Submitted by Kelly | Race Date June 23, 2012 | www.delmarvaadventuresports.com
Vitals
First-time race director Jonathan Offen of Delmarva Adventure Sports wanted to get his new venture off to a great start. From 7 AM to 7 PM, racers faced 10 miles of flatwater paddling, 10 miles of trekking and 35 miles of on and off-road biking. In the heat and sun, Jared, Kelly and Paul accepted Johnathan’s challenge, starting and finishing from Phillips Landing Recreation Area in Laurel, Delaware. The SCAR 12-hour adventure race is only one of a few races that are part of three adventure racing series: 2012 East Coast Adventure Racing Series, USARA’s point series, and Checkpoint Tracker. What this means is teams can earn points in all three different race series through this one event.
Experience
The lingering image from the race was getting passed by every boat on the water thanks to our rented land-barge (see lessons learned). Another low point of the race was realizing that CP9 was missed on the bike section. The team bounced back quickly as the point wasn’t too far from the discovery of error. The highest point of the race was the final bike and paddle sections as we pulled together and sped to the finish line.
Recommendations
Great effort for a first-time race director with little assistance. Also, earning points in all three AR series ain’t too shabby. That being said, the race was light on significant navigational skills and was more of a fitness training workout than an intense AR. Not to mention the high prevalence of ticks that might be enough to make this race a “skipper” in the future.
Shout-Outs
Have to give it up to Team Too Many Kids, who nudged us toward the realization that we’d missed CP9.
Results
Lessons Learned
- If you rent a boat from an outfitter and you’ve never seen the boat before, do all that you can to ensure that you’re getting exactly what you want. Also, ask if the outfitter has ever supported an adventure race or not. They may not comprehend that kayak paddles are desirable even when in a canoe.
- Stage all your gear for each discipline together and preferably in one place, if possible.
- Bring food that others might like and offer to share since later in a race a teammates’ food always looks way better than what you have in your pack.
- Trust and believe in your teammates.
- Don’t forget to have fun and laugh at yourselves while racing.