Raid the North
Washed Ashore in Georgian Bay
Kevin Rosmanitz - F.A.R. / 10.06.2003
The challenge of planning and running a weekend of wilderness adventure racing can be daunting. An organizer must ensure that every little detail is considered so that the event will run smoothly and safely. Since adventure races take place with the majority of the action deep in the wilderness, events are at the mercy of mother-nature and planning for them can be a difficult thing as mother-nature is often quite unpredictable.The 36 hour non-stop Raid the North and the 8 hour non-stop Salomon Adventure Challenge races held in Parry Sound, Ontario, on the weekend of May 31 to June 1 tested the problem solving skills of race organizers Frontier Adventure Racing to the full.
Raid the North started at midnight and was struck with a sudden storm early Saturday morning that turned the previously black, glassy calm of Georgian Bay into a wind and rain swept swell of water. The waves that rose up on the bay threatened to capsize teams navigating the first section of the race in small, two-man canoes.
“We had six safety boats on our paddling leg for Raid the North. It was mostly the start of the first section that we wanted to keep real close tabs on, before teams got behind the shelter of Shawanaga Island�; said Frontier Adventure Racings President Geoff Langford, When the weather turned sour, he reacted by bringing all competitors in off the water and bumping them orward to the rest of the race, on land. It was a challenge logistically but manageable.
A small navy of safety boats was on hand to escort the paddlers and then to shuttle them to the warmth and safety at nearby Skerryvore and Shawanaga Landing. Some local residents went out of their way in assisting the sheltering of some cold racers by opening the doors of their homes to them. “We forgot to invite guests over for this weekend so it was good timing!�, joked one resident, after bringing shivering paddlers in and cooking a meal for them.
Sunday morning there was a break in the weather for the teams that were still on course. They were guided through the final legs of the 150 km race by a bright, warm sun high overhead. Team Taiga, from Ottawa had led the race since the third checkpoint and closed in on victory early in the morning finishing after 33 hours and 17 minutes of near non-stop racing. The team had won the shorter Salomon Adventure Challenge event in Bark Lake only two weeks previously. They won a free entry into the Raid the North Championship event to take place in Mattawa, Ontario between Sept. 19th and 21st.
The shorter format Salomon Adventure Challenge race ran on Saturday of the weekend and was won, in the open category, by team Adrenaline Rush, a first time adventure racing team made up of two brothers and their 52 year old father, in an astounding time of 3 hours and 34 minutes! Algonguin Outfitters won the coed category in that race in a time of 4 hrs 11 minutes.
Despite the sudden unusual weather on the Georgian Bay the races went off well with a record turnout of 120 teams between the two events. Adventure racing will return to Ontario when the pinnacle of adventure racing in Canada, Raid the North Extreme, comes to Atikokan in August for a 6 day expedition length race that will draw a world class field of teams to contest for a $30,000 cdn purse and an entry to the adventure racing World Championship.See All Event Posts
