Gnome Hunters' Plans for 2010
Posted Fri, January 15, 2010 - 10:02 PM
gnomehunters, advracing
Time for another beginning-of-the-year meeting to plan our outdoor adventures! Last week we met at the Happy Gnome, fittingly, to discuss
the future of Gnome Hunters.
This year is better than last, since we have at least three good expedition level races - the biggest one is
Untamed New England, which will
take place in the Dixville Notch area of northern New Hampshire (which I've been to, and it's beautiful).
There's also a 3-5 day near Las Vegas in the fall, and finally, Fat Otter Adventure
Sports is making their first
foray into expedition length events
with a 2-3 day in Wisconsin. That's right in our backyard, and probably worth it, even if they haven't had the experience of other race organizations.
We've contracted a bit this year too, with five primary members, although Corey is looking to do the Spring 12 hour and move on to longer events
if she likes what she finds. We talked a lot about one-time subs (since they're always necessary), and about rebuilding Gnomads to at least have a
sport team.
Brian has spent a lot of time working on our web site and
Facebook page. It makes me think that this might be the time to start courting sponsors again,
although with the state of the economy and based on long experience, sponsorship for AR is always hit and miss unless you're a nationally competitive
team. Right now, I think we're just at the cusp of being players on the national scene - with results like our 13th place at Nationals year before last
and 6th at MIX. We even picked it up beyond either of those two races at the Wild 24 hour race, and perhaps this is the
year to move on to the next level.
Corey and Val are both great runners. I already gave credit to Val in a
prior post, and Corey's best marathon was somewhere around 3:15.
That's a definite difference from previous race years. I'd like to spend some time this spring helping them with mountain biking, since that should
bring us to skills parity with the best team in Minnesota -
and likewise, with many of the best teams in the country.
Gnome Hunters on Facebook
Posted Sun, January 3, 2010 - 4:51 PM
advracing, gnomehunters
Finally! It's exactly what it sounds like. Gnome Hunters now has a Facebook page, just like several hundred million others.
The nice part, though is that we've uploaded 1000+ photos from our various and checkered race history - fertile ground
for risking the "overexposure" on today's social media... it's a good thing adventure racing is such a wholesome sport.
I wouldn't want to have any trouble with photos of me partying too hard!
Oh... that reminds me of something.
The Wild 24 Hour Race
Posted Fri, September 25, 2009 - 8:04 PM
advracing, orienteering
So this was only our third (my second) major race this year, but it sure didn't seem like we were out of practice. We captured a solid 2nd place
finish with a convincing performance in the orienteering section at the end. Even though second place really means first loser, finishing within an hour of
WEDALI is a victory in many people's eyes, including ours. And we were even ahead of them for a time! But first things first.
Brian, Dave, Val, and I made up the main team, and Rick and Chris raced as GH 2. Race headquarters was at the Black Bear Casino and Hotel off I-35
and Hwy 210, so it was quite obvious we'd be using Jay Cooke for at least some of the race - and I had some ideas about other nearby areas.
The pre-race meeting was 2 PM on Friday, and afterwards we loaded our ropes bag and paddle bag into a trailer and got on the school bus for a
rocky, dusty drive to the start in the middle of the Nemadji State Forest.
Read More...
Wild Summer Race Video
Posted Fri, June 26, 2009 - 10:09 PM
video, advracing
Here's the promised summer race video. I did a little more with the soundtrack than in previous videos, as I'm slowly learning the ropes
in Soundtrack Pro. This is also the first time I've done a video that includes original music, in addition to the stock clips; and the first
use of an animation, showing the control locations on the bike loop.
Click on the still frame to play.
Read More...
Wild Summer Race
Posted Sat, June 13, 2009 - 11:17 PM
advracing
I shot some video today at the Wild Summer race. The weather was perfect - a sunny, 80 degree at William O'Brien
State Park and surrounding areas. The race
format was interesting - there were three basic loops, one for each of the three major disciplines: trekking, biking, and
paddling. Teams could choose to do the loops in any order, and had to come back to the central location and check in
before going out on the next loop. Each loop had a separate set of maps and passport that the racers would pick up
at the time they left.
Read More...
Wild Spring 12 hour Teaser Video
Posted Sat, June 13, 2009 - 11:11 PM
video, advracing
Just for completeness... this is the teaser video for the Wild Spring 12 hour on May 10, 2009. It's an edited
version of the long video, but with a little more of the rapid scene-to-scene
cuts that seems to be so popular in TV and movies these days. It's posted on Youtube and embedded on the
Wild Adventure Race site - but this version is
higher resolution.
Click on the still frame to play.
MIX Race Report - Part III
Posted Thu, June 4, 2009 - 9:17 PM
advracing, orienteering, paddling
Part II of the MIX race report ended with a paddle down the Manistee River, ready to go
into a nighttime trekking section before we'd see our support crew again.
Read More...
Some Different Perspectives
Posted Wed, May 27, 2009 - 7:04 PM
advracing, orienteering, paddling
(as if I haven't posted enough about MIX already!)
Both Brian and Molly have also put together race reports with their own take on the Michigan race.
Molly's report is aimed for those less familiar with the sport and is set up in a slideshow format, with
pictures that she took on the course in addition to pictures from our support crew.
See it here.
Brian also posted his take on his
Attackpoint log.
Wild Spring 12 hour Video
Posted Mon, May 25, 2009 - 9:43 AM
video, advracing
Here's my first major attempt at video production. It's a highlight reel from the
Wild Adventure Race
Spring 12 hour in Red Wing back on the 10th of May. Enjoy!
Click on the still frame to play.
MIX Race Report - Part II
Posted Thu, May 21, 2009 - 10:40 PM
advracing, orienteering, paddling
Part I of the MIX race report brought us to the beginning of the rafting section on the
Sturgeon River. We had just completed a 33-mile overnight trek through the Chandler Hills. It was mid-morning and we were
ready to be off our feet.
Read More...
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