DINO MISSION 18-HOUR ADVENTURE RACE
From the Mind of a New Racer
THE PREPERATION
Not only was this my third Adventure Race, but it was also my first race over 6 hours. I decided to do this race with only a three weeks notice. Besides the obvious working out and staying fit there is a lot more preparation needed for an Adventure Race. The mandatory gear list can nickel and dime you until you have spent over $100
purchasing the 3 in blade on a pocketknife, glow sticks, first aid gear, an extra runners for climbing, and food to last the race. For a first time racer this appears to be a lot of stuff and in fact, it is. The good thing about theses items is that they are common among many Adventure Races. After you’ve already purchased the pocketknife and glow sticks they can be used again in your next race. Getting the mandatory gear together was all I focused on. I had to make sure to check everything at least four times. When the mandatory gear list says marker, pencil, and crayon, they mean all three not one or the other. I forgot a crayon and had to borrow it from another person. I have very little extra racing gear and had it all packed before I left. As for the more seasoned racers, they usually have tubs filled with sandwich bags full of extra gear, and put their packs together the night before. Everyone in my cabin was talking to each other asking if they could spare an extra this or an extra that, to race with. As a soloist I only had to worry about me.
THE RACE BREIF
I quickly learned how different the Dino Race was. During this race you only received one section of checkpoints (CPs) at a time. This did not allow you to plan ahead and it keeps you racing as fast as you can throughout the entire race.
THE PROLOGUE
Most Adventure Races begin with a prologue, which is either a quick foot race, or a mountain bike race to breakup the racers. Our prologue was easy. There were four checkpoints, 200 meters North, South, East, and West from the start location. Every checkpoint had a different letter on it, and you had to create the word in order to receive the next set of checkpoints. I walked to the first checkpoint to allow the over excited starters to lead me to the rest of them. Not cheating, just a good use of my time and energy. Once I returned with the secret word, I received my first two real checkpoints.
SECTION ONE – MOUNTAIN BIKE – 6 MILES
CP1 and CP2 were mountain bike checkpoints. The total 6-mile ride was on paved and gravel roads. I arrived at CP2 somewhere around 6th place. CP2 was a transition point to our first trek section.
SECTION TWO – TREK -10 MILES
CPs 3-9 were fun. This was a real orienteering course where compasses and good navigation skills were needed. At CP5 I got over confident. I knew where I was, but could not find CP5. I began to doubt my compass and the earth’s polarity in that particular spot of the world. However, I was not the only one confused. Several teams where searching the area for CP5. I finally found it and was disappointed in myself. I decided from that point forward I would go back to the navigation basics; terrain association, use the compass, attack points, and back stops. The total trek for me was just about 10 miles.
SECTION THREE – MOUNTAIN BIKE – 4 MILESTransition Area 2Transition Area
This section was easy. All you had to do was go from one Transition Area to another. Going down a big long hill was my favorite part of this section. I reached a top speed of 35 MPH.
SECTION THREE – KAYAK – 7 MILES
I was given a series of four water points and one trek point. I was also in a one-person plastic kayak. I think this was the third time that I had ever paddled. Needless to say, I was slow while trying to figure out what to do. At one point we had to get out of the boat and cross a road. On the way back I went under the road in a small tube. One trek point was thrown into the kayak section. I quickly took a bearing and found the point. I was so excited to begin moving to the last kayak point.
SECTION FOUR – TREK – 12 MILES
As I turned around the bend to get the last kayak CP I saw several canoes and kayaks on the shore. As I arrived, I was issued four trek CPs; two more canoe CPs and one mountain bike CP. This time I stuck with the orienteering basics and found them all with ease. This section was almost 11 miles, which took me several hours.
SECTION FIVE – KAYAK – 5 MILES
I got back in the kayak around 19:30 hours just as the sun was starting to go down. The CPs had reflective tape on them so that you could find them from a distance with a headlamp. Here I realized that my small 70-lum headlamp was not adequate enough. It is a great headlamp for thick woods, but anything past 40 feet I could not see. On the water, especially a large lake, it really does nothing for you. I saw that several teams had two headlamps, one mounted to their helmet and one for trekking. Even though there was a struggle I still managed to find the CPs and make my way back to the transition area.
SECTION SIX – MOUNTAIN BIKE – 3 MILES
I quickly transitioned to my mountain bike and took off. During this section it began to thunder storm and my main bike’s light came unplugged leaving me with only the 70-lum headlamp to lead the way down the wet dark road during a torrential downpour. I peddled as fast as I could the last three miles to the finish line.
FINISH – 16 HOURS AND 30 MINUTES
I arrived at 16 hours and 30 minutes into the race. I was given the option to finish or try and find some more checkpoints on the mountain bike. I learned a lot from being three minutes late during my last race and this time I chose to finish and take 12th Place overall out of 36 teams and 3rd place as a soloist.
See You On Point
Arlen
