Raid The North: Deerhurst Resort
Race Director Recap
Geoff Langford / 02.08.2005
Raid the North – Deerhurst Resort
July 22-24
(36 hours)
Race Results:
1 - Simon River Sports (Gatineau, QC) (33 hours, 22 mins)
Captain: Benoit Letournea (Gatineau, Quebec)
Liza Pye (Mississauga, Ontario)
Benoit Tremblay (Gatineau, Quebec)
Alain Beaudry (Gatineau, Quebec)
2 – The Tools (Toronto, ON) (32 hours, 18 mins)
3 – Enduro Sport (Toronto, ON) (33 hours, 44 mins)
4 – Endurance Junkies (Ottawa, ON) (35 hours, 40 mins)
5 – The Wetter the Better (Midland, ON) (36 hours, 31 mins)
No prize money;
Top teams received entries to the Canadian AR Champs Sept 22-25:
First place – free entry
Second – 50% discount entry
Third – 25% discount entry
Fourth – 15% discount entry
Fifth – 10% discount entry
Under a brilliantly moonlit sky, 22 coed teams of four lined up, awaiting the 2am start near an old hunting cabin on a remote road just north of Algonquin Park. A 10-12km trek laid ahead; a combination of bushwhacking and trail running, through terrain that barely resembled that on the 25 year old map they held.
Some of Canada’s best were here: Simon River Sports, probably the winningest team in Frontier Adventure Racing’s history; HolisticClinic.ca, with two experienced race directors, Pete Cameron and Sean Roper; and The Tools, a new team comprised of some of the strongest racers in eastern Canada. But it was still anyone’s guess who would come out of the bush first.
Two hours into the race, the news came from CP1 deep in the first trek: Temiskaming Trekkers were first into the CP, a group of experienced competitors who are all-too familiar with this thick northern Ontario bush. But it was Simon River Sports who would reach TA1 first, only minutes ahead of Enduro Sport.
From TA1, teams embarked on an epic mountain bike leg featuring rail trails, grown in ATV tracks, cottage roads, and old access roads. But immediately after leaving the TA, they would first have to wade a chest-deep river for 25 meters, and bushwhack up a hillside with their bikes to gain the rail trail.
Despite the many route choices available and only one CP through the 70+km biking section, Simon River Sports retained their lead, reaching TA2 at 10:28, 4.5 hours after leaving TA1, and bang-on course designer Dave Hitchon’s prediction.
Picking up canoes at TA2, teams headed into the South River. Low water levels would require teams to be in and out of their boats constantly for the first few hours of this paddle, providing them with an opportunity to test their team dynamics. For those that spotted it, a key portage opportunity once the river deepened would give teams a chance to save at least an hour: almost all lead teams jumped at the chance.
The long paddle ended at the public beach in the town of South River, and teams were back on the bikes. Strengthening their lead, strong paddlers Simon River Sports arrived at TA3 at 16:30, now more than an hour ahead of Enduro Sport.
Another fun bike on backroads and ATV tracks brought teams to TA4, the start of the trek, featuring a stunning 200ft cliff rappel overlooking Fish Lake. TA4 is the Advanced Decision Point, where teams choose to undertake the advanced section of the race, or continue on the regular course. With SRS’s lead, the choice was easy, and they were off on the advanced course.
The Tools and Enduro Sport were next to arrive, both over 1.5 hours behind SRS. Neither team elected to take on the Advanced Course, instead making the strategic analysis that no other teams would be likely to make the advanced course, so the safest route to ensure a solid finish was to continue on the regular course.
A significant off-trail trek for all teams led southeast through thick brush and swampy lowlands, keeping team navigators on their toes as SRS on the advanced course searched for a CP at the bottom of Surprise Lake, and regular course teams proceeded to Dyer’s Memorial, a large landscaped area in the bush with a huge rock monolith as its focus – a tribute to a man’s much-loved wife.
Once through this trek, teams reached CP9 and the beginning of the River Scramble, a trek/wade/swim down a low-water river for several kilometers. Through the night, lead teams reaching this section had to manage cold temperatures and wet conditions, while later teams were eager to plunge in to escape the escalating heat of the day.
TA5, the final transition, was unsupported – teams found canoes on a beach by the river, and proceeded on the final paddle to the finish. The first team into the boats was The Tools, although Simon River Sports, 2.5 hours behind, led the race as the only Advanced Team in the race. A fun river paddle down the Big East led teams to Lake Vernon, where they would check in at CP 11 on the waterfront boardwalk in the heart of Huntsville. Volunteers and Support Crews were here all day cheering their teams on to the finish line, one hour away at Deerhurst Resort, on the beach of Peninsula Lake.
The Tools were first onto the beach at 10:28 Sunday morning, to the welcome of fireworks, champagne, and the curious looks of resort guests. This guaranteed them second place, as everyone anxiously awaited word of Simon River Sports. Only moments later, SRS arrived at CP11 in town, and only a one hour paddle stood between them and victory. Making up more than an hour on the paddle, SRS reached the finish line, and received their yellow winner’s jerseys, at 11:32. Enduro Sport pushed hard to the finish as well, claiming third at 11:54.
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