Competitor Newsletter Xtreme Sprint and 30 hr
Hello Xtreme Racers!
I hope your training has been going well and thank you for starting your 2009 race season with Odyssey. We are excited and glad to be bringing the One Day Xtreme 30 hour back and adding the Xtreme Sprint. We have two beautiful and challenging courses laid out. It looks like with the terrain we have to work with, at the Blue Ridge Scout Reservation and the weather, these races are going to live up to their names Xtreme. We are proud to have The One Day Xtreme be the first race of this year’s Checkpoint Tracker National Point Series. Friends and family will be able to follow the teams online at http://www.checkpointtracker.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=app.showDashboard&eventID=154 .
I would like to address the weather first and fore most. It is going to be COLD! The forecast is for Friday mostly Sunny highs 23/lows 16; Saturday mostly Sunny highs 35/lows 26; Sunday snow showers highs 38/lows 26. At race start the temps will be 16. These are not Celsius temps. The days prior to the events the temps will not get out of the 20s and snow Thursday. There may be a blanket of white stuff waiting for you. With all this being said be prepared. One of the toughest challenges maybe staying warm during the paddle. The One Day Xtreme teams can expect to be on the water up to 5 hrs(19miles) and the Xtreme Sprint teams are looking at about 2 hours(8 miles).
The One Day Xtreme bike legs will have multiple creek crossings or ice crossings looking at the weather, so try to figure out a way to keep you feet dry.
There will be NO gear check in before the race start. We will check gear out on the course. Be sure to bring what is on the gear list. The items listed are for your safety. If you do not have these pieces of gear you will be penalized or not allowed to continue the race, depending on the piece of gear missing.
Both races will have a central transition area where teams will be able to leave supplies in gear bins. Once you receive your Rules of Travel and maps, you will be able to determine how often you will see your gear bin.
Both races will have two 1:24,000 scale maps. One will have grid lines printed and one will have trails marked on it with no grids or UTM tick marks. The One Day Xtreme maps will be 24”x36” and 18”x24” and the Xtreme Sprint maps will be two 18”x24”. You will receive your Rules of Travel and maps once your team has checked in and has all forms filled out. We highly recommend and would like you to fill out the forms online, if you have not done so already. Below are the links to the forms. The deadline to fill out the forms online is Tuesday night, January 13, 2009. This is a USARA sanctioned event and will require each person to be a member. You will be able to purchase an event membership for $8 or a yearly membership for $35. You can pay with cash or checks made out to USARA. If you are already a member be sure to bring your card or proof of your membership.
One Day Xtreme race forms
Under Age Wavier and Image Release Form
https://www.raceit.com/Register/Default.aspx?event=188&formid=69
Skills Wavier
https://www.raceit.com/Register/Default.aspx?event=188&formid=70
USARA Wavier
https://www.raceit.com/Register/Default.aspx?event=188&formid=71
Adult Wavier and Image Release Form
https://www.raceit.com/Register/Default.aspx?event=188&formid=72
Medical Form
https://www.raceit.com/Register/Default.aspx?event=188&formid=73
Xtreme Sprint race forms
https://www.raceit.com/register/?formid=73&event=243
https://www.raceit.com/register/?formid=70&event=243
https://www.raceit.com/register/?formid=71&event=243
Under Age Waiver and Image Release Form
https://www.raceit.com/register/?formid=69&event=243
The race schedule has changed a little for the Xtreme Sprint. I added a few hours to the race to allow more time to enjoy the race. Some teams will still finish under the original 6 hour limit. With the additional 2 hours it will give all teams a better chance of starting the race season off with an official finish. With the optional checkpoints format the top teams can race as long as they want under the 8 hour time limit.
Schedule:
One Day Xtreme
Friday, Jan.16 - Check in- 5:00-8:00PM
Race Brief- 8:30 PM
Saturday, Jan. 17 - Race Start- 6:00AM
Sunday, Jan. 18 - Race Finish-12:00-Noon
Sunday, Jan 18 - Post Race meal- 10:00AM-1:00 PM
Xtreme Sprint
Friday, Jan.16 - Check in- 5:00-8:00PM
Race Brief- 8:30 PM
Saturday, Jan. 17 - Race Start- 6:00AM
Saturday, Jan. 17 - Race Finish- 2:00 PM
Saturday, Jan 17 - Post Race meal- 1:00-3:00 PM
I will be out of the office starting Wednesday morning and cell coverage will be limited. You will be able to contact Kristy and Susanna until Thursday evening via email if anyone needs to reach us before the event. We look forward to seeing everyone and would like to wish you all a safe trip.
Ronny and the Odyssey Race Team