SKMC FALL 2013 RACE RESULTS
WARS wants to thank all of you for coming out this year. We had 85 hearty souls come out and challenge themselves to running, biking, paddling, Mt. biking and navigating.
We started race with a quick game of hide and seek for halloween candy to seperate the teams and then it was down to business. Racers ran 1 1/2 miles down the Nordic trail to get to Navigation Map 1. Racers then had the obtion to stay together or split up to find the 5 controls and then return another 1 1/2 miles back to check in. Elbones was 1st in , followed by MAD-S, 180 Adventures and Big Bear Chase Me. Numerous teams followed closed behind those teams.
It was now onto their bikes and a 25 mile road bike trip to the lake which also included a small section of Mt. biking on the Connector trail. Elkbones kept their lead of 1st but were followed closely by Rib Mountain Racing . MAD S, and Precautionary Examples. Precautionary Examples had the fastest split of 1:45 but Rib MT, Elkbones, Rusty Mules , Vyster and Whats the Worst that can Happen had fast times also.
Teams then jumped into their canoes and paddled for about 8 miles with a portage between Rice and Whitewater lakes. Race was still real close for the leaders, Elkbones was still in 1st but were getting chased down by Rib Mt and Precautionary Ex. Fast paddles times were had by Rib Mt. Racing, Big Bear Chase Me, Elkbones, Precautionary Ex., Donner Party and 180 Adventures.
Teams then biked 7 miles back to us at Nordic and during the paddle it had rained slightly . Teams jumped onto their Mt . bikes and biked on the wet and greasy trails at John Muir. Because of the rain, trails were a challenge. Elkbones had bike problems and Rib Mt.Racing caught and passed Elkbones at this point . Fast times on the trails go to Rib Mt, 180 Adventures, MAD S, Big Bear, Precautionary Ex., and even Elkbones where one of their teammates had to run the last mile with her bike.
It now was a very close race between Rib Mt Racing and Elkbones for 1st and 2nd and MAD S and Precautionary Ex. for 3rd and 4th. However, anything can happen out on the navigation. The last navigation Map was fairly hard with myself taking the trails off of the map to make it even harder. Rib Mt went into the woods 1st with Elkbones right behind them. They both tackled the nav. in different routes but Rib Mt came out of the woods 1st with 16 of the 17 controls . They were under a time restraint and had to be back to Nordic by 5pm. All teams had to be back by 5pm . Elkbones came out of the woods but ended up getting 15 out of 17 controls. Behind them , both MAD S and Precautionary Examples had both gotten 10 controls before being forced out of the woods because of lack of time. In the end , MAD S beat Precautionary Ex by only 10 seconds.
This years race was set up so that all parts of the race were mandatory except that last navigation section. If racers ran out of time, they could and would have to skip some or all of the last navigation section. Teams that did not get all of the paddle section were placed behind teams that did all of the paddle. Most teams were able to get to and finish the Mt. biking section but ran short on time to get to the last nav. map. Teams then finished up and were treated to a big finishing meal.
I was very happy to see some of the teams that I have raced with and against the last decade or so come out and continue to challenge themselves and others. Teams like Vyster, Ya Mule, 180 Adventures, Precautionary Ex.. Medicus WRX, EPIQ Adventures, Eyes of the World, Elkbones and others are still racing in the mud, rain and sunshine in a sport that they love. It is also good to see young teams like UWSP and Schoolcraft and others carry on to become the next generation of faster teams. This is a sport for both the young and the old and the fast and the not so fast. Thank You all for coming out! Andy
