The Enigma
Solve the Enigma in Dunns Creek State Park, Florida
Press Release / 30.10.2024
Off the Grid Racing is adding to its roster of races with The Enigma on December 14th, 2024. This completely new course explores the 6200 acres of Dunns Creek State Park, one of Florida’s most pristine parks, tucked into a bend of the St. John’s River just 40 minutes south of Palatka and an hour from St. Augustine.
The Enigma will feature two lengths, both as one-day races: a 12 hour event designed to challenge experienced racers and a 4 hour sport event that is perfect for new racers or families. The twelve-hour race will turn racers loose just as the sun rises at 7 am to ferret out checkpoints in the surrounding pine bluffs and forests, and will feature around 12 km of trekking, 45 km of biking, and 12km of paddling – with the chance to break a code and plot some UTM coordinates to get extra points!
The four-hour race leaves at the slightly more civilized hour of 9 am, and has 6km of trek, 15km of bike, and 5km of paddling – perfect for a team of beginning racers or a team made up of a mix of experienced racers who are showing newbies the ropes. There’s an opportunity to plot UTM on the four-hour (though it’s not required) in case you want to start building those nav skills early.
The park itself is perfect for a weekend of exploring if teams want to bring families along, and with Palatka and St. Augustine nearby it’s a great location for a family weekend that mixes racing and other fun.
Race participants will get to enjoy cooler temperatures than normal for a Florida race, and thanks to the earlier sunset, the 12-hour racers will get to have some fun navigating in the dark if they take advantage of the full window of race time. So bring those headlamps!
Off the Grid’s race designers, Dave Shuman and Erik Wise, continue to build on their brand of racing with this event, after the hugely popular Dark Sky AR in August – held completely after nightfall and racing the sunrise. With a focus on new courses and with a fleet of brand new, top-end canoes and PFD gear, this is a group to watch as they work towards growing the sport with outreach to new participants and the opportunity to race in areas long left untried by the Florida AR scene. They’ve also joined in the effort to expand interest in the sport by becoming a sponsor of the Women of AR racing team for 2025, and are working to pair experienced racers up with first-timers to encourage people to dive into adventure racing.
For racers wanting to camp right at the race start and socialize, there is primitive camping available for tents, cars and RVs at the race location for $20, made possible by Friends of Dunns Creek and Dunns Creek State Park. There will be a communal bonfire for everyone to enjoy while they catch up with old friends and maybe meet new teammates, and the camp area is available from Friday the 13th at 5pm through Sunday the 15th at 5pm so there’s plenty of time to socialize and swap stories.
Regular registration for the two races closes November 10th and late registration closes on December 1st, and is open to solos and 2/3/4 person teams in any gender mix. You can sign up or find more info (including registering for camping) at www.offthegridracing.com
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