Click here for the link to the 2008 Race Results

Photos from ESAR

 

 

Click here for links to more photos from the race. You can click on them and make a purchase. Thanks to our awesome photographers who were able to cover the course and get some amazing shots!

Mikewasthere Photos

http://www.simoesimage.com/events.htm

ESAR Results 2009

The head to head analyzer is here thanks to Vinson Lee. Now you can compare your times to other teams by clicking on the bottom tabs. Probably one of the most comprehensive results spreadsheets in the adventure racing world. Here they are:

H2H ESAR Full Course Results

.

H2H ESAR Lite Course Results

Wow – what a weekend!

Let me start by saying that when machine gun fire started at 3am Friday morning – we thought two things:
1)    Remind racers not to enter the “red zones” on their maps
2)    Bring earplugs when going to war.

After breakfast at the mess, teams lined up on the parade square to ride a loop before leaving Camp Blackdown.  Of course the superstar riders got right on the tail of the lead-car and drafted to the first hill where they were kindly dropped and indeed had to peddle the rest of the way.

By the time teams hit Gate L15 they were strung out pretty well.  One team had a flat on the parade square and put our “sweep team’ to work off the gun!

Teams were greeted at gate L33 with deep un-ridable  sand – this led to the first hike-a-bike section.  As the terrain switched to mud many teams were able to ride on the high parts of the track – other’s opted to push their way to gate L28.  From L28 to P31 it was a quick ride.

Lead teams pulled into CP1 TA1 right on schedule.  And to everyone’s surprise – including race staff – Cowan Canoes and Thorncrest Outfitters managed to get all 100 boats to the original drop zone.  Even though we said in the racer briefing that the canoes would be at the bike drop location – we too were surprised to find they had managed to maneuver the canoe trailers into the drop zone – Thanks to the canoe suppliers for making your portage memories less painful!

AT 12:07pm ESAR-Lite got started on the water.  Thanks to Rick (an Angus local) we were able to use his property to put-in on the river.  When the race started teams stayed close for the 5.5km paddle.  They then picked up a portion of the ESAR course towards the trek section at the North end of Borden.

A glorious – albeit long paddle for an ESAR course – found a multitude of teams in the river.  I’m sure it was refreshing – but it didn’t do a lot for improving finishing times.  The river had a plus three current so the average team was paddling about 9km /hour and the fast teams upwards of 11km/hour.  The lead teams did the run to the canoes, portage down the hill to the river, paddled 11.5 kms and portaged to CP2 TA2 in about 1 hour and 18 minutes.  Nice work!  The average team took about 1 hour 40 minutes.

A quick walk/jog to CP3 TA3 and back on the bikes.  We had one truck delay which led to one group receiving time credits at CP 3 – our apologies – our truck teams worked very hard to get 300 bikes and bags to CP3 before the racers, all time credits are allotted in the final results.

From CP3 TA3 to the river crossing – oh what fun and what a great spot for our photographers!  When we tested the river last week it was a fair bit higher – the ropes were mostly needed to help racers climb out of the muddy bank on the other side.

A fast ride to CP4 – a bit of a make work project but for teams that weren’t at the awards – we were not allowed to cut across the CFAD (Canadian Forces Demolition Zone) located at the North end of Borden so we were required to re-route teams around the area and back into Gate P22.

I’m sure some teams rode by the giant mud-hole on the way to P23.  Race Director Sean Roper’s Van wasn’t so lucky.  It was plunged into the depths and required a bit of a tow to escape – we’re glad to report no teams fell into the abyss.

ESAR-Lite got their first taste of trek navigation – following a marked course to CP 7 – but given the option of testing out their compass skills – did anyone attempt the bearing?  Let me know.
ESAR full course saw a nice trek from to CP 6 and CP 7 – a bit of swamp, some twigs and stumps and a ton of blow-down made for an ‘over-under’ type of trek. By the time 300 racers had passed through the area the eco-trail was so well tramped down we could have run a trail race along the river’s edge!  A special thanks to those teams in the front that created the path for later racers.

Back on the bikes to CP 9 where upon arrival teams could choose from the 7 point orienteering map or the 5 point orienteering map.  We really thought more teams would take the 5 point map – but approximately 70! teams went on to attempt the entire course.  Nice!

Many teams opted to do the Obstacle course first – we have some awesome video of teams making their way around the course.  Up, over, under, on top, up, over under…screaming quads and a bit of balance got teams through to the toonie sling shot challenge.  There, teams attempted a bulls-eye and made their way around the rest of the ‘O’ map section.  Lead teams took approximately 50 minutes while other teams took over 2 hours.  All in all, checkpoint D caused the most amount of trouble for teams – assuming the river was the creek and then carrying on too far along the trail.

A special thank you once again to ESAR Staff and Volunteers and of course you the racer.  We will continue to work on making the race experience better each year.  We welcome your comments and suggestions (just not yet – haha) seriously let us know what you liked and didn’t like and we will do our best to change the shape of the earth to accommodate your biking, paddling and trekking desires.  Okay just kidding again.  As with all race courses we are bound by roads, and the terrain – we do our best to incorporate as many types of racing as we can – if the ESAR staff had their way – every bike section would be on single track – but we know that not everyone likes that stuff.  So we are listening and we welcome your suggestions.  (notice…no paint ball this year?)

Thank you all again.

See you soon!
Heather and Mark.

Hello All!

What a year!!  All of us at ESAR want to thank you for your incredible help at ESAR this year.  

Without your help – we could never make this event work. and we can’t thank you enough.

I would like to take a moment to review some of the events that occurred and to let you know how each of you played a vital role in making the race go off without a hitch (at least to the racers!)

The Set-up Crew:

Friday is one of the busiest days at ESAR.  I want to thank Ed and Mike for dragging themselves out to the river to run the lines in the feeding frenzy of mosquitoes.

Mike was also tasked with the unenviable job of carting 50 tables into the dome (only later to find that there was a ‘table dolly’) that would have made his life a million times easier.  And then of course I asked him to fill up every giant water jug that needed to be carted out to the TA’s.

Patty was my right arm this year and managed to create new numbers on shirts, set up all the host site signs, and basically let me tell her what to do every ten seconds.

Sherry, Donna, Sarah, Petra were super stars at registration.  Last year Donna suggested that we have all the waivers printed on 3-hole punch paper and I’m not sure why we didn’t do this 6 years ago!  

Registration Morning:

After heavy artillery bombing the night before – it was a surprise that everyone made it to registration by 6:30 am!

After a lovely breakfast and some mess hall java we were all off to start a very hectic morning.

No body said it was pretty – but driving the gear trucks is probably the second most important thing that happens at ESAR.  Mike, Jamie, Brent and Kris were trucking superstars – thank you.  This seems like the never ending task (and ESAR 2009 didn’t prove to be any different), having to complete 9 trucks runs loading and off loading the bikes to get them to CP 3 – you guys were awesome.  Now where would any good truck driver be without their handy-dandy loading friend?  Except for Jamie – who apparently lost his loading partner in the heavy shelling the night before – Christina and Pam were great truck partners! (I’m not sure if I missed anyone on trucks – but let me know!

CP1TA1

What a ZOO!!  Can you believe that we had 6 volunteers and staff at CP1 and it was still mayhem.  Pat yourselves on the back if you were there for the craziness.  Brenda, Wendy, Melissa, Patty and Don – all out as either CP staff or boat loaders on the water…300 racers converging on you at insane bike speeds…we know how un-nerving that can be.  You guys did an awesome job of getting teams moving quickly in the right direction.

I’m sure if you had your radio on – you heard the bit of radio chatter that had ESAR staff wondering if 100 canoes had actually made it to CP 1 – but it appears the the canoe outfitters managed to get their trucks into the right spot and unload all the boats with out too much trouble. whew!

CP2 TA2

A bit calmer but still very busy!  Sherry stayed dockside with Andrea – they guided teams off the river (and of course little puppy was there to cheers on the teams).

After a pain in the ass portage – racers checked in with Jennifer and Amy.  Nice work ladies.  That was a busy checkpoint and it seems like you got it all sorted out.

 

ESAR-Lite

Other than Mark starting the race – I think the ladies on Truck number four had this one nailed. Kris and Christina – helped me with the racer briefing and pretty much managed every little bit of ESAR -lite gear.  Thank you for being so self-sufficient and timely!

 

CP3 /TA 3

Cool heads prevailed.  My two seasoned volunteers Iris and Petra – managed one of the more urban friendly TA’s – but probably the most grumpy TA.  With one truck  load of bikes being delayed – there were about 12 time credits to manage.  With time credits come very unhappy racers.  Petra and Iris – have been around enough racers to keep heads calm and get things sorted out efficiently.  Thanks ladies – never a position we want to put staff in – but sometimes s-happens!

 

CP3 /TA 3

Cool heads prevailed.  My two seasoned volunteers Iris and Petra – managed one of the more urban friendly TA’s – but probably the most grumpy TA.  With one truck  load of bikes being delayed – there were about 12 time credits to manage.  With time credits come very unhappy racers.  Petra and Iris – have been around enough racers to keep heads calm and get things sorted out efficiently.  Thanks ladies – never a position we want to put staff in – but sometimes s-happens!

 

River Crossing

What can I say – we save these very special tasks for people that we think can handle it!  Patty and Don you went  above and beyond – hanging out at the river crossing making sure everyone made it out of the water and ensuring that no one was carried away by the mosquitoes.  A special thank you for making this part of the adventure safe for our racers.

 

CP4 (P31)

Christine – what a great help!! thank you – you made your way to Gate P31 – cleared everyone there and headed on over to CP 4 with Amy.  You entertained the racers with your radio – uh-oh – then the dreaded phone call…your battery was dead:(  I’m so glad you were able to get CAA to make it out to you.  Thank you again – your enthusiasm was awesome!

CP5/TA4

Donna and Sarah again – this time scaling a fence to get into their CP!  We were coming – to open the gate but you beat us to it!  Some of my favourite radio calls include:

Heather to CP5:  Donns did you enter through gate P22 or P23 OVER

Donna to HQ:  I see Gate 23 but we climbed the fence – don’t worry about bringing the key. OVER

 

SEAN to HQ: I can’t move forward on the course because I am stuck in the mud OVER

HQ to Sean: Silence – do you mean you have fallen In the mud and are stuck?

Sean to HQ: No – I’m not stuck in the mud – my van is stuck

HQ to Sean – Okay that’s not so bad…OVER

CP8 TA4

By this time, Brenda, Wendy and Melissa are old hat at being CP staff and have everything under control.  (except for one missing team – Team 12 spends about 2.5 hours looking for CP 6 and 7)

River Crossing

What can I say – we save these very special tasks for people that we think can handle it!  Patty and Don you went  above and beyond – hanging out at the river crossing making sure everyone made it out of the water and ensuring that no one was carried away by the mosquitoes.  A special thank you for making this part of the adventure safe for our racers.

CP4 (P31)

Christine – what a great help!! thank you – you made your way to Gate P31 – cleared everyone there and headed on over to CP 4 with Amy.  You entertained the racers with your radio – uh-oh – then the dreaded phone call…your battery was dead:(  I’m so glad you were able to get CAA to make it out to you.  Thank you again – your enthusiasm was awesome!

GATE P22

The oh-so important entry point!  Thank you Adam and Linda for managing this area.  What a busy gate – but you guys were superb!  Hopefully Adam is hooked and will want to become and adventure racer!

CP5/TA4

Donna and Sarah again – this time scaling a fence to get into their CP!  We were coming – to open the gate but you beat us to it!  Some of  my favourite radio calls include:

Heather to CP5:  Donns did you enter through gate P22 or P23 OVER

Donna to HQ:  I see Gate 23 but we climbed the fence – don’t worry about bringing the key. OVER

SEAN to HQ: I can’t move forward on the course because I am stuck in the mud OVER

HQ to Sean: Silence – do you mean you have fallen In the mud and are stuck?

Sean to HQ: No – I’m not stuck in the mud – my van is stuck

HQ to Sean – Okay that’s not so bad…OVER

CP8 TA4

By this time, Brenda, Wendy and Melissa are old hat at being CP staff and have everything under control.  (except for one missing team – Team 12 spends about 2.5 hours looking for CP 6 and 7).

CP9 TA5

I can honestly say that I don’t know who ended up as the CP9 staff.  I know I started there and then Sean took over and then it ended up in some very capable hands because everyone got the right map and cut off times were attended to – so let me know who was there and I can thank you as well.

Obstacle Course:

Christina and Kris once again ran a Military operation and this fun race section.  Cousin Brian was a super help getting ahead of the racers to set up the special task.  I know the Big Brother and Big Sisters crew was down there and all into the sling shot – thanks guys!

Another special thanks to Mike – who ended up at the obstacle course for something like 4 hours – cooking in the sun (waiting for that oh so elusive TEAM 12!)  damn them – they went home without telling anyone…

Sweep Team:

The longest job of the day!  Barb and Owen renewed their wedding vows on the course – okay not really…but they spent a day helping teams that needed it and following the last racers. Kind of like the United Way for racers – a bit of relief and help when teams need it most:)   They fixed flat tires, helped lost souls find their way and kept everyone at the back safe.  Our sweep team has to be self-sufficient, level headed and fit!  These two made our job 10 times easier by keeping track of the last people through the race course.  Thank you to you both!

Finish line:

Thank you to all those that came back to the finish line and kept me from crying!  Jamie, Patty, Jennifer, Iris and anyone else that took over from me for the last couple of hours.  Jamie helping set up our make-shift finish chute, Jennifer getting people to take off their dirty jerseys, Patty getting passports marked and posted and of course Iris setting up camp right at the finish line.  You guys were great!

Photographers:

I want to thank Mike and Luis for snapping photos all day.  Getting eaten alive to get the “good” pics.  We will have your photos posted and links up shortly.  The photos will capture teams memories in the moment!

ESAR Staff:

Mark, Sean, Vin, Andrea – once again another great year.  ESAR is only as great as it’s bit and pieces and you guys are the glue that holds all the work and planning together.  Thank you again – for your tireless efforts to make this day great.

I’m sure I have missed someone – please forgive me if I have – once again this race couldn’t happen without all of your help.  I hope you will join us again – or perhaps even at RockstAR coming up in July.  We welcome your comments and suggestions so that each year we can make it better for both racers and volunteers.

Sincerely

 

Heather and Mark Arnold.

I had some time and I sat down with a racer who did the race and went over some routes and race strategies. The question came up how long was ESAR? I really never know, we test the course more for time, as opposed to total length. I’m sure Vin know this stuff in his sleep, but this is what I worked out:

First Mountain Bike ride : 16 km

Paddle : 11 km flow rate of river was about 3 km per hour

Trek through Angus : 2 km

Bike Ride around top of base and crossing of river : 13.25 km

Trek into deep crappy woods and swamp : 3.5 km route estimated from transition area to cp7 then following river to cp6 and back out.

Ride back to Camp Blackdown : 8.25 km

Orienteering section in Blackdown training area including obstacle course: 7.375 km. Also estimated using route that I would travel (not straight line distance.

Total Kilometres: 61.375 !

The route was relatively flat and lacked the hills that may have been seen in Kimberly or in Hockley Valley. Therefore teams were able to cover the ground without the punishment.  This is what I think on first look, I could be wrong, but it seems to work out.

Hi everyone, we’ve finished off ESAR 2009 at C.F.B. Borden and it was a great success. The weather was fantastic and the course ran realtively smoothly. The old what’s new page that you may have been looking for had changed, and I’ve adopted a format that is much easier for me to add new content and videos. If you would like to find old “what’s new” for ESAR, then you will have to click here

The Results for ESAR 2009 are being worked on as we speak, and they should be up Wednesday at the latest. We have a head to head analyzer that allows you to compare your team to any other team in the race and it is really quite cool.

Photos were taken by Mike Van Den Bosch Photography and they can be found here

More photos are coming and will be up as soon as we have them.  Please be patient as we are still working very hard on this end to wrap up all the loose ends.

Also lost and found issues can be directed to mark@esar.ca and all lost and found as brought to FirePower Training in Milton where it is taking up valuable CrossFitting space. Please call mark at 416.970.3727 to make arrangements to pick up your gear.

http://www.vimeo.com/4232996