Racing Ahead's Race Report for the 2006 24-Hour Adventure Race

September 16/17, 2006

Racing Ahead, LLC’s New England Adventure Race Series Final 24-Hour

Regional Qualifier for USARA National Championships 

This race covered over 95 miles (ideal route), 3555 meters of climb, traversed 3 mountain ranges and the length and width of NH’s second largest lake. 

The race began as 18 teams lined up on a hillside meadow in view of the Ossipee Mountains peeking out of the early morning mist and waited to pick up pre-plotted maps for the first five checkpoints of Racing Ahead, LLC’s 24-Hour Adventure Race.   Teams had received and plotted the remainder of the course checkpoints the night before, but the beginning had remained a mystery, and with the prehistoric volcano shell of the Ossipee’s in front of them, they knew they would be climbing upward.   As the teams headed out, they startled a moose out into the meadow to the surprise of the waiting support crews and volunteers.  At remote CP3 teams found the flag mangled and ripped.  Not only did this make it hard to find, but also raised the question of what kind of animal shredded it.  Along with moose, bear and wildcats are also known to inhabit the area. 

Eastern Mountain Sports (MA) and Summit Achievement (ME) came into CP3/TA1 neck and neck with Capenrage.com (Nova Scotia), SPTU/Darn Tough (CT), and Canigetawitness (MA) hot on their tails.  Teams hopped on bikes for a 10 mile road section and then dropped them to trek over another mountain range with a CP that proved elusive for some teams and changed the order with which they’d gone into the woods. Unfortunately for team Band of Brothers (CT), while their bikes lay waiting in the sun for them to finish the second trek, one of the tires suddenly blew out.  The volunteers and support crew nearby thought it was a gunshot!  By CP9/TA2 Eastern Mountain Sports had a half hour lead on Summit Achievement, which was closely followed by Capenrage.com, Canigetawitness,  Venus Hum (NH), Team Alaska Pride (ME),  Team Vermont (VT) within an hour of second place.

Teams ventured onto Squam Lake with the Sandwich Mountain Range rising up behind them, and the many islands, points, and bays - all seemingly bereft of houses – in front of them. This race was all about route choices and the paddle on Squam Lake was no different; there were 2 portage options, and many islands to navigate around.  One route passed by the cottage where the movie “On Golden Pond” was filmed.  While motorboat traffic is low this time of year, wind was still a presence and the 15+ miles was a grueling paddle. NH Marine Patrol had imposed an “Off the Lake” deadline of 6:30pm and teams were racing the clock as well as each other. It took the seven teams who completed the full paddle section between 3:44 hours (Eastern Mountain Sports) and 4:38 hours (Goals ARA 2person team (PA)).

By the time all teams were off the lake and transitioning to bikes the sun was setting bringing cooler temperatures to offset the hot day.  By CP13/TA3 Eastern Mountain Sports had a 45 minute lead on Summit Achievement who had an hour and a half lead on the next closest teams Team Vermont, Canigetawitness, Venus Hum, Capenrage.com, and Team Alaska Pride.  At CP15 one team said they saw “a woman walking a rabbit on a leash and the rabbit seemed in control, very strange.”

The biking route choices proved to make or break teams as they had all types of surfaces and length’s impacting their route choices, from the longer but smooth paved roads, or shorter but difficult trails and bike-whacking.  Until this point Eastern Mountain Sports and Summit Achievement had had the fastest one/two splits for every leg, but from CP 13/TA3 on the leg splits show that route choice was crucial.  Teams who made some great route choices over the next several CP’s were Team Vermont, Team Alaska Pride, SPTU/Darn Tough (who had trouble with CP8 and spent the next 15 hours catching up), Berlin Bike (CT), Real Fast Investors and Three Moons (CT) along with the top teams Eastern Mountain Sports and Summit Achievement.

A final bike-carry over Rowe Mt in the Belknap Mountains (yet another mountain range) completed the hilly biking section. One team was overheard discussing their route choices, saying, “I knew when there was a fork in the trail, the correct choice was always to go up.”  At the finish line, the volunteers could hear the screech of brake’s and the flashes from headlamps as teams screamed down the trails of Rowe Mt. by the ski jumps heading into the bike drop. A final 4 mile orienteering section brought only 2 teams across the finish line on the complete full course with 8 more teams crossing the finish line on alternate courses.

Eastern Mountain Sports crossed the line in the darkness just before dawn in 18:50, with Summit Achievement finishing second nearly 5 hours behind them in 23:20.   Full splits and photos can be viewed at www.racingahead.com