New to AR: Time to Race

By Brent Freedland

It’s race week! You've put in the hard work and training. You've built your team or found one to join. You’ve done your homework, dusted off your navigation skills, filled in holes in your gear inventory, and learned some new skills on the bike and in the boat. Now, you need to get to the start line, which experienced racers often joke is the hardest part of the event. When competing in a multi-day international expedition race, this does ring true, but for a short race, just focus on getting some rest, basic logistics, and paying attention to your email.

Photo Credit: Jeff O'Connor

Race Week

Packing
While most racers inevitably end up staying up too late the night before a race - packing gear, sorting food, and dealing with last minute items around the house - you can always strive to be more efficient. Start packing early in the week. Gather all your gear and make sure you aren’t missing something. Organize and plan your food for efficient race-day nutrition. It’s deflating to be halfway through a race only to realize you forgot to pack the protein-rich bar, shot blocks, jerky, electrolytes, or wrap that will help you bounce back if you hit a wall. Having everything ready to go so you can just relax and get to bed at a reasonable time the night or two before race day will do you wonders.

Fuel
Likewise, make sure you are eating well, getting enough protein, and hydrating. As noted last week, nutrition is its own beast, and food is so individual. That said, hydration is universal. Along with sleep, hydration is a core building block for more energy, strength, flexibility, and mental fitness, so it stands to reason that focusing on these two pillars will set you up for more success in a sport that requires focus and positive energy.

Rest
Extra rest will likely help you feel better on race day, but so will some light week-of training. Some racers do nothing the week of the race, but this is rarely beneficial for your body. You don’t need to do anything crazy, but even an hour or two (cumulative across the week) of light biking or running to keep your muscles loose will help on race day. Going cold turkey is a recipe for less-than-optimal performance, as your muscles take longer to warm up and might not at all.

Pre-Race Communication
Finally, pay close attention to pre-race communications from RDs. Make sure you know where you are going, when registration opens, whether you need to drop gear off somewhere other than the start location. Fill out paperwork in advance if you can. Being on top of these logistics will expedite your morning leading up to start-time. For new racers, your first races may be quite overwhelming, so being prepared before race day will remove unnecessary stress.
 
In addition, RDs often provide important instructions and hints in these pre-race communications. They may provide a course overview specifying how long the stages are, how many of them you can expect, what the conditions might be like, etc... This sort of information allows you to better pack your gear and potentially break down your nutrition ahead of time. If you can pack a gear bin for TAs or stage out of a car, you can plan how you will organize and organize your gear, nutrition, and fluids. You can better select what clothes to wear on race day (hint: if an RD warns you against thick, thorny undergrowth, consider bringing some long pants; if they caution against ticks or other unusually bad bugs, bring some bug spray; if they note cold water, be prepared with warmer clothing). In short, pay attention to the hints your RD offers; they typically have inside knowledge of what you will see!

Bottom line: On race morning, look around. I guarantee you will see other racers and teams spending tens of minutes organizing gear, repacking food, or floundering with a disorganized pile of gear and food. This isn’t a criticism, and sometimes even the most experienced teams will lose time with these sorts of concerns. But if you show up on race day organized and prepared, you’ll have more time to work with your maps, strategize, warm up, and perhaps even relax.

Photo Credit: Randy Ericksen

Race Day
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OK, hopefully, you live close enough to roll out of bed and hit the road at a reasonable hour, but do know that many racers end up camping or crashing in a cheap hotel the night before a race, since many ARs (especially races  twelve hours or longer) require travel to more remote locations. Either way, set your clock early enough to give yourself time to wake up, grab some food, finish loading up the car if you didn’t pack it the night before, and get to registration on time. It always takes longer than you think it will, so maybe set the alarm fifteen minutes earlier than you want to!
 
On that note: if an RD tells you that pre-race is open from 6AM to 8AM, show up at 6AM. Maybe even 5:45AM. Too many new racers roll in late during registration. The race may not start until 8:30AM, but that extra time before the gun goes off is crucial to maximizing your prep time. If you care about competition, a team with an extra hour to study maps, plot routes, strategize, and dial in their gear will have a massive advantage over a team with only fifteen minutes to complete an hour or prep. If you don’t care about competition, you are considerably more likely to have a smooth and enjoyable race if you maximize your planning time. Starting the race unsure of where the start line is, where your food is stored, or whether you have the right gear in your pack will probably result in a disastrous moment or three that might really impact your ability to enjoy or even finish the race.
 
What do pre-race events typically look like?
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• On a basic level, you need to complete registration if it wasn’t done electronically.
• You’ll need to fill out waivers.
• If the event is a USARA-affiliated event, you may need to pay a day-license fee ($8 unless you are a member, in which case there would be no additional fee). This fee helps support USARA’s work to promote the sport of adventure racing while supporting racers and RDs alike, and it also guarantees a personal insurance package for that event.
• While some RDs like to wait until after the race, most give out swag to racers at registration.
• Racers usually are given some combination of maps, instructions, passports, and other race-related materials during registration. This is the crucial thing: when you get this material, you’ll want to be ready to dive into it, so make sure you have as much time as possible to study the maps, read and comprehend the instructions, and prepare your race documents to keep them dry and safe.
• In addition, you will likely be given instructions on where to drop off gear or where to “stage” your equipment. In longer events, you may be dropping your bike and bike gear off with volunteers. Sometimes, you will be driving your bike gear to a bike-drop. More often, you will turn your bike in and RDs will transport them for you. You may also need to turn in a gear bin and/or a paddle bag. Pay attention to these details; sometimes RDs will notify you about such details before the race; again, pay attention to those pre-race emails! In sprint races, you will likely be staging your gear out of a car, or there may be a central location where you can organize your gear for transitions. Bring a tarp, maybe a folding table, and some camp chairs if you want a more “comfortable” TA.

Picture Credit: Vlad Bukalo

A few other tips for pre-race:

• Some RDs post maps in public spaces, and sometimes you need to copy information from them onto your own maps. It’s a bummer when you miss those course notes and addendums.
• RDs work hard to scout races, but sometimes things change and it’s too late to update maps. In these cases, RDs tend to post map amendments or alterations to the instructions. Pay attention to these postings and take note. Pens are often on the mandatory gear list. If they aren’t, bring one. (Hint: if you think everything is in order but then notice a group of racers all crowding around a wall or a table, there’s a good chance you missed something. Often, they are transposing important information onto their maps or notes. Go check it out.)
• If you are racing in a sprint race with a central transition where the race starts, scope out the area. See if there is access to water, look for a good location for a staging area if you can’t use your car or if your car doesn’t make sense, and feel free to study a park map if posted. Generally, the woods are “closed” pre-race, but public maps are fair game (note: some RDs allow racers to use “outside maps,” maps not provided by the RD, during the event. Others do not. Make sure you look for these rules as using outside maps when not permitted can result in disqualification. That said, before the race starts, typically you can feel free to look at whatever is available).
• Most RDs run a pre-race briefing. Make sure you know what time that begins and where it is happening, and be there. If you aren’t sure about it, ask.
• Once you've studied the maps, instructions, and clues, if you have questions, find an RD and ask. Be aware that most volunteers won’t know much if anything about the course, and they are usually not qualified to answer course/race-specific questions. You can ask, but it’s always better to ask an RD. If a volunteer tries to be helpful but gives you inaccurate information, it’s not the volunteer’s fault and you will be held responsible if you break a printed or stated rule. Ask the RD. Before the race or during the pre-race briefing. Ask the RD.

Other Articles in the New to AR Series:
If you haven't already, like or follow USARA's Facebook page, join the AR Discussion Group, sign up for our newsletter, or consider becoming a USARA member to stay up to date on everything AR-related. This concludes our "New to AR" series, but keep an eye on our blog, social media sites, and website as we continue to produce new content for new racers and also those who have been racing for decades.

• How to Get Started
• Terminology
• Terminology - Glossary​
• Skills and Training - Foot and Bike
• Skills and Training - Paddling, Navigation, and More
• Gear