Yes, long overdue post! You certainly don’t have to remind me :-)! It was a long dark winter to [in]ActiveSteve. While I would normally be all over the snowy trails of Gatineau Parc, I spent most of the winter / early spring in full-on rehab mode from my ankle ligament surgery. Whereas my surgeon had mentally prepared me for a 6-month delay before getting back into sports, my physio and hard work paid off, and within 3 months I was back on skis, and working hard at getting back fully to sport. While I’m STILL not at 100%, I AM back doing what I love, and this post is my first official 2019 race report from the Raid Pulse 8 hour Adventure Race!! Read on for all the details!
Rather than diving in head first with a purely trail running race, I decided to make this adventure race my first event of the season. Partly because I love it, and partly because I figured that in this event, my ankle wouldn’t be punished the entire time! With the volume of biking in this one, I was definitely right on that call. Another reason to do this event was that this year, the start/finish was located in a new spot, the Kenauk Nature reserve just north of Montebello. This meant all new terrain to explore and play in! What could be better?
To get an early jump on the race day fun, Deanna and I drove out on Friday and camped overnight. That way I was registered and had all my gear sorted and ready that evening, giving me more time to socialize and film in the morning. Once maps were distributed, I did a quick review to decide how to play it. I could see there would be a lot of cycling, so I figured I might actually be able to push a bit and see if I could keep up with the leaders. I wasn’t really ‘race ready’, but I had kept in shape during the rehab process. The most important thing would be to listen to my body and NOT SCREW UP (remember that for later…).
The overall race was laid out as follows: Leg 1 was a bike section with 3 checkpoints, one of which was a quick bike drop and run up to a firetower on a hill. Leg 2 was the trekking / orienteering section made up of 4 regular checkpoints and 3 advanced checkpoints. Leg 3 was another long bike with 2 regular CPs and 2 advanced CPs. From there, it was the paddle section with 3 regular CPs and 1 advanced CP. From there, it was a straight bike sprint to the finish. My obvious plan was to ‘clear the course’, picking up all the advanced CPs (all CPs were worth the same number of points). As long as I made it under the 8 hours, it should place me quite well. As I know all too well though, anything can happen, and shortly into the first leg, it did!!
The weather was relatively cool, but the rain was holding off, and it looked like it would be a great day for racing. We knew the trails would be wet, but that’s to be expected in an adventure race. I set myself up about 1/4 way back in the start area, and at the gun, I just tried keeping my wheel near the leaders, not paying too much attention to the maps, as I expected the head of the snake to be on track. Getting to CP1 was like clockwork, and everything looked good. That’s when things went to shit here.
All the lead group missed a key turn, and we found ourselves on a disappearing trail. We kept riding, but that eventually turned into bike-whacking (carrying the bikes and fighting through brush) up and down steep slopes beside a river. Consulting my map, the topography looked right, but was obviously wrong. Eventually people either turned around or tried other paths. I foolishly pressed on before finally realizing the error. My solution was to try to cross the river to a visible trail on the other side. It took 3 tries, as the first 2 attempts led to my bike getting pulled under me in strong currents and knocking me into the river completely (yes, I was carrying the bike in fast-moving water… bad idea). Finally on try number 3 in a shallow part I got across, and hopped on a trail, which I hoped would work. Luckily it did, but I was now WAAAY back :-(…
Once on the right track, I finally got CP2, then bombed my way to the bike drop for the sprint to the firetower CP. Deanna had been posted here, but I had no time to say anything, as I was fighting to regain time. No issues on this one, and I was soon back on the bike. From there, I was again error free, taking me up to transition 1 and getting into the trek. Judging by the number of bikes already there, I had blown it for staying with the leaders. However, I had to focus on the task at hand; a solid orienteering run.
This is where I definitely got lucky. I nailed every single CP pretty much dead on, including the advanced ones. Although in retrospect I made one less-than-optimal route choice between two CPs, overall, it was a very well executed leg, and in what seemed like no time, I found myself smiling and coming back into the transition area. I stopped to chat briefly with Thierry to show my completed control card before hopping back on the bike for the next section. At this point, I did have to make a decision. In order to clear the course, I’d have to make a pretty long slog northwards to grab a remote advanced CP. I’d taken notes and had time checks to refer to, and still felt I was comfortable and had a margin of safety, so I attacked and went for it.
The first regular CP, and both advanced CPs worked out very well, and I was feeling pretty confident finally (after the first mess-up). Looking at the map, it now SHOULD be a pretty easy southwest ski trail for a 3-4 km before hooking a sharp left and making my way to the final CP on this section. Let me assure you, it ALWAYS looks easy on a map. However, the reality in these areas is often not what you expect. Rather than one clear trail, there are often myriad criss-crossing and/or dead end trails. That’s why I always prefer orienteering, where you can just take a bearing. Trails only serve to screw us up. However, I was not alone in my frustration trying to find the correct left trail. At one point, we were no less than 5 teams all bashing around the woods, once again carrying bikes on our shoulders and crossing swamps :-(. Just when I was about to give up, we found a trail, took a chance, and were rewarded with the elusive CP. BIG RELIEF.
Luckily, from here, it WAS an easy bike to the next transition. However, my confidence was once again shattered and I assumed I was now far out of podium contention. That, my friends, is another thing you should never assume in an adventure race. If you are having a problem, others probably are too! Regardless, I was having a blast, and didn’t let that bother me. Just the fact that I was out there putting it all out there was totally worth it! Arriving at TA2, my spirits were still high, and I was looking forward to a nice lake paddle. Also, it looked like I should still be able to clear the course as long as I kept the pressure on myself and paddled hard. It would be tight but doable. I had to save enough time at the end to make the 6k bike back.
Once on the water, I got right to work, and pointed my kayak for the furthest CP, the advanced one. That way, I would have no choice but to pick the rest off on my way back, forcing myself to be fast and efficient. Luckily, the navigation on this section was not tricky, and I made good time, passing some canoes on the water (and unfortunately, seeing others already returning!). After getting the two furthest CPs, I made my way to a small portage where I’d put in at another lake to grab the last 2 CPs. This is where I bumped into one of my usual competitors in my category. He was exiting this area just as I entered. My [incorrect] assumption was that he had just finished the paddle CPs, meaning I was probably 25-30 minutes behind.
Between seeing him, and knowing of another couple folks out ahead, I once again assumed I was off the podium. Regardless, I paddled my way to the final 2 CPs and eventually back towards the transition. Once there, I took my SWEET time. Chatting with volunteers, calmly removing my PFD, packing up paddle etc. Completely unbeknownst to me, the other dude I had talked to had actually been BEHIND me, and had paddled to the 2 farther CPs after seeing me. He had then seen me ahead paddling to the TA, and was a mere 200-300m back! He then ‘snuck’ into transition, dropped his paddle, and just biked straight out, seeing me wasting time. ARGHH!!! I finally got on my bike and finished off as fast as I could.
Waiting for me at the finish was the other dude, and I didn’t piece toether what had happened until the next day when he poked fun at me on facebook for ‘wasting so much time’ at the TA. I was annoyed at myself, but mainly laughed it off. Turns out he had an even worse time than me in a few sections, losing even more time! Regardless, in spite of my foibles, I ended up in 4th position for the male category, and 9th overall of 40 teams in the race. Only 12 of us cleared the official full course as well. Bottom line for me is that I can call this race a success, despite my errors. My health and fitness were good, and it looks like I’ll have a good race season!
As usual, in addition to racing, I also filmed the whole thing, so if you haven’t already checked it out, make sure you watch my race video below. It’ll give you a good overview of the whole race. Frankly, I had a blast, and once again remembered why I enjoy adventure racing. However, with an ankle on the mend, I’m guessing most of my season will be back on the trails running, so keep an eye out for future race reports! Till then, have fun, and stay active!!
