What a great day for racing!! We had beautiful weather, including the low fog on the lake when the 12 hour teams got started, and then bright sunshine throughout the day. No racer got seriously injured, although I understand a number of them were able to put their Wounded Warrior ointment to work after the race. No teams got lost – everyone made it back in time to enjoy the Eleventh Hour Band and the meal catered by Piedmont Eats! With hot showers and a chance to hang out with a bunch of people who love to talk about adventure racing, we had a perfect evening!

Here are the race results:  Race results summary (pdf) —   Results detail (pdf)

More pictures from the race are coming soon!

Pix Set 1 Pix Set 2 Pix Set 3 Pix Set 4 Pix Set 5

Finisher pix

9/9/08
- More sponsors added. Sponsors have contributed over $5,000 worth of gear and product to be given away as prizes. In addition, Bushwhack Adventures will be giving the top teams in each category half of their registration fee back, plus a 50% discount towards a future Bushwhack Adventures race. That’s a total of over $7,000 in cash and prizes to be given away!
- Hurricane Kayaks is donating a kayak to be given away. See the Registration page for details on how to earn extra entries in the kayak drawing!

8/18/08
- More sponsors added.
- Offline registration form and waiver posted.

8/17/08
- The Overview has been updated.
- The Event Schedule has been posted.
- Hurricane Kayaks is donating a kayak to be given away. See the Registration page for details on how to earn extra entries into the kayak drawing!

4 Hour Course
Coed
- PB and J (2p); Kylie Stott, Benjamin Pierce
- Lost and Found (2p); Brent Eischen, Kerry Eischen

Female
- Life Is Good (2p); Kim and Michelle Thomas
- Learners Permit (3p); Julie Bosworth, Georgia Krueger, Jennifer Hecht

Male
- Team BDM (2p); Don Ruel, Brad Sosebee
- Jeep Freaks (2p); Don and Jamie Thomas
- PCHS Eagles (3p); Jeff Tiegs, Aaron Tiegs, Jonah Tiegs
- Team F.I.D.O. (3p); Matt Schaar, John Cross, Randy Canarr

8 Hour Course
Coed
- Team Juggernaut (2p); Paul Ku, Laura Brezovec
- Wish You Were Here (4p); Michele Jozwiak, Beau Burdick, Austin Burdick, Tyler Burdick
- I made her do it (2p); Molly Canon, Charles Canon
- Team Sosa (4p); Jeff Sosa, ?, ?, ?

Female

Male
- Team Moxie (2p); Matt Kelley, Jon Downie
- Dead Men Walking (4p); Daron Hyatt, Mark Dail, Mike Hervey, Ashley Huneycutt
- Fishermen (2p); Madison Crum, Mark Montgomery
- Adventure-Us (2p); Matthew Getz, Ed Elowson
- Team Redemption (2p); David Howe, Jon Jenkins
- Riders in the Storm (3p); Bob Wallace, Chris Kreider, John Fargher
- Aw Scheidt, Lost Again (2p); Brett Scheidt, Scott Scheidt
- Broxterman Trifecta (3p); Brian Broxterman, Matt Broxterman, Andrew Broxterman

12 Hour Course
Coed
- West End Warriors (4p); Corbitt Simmons, Bill Jordan, Tracey Lewis, Jim Rowan
- Boo-Yah! (3p); Stephen Morris, Micheal Gladden, Theresa Dawson
- 4THEADVENTURE (3p); Dave Mowery, Dan Tack, Danna Marinelli
- IRBIA (2p); Bill Dean , Ruth Dean
- Yourmamaween (3p); Rob Ward, Robert May, Marcilynn Smith
- Something Stellar (2p); Brian Williams, Brooke Wharton
- Odyssey Adventure Racing (2p); Ronny Angell, Hollie Flynn

Female

Male
- Palmetto Tarheels (3p); Dale Long, Bruce Dale, Charlie Roberts
- Northern Lites (2p); Charlie Martz, Alex Lenzmeir
- What Concussion? (3p); Todd Wigley, Dusty Staub, Steve Hart
- Bobby and Ryan (2p); Ryan Stagner, Bobby Page
- Team BEAST (3p); Sean Shields, Allen Griffith, John Chambers
- My People Don’t Run (3p); Carmelo Graffagnino, Daiwai Olson, David Parry

October 3, 2008 – Friday
Team Check-in (optional; all courses): 6 – 9 PM at the Badin Lake Group Campground.

Preliminary race briefing and Q&A session: 7:30 – 8 PM at the Badin Lake Group Campground. Race maps and some of the UTM’s will be given out at this briefing on Friday night.

Friday night free camping check-in: 6 – 10 PM at the Badin Lake Group Campground.

Map to Badin Lake Group Campground:

View Larger Map

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October 4, 2008 – Saturday

12 HOUR COURSE
Team Check-in: 5:30 – 6:00 AM
Pre-race safety briefing: 6:15 AM
Race Start: 6:30 AM
Sunrise 7:15 AM
Race Cutoff: 6:30 PM

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8 HOUR COURSE
Team Check-in: 9 – 9:30 AM
Pre-race safety briefing: 9:45 AM
Race Start: 10 AM
Race Cutoff: 6 PM

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4 HOUR COURSE
Team Check-in: 12:30 – 1:00 PM
Pre-race safety briefing: 1:15 PM
Race Start: 1:30 PM
Race Cutoff: 5:30 PM

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Live music starts at 5:30 PM
Post-race meal starts at 6 PM
Awards ceremony (all courses): 6:45 PM

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Notes:

- Team check-in will consist of registration paperwork confirmation and racer sign-in. Gear checks will be done during the event.

- Group tent camping on-site for both Friday and Saturday nights is included free for team members and a few support people (please be reasonable). Bathrooms, drinking water and showers are available at the site.

- There are several motels located in Albemarle and Asheboro, NC. These are 15-20 minutes away.

- The Bed and Bike Inn is located near Gold Hill, NC. Ellen and Tim have been sponsors of the Gold Nugget Adventure Race from the very first running of this race.

Sports and More Physical Therapy, Inc.

“We Get You Back In The Game Of Life!”

Online registration powered by Active.com
Online registration for Gold Nugget Adventure Race

Offline registration
2008 GNAR offline registration form
2008 GNAR Waiver

Win a Hurricane kayak!

All racers will be entered in a drawing to win a kayak from Hurricane Kayaks. Increase your chances of winning – persuade another team to enter and race and you can get a bonus entry for referring the team. Just have them write a note on their offline registration form mentioning that you referred them, or if they register online, have them email a note to Info@GoBushwhack.com Racers must start their race on Oct 4th and be present at the drawing to be qualified to win. The drawing will be held 30 minutes after the 12 hour race ends.

Registration Fees:
$55 per person – 4 hr
$75 per person – 8 hr
$95 per person – 12 hr

Discounts
- Bushwhack Adventures and TrailBlazers AR Club is offering a $15 discount to members of the Trailblazers AR Club.
- Please use the offline registration form if you are using a Bushwhack Adventures winner or volunteer discount.

Registration Deadline:
September 11, 2008 (to guarantee yourself a race shirt)
September 30, 2008 (registration closes)

Refund Policy

These rules are written to ensure the safety and integrity of the racers, race promoter, volunteers, land managers and facilities. Bushwhack Adventures event staff and volunteers will enforce the rules.

The rules for adventure racing fall into that confusing gray area where we try to reconcile the desire to experience the freedom and adventure of charting one’s own course with the need to provide a common basis upon which to measure the performance of teams and determine a winner. The amount of freedom that can be given to teams is dependent upon how well they exercise their ability to race in a fair and honorable manner.

The fundamental rules of adventure racing are fairly simple. Teams of racers must travel by self-propelled means as they navigate their way to various checkpoints. Race directors spice up an AR with a course design that provides challenges for the teams to overcome. Most AR’s are set in wilderness locations and include the opportunity for teams to use their skills of map & compass navigation, mountain biking, running/trekking, paddling and rope work. Other types of challenges are sometimes included along the way, such as mental tasks and brain games. The goal is for teams to use their combined resources and skills to get through a course as efficiently and as fast as possible while following the rules and instructions set out by the race director.

Below are some basic rules for the 2008 Gold Nugget Adventure Race. Additional rules and instructions will be provided through this website and at the pre-race briefing.

Scoring
Scoring will be based on total points collected by a team, minus any point penalties. Checkpoints will be worth varying point values, and will be listed in the race passport. Teams must choose which checkpoints to go after, based on their strengths and the time remaining. Working out your route strategy is part of the race challenge.

Race management
- All participants must be at least 18 years of age.
- Team members must complete all registration forms and sign all waivers prior to competing.
- Teams may continue unofficially if a team member drops out, upon race official approval, as long as at least two team members remain.
- The race director reserves the right to modify the rules or the course at any time. Any protests can be made after completion of the race to the race director by the team captain.
- All decisions by the race director are final.
- The winner of each category on each course shall be the team with the highest point total after any point penalties have been applied.

Course Cutoff
- There will be absolute finish cutoff times for each course. For the 4 hour course, the cutoff time will be 4 hours after the official start of the race. For the 8 hour course, the cutoff time will be 8 hours after the official start of the race. For the 12 hour course, the cutoff time will be 12 hours after the official start of the race. Teams not returning to the finish line by their respective cutoff times will lose 10 points for every minute past the deadline until they finish.

Permitted activities
- Teams are permitted to help each other during the race. Teams may be awarded a time/point bonus for helping other teams in emergency need.
- Towing of teammates is allowed on all legs.

Ten Point Penalty
- Failure to produce any piece of mandatory gear during random gear checks during the race.
- Official race numbers must be shown upon request at any manned CP and the finish line.
- All members of each team must remain within 100 meters of each other during the event.

Disqualification:
Non-compliance with any of the following rules will result in team disqualification.
- Teams must obey instructions from race officials.
- All racers and spectators must follow a Leave-No-Trace ethic (i.e. all garbage and gear must be carried out by racers and support crew).
- Teams must follow race instructions given by the Race Director, race officials, or found in the race passport.
- Teams must avoid any specified off-limits areas and trails. At all other times it is up to the team to decide navigation from CP to CP.
- The use of any electronic device (including laptop computers, GPS, cellular telephones, etc) other than watches or compasses is prohibited at any time.
- Teams must exclusively travel under their own power during the race.
- Support crews may only render assistance in the Race HQ TA (transition area).
- Helmets must be worn properly during all mountain biking legs.
- All teams members must properly wear a Type III PFD during the paddle legs.
- Teams must provide assistance to any person in danger.
- Interference or alteration of a trail marking, sign, control flag, or punch device is prohibited.

The following gear lists apply to each course in the 2008 Gold Nugget Adventure Race.

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Required Individual Gear:

• Mountain bike
• Bike helmet
• Whistle
• Type III PFD
• Paddle (can be canoe or kayak paddle)

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Required Team Gear:

• Compass
• Waterproof map/passport container
• Canoe(s) or kayak(s) (boats not are provided for racers)
• Basic first aid kit (in case of arterial bleeding, comminuted bone fractures, etc) including:
  

  - four 4″x4″ compress bandages
  - one 3″ ace wrap bandage
  - one roll of 1″ waterproof medical tape
  - one cell phone in waterproof container, for emergency use only

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Recommended optional gear:

• UTM plotting tool (for plotting CP’s on race map)
• Pack for carrying food, drink, etc for duration of course
• Bike repair kit (or cash to coerce other teams who have repair kits into helping you out)
• Camera, for capturing the scenery and how much fun you’re having
• Canoe/kayak portage wheels (some portages may be suitable for portage wheels)

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Race passports/instructions and course maps will be provided.

Most adventure racers like to know before the race how much time they’ll spend doing each of the disciplines in a race. But knowing that takes out some of the “adventure”, doesn’t it? The exact distances or time any given team will spend on each discipline are difficult to estimate. Here are the general targets used in designing the courses. Actual mileage/time for your team will vary.

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4 hour course

Mountain biking and pushing a bike – 1 hour

Paddling and portaging- 1 hour

Orienteering – 1 hour

Special challenges – 30 minutes

Scratching your head and looking around in confusion – 30 minutes

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8 hour course

Mountain biking and pushing a bike – 2 hours

Paddling and portaging – 3 hours

Orienteering – 2 hours

Special challenges – 30 minutes

Explaining to others why you’re doing this – 30 minutes

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12 hour course

Mountain biking and pushing a bike – 4 hours

Paddling and portaging – 4 hours

Orienteering – 3 hours

Special challenges – 30 minutes

Asking yourself why you’re doing this – 30 minutes

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GENERAL EXPECTATIONS

Biking - Riders should be prepared for anything, from flying down paved roads to pushing bikes up rocky trails. Or vice versa.

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Paddling - It shouldn’t take long for most racers to figure out there really isn’t much whitewater in the Uwharries, so I’ll go ahead and acknowledge that. There is enough diversity in bodies of water there to have some flat and some moving water to deal with. This all depends on whether the drought continues or not.

Along with paddling comes the dreaded portage. You can’t paddle if you’re not on the water, so I’ll include getting your boat to the water in the list of paddling expectations. There are other options and techniques than simply grabbing one end of the boat and walking.

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Orienteering – Although finding checkpoints involves a bit of land navigation and possibly map and compass work, I wouldn’t consider that to be real orienteering. The 2008 Gold Nugget AR courses will include a section of bushwhack travel, similar to orienteering. Expect to see ontrols placed away from trails and roads.

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Special challenges – Be prepared for anything. It wouldn’t be much of a special challenge if it didn’t test your nerve and/or mental skills.

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Racing for 4 to 12 hours – Any time you go out to exercise for more than an hour, refueling and hydrating become much more important. Racers should come prepared to carry all of their food and a significant portion of their fluids with them on the course. Race staff may be able to provide water resupplies during the race, but you won’t know when you will reach them, so plan on being as self-sufficient as possible. Teams may be able to plan for mid-race transitions at their vehicles once they get the maps and passports at the start of the race.

Welcome to the GOLD NUGGET ADVENTURE RACE website!

The 2008 edition of the GNAR will be co-hosted by the RDU chapter of TrailBlazers Adventure Racing Club and Bushwhack Adventures. This IPAR is part of the 2008 TrailBlazers Sprint Adventure Race Series.

When:
October 4, 2008

Where:
Uwharrie National Forest, near Troy, NC
The exact start location will be disclosed to registered teams at a later date.

Course Lengths:
4 hour course
8 hour course
12 hour course

Format:
All three courses will have a modified rogaine format. In a modified rogaine format, some CP’s or sections will be mandatory, but teams will have the opportunity to use their navigation and strategy skills to plan their own route to the rest of the CP’s.

Disciplines:
Mountain biking, trekking, orienteering, paddling, special challenges.

Team Size:
2, 3 or 4 person

Team Categories:
Coed, Male, or Female.

Required Gear:
Mountain bike, canoe or kayak, plus TBD.

Race Rules:
Click here.

Registration Fees:
Current TrailBlazer members get a $15 discount off the entry fee. Non-members will automatically become members when they register for this race.
4 HR course: $55.00 per person
8 HR course: $75.00 per person
12 HR course: $95.00 per person

Online registration available through Active.com

Registration Deadline:
September 1, 2008 (to guarantee yourself a race swag item)
September 30, 2008 (registration closes)

Prizes:
- All racers who start the race will get an entry into a drawing for a Hurricane Kayaks kayak. (Register early to earn an extra entry!)
- All racers will be entered into a drawing for gear prizes. The drawing will be held during the awards ceremony at the end of the race.
- The top team in each category on each course will win cash back (half of their entry fee) plus a 50% discount to use for a future Bushwhack Adventures’ race.

Bonuses:
Free camping the nights before and after; post-race meal.

Schedule:
Click here.

We’re continuing to work on the details to make this another great adventure race, so check back soon for more info.