Ride or swim?

Parry Sound, ONT - May 20: The 36-hour non-stop Raid the North and the up to 8 hour non-stop Salomon Adventure Challenge races held in Parry Sound on the weekend of May 31 to June 1 challenged competitors and event organizers alike when storms struck the region. The events saw teams navigate their way, using compass and maps, around an unmarked wilderness race course by trekking, mountain biking and paddling. The Raid the North race also saw competitors take a 500 foot zipline ride off of a cliff as one of their checkpoint tasks.

Raid the North started at midnight in Parry Sound and was hit with a sudden storm early Saturday morning that turned the previously black glassy calm of Georgian Bay into a wind and rain swept swell of water. The waves that rose up on the bay threatened to capsize teams navigating the first section of the race in small, two man canoes.

"We had six safety boats on our paddling leg for Raid the North. It was mostly the start of the first section that we wanted to keep real close tabs on, before teams got behind the shelter of Shawanaga Island," said Frontier Adventure RacingÕs President Geoff Langford. ÒWhen the weather turned sour, we reacted by bringing all competitor's in off the water and bumping them forward to the rest of the race on land. It was a challenge logistically but one we were able to handle."

A small navy of safety boats was on hand to escort the paddlers and then to shuttle them to the warmth and safety at nearby Skerryvore and Shawanaga Landing. Some local residents went out of their way in assisting the sheltering of some cold racers by opening the doors of their homes to them.

"We forgot to invite guests over for this weekend so it was good timing!" joked one resident, after bringing shivering paddlers in and cooking for them.

Sunday morning saw a break in the weather for the teams that were still on course as they were guided through the final legs of the 150 km race by a bright warm sun high overhead. Team Taiga, from Ottawa had led the race since the third checkpoint and closed in on victory early in the morning finishing Raid the North Parry Sound in after 33 hours and 17 minutes of near non-stop mountain biking, trekking and paddling. The team had won the shorter Salomon Adventure Challenge event in Bark Lake only two weeks prior. For their effort they receive a free entry into the Raid the North Championship event to take place in Mattawa, ON, Sept. 19 to 21.

The shorter format Salomon Adventure Challenge race at Parry Sound ran on Saturday of the weekend and was won, in the open category, by team Adrenaline Rush, a first time adventure racing team made up of two Barrie, ON brothers and their 52 year old father, in an astounding time of 3 hours and 34 minutes! Algonguin Outfitters of Dwight, ON, won the coed category in that race in a time of 4 hrs 11 minutes.

Despite the sudden unusual weather on the Georgian Bay the races held at Parry Sound went off fantastically with a record turnout of 120 teams between the two events.

Adventure racing will return to Ontario when the pinnacle of adventure racing in Canada, Raid the North Extreme, comes to Atikokan in August for a 6 day expedition length rae that will draw a world class field of teams to contest for a $30,000 cdn purse and an entry to the adventure racing World Championship.

For more information on these events, a media kit, or info on adventure racing in general, go to www.far.on.ca or call 416-783-4464.

—Courtesy of Frontier Adventure Racing