2010 Infiterra Sports Summer Quest 4 Hour Sprint
Infiterra Sports was excited to host the Summer Quest 4 Hour Sprint Adventure Race that was held Saturday August 21, 2010 in Leonard, Michigan.
Results are Official. They include both divisions. If you have questions please email Zac.
» Results - These results are in Excel form. There are tabs for Overall (combined), Canoe and Non-Canoe divisions.
» Results - These are the Canoe Division results in PDF form.
» Results - These are the Non-Canoe Division results in PDF form.
» Map #1 - (Paddle Map) 8.5x11 - 0.59mb
» Map #2 - (Orienteering Map) 8.5x11 - 1.27mb
» Race Instructions - 8.5x11 - 95kb
» Race Pictures
Please visit our message board to provide us with feedback on the Summer Quest
Event Recap - The Summer Quest came back for its fourth running, again as a short 4 hour sprint race. It was billed as a fast and fun “bare bones” race designed for beginners, but challenging enough for veterans. The weather was humid, but the heat held off for the most part with overcast and sprinkles throughout the race.
The race kicked off at 10:00am and teams headed out on a fast so called trail run. It wasn’t as simple as that though. The ribboned “trail” led teams through some open areas and then through some not so open areas that went through swamps and thick brush with a water crossings. The 1.4 mile run took most teams between 15-20 minutes. As they returned to the pavilion, teams either made their way over to the canoe put in or headed off on bike.
The optional canoe section was next. The few teams that did not want to canoe, moved ahead onto the mountain bike section of the race. The paddling took place right on Buhl Lake contained right within the park. Points were spread around the shore of the lake with one point located on a buoy partially submerged in the middle of the lake. The lake was well covered in lily pads by this time of the summer, so the paddling was not quite as straight forward as might be expected. Only 3 of the 6 paddling points were required. Teams could continue on to get all 6 points or head back to the transition after three if they chose. Total paddling distance was between 1 and 2 miles. The lead teams completed the paddling in just 25-30 minutes and everyone was off the water within 45 minutes.
After completing the paddling section, teams moved on to the mountain bike leg. The mountain bike section was 100% single track riding. It was fully contained on the mountain bike trail system in the park. There was no map for this section of the course. Teams just had to stay on the mountain bike trail and they would find the points located right on the trail. The bike trail is roughly 7 miles of great single track. Teams did have the option a little more than half way through to opt out of the last section of mountain biking, skip the last two bike points and ride the paved path back into the TA. The fastest teams were able to complete the mountain bike trail in 35-45 minutes.
It was just at this point of the course that the race was really heating up. Teams only had the orienteering/navigation part of the race left. The top teams were reaching the O-course at just an hour and a half into the race, leaving them with two and half hours left to complete the course. That was not an easy task though. Teams were using just a map and compass to locate the last 15 points in the race. Points were located on the main section of the park property taking them all the way north around Buhl Lake. Additional, more challenging, points were located on the east side of Walker Rd. For the teams that located all the points, they would have covered at least 5 miles if they were spot on, or possibly more depending on route choice and accuracy. This being the biggest and most challenging section of the race, the outcome was up for grabs heading in. With the large amount of course left, most teams were pushing the four hour cut off limit to try and complete the course.
So it wasn’t until 1:33pm that solo racer Bill Scanlan hustled in to the finish with all the points that the race winner was determined. Fifteen minutes later at 1:48pm both Chrysler/Jeep teams sprinted in also with all the points in a tie for second place overall. Rage Against the Cutoff made the finish with all the points at 1:52pm for 4th place overall. The father and son duo Wipeout finished at 1:47pm with all but one CP to take 5th overall. All of these top 5 teams competed in the canoe section. Team HMI, solo racer Jim Belt, and South Lyon Cycle Adventure racing led the non-canoe portion of the race for first, second and third respectively.
Congratulations to all the racers, veterans and especially rookies that came out to challenge themselves at the Quest. Either way, they likely got the challenge they were looking for.
A big thank you goes out to all of our Sponsors as many racers walked away with great prizing! Thanks to REI, Hammer Nutrition, Planet Rock, Rail Riders, Zanfel, Seal Skinz and Kahtoola. We had a small group of super volunteers that came out help in this race and they deserve a special thanks as well. We appreciate the great support and assistance from Addison Oaks and the Oakland County Parks who were very gracious and cooperative. Thanks to the MMBA for the great work they do in maintaining the mountain bike trails. And we also need to give a big Thank You to Peppy’s Pizza of Troy for providing the post race food!
