The Adrenaline Rush March 19–20, 2022 Fairy Stone S.P. and Philpott Lake Recreation Area
WHAT'S IT GONNA COST ME?
Early registration:
$240 per person (through Sunday 1/9 at
11:59 pm)
Regular registration:
$270 per person (Monday 1/10 - Sunday 2/20 at 11:59 pm)
Late registration
$300 per person (Monday 2/21 - Sunday March 6 at 11:59 pm)
Registration closes Sunday, March 6th. We will not accept registrations after this date. Please make sure your team is filled and all teammates have signed up by this date.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Due to permitting, we have a hard limit of 150 racers for this race. If you want to race, we recommend that you register early.
Note: A small registration fee is added onto the race cost
WHAT DO I GET FOR MY MONEY?
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A fun, yet challenging, well thought out, creative race course
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Live tracking provided by our friends at Enabled Tracking
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All boats and paddling gear provided
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Post race food/meal. We are working on burrito's and taco's for breakfast!
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Shirt, swag and finisher prize. The best around. There...we said it!
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All permitting and safety staff provided
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Custom made, beautiful and high-quality water-proof race maps (teams will have the option of buying a second set of maps when registering)
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Podium prizes/medals for the top 3 teams in each division
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USARA points earned for teams towards qualifying for the 2022 USARA Nationals
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No support allowed for this race. All race gear, bikes, etc will be trans-ported along the race course for all teams.
LODGING
Fairy Stone State Park is a relatively remote park. If you plan to stay for the weekend or Friday night, we highly recommend getting a cabin, yurt or campsite in the state park. The cabins and yurts are open year-round and the campground opens up in early March. There are numerous recreation areas for camping in the area but most of them do not open until April 1st for the season.
The nearest town, Martinsville VA, is 30 minutes from the park with a handful of hotels/motels. Roanoke VA is the largest big town roughly 1 hour from the park, with numerous lodging options. There are also several AirBnB options in the area.
Our flagship race is back for its 6th edition...longer, harder and better than ever! Getting your Rush one checkpoint at a time...
Launching out of Fairy Stone State Park–nestled in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains–Fairy Stone is one of the oldest and largest Virginia State Parks in the park system. With numerous trail systems, old growth woods, just enough elevation gain and loss to make things interesting and hard—but not ridiculously hard—scenic vistas and some unique and undulating topography, it is the perfect place for 24 hours of the Adrenaline Rush. With the adjoining Philpott Lake and recreation areas to explore, this course will have soloists and teams of 2, 3 or 4, trekking, biking, paddling and full-on navigating their way to the finish line, finding as many orange and white orienteering flags as they can. The team with the most points in the least amount of time wins! With an abundance of coves, peninsulas, islands, inlets, and 100 miles of remote, pristine, undeveloped shore line, get ready for a unique and navigationally challenging race while exploring this relatively unknown gem in southern Virginia.
THE DETAILS
Date: Saturday March 19th into Sunday March 20th
Location: Fairy Stone State Park and the surrounding Lake Philpott Recreation area
Duration: Teams and soloists will have 24 hours to complete the full course and reach the finish line
Categories:
Solo (Male and Female)
Two-Person (Male, Female, and Coed)
Three-Person (Male, Female, and Coed)
Four-Person (Male, Female, and Coed)
Note about Solo racers: While we will allow solo racers for this event, we strongly recommend that if you choose to take the race on solo, that you are an experienced, seasoned racer—who is confident in their navigation and racing skillset. If you have any questions or concerns about this, please contact us BEFORE you register.
RACE DAY TIMELINE:
A live pre-race brief on either Zoom or social media will be held the week of the race. This race brief will take place in the evening, probably on a Tuesday night.
Race day:
Team check-in: Saturday morning, 7:30-9 a.m.
Map and ROT Release at check-in
Race start: 10 a.m.
Race finish: Sunday by 10 a.m.
Race food and awards within 1/2 hour of course closing.
COURSE OVERVIEW AND DISCIPLINES:
You can expect a race course between 85-95 miles if all CP's are acquired. The course is designed to challenge very experienced racers looking to clear it, as well as beginner/mid pack teams who want to step up to 24 hour + racing. All checkpoints will be optional and all TA's mandatory. There will be a minimum amount of biking, paddling and trekking that teams will have to do in order to get to the finish line. Within the minimum course, teams will be able to do as much of, or as little of the course as they feel comfortable doing based on their fitness, skill and navigation. This race will feature a lot of paddling and trekking. But don't worry there will be some biking! Fairy Stone is in the foothills of the Blue Ridge and is NOT flat. The highest point on the course may be at 1800-2000 feet. Navigation throughout the course will be what we would consider intermediate and difficult on the trekking sections due to the terrain and darkness racing overnight. The topography in the area is undulating and will be challenging on foot. We mean fun!
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Paddling: 15 miles minimum, 20-23 miles for full course
There may be the option to portage on the course. This portaging will be optional and based on your team strategy, route choices, etc. We will update all teams on the required paddling gear for the race down the road and let you know if we recommend bringing portage wheels for your boat. If you have portage wheels you may want to get them out of the gear closet and dust them off…. If you have never portaged a boat in a race, well, now may be your chance.
All boats, paddles and PFD’s will be provided. Teams will paddle canoes, and soloists will paddle a kayak. Teams may bring their own paddles and PFD’s, and for this race we highly recommend you bring your own gear if you have it. Teams MAY NOT bring their own boats.
Our goal is to make the paddling leg(s) in this race memorable. It really is a beautiful and unique lake.
Trekking: 20-25 miles
A combination of trails, woods, forest roads, some pavement, … Plan for an extensive amount of off trail travel and bushwhacking from point to point, with one foot section entirely off trail.
Biking: 38-43 miles
Don’t worry there will be some biking to go with all that trekking and paddling…. You can expect single track, double track, forest roads, gravel roads and pavement. And bike whacking…why ride when you can carry your bike through the woods. Teams can also expect a MTB Orieentering section.
Navigation/Orienteering: Entire course with the hardest navigation being on foot. Teams can also expect a orienteering like section on foot with a detailed orienteering map.
Please make sure that at least one person on your team is comfortable navigating with map and compass and point to point off trail, in the dark and on water. If you are not comfortable doing this, you gotta start somewhere……
Maps: Teams will receive numerous maps printed at 11X17. The maps are custom made with a combination of Lidar data, and standard topographic data. All or most of the checkpoints will be pre-plotted for you on the race maps. However, teams may be required to plot some UTM coordinates on the race course. We will update all teams on this as the course is finalized.
WHAT YOU'LL NEED: Note, the final gear list based on paddling requirements and the forecasted race day weather will be updated and communicated to all teams before race day. Be prepared for anything weather related. It could be winter or summer in mid-March. There is no such things as bad weather just bad planning and gear.....
There is no gear bin requirement nor will teams be allowed gear bins. It's only 24 hours, not 3 days. Teams will have the option of using the paddle bag and even bikes to hold extra gear such as clothing and food.
Mandatory Gear for Each Racer
Face covering for when social distancing is not possible
Backpack and a way to carry water (e.g., camelbak, water bottles, etc.)
Food and water for the race
Space blanket (We recommend the SOL Space Blanket)
Whistle
Fleece hat or buff
A long sleeve wool or technical shirt
Rain jacket
Mountain bikes are highly recommended and cross bikes are allowed. No road bikes allowed.
Bike helmet
Working headlamp with back up batteries
White front bike light (headlamp ok)
Back red blinky light on bike
NO BIKE box required
A sense of adventure!
Mandatory Gear for Each Team
Compass: just in case you get lost. But don't worry, you won't get lost! Bwahahaha.
UTM plotter (will update teams on this closer to race day)
Bike repair kit, extra tubes, CO2, etc.
Medical kit (big enough for your entire team) We recommend the Adventure Medical Kits Ultralight 3.
Duct tape
Zip ties for chem lights on boats.
Race map (provided at check-in)
Race rules of travel (provided at check-in)
Race passport (provided at check-in)
Watch
Cell phone (fully charged)
Small dry bag for the safe-keeping of your cell phone and other gear. These bag(s) SHOULD BE WATERPROOF. It is to your benefit to make sure you have the best waterproofing system you can find
Paddling Gear
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All boats and gear will be provided and racers can bring their own paddles and PFD’s.
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Soloists will paddle a kayak and teams a canoe. 4 person teams will get 2 canoes, 3 person teams one canoe, 2 person teams one canoe.
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A team paddle bag big enough to fit all paddle gear for transport on course. This bag can be anything from a ARWS paddle bag to a large duffle bag or hockey bag. All paddle gear must fit in this bag. This paddle bag will go with teams on the water so plan accordingly.
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Chem light sticks. Enough chem light sticks for all boats and PFD’s and lasting up to 12 hours.
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All PFD’s must have a working chem light attached to it.
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All boats must have two chem lights attached to it. One on the bow and one on the stern.
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A rope/lanyard for teams to tie boat to shore. Will update this down the road….
Recommended Gear
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Waterproof map case (this can be as simple as zip lock(s) bags and duct tape or a store bought case)
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Map board for your bike
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Long fingered gloves
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Long tights/pants