Third Annual
Updated September 2008
This "report" was originally written before the race to give contestants some clues about the THIRD ANNUAL, La Bufadora Adventure Race. We are happy to say the race occurred over the weekend of August 30-31.
We had a great turnout, mostly from the Baja area, though there were a number who traveled south of the border. There were 76 racers on 27 teams. For the niño race we had 19 participants. Both races were a bit shorter (and perhaps a little easier) than in past years. The children's race began at 8 AM and the adult race got underway at 10 AM. There was a 3 PM cutoff and one team managed to get all checkpoints with barely 1 minute to spare. Congratulations to Luis Horacio Felix and Juan Peraza Manzo for their fine race. Two teams skipped just one checkpoint on the hike section so they could complete the race before 3 PM.
Most importantly, everyone seemed to have fun and that was the goal of the race.
This race is made possible by Rancho La Bufadora and Baja Aquatics. It is through the generosity of Rancho La Bufadora and Baja Aquatics that contestants are able to use the camping area and the kayaks for FREE.
This years race will use the same steep hills we have used in the past, and you will run or ride on some of the same roads. But there are new surprises also, and some new trails as well as some non-trails.
The race will start with kayaking. At about 4 PM on Saturday we have free kayaking lessons for those who have not kayaked before. If you have your own boat please bring it. We do provide double kayaks for those who do not own a boat. But every year we run out of boats for the race and expect to do the same this year. To accommodate all racers some will do the bike section before the kayak.
While we allow teams to be of any size, and generally allow solo racers, we are encouraging you to team up this year as the essence of Adventure Racing is the team dynamics. If you do not have a partner we will find one for you.
The kayaking will be short this year, about 6 Km, but it will be enough to test you. The bike section is about 15 Km and the hike section 12 Km.
For the running section (we consider you will go faster and safer if you hike), you may want some gloves for the rock scrambling and some long pants could help with the cactus on the orienteering section which is on and off trail.
We are trying something new with the bike section this year. It is something we learned from memory orienteering. At the start of the bike section you will have your map and it will have the first bike location pre-plotted. When you get to that checkpoint there will be a small piece of map which has the location of the next checkpoint marked on it. You must match that small section of the map to your full map and you can then plot the next location on your map and proceed to that checkpoint.
This may require some orientation of the map, and some thinking while racing. But there are many clues given to deciphering the next location, you just have to figure them out.
The biking is mostly on fire-road and a little on the main road if you choose. While there is generally only one way to go on the bike route, there are some options which the astute racer can exploit to gain big advantages. Hike-a-bike is a possibility depending on your route selection.
The hike section is all orienteering so you are able to gather the checkpoints in any sequence. There will be a race cut-off time and the winner will be the team gathering most checkpoints before the cut-off. The fastest teams should be able to get all checkpoints and still finish within the allotted time. But for the average team and those who are new to Adventure Racing, we have attempted on the hike to give a couple of options. One would be to gather the checkpoints on established trails before attempting those in the open field. While this would involve longer distances the checkpoints will be easy to locate. We even plan on having photographs of the checkpoints which you can look at and remember before going to those locations. The other option is to gather the checkpoints closer to the finish line (there are more of them), but these are located on open terrain which is mostly low cactus and the terrain is not all flat land.
Racers will have to know how to plot UTM’s to be able to do the orienteering section. The coordinates will be given to you during the race. For those unfamiliar with UTM’s we will hold a class at the bar at 8 PM on Saturday evening and will repeat that class a little after 8 AM on Sunday morning. Assistance will also be given while you are racing, and we will check your plots before you begin the orienteering section.
Family Day
The day at La Bufadora is about family as much as it is about an Adventure Race. We will start the morning at 8 AM with “La Carrera del Niños”. Last year was the first Children’s race and it was lots of fun. The format this year will be the same. It is a running race and the children have 1 hour to gather as many checkpoints as they can. Parents are encouraged to run with the children and can help by holding the map or the passport (which is a series of pictures identifying the checkpoints). There are a total of 7 checkpoints and ages 4, 5 and 6 go to any 4 points, ages 7, 8 and 9 go to 5 points, ages 10, 11 and 12 go to 6 points and teenagers must get all 7 checkpoints.
All participants are winners and will receive gifts when they complete the race. Part of the children’s race is picking up trash to teach them to be activists for the environment. They simply need to gather 1 piece of trash for each year of their age, hence a 5 year old must finish with 5 pieces of trash and an 11 year old must have 11 pieces. This was popular last year and we will have trash collection as part of the adult race this year also. Unfortunately there is a lot of trash to pick up, so this part of the task is quite simple, we hope the adults will gather trash from the remote sections of the course.
One of the main rules – strictly enforced – for the children’s race is:
• HAVE FUN! No crying, whining or misbehaving
Order of Events
Saturday, August 30
• 4 PM Free Kayak lessons
• 8 PM Map reading and UTM class
Sunday, August 31
• 8 AM La Carrera del Niños
• 8:15 AM UTM class
• 9:30 AM Third Annual La Bufadora Adventure Race
• 3 PM End of Race
It’s a FREE race, you have Free camping and Free use of kayaks – such a deal!!
If you think this could be a fun activity for you and your family, please email and tell us you will be there, we would enjoy having you. Equinox.Adventure@gmail.com
