Merrell Outventure 2 -3 Hour Off-road Race

Press Release / 19.10.2005

Outventure racers waiting to receive their instructions were given a special treat as Robyn Benincasa, captain of Team Merrell/Wigwam and one of the top female adventure racers in the world, was on hand to give them a pre-race pep talk and provide encouragement. Soon the course was revealed and racers rode their bikes over to the boat launch at Belwood Lake Conservation Area where they would begin with a paddle.

In less than half an hour the wind had picked up and was now quite strong sending hats flying. Nevertheless, racers were still eager to start and once all boats were in the water the signal was given and everyone, including Robyn, was off.

A two kilometer paddle north on Belwood Lake lead racers to the mouth of a small bay, and the first CP. From there racers retraced their path and paddled back to the boat launch. Once boats were brought back to the top of the launch area, racers could drop their paddling gear and start the bike section of the course.

Taking the rail trail north from Belwood Lake, racers rode to the intersection of the rail trail and Highway 26, had their passport signed by the CP staff, then traveled south back down the trail towards the Conservation Area. Once back at the Conservation Area racers rode to the Hampton Barn, race headquarters, where they dropped their bikes and set off for the run section of the race.

This run took racers to the base of the Shand Dam where they had to run up 6 flights of stairs before continuing on the trail. A brief run on an ATV trail and a connection on Side road 3 led racers to the Belwood YMCA camp, which had been closed since August due to tornado damage. Avoiding the camp racers turned off the road and made their way down to the shore line of the lake before running back towards the trail on top of the dam. From here racers then entered the Belwood Lake Conservation Area trail system for a scenic run through fall leaves, river shoreline, dark forest, and sections of blown down trees.

Once out of the trails racers just had to run as fast as they could back to the Hampton Barn and the finish-line.

For complete results please visit www.adventureracingcanada.com
See All Event Posts