slope to tag CP4 located at the bottom on a small hill. EAS Hammer = 37.45 in 2nd, Adventureheads = 1.01.11 in 22nd 28.04 behind the leader, and Endless Innovations = 1.23.25 in 49th.
CP4 to CP5:
At this point we felt pretty good. Our routes were accurate and we were able to jog at a decent pace all the time. Our route to CP5 was to stay low in the valley/marsh and climb the ridge when we saw the pond. The going was kind of tough because we had to cross the stream several times and because it was damp there was a fair amount of vegetation. In hindsight we should have climbed back up the ridge and followed along the edge where it was flat and less vegetation. Picking out the pond was tough due to several pond like bodies of water. We climbed the ridge when we got close. We followed the ridge a short distance saw the deep westerly reentrant climbed down and then back up to tag CP5. At this point Tom had the best endurance so he would often leave Dave and Dave on level ground and make the elevation gain to get the control by himself. Times at CP5 were EAS Hammer = 42.22 in 2nd, Adventureheads = 1.10.46 in 22nd 32.54 behind the leader, and Endless Innovations = 1.36.55 in 47th.
CP5 to CP6:
To reach CP6 we took a good compass reading and headed on a beeline. We climbed back up another ridge and then spotted the control in a small valley just like it showed on the map. EAS Hammer = 47.02 in 2nd, Adventureheads = 1.15.53 in 20th 33.16 behind the leader, and Endless Innovations = 1.44.19 in 48th.
CP6 to CP7:
Our route to CP7 followed the trail thru open land directly to the control. Shortly after leaving CP6 we saw the buildings near CP7 and headed right for them. Our pace was a good jog pace and we passed a couple teams along the way. EAS Hammer = 53.19 in 2nd, Adventureheads = 1.24.20 in 19th 35.48 behind the leader, and Endless Innovations = 2.02.29 in 49th place. With a very tiny stop we grabbed a handful of candy and were on our way. The M-n-Ms at the food stop tasted fantastic.
CP7 to CP8:
No navigation was required to go to CP8. Simply follow the paved road and the trail. However, the trail was quite grueling. The beginning climbed some very steep steps right up the face of the escarpment, lungs pounding and lactic acid flowing freely. Tom lead the pace with Dave and Dave shortly behind. We got to CP8 with no problems. EAS Hammer = 1.08.16 in 2nd, Adventureheads = 1.44.15 in 20th 41.06 behind the leader, and Endless Innovations = 2.31.09 in 46th 1.28.01 behind the leader.
CP8A,B,C,D to CP9
Once again hats off to Mike and the organizers of the race. This section was called the Matrix. Each teammate had a map and the team was allowed to split up and get the 4 controls or stay together and get them. We decided Dave D would take the easy ones D and C. Tom and Dave M would take the tougher ones A and B. The time penalty for skipping the Matrix section was 1 hour so we agreed to meet back within an hour even if we didn’t get all the controls. We started following the paved road to the overpass but realized we were supposed to take a small trail on the E side of the road. This trail led under the expressway. Mike from the race crew was there to take our lovely picture and the concrete entrance. It was filled with ankle deep cold water and in graffiti is said ‘GATEWAY to HELL”. Not quite hell but unpleasant none the less. Once in the Matrix area Dave D took off with a plan to follow trails as much as possible. He nailed the CPs and finished in less than 30 min. Tom on the other hand ran into a little difficulty. Tom and Dave M followed the trails and then took a compass reading for A. After a little searching we got A pretty good. Our plan for B was to head due E find the stream and follow it right to B. The problem as often happens in nav is that there were many more streams than what showed on the map. Some dried up and some went in the wrong direction. Tom and Dave M got twisted around and backtracked a couple of times. They even saw another team who was having similar difficulty. Finally they got their bearings and pinpointed the open land section which was slightly disguised because it had RED out of bounds hash marks. In hind sight we should have took a bearing for the open land and went around the N peninsula to find the control on the E side. When it was all said and done we met back up with Dave D just under the 1 hour mark. We were quite discouraged but pressed on. EAS Hammer = 1.29.03 in 2nd, Adventureheads = 2.39.38 in 33rd 1.18.02 behind the leader, and Endless Innovations = 3.10.13 in 44th. In perspective it took EAS Hammer 20.47 to do the Matrix, it took Adventureheads 55.24 and Endless Innovations 39.04.
CP9 to CP10:
To get to CP10 we followed the directions and the map via road for the 2.5km run. One of the roads was slightly misplaced but we found our way easily. Several teams were within eyesight. Near CP10 we find ourselves on top of the cliff. The race clues specifically stated NOT to scamper down the cliff, so we had to back track slightly and make our way around to the control. EAS Hammer = 1.39.45 in 2nd, Adventureheads = 3.00.34 in 31st 1.25.39 behind the leader, and Endless Innovations = 3.37.56 in 47th. The splits to reach CP10 suggest that EAS Hammer was running about 7 min miles and we were running about 10 min miles.
CP10 to CP11:
The route to CP11 started out with a road run. About 4 or 5 teams were close to each other. After a busy intersection we found the trail head and began following it. As the trail started to break away from the cliffs we bushwhacked along the cliffs. At this point our team was leading the pack and the others were following. We found CP11 at a waterfall. EAS Hammer = 1.47.33 in 2nd, Adventureheads = 3.12.29 in 31st 1.30.09 behind the leader, and Endless Innovations = 3.52.29 in 47th.
CP11 to CP12:
From CP11 we headed due N to meet the trail. At the trail we headed NW. We misjudged distance. When we got to a stream we thought it was the 2nd stream on the trail. We thought we could shave some time by cutting the corner. Good plan, but wrong stream. Instead took the first stream and followed it toward the cliffs. About 2/3 along the stream we realized it was the wrong stream. We figured we would intersect the trail above the cliffs. As we approached the cliffs we thought it might be tough to find the control from the top so we went N past the cliffs and followed them on the lower side. In retrospect a slower but conservative route. The footing was tricky on the boulder field. We found the control tucked in between some boulders toward the top of the cliffs. We got it but it would have been much easier to follow the trail all the way. We lost the small group we were part of and lost several places. EAS Hammer = 1.52.38 in 2nd, Adventureheads = 3.26.22 in 39th 1.39.05 behind the leader, Endless Innovations = 4.00.39 in 46th.
CP12 to CP13:
Disappointed with our small mistake we picked up the place slightly and continued our jog, probably about a pace of 10 min miles. The trail took us W. At the 3rd trail junction we got a little confused and starting heading N between the cliffs on both sides. We corrected, backtracked and continued W along the power lines. Almost like a trail. Instead of making the making the big loop at the end, we followed the power lines and came right to CP13. CP13 was at the bottom of a small waterfall. We were a little tired at this point but in good spirits. We filled our bladders with some water took some quick food and headed out. EAS Hammer = 1.59.42 in 2nd, Adventureheads = 3.40.52 in 39th 1.46.47 behind the leader, Endless Innovations = 4.18.21 in 47th.
CP13 to CP14:
CP14 is the decision point if you decide to do the advanced section or not. The advanced section consisted of a 1:20,000 O map with all color removed. The only thing on the map was contours. As we left CP13 we felt confident we could hit the 4
CPs. At this point several teams went directly from CP14 to CP19 and bypassed the advanced section. Those that make this shortcut are given a 2 hour penalty. CP14 was the last CP with full color details on the map. We followed the road E and picked up some trails. At the 4th trail junction we took a reading and went down the slope to relatively easily find CP14 at a stream bend. We only saw 1 or 2 others teams from this point forward. Each team had their own route and did not form a group. EAS Hammer = 2.10.02 in 2nd, Adventureheads = 4.01.53 in 38th 1.56.08 behind the leader. Endless Innovations = 4.48.16 in 48th.
CP14 to CP15:
CP15 was the first Advanced CP. From CP14 we headed E and met the road. We went S on the road and picked up a trail heading E. We followed the trail for about 500m. Our goal was to head SW between 2 hills and follow a compass reading in the valley right to CP15. We started good, and left the trail on a compass reading. The hills we started seeing did not make 100% sense but we kept on our course. After about a mile or so we arrived at a large clearing. The clearing was NOT on our map and we started to get slightly confused. We saw 2 nature walkers and talked to them. They were not very helpful. Of course we forgot about our sealed envelope “secret decoder” map. Later after the race we would remember the sealed map we picked up during the 3 pond laps at the beginning of the race. After the race when we finally opened the envelope we saw exactly the mistake we had made and were very confident we could have nailed the CPs had we opened the dam map. Back to the story. It turned out we had followed the trail too far and followed a parallel reading north of our intended route. The fact that this was also a valley added to our misjudgment. We should have estimated distance better to clearly know when to leave the trail. In any regards after scooping the scene for some time we decided to head due E back where we came from. We figured this would allow us to recognize some of the features from the map and we could pinpoint where we were. After about 30 minutes of heading E we saw a CP. Holy SH…… we stumbled upon it. When we got to the CP we realized it was CP16 and not CP15. Well at least we knew where we were on the map. Not sure exactly what to do we electronically tagged the control and then decided to backtrack and go back to CP15. We took a reading and then realized the map showed a small valley connecting CP16 and CP15. We followed this valley for about 500m, climbed down a steep bank and then up the spur to get CP15. Our time was terrible but we had new hope. EAS Hammer = 2.20.23 in 2nd. Adventureheads = 5.22.42 in 41st 3.06.45 behind the leader. Endless Innovations decided to skip this advanced section. It took EAS Hammer 10.21 to go from CP14 to CP15. It took us with the above mistakes 1.20.49.
CP15 to CP16:
Since we just came from CP16 going back to it was pretty straightforward. We climbed back up the steep bank followed the valley and found CP16, the second time, quite well. EAS Hammer = 2.27.38 in 2nd, and Adventureheads = 5.35.51 in 41st 3.13.02 behind the leader. The split from CP14 to CP16 for EAS Hammer was 7.15 and for Adventureheads was 13.09.
CP16 to CP17-Finish:
We did not see an obvious handrail between CP16 and CP17 so we took a compass reading and thought we would shoot a straight beeline. We wanted to be very cautious since we had lost so much time finding CP15. The terrain was very hilly and the legs were quite tired at this point. Tom took the reading and we headed off. After about 30 minutes or so we ended up back in the open farm field again. This was the same field we were in when we overshot CP15. We were not in the same spot but about a ½ mile N of our previous spot. To say the least we were pissed, since we tried to be so careful with our reading. Once again we forgot we had the detailed color O map of 1:10,000 scale which showed our spot exactly. We tried very hard to pick up some known land features and find CP17. We never found CP17. During the car ride home Tom thought his compass was faulty and gave an error reading….”maybe it picked up some metal in my pack or jersey”……Both
Daves, after a 5 min howling laugh, thought Tom was completely crazy. Upon closer examination Tom concluded the compass was just fine and it was more of a human error. Tom had the map folded so it could fit in his hand. When he took the reading from CP16 to CP17 he did not line up the dial with magnetic north. Instead he lined up the dial with a grid line 90 degrees off. This was the only explanation of how we could get so far off target. At this point it was about 3p and darkness was near. As much as it pained us we figured the best option was to forget CP17 and start to make our way back. Again we started heading E. We soon found the Headwater trail we recognized from before. We started heading E on the trail. Quickly we reached a junction and continued on Headwater Trail even though Tom commented that we were heading N instead of E. Our nav brains were mush now and we were in autopilot simply following this trail. In hindsight not a very wise move. We should have refocused and continued to evaluate all the information similar to an O meet or an AR race. As we look back and see our error filled route on the “secret decoder” map we easily see the N trail we took. We eventually hit a road and began following it. Dave D thought he remembered parts of the road from the Paris – Ancaster cycle cross race he did in the same area last year. These roads and trail were not marked on the race map so Dave D’s idea seemed the best at the time. Boy it would have been nice to take the 1 hour penalty and use the “secret” map. The road finally circled around and started heading south again. This southern road made Tom feel much better and he began to pick land features and learn were we were. Once we hit the roads we stopped our jog pace for the first time. Now we were all at a fast walk pace. As we headed due S toward the finish we had glimmering thoughts of hitting CP19. However, since we did not have our headlamps and darkness was approaching we decided not to. Soon we saw the Community Center and tagged the last control. Cold and very disappointed we went into the post race room and had remnants of cold pizza. Most people had left. But the cold pizza really hit the spot. As we chatted with some other lead teams about the Advanced section they said they went slowly and followed their compass reading very closely. The other added bonus was that lots of teams were in the area at the same time, so there were lots of eyes looking for the controls. We did not have such a luxury. But hey the experience was fantastic. To say the least we loved the race, learned a lot, and are totally pumped to compete in the April version.
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