Race Report - ARC - Muskoka, ON - Sept 17, 2005

[Adventure Racing Canada]

The cloudy skies, rain, and weekend traffic were no match for the determination and eagerness of teams making the journey to the ARC race headquarters at the Lion’s Camp Dorset. Located in the Muskoka’s close to Huntsville and boasting a course designed by Bob Miller, ARC’s annual September race was on the verge of being a wet and muddy affair. The bad weather was amazingly short lived and by Saturday morning not a cloud was in the sky and the ground was dry. An ideal day for racing.

With three separate races being held (Outventure 2-3 hour, Enduro 5-8 hour, EnduroXtreme 10-12 hour) and over 200 athletes from across Ontario, the race site was a busy place and it gave old friends a chance to catch up, and new friends a chance to meet.


ARC Enduro Xtreme 10-12 Hour Adventure Race
Race Start Time: 6:45am


After boarding a 6am bus, teams had the opportunity to fine-tune race strategies and watch the sunrise before being dropped off at the Frost Centre south of Dorset. Teams began the race with a bike navigation section through the Nordic ski trails just west of the centre. The hilly terrain and multiple trails meant teams had to shake off the early morning sleepiness and concentrate on good map reading to be successful. In a little under 2 hours Team Urban Voyageur emerged from the woods in first place and transitioned to the paddling section. Over the next several hours the remaining 5 teams would finish with the bike navigation section and make their way out on the water in an attempt to catch up to the leaders.

Traveling south on St. Nora Lake teams crossed into Kushog Lake then had to find the start of the portage to take them to Kabakwa Lake. This would be the first of six portages to challenge teams this race and, with a total distance of around 4.5 kilometers, teams had to be sure not to make any navigational errors that might result in more portaging than necessary.

After making additional paddles through Saskatchewan, Big Brother, Big Hawk, and Sherborne Lakes, Team Urban Voyageur arrived back at the Frost Centre still holding onto their lead. Team Karma arrived within 30 minutes of Urban Voyageur and was closely followed by Team Good2Go.

A transition back to bikes followed by several kilometers of trail and road biking brought teams to the trek navigation section. The trek began at the transition area on the picturesque shore of Avery Lake and took teams through marsh and bush, over hills, and through streams as they tried to locate three checkpoints.

Team Urban Voyageur stretched their lead to over 60 minutes. Their main challengers, Teams Karma and Good2Go, both made it back to the transition area shortly before the 5pm cut off.

After the trek teams set out on the final bike leg: a journey which would take them back to camp Dorset and the finish line. Over ten kilometers of ATV trails took racers through the backcountry alongside lakes and through the fall colored landscape before bringing them to the last few kilometers of pavement. The moderate hills and speedy descents were a welcome gift for tired legs and teams quickly made it to the entrance to the camp. A ride to the finish-line punctuated by cheers from spectators was quickly followed with burgers on the BBQ and free beer.

Team Urban Voyageur, refusing to give up their lead through the entire race, was the first to arrive. Team Good2Go was pursuing them relentlessly and, making up for an hour deficit, arrived just minutes after Urban Voyageur. Team Karma arrived 30 minutes later and, due to the fact they had successfully located all three trekking CPs, they were awarded 2nd place over Good2Go.

For complete results please visit: http://www.adventureracingcanada.com/re ... lts_05.htm


ARC Enduro 5-8 Hour Adventure Race
Race Start Time: 10:10am


Boarding busses in the early morning sunshine served to heighten the excitement of teams who watched as their bikes were loaded into vans as they left the camp. A short ride south took teams to Big Hawk Landing where they would begin their race on the water. At ten minutes after 10am teams began paddling across the lake towards the first of two portages, each almost a kilometer long.

Co-ed Team What About Bob? arrived at the Frost Centre for the transition to bikes in first place only a few minutes before the masters Team Deviant Pathfinders. For the next hour the remaining 44 teams all arrived one or two minutes ahead of each other, and kept the CP staff busy signing passports and directing traffic.

Leaving the Frost Centre and following a combination of hiking trails and backroads, teams biked their way through the Dawson Ponds Plastic Lake Conservation Reserve to the shore of Avery Lake. Here they would drop their bikes and begin a three CP navigation section. Teams were given the option of getting 2 of 3 CPs and still being ranked, however, a 4:30pm cut off meant that teams had to be out of the bush by that time or be ranked after everyone else regardless of how many CPs that had found.

The start of the trek section saw new teams climb the leaderboard with the all male Team SNAFU arriving first followed by the all male Team P3 and the co-ed Team All In The Family.

After dealing with the navigational challenges of water, trees, and hills teams returned to the transition area to once again pick up their bikes.

Making up for lost time on the bike to the start of the trek section, Team What About Bob? emerged from the bush first with a three minute lead on their closest rivals, Team P3. Teams Havoc’s Adventure and Nil Illegitimus Carborundum also made it back within minutes of What About Bob?, but had choosen to get only 2 of 3 CPs and were no longer a threat to the overall leaders. The masters Team Lost In Place rounded out the top three to begin the bike back to Camp Dorset and only had a 20 minute gap between themselves and Team What About Bob?.

A ride over ATV trails would take teams from lakes to hills and would challenge a team’s ability to climb, descend, and not get distracted by the scenery. These trails would end with a paved road and a fast ride back to Camp Dorset where the finish line waited.

Team P3 had managed to overtake Team What About Bob? for the overall lead and arrived 4 minutes before them. Team Lost In Place held on to third overall from a pursuing Team SNAFU.

Everyone was a winner, however, with free burgers and beer served up by members of the local Lion’s Club.

For complete results please visit: http://www.adventureracingcanada.com/re ... lts_05.htm


Merrell Outventure 2-3 Hour Off Road Race
Race Start Time: 10:10am


The sun was already high when 8 solo racers and 19 teams lined up on their bikes in anticipation of the start. Once traffic control vehicles were in place for the road section of the ride the alarm to start the race was sounded and all racers jockeyed for position down the Camp Dorset driveway and out onto the paved road.

After a few hills spread the racers out a turn off the pavement put everyone off-road and on an ATV trail. Rocks, sand, water, mud, and more hills were the challenges ahead on this scenic ride through the backcountry. The end of the ride was at the shore of Avery Lake. Here racers would leave their bikes and set out on a trail run.

The solos arrived at the Avery Lake transition first with Tyler of Merrell Overdrive and Terry Stevens arriving in the lead. Matt and Mike of Team Iron Pansies were the first all male team to make the transition, Meagan and Kelly of Team Muskoka Outfitters the first all female team, Toni and Darlene of Team Sigma PSI the first coed team, and Maria Burton the first female solo racer to reach the transition area.

The run took racers on a marked trail on old abandoned logging roads, through thick bush trails, and even a back country road that went past an abandoned camp at Mouse Lake. Ending on the shores of Wren Lake, racers still had to make a 10 meter long water crossing through knee deep water before reaching the other side and getting their boats.

Tyler from Merrell Overdrive managed to hang onto his overall lead coming into the transition but was only seven minutes ahead of Terry Stevens and Team Iron Pansies. Team Muskoka Outfitters and solo Maria Burton were still in the top group but Team The Vurminators, Sarah and Wes, had taken over the lead co-ed team spot.

The paddle took racers across the open water of Raven Lake, north into Deer lake, and onto the beach at Camp Dorset. From there it was a matter of bringing your boat onto land and sprinting to the finish.

Arriving at the finish was the all male Team Iron Pansies, the all female Team Muskoka Outfitters, and the solo male Daryl of 5IVE who managed to gain over 10 minutes on the paddle and pass Tyler of Merrell Overdive for the solo lead by one minute. Solo female Maria Burton and co-ed Team The Vurminators were the leaders in their respective categories.

Everyone then had a chance to enjoy the sunshine with a lunch and some free beer before the awards ceremony.

For complete results please visit: http://www.adventureracingcanada.com/ou ... review.htm