RockstAR adventure race at Bark Lake.
Since it began in 2008, RockstAR has been a "don't miss" event on the Tree Huggers' calendar. Over that time, it has grown from 60 racers to 300, thanks to a good venue and a fun, social atmosphere that provides a backdrop to a race course that challenges both novice and experienced racers.
As usual, we were bussed to a remote start location for a 25 km mountain bike ride back to Bark Lake. After a mass start on a gravel road, we turned onto an ATV trail for 10 km of ridiculously fun AR-style riding. Rocks, big puddles, steep climbs, bumpy descents, mud - lots of good stuff. 'Bent and I pushed hard on the bike because we expected his injured knee to give us trouble on the trek. I had an impressive wipe-out when my semi-slicks skidded out sideways in a big mud puddle. The bottom of the puddle was smooth rock coated with greasy mud, and after I hit the deck, my bike and I slid for a good distance. Bonus points for crashing with style!
We emerged onto gravel roads for 8 km of hilly riding, still near the front of the pack. Just as we turned onto the final 6 km of paved rolling hills, Phatty and LaFemme caught and passed us, moving efficiently with a tow. We didn't mind. We knew they were going to win Coed and it was a highlight of our race to stay ahead of them until the 19 km mark! ;-)
It was seriously muddy!
Back at the Hub, we changed to our trekking shoes and packs and headed out on a canoe/trek rogaine course for the rest of the 8 hour event.
After the nasty knee pain 'Bent experienced in our mountain marathon in Scotland, we didn't know how to plan our route today. He might find himself in pain early on or maybe we'd discover that bushwhacking is too painful.
As it turned out, we were able to move at the same pace as each other on foot; we were never held back by his knee pain. The only impact of his injury was that he didn't have any extra energy for the things he usually does, such as carrying extra weight, running with me on tow, and following along on the map. He cramped up more easily than usual and we wondered if it was because he hasn't been running. The good news is that I'm writing this a full day after the race ended, and his knee feels OK. :-)
The object of RockstAR is to visit checkpoints with different point values and collect as many points as possible within the 8-hour time limit. It was awesome that the race moved to SportIdent timing this year - and I'm not just saying that because I'm on the Orienteering Ontario Board that rented the gear to the event. It was nice not needing to fumble with a muddy passport on the course, and the results were tallied very quickly after the race. Kudos to STORM (and also to Getawaystix) for taking it upon themselves over the past year to learn how to use SI software for different types of events. It has taken AR up a notch in Ontario. And thanks to Valerie for your support!
I don't think my planned route was the best one for us. With the uncertainty about our speed, I settled very quickly on a plan full of options without over-analyzing it since I really didn't have a clue! We made decent time running on the overgrown ski trails and I assumed we'd go a little faster when we got to the ATV trails in the southeast quadrant of the map. But the trails were blocked in many places with huge, deep mud pits. We sometimes waded up to our upper thighs; other times, we bushwhacked parallel to the trail.
We picked up a couple of high-value checkpoints there but it was super-slow and my clever plan to return to Bark Lake without bushwhacking (to go easy on 'Bent's knee) was clearly not going to work due to time constraints. Instead of running around a loop, we had to bail back the way we had come and, in addition to the inefficiency of this route, there was some nasty bushwhacking on the way. I took a sharp, pointed stick in the face, thus ending any hopes of a future modelling career. LaFemme thinks this looks so tough - and hot, of course - that it should be my new Facebook profile picture! No wonder my Mom doesn't understand my hobbies...
Back at the Hub with only one hour remaining in the race, we gulped down soft drinks, which we normally never have but they tasted like heaven. Then we hopped in our canoe to pick up several checkpoints that were on or near the water. It felt sooo nice to be paddling and using different muscles!
Shortly after the 7 p.m. deadline, all teams had crossed the finish line, thus depriving organizers of last year's excitement where they searched for hours for a lost team in dark, rainy conditions.
The post-race party is always fun because a lot of racers stay onsite, so it's a great chance to catch up with friends and enjoy music and a cash bar.
Big congrats to PhattyJR and Frankenjack for taking the overall win with 1570 points!
And to Phatty and LaFemme, the top Coed team with 1400 points.
Funderstorm placed 2nd Female team of 2 and the Connell Clan (Dog Runner + Mom + Sis) were 1st Female team of 3 - sorry, no pics. We placed 3rd Coed with 1200 points, 7th of 62 8-hour teams. That's better than we'd expected this year so we'll happily take it.
Regardless of results, our favourite team was occasional Tree Hugger ThreePinJim and his daughter, who just turned 11. Yes, they did the 8-hour race and she was still smiling at the end.
Although I had a great time, the bushwhacking in this race battered me up more than usual. Between that and my MTB crash on rocks at Three Stages last week, I have a great collection of bruises and scrapes - worthy of a 9-year-old kid. If I were to see any health care professional this week, they would be legally obligated to report me as a domestic abuse victim. So 'Bent had better be nice to me! ;-)
Thanks once again to race directors STORM and Mr. & Mrs. Flatfoot for another fun, well-organized weekend. We're sending loads of best wishes to STORM for the Canadian Death Race this weekend!