MNOC AR TUNE UP

MNOC AR Tune up

Not an official race but it is structure and operated like an AR Sprint. This week Pete and I again as two person. The race was up north of Elk River in the Sand Dunes State Park. This race is structured to be 4-6 hours with Orienteering, Running, Cycling and some Kayaking.

We started at 9:15 and based on experience we jumped out in a quick lead to make sure we stayed ahead of the CP1 pile up. After grabbing the next five CP’s we transitioned to our bikes for about 12 miles and a few CP’s. Back on foot for some more orienteering using nothing but a satellite map of the area. Back on the bike for another CP before we transitioned to the Kayaks. This leg was on a marshy lake. Lots of weeds and cattails. Three CP’s hidden the weeds and back to the bikes for a few more miles and the last three CP’s. These ended up being in an area where “hiking the bike” was necessary as the sand was so loose and tons of downed debris.

Pete did a great job at navigating this race as we spent less than five total minutes looking for all 19 CP’s. For the most part, they were right where we expected. Even though we finished in three hours even this race kicked my ass. Not sure if it is the lack of sleep, poor nutrition, out of shape or just……a tough sprint.