Adventure Racing

Greg and I got involved in adventure racing shortly after we met.  I have done a few and Greg has now done several races, including Untamed New England.  Adventure racing involves map and compass navigation.  Usually, races include trekking, mountain biking, and paddling.

Bitter Pill 2010

This weekend, Ian and I completed the Wildlands Adventure Challenge in Orland, Maine.  This race was organized by Strong Machine Adventure Racing and we are lucky that this race is basically held in our backyard.  We have also participated in their Maine Summer Adventure Race in Jefferson which was a blast.

 Ian's first Race - Maine Summer Adventure Race 2017

Finishing his first adventure race just after turning 4

This was our second time doing this 3 hour beginner race.  Last year, Ian was the only child participating.  He was only 5 and I did a lot of the paddling on my own and had to piggyback him several times.  We had a blast and he wanted to do it again.

Just finished Wildlands 2018 (5 years old)

Top of Great Pond Mountain looking for checkpoints
Wildlands 2018

This year's race had a few more teams than last year and we were excited that there were four other children participating.  We began with the paddle section.  Adventure racing involves some strategy and not all of the checkpoints are mandatory.  I knew that Ian was likely to get tired on the trekking (mostly uphill) and would definitely be slower on his six-year-old legs, so we went for all but one checkpoint on the paddle.  This would allow him to take as many breaks as needed while still allowing up to make progress through the course.  Ian was a rockstar!  He paddled for much of the hour and nimbly hopped in and out of the boat to punch the card.

Just before the start Wildlands 2019

Just off the water headed for the trek
Wildlands 2019

Once off the water, we headed out for the trekking section.  The first checkpoint that we went for was in a stream.  This one ate up a lot of our time as it was MUCH further than I expected it to be and the rocks in the streambed, as well as the leaves on the steep sides, were very slippery.  We thought about turning back on this one, then we finally saw it.  Ian was a trooper even with a few falls and really enjoyed exploring off-trail.  We got back to the road a little wet and with a few extra scrapes and headed out to look for checkpoint 9.  I had to piggyback Ian quite a few times last year and was expecting to piggyback him this year as well.  I was wrong.  Ian loved finding the checkpoints, was diligent about checking his watch and actually ran quite a lot of the trekking section.  After reaching checkpoints 9 and 10, we decided that our next checkpoint was out of our reach if we wanted to stay within the time and we began our trek back to the finish. Overall, we reached 8 checkpoints and finished in 3rd place overall.  First place in the family division.  The first-place team had 10 checkpoints with no teams clearing the course. 

Still climbing trees after the race

I'm so proud of my little racer who is eager to get out and do it again.  This race was well organized and so much fun!  Thanks so much to Strong Machine Adventure Racing (https://www.strongmachinear.com/) for making these races family-friendly and encouraging new racers to get out and try the sport.