24 hr description
The 24 hr race is the next step for those who have dabbled in shorter adventures races, or those with experience in multi-sport racing. Those with adventure racing experience with find the course challenging, rewarding, and beautiful. All portions of the 24 hr are more technical than its 6 hr little brother. Navigation will be challenging through out the race, with familiarization with a nautical chart a must. The Trekking sections will also be very challenging for the navigators.
Kayak: (~ 30 miles) The San Juan Islands offer some of the best kayaking in the world, so we can’t let that pass us by. The kayaking leg of the 24 hr race involves multiply channel crossings to numerous islands throughout the archipelago. Some of the kayaking will occur at night, so navigators must be familiar with nautical navigation lights. The San Juan Islands waterways are beautiful, and also moving. The currents generated by the rise and fall of the tides can be as strong as 6 knots in certain areas. The ability to read a current atlas will allow teams to most effectively decide on a route that will avoid opposing currents, and take advantage of the favorable ones. The 24 hr course is heavy on kayaking.
Mt. Biking: (~ 30 miles) The biking, as with all sections of the 24 hr course a technical leg. Lots of time on single track with roots, rocks, and other obstacles that mother nature has put in your path to make you stop and smell the roses (or perhaps kiss the dirt). The navigation on the biking portions is not as difficult as the other two disciplines, but mistakes in navigating can quickly cost teams substantial amounts of time. For those not familiar with riding in the northwest, a quick tip, roots are evil devices placed in the trail with a sole purpose to cause your front tire to leave terra firma, and be replaced by your face. Wet roots are exponentially crueler.
Trekking: (~ 15 miles) Trekking the San Juan Islands beautiful trails is a true pleasure and delight. The vistas from atop various knolls, knobs, and hills are spectacular. The overgrown maze of trails that lead to those locations makes the views that much more rewarding. Navigation through this maze will be the most difficult of the race. But with great challenge, comes great reward.