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Michigan Coast to Coast Adventure Race
Infiterra Sports in conjunction with River Rats AR where very proud to host the first ever Coast to Coast Adventure Race to take place across Michigan. The race lead competitors across Michigan, from Lake Michigan to Lake Huron, thus going Coast to Coast. Once again, we would like to thank all of our volunteers, sponsors, and racers. Because you all helped make the event a success, we already in the planning stages for a 2006 event!
» Race Results in Spreadsheet Form
» Race Updates & Leader Board
» Race photos
» Race photos from our friends at SportRaxx
Please visit our message board to provide us with feedback on the Michigan Coast to Coast Race.
Note: Infiterra is hoping to produce a DVD of this event. This process will take at least a month, if not more. Check back often to see when we have it completed.
Event Recap:
The weather forecast was perfect. The host city for the start, Frankfort, Michigan, was most accommodating. All forty-three teams showed up with twenty minutes to spare before the check in deadline. Was this a sign of how things would go for the entire event? The answer – Yes! The first ever Michigan Coast to Coast Adventure Race was a great success for all involved.
At 7:00am on Thursday June 2nd, the race started on the shores of Lake Michigan right outside the race headquarters at the Harbor Lights Hotel. All 170 participants lined the shore, standing with their feet in the cold water, anxiously awaiting the word “go”. The weather was indeed perfect, with clear blue skies and a warm early morning temperature of 65
After teams completed the prologue section in Frankfort, they had a Sixty-five mile bike leg that would lead them to TA1 near Smithville. This leg seemed to set the tone for the top teams in the race as they blistered out to a very fast pace. This bike leg took them on a course almost due east across the state as they passed through northern Michigan farm land on a combination of paved and dirt roads as well as some two-tracks. The lead changed hands several times as teams passed CP’s 1 through 4. The highlight of this section was the zip line over the Manistee River at CP4. Racers zipped across a fixed line with their bikes to reach the south bank of the beautiful northern Michigan River. The first team to reach TA1/CP5 was Canadian Hardcorps. They where followed closely by Absolute Endo/NMET, CITGO, and Perpetro Cursus.
The top teams had very quick transitions as they prepared for the next section, a thirty-five mile trek leading them to CP’s 6 through 11. The trekking took teams on many two tracks and bush whacking sections in remote areas of Michigan State Forest Land. Teams also had to contend with Big Devil Swamp. CP8 was located on the southern bank of Big Devil Creek. The only way for racers to get there was to take a bearing and head straight through the thick wooded swampland. It was through this swampland that teams Eastern Mountain Sports, Canadian Hardcoprs, and Absolute Endo/NMET separated themselves from the rest of field. Eastern Mountain Sports showed their navigation and trekking prowess as they passed several teams and caught up with the race leaders. From Big Devil Swamp, all three lead teams raced within minutes of each other as the pulled away from the field.
CP’s 9 & 10 offered racers some new scenery, as they traveled through open hardwood forest to large hilltops. The top three teams continued to push each other as the second pack of teams including WEDALI, CITGO, Enviromark, and AGS gave chase. The bright sunshine and heat of the day made hydration an issue for many teams, but not nearly the issue that nightfall presented. The pace of many teams decreased dramatically as the navigating got much tougher without the aid of sunlight. At CP11, racers picked up their bikes for an eight mile bike through CP12 and into the town of Grayling for CP13 / TA2.
The first team into TA2 was Eastern Mountain Sports. Within three minutes, teams Absolute Endo/NMET and Canadian Hardcorps came racing in. These three teams had managed to push so fast that they escaped most of the hard navigation at night. This only increased their lead over the rest of the field and it also seemed to fuel their competitiveness amongst the three of them. All three teams again had quick transitions with Absolute Endo/NMET being the first to put on the water for the forty-nine mile paddle leg down the AuSable River to the town of Mio.
As the night wore on, many other teams in the second wave made their way into TA2. Team WEDALI led this second group of teams, using some great night navigation to give them a cushion and secure their hold on fourth place. Many of the teams after WEDLAI opted for some sleep and good meals in Grayling before setting out on the paddle. During the paddle teams passed through CP14 near the halfway point at McMasters Bridge. Somewhere outside of CP14 on the paddle, team Canadian Hardcorps opted to catch some rest on the river. This proved to be crucial, as the race for first became a heated battle between Absolute Endo/NMET and Eastern Mountain Sports from that point on.
The top teams reached CP15/ TA3 in the following order: Absolute Endo/NMET, Eastern Mountain Sports, Canadian Hardcorps, WEDALI, Dead Reckoning, AuSable River Rats, and AGS. The aptly named River Rats used their strong discipline to break into the top five for the first time in the race in route to a paddle split that far exceeded the race directors’ expectations. From TA3 teams had an eighteen-mile bike on sandy and gravel strewn roads to the bike drop at CP16. From the bike drop, teams headed out on foot to track down five unmanned orienteering punches. This orienteering section was in a remote area of the Huron National Forest known as the Maltby Hills. Teams found tough going as they trekked through the topographically rich terrain that varied from open hardwood forest to thick pine stands. Eastern Mountain Sports and Absolute Endo/NMET continued their dual as Absolute Endo/NMET entered the O-course first, but Eastern Mountain Sports came out first as they used some great navigation and leg speed to run the o-course in under 4 hours. In comparison, some teams later in the race spent nearly 17 hours searching for these navigationally challenging points. Teams Blue Bayou and Hafke Legal Services also made big moves on the o-course as they used it to position themselves for top ten finishes passing several teams with great night time navigation.
The end of the o-course was a bike pickup at CP17 just northwest of the tiny town of South Branch. From here teams biked 10 miles to CP18 / TA4 located at the South Branch Trail Camp. This got teams back to within a couple miles of the AuSable River. From here, racers bushwhacked down to the west bank of the river where CP19 was located. At CP19 teams crossed the river using a traverse line. After reaching the west bank, teams had to navigate some more swampland to reach CP20 located under a power line on a two-track in a remote section of the Huron National Forest. From CP20, teams trekked to CP21 and then pack rafted to reach CP22 / TA5.
At the traverse line Eastern Mountain Sports opened up an hour lead on Absolute Endo/NMET. However, from CP20 Absolute Endo/NMET made a huge push to get within fifteen minutes of Eastern Mountain Sports at the pack raft put in. The pace at which the two teams pushed each other assured that they would not be caught from behind. Canadian Hardcorps and WEDALI raced in third and fourth place with comfortable multiple hour gaps between them and the fight for fifth place between Dead Reckoning and AGS.
The seven mile pack raft section to TA5 proved to be fun and challenging for many teams as it was something most teams where not accustomed to. This proved true for Eastern Mountain Sports, as their rafting strategy was not as streamlined as Absolute Endo/NMET. By the end of the pack rafting section, Absolute Endo/NMET opened up nearly a fifteen-minute lead on Eastern Mountain Sports. Tasting a chance at victory, Absolute Endo/NMET again hammered through a quick transition managing to get out of the TA before Eastern Mountain Sports even reached it.
Teams left CP22 / TA5 by crossing over the AuSable River using the Cooke Dam as a bridge. This final section was comprised of a quick ten-mile bike to CP23, followed by a twelve-mile paddle on the AuSable River out around the break wall and to the shore of Lake Huron for the finish. Absolute Endo/NMET’s plan to use the old “out of site, out of mind” strategy leaving TA5 worked. When Eastern Mountain Sports reached the TA and noted their competition had already left, their focus turned towards their ill teammate. They showed ultimate teamwork, perhaps now knowing that first place was out of their grasp, the team pulled together and willed their sick teammate through the final section holding onto the respectable second place finish.
Absolute Endo/NMET blistered the course in 42:35 for first place at the inaugural Michigan Coast to Coast Adventure Race. They beat the race directors predicted finish time by over half a day. The team of Andrew Yaksic, Jessica Yaksic, Justin Andre, and Aaron Litzner celebrated their victory in true AR fashion, by hanging out on the beach and cheering on all the other finishing teams throughout Saturday and Sunday.
Eastern Mountain Sports finished in 44:13 for second place with Canadian Hardcorps coming in third at 48:13. WEDALI stayed put at fourth place and Team Dead Reckoning edged out AGS by seven minutes to take fifth place. Blue Bayou, Hafke Legal Services, Salus Marinewear, and the AuSable River Rats rounded out the top ten respectively.
The weather forecast held true and blue skies dominated. Through out Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning thirty-two of the original forty-three teams finished the race as ranked teams. Six more teams finished unranked for various reasons, as only five teams dropped out completely. In the end the race was indeed a wonderful experience for all involved: racers, volunteers, and race directors. It ended as it had started, with a bunch of adventure seeking individuals hanging out on a beach, only now on the sunrise side.
Infiterra would like to thank all the volunteers, racers, and our families one last time for making this event possible. The burning question for everyone now is: “what about next year?”
Race Staff
Infiterra Sports LLC
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