Your favorite winter adventure race is back! Over the past 13 years, the Chill has given many of us an excuse to get outside in the dead of winter for a fun and adventurous day of racing in the “off season”. We are excited to bring this popular event back to Cumberland State Forest and Bear Creek Lake, nestled in the heart of central Virginia. 

If you need an excuse to get outside, get off the trainer or treadmill and spend a day in the woods—with a chance of some very cold weather, crisp air, clear runnable woods, and NO creepy crawlers out and about—this is the race for you!  It’s the perfect race to gauge your off-season fitness, work on some racing skills, race with new teammates, or even just see your adventure racing buddies who you've missed all winter. 

 

Over the course of 8-10 hours (the final time will be determined once the course is finished and fully vetted), solo racers and teams of 2-4 will trek, bike and full on navigate their way through a fun, challenging, and creative race course. Due to the winter season, there will be NO paddling in this race. 

 

As is standard for our events, strategy will be key and you can expect a lot of decision-making and route choices on both bike and foot. While this race won’t necessarily be designed with the beginner in mind, it is a great race to get your feet wet, learn a few things, test your gear and tolerance for racing in a cold environment and, if you're new to the sport, work on your navigation.

 

While we are still in the early stages of the course design, we do anticipate roughly half of the course being on foot and half on bike with regard to time. Of course, this is ultimately up to each team and how fast they move, route choices, race goals, etc. All checkpoints will be optional and all TA’s (transition areas) mandatory. Teams will be able to do as much of, or as little of, the course as they feel comfortable doing in the allowed time. 

 

A NOTE ON THE WEATHER: 

 

Putting on races in the winter is always a risk. But that is what makes this race so much fun! You never know what is going to happen with the weather and conditions come race day. We find that the worse and wild the weather is, the more fun everyone seems to have. We are a CRAZY bunch of people!

 

Over the years we have had all sorts of weather from rain, to snow, to sleet, to sun and everything in between. The last Chill in 2023 was a brisk 15 degrees at the start line, and stayed in the mid 20’s all day. It WAS COLD, and getting wet was no fun. This race will happen regardless of the conditions, (outside of a major weather event like a blizzard, that makes travel and being outside dangerous and just plain stupid.) THERE WILL BE NO MAKEUP/RAIN DATE FOR THIS RACE. 

 

As a racer and team, you are responsible for making sure that you have all the gear and clothing  you need on race day to stay warm, safe and dry. The mandatory gear list may change leading up to the race based on weather conditions. Bottom line… be prepared for anything. Expect the worse and hope for the best. 

 

HUNTING

 

It’s the tail end of hunting season in Virginia and while big game hunting (deer, bear) season is over, small game hunting is still active (think squirrels, rabbit, etc.) Big game hunting is the main reason this race is not earlier in the month. 

 

While not as popular or prevalent as big game, there is a chance—especially with a warm day—that hunters may be out on the course. Overall we are not concerned about running into hunters, but per our permitting conditions with the forest, every racer must wear a brightly colored piece of safety gear when on the course especially on foot sections. See more on this in the mandatory gear list. 

 

RACE DISCIPLINES 

 

Navigation: Teams can expect navigation through out the entire race. A majority of the trekking will be off trail navigation and route choices will be key. You can also expect an equal amount of navigation on the bike, with plenty of route choices and options. Depending on the final race duration and finish time, teams may be racing in the dark. Make sure you have a good light system on both bike and headlamp. 

 

Biking: The state forest is a maze of forest roads and trails. Teams can expect to be riding on a little bit of everything and anything. From some pavement to gravel, dirt, single track, fields, and even a hike or two through the woods. If you can ride it, it will be an option. 

 

Trekking: Teams can expect a significant amount of off trail travel and some tricky navigation. With minimal elevation gain and loss, the features can be very tricky and subtle. The forest also has abundant wetlands, a river running through it, and a lot of creeks. There will most likely be some wet water crossings depending on route choices. 

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LODGING

Bear Creek Lake has some great cabins to reserve. Unfortunately, the campground will not be open for the season. There is NO camping allowed in the state forest. We recommend making cabin reservations ASAP as we expect the race to sell out the park. 

https://www.dcr.virginia.gov/state-parks/bear-creek-lake#cabins_camping

 

The closet town with lodging options is Farmville, roughly 30 minutes south of the forest. Richmond is roughly an hour to the east, with Charlottesville 1 hour to the north. Both towns have plenty of lodging options. 

 

WHAT YOU'LL GET

• A professionally-designed, fun, safe, challenging and creative course design 

• All insurance, permits and safety staff 

• Beautiful custom-made map(s)          

• Live tracking from our friends at Enabled Tracking 

• ​Sweet schwag and our signature finisher prize for crossing the finish line 

• Cool prizes & medals on the podium for the top 3 teams in each division 

• Post-race meal and camaraderie with all your racing friends 

• A great day outside freezing your butt off. What could be better! 

 

MANDATORY GEAR

Most of this mandatory gear is for your safety. Depending on race day weather conditions and temperatures we may make amendments to this list. 

 

Mandatory Gear for Each Racer

One piece of bright safety hunting clothing either worn on head or body. There are plenty of options of hunting vests and hats on Amazon and other sites.

Backpack and a way to carry water (camelbak, water bottles, etc.)

Food for the race (food will not be provided on the course)  Bourbon, maybe…. 

Space blanket or bivy (don’t skimp on this item to go super light. If you are cold and immobile it will keep you warm and safe. 

Whistle

Rain jacket 

Buff or fleece beanie head gear 

Base layer shirt long sleeve (arm warmers ok) 

Mid layer fleece 

Headlamp

Mountain bikes are highly recommended and cross bikes are allowed but not recommend. No road bikes allowed. 

Bike helmet

Bike lights on front of bike and or helmet 

Red blinky light on back of bike 

A sense of adventure

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Mandatory Gear for Each Team

Compass

Cell phone (fully charged)

Team bike repair kit

Basic first aid kit

Duct tape

Race maps

Race rules of travel

Race passport

Watch

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Recommended Gear

Water-proof map case

Map board—highly recommended!

Extra socks

Extra clothing as needed for warmth

Pants/tights

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