Teams of four people followed a trail of clues around historic Summerville, completing physical and mental challenges. Everyone really had a great time running around like little kids, whether competing for the win or just trying to stay in the game (our team).

This year’s race shared a number of similarities to last year.  Prior to receiving a passport (the card to be punched at each checkpoint throughout the race), a short run in the town of McClellanville was required.  After completing the challenge, in this case solving two riddles, the race began with a kayak leg of about 10-12 miles broken up with two clusters of checkpoints along the way.

The transition from boats to bikes was the last in the race, with the remainder of the course being ridden throughout the Francis Marion Nation Forest.  Several challenges were required to pass some checkpoints, including a tightrope walk and a zip line.

music by Rebirth Brass Band out of New Orleans

There is a correction to the above time – the GPS was set to auto pause when stopped or not registering forward progress. I completed the race in 10hrs.

 More Swamp Fox & adventure racing articles
2010 Palmetto Swamp Fox Adventure Race
2011 Palmetto Swamp Fox Adventure Race
Adventure Racing Tips & Tricks

 What Worked

I seem to have honed in on a setup that works for me, at least as far as gear and nutrition.  I incorporated the same elements that worked in last year’s Swamp Fox race.  For a pack, I used the Roc Gear adventure racing hydration pack that I’ve been using for about 10 months now.

Nutrition

For nutrition, I took in a combination of Hammer Nutrition fuels and supplements, along with Cliff Bars.  For carbohydrates, protein and general endurance racing nutrients, I use a combination  of Hammer Nutrition products.  Mixing 3 scopes of orange-vanilla flavor Perpetuem endurance fuel with one scope of lemon-lime flavor Heed electrolytes, I assembled 3 batches of 500 calorie zip loc sandwich baggies that are then mixed with water in a bottle to prepare for use.

I start the race with one bottle already mixed and prepare a new one as soon as he previous runs out.  If taken alone for race nutrition, each bottle would last only about 1.5-2 hours.  But taken in conjunction with gels and bars, I find that they last more than two hours.

Navigation

In the first several miles of the race, I overshot a cluster of checkpoints. While this error did result in a poor finishing position, it had an unexpected positive impact on my experience overall.  Until now, in all of the races that I’ve been in, I’ve either been with a partner or among a number of other racers, minimizing my need (or ability) to focus on navigation.

My early error in this race put me out in the lead for a period of time, requiring that I stay oriented and execute proper orienteering. Without anyone around as a fallback, I focused on accurate plotting and measuring distances on bike and foot as tight as possible.

Thanks to my error, I feel like I’ve made a breakthrough in my navigation abilities and confidence.  While I wouldn’t recommend throwing a race and getting out in front just to get this experience, it does point out the benefits of at least racing alone on occasion to advance your orienteering.

I just started listening to music while I train. I know, late to the game. For the most part, I just didn’t like the music player options available. With the criteria of being waterproof, durable and lite, I hadn’t found the setup that was worth toting around while kayaking, running, biking, swimming and cross training. …until now.

The company waterfi sells a waterproof ipod shuffle that they have applied a waterproofing solution to from the inside out. Awesome! No bulky housing needed.

Paired with H2O Audio waterproof headphones and you have a minimalist music player that’s super easy to clip on and take with you in and out of the water.

Check out Amazon for deals on both of these items.

Indoor Rowing Competition article on MapMyRide

Anyone know where to get involved in Charleston South Carolina?

On the conditioning side, my new paddling regimen should benefit me in the upcoming Palmetto Swamp Fox Adventure Race, my third year racing it. Check out Swamp Fox registration and race organizer info.

I put in at Wapoo Creek, at Folly Road in West Ashley, and paddled around Charleston and across the arbor to Shem Creek, and back. I’m just getting into paddling around Charleston with my new (very old Current Designs Pisces) kayak and have a bit to learn about winds, tides and boating traffic.

…but that’s no reason to not dive right in.  I’m addicted already.

My dog Blue and I pulled out our “running of bulls” costume and joined the fun.  For this race, I handed off the filming duties to Blue, mounting the GoPro video camera on his back.

We met a lot of really nice people and pooches along the coarse and at the after party. It’s a must do event and we’ll definitely be back next year.

The race starts at Marion Square in downtown Charleston and runs down to the Battery, along and the water, and back.

It’s flat, fast and–most importantly–fun! A lot of runners wear  costumes, making for a nice distraction when during the race.

Still recovering from the Scotland Coast to Coast endurance multisport race last month, I spent the morning volunteering at this year’s race. What an amazing race – experience!

Results, Video and Maps:

All was going well to finish in the top half of the field until I missed a course marker and lost an hour climbing the wrong mountain (Ben Nevis).  This error put me into the final checkpoint after dark, too late to pick up the kayak for a one mile paddle to the finish.  Despite not punching my number at the finish line, I was given a finishing place of 148 out of 250 in the Racer category.  I’m already planning to return in 2012 for a better showing.

Mobile-friendly YouTube video: http://youtu.be/CKV3pxJOEi0

Scotland Coast to Coast – multi-sport endurance race from Dominic Taverniti on Vimeo.

GPS Data from 2011 Scotland Coast to Coast race

Note: The above course is about 13 miles shy of the finish line.  My GPS unit, the Garmin 310xt, ran out of power during the final run leg of the race.

Maps of Scotland Coast to Coast race provided by race organizer

Coarse First Half

Coarse Second Half

January 17, 2011 – first entry

I’m registered for the 2011 Scotland Coast to Coast race, a run-ride-paddle multisport adventure race across Scotland this September.  At around 105 miles long, it won’t be the longest race I’ve done, but the setting will be amazing.  This will actually be my first time to Scotland and this will be an exciting way to take in some sights that I wouldn’t otherwise see as a bar-hopping tourist.  …that will be recovery day post race.

So 2011 will only be the second year of this race.  Based on racers’ feedback on the organizer’s website, it was well-planned and enjoyed thoroughly by the field.

Did you do the Nokia Coast to Coast inaugural race in 2010? Any advice for me in my preparation and training leading up to September?

Scotland Coast to Coast – Rat Race Event from ResetFilms.co.uk on Vimeo.

I recently learning about the Waterproof Action Sport Pack from a Checkpoint Tracker tweet.  But after searching the web for more information on it, I couldn’t find a single review or buyer comment. The company’s product page for The Action Sports Waterproof Hydration Pack (note the naming inconsistency when searching for this pack) contains some information, but is light on details and doesn’t actually show the pack being worn.

This waterproof adventure racing hydration pack continues to grow on me, with over 200 training miles logged with it thus far.  I thought that it was going to be a bit ridged, but has proven to be a great fit and very versatile.  The pack has a low profile that hugs your back really well, with very lightly padded shoulder straps and backing. The profile of the pack has been noticeably more streamlined than my other packs with very little wind drag.  I didn’t really identify this as an issue with other bags, but realize the value now that I feel the difference.

With a 10 liter payload capacity and 2 liter water bladder, I think this pack will be large enough for 24hr adventure races and possibly a bit longer. Being streamlines and fairly light weight at 1.7lbs with the water bladder, I’m going to use it for shorter races in the 12hr range as well. While 1.7 pounds is hardly the lightest 10 liter adventure racing pack on the market, it won’t gain the weight that other fabric packs will when saturated with water. Personally, I find my packs to always be soaked from either kayaking, swimming, sweating or rain.

The Waterproof Action Sports Hydration Pack (staying consistent with the inconsistent naming) lacks  a few features that I had on my mandatory checklist, including water bottle holders and waist pocket, but I’ve addressed the void with a Nathan Velocity Hydration Pack. I initially ordered the Waterproof Waist Pack by Roc Gear, designed to couple with this backpack, but found it to be a bit too large for me. It also did not contain sufficiently large enough side pockets to store nutrition bars and such. Nathan’s Velocity Hydration Pack, with a horizontal cradle for a 22oz bottle, fits perfectly below the pack.

The mouth off the bag is a vertical opening sealed with Roc Gear’s own plastic slide zipper. It’s very simple to open and close and provides easy access to the vertical length of the bag.

The shoulder straps have a number of attachment points, including hydration hose clips on both straps that swivel and offer more mounting angles than a fixed position clip. This is my first pack with this feature and I really like it.

Two spring-loaded metal clips are permanently sewed into each strap for attaching an adventure racing map case. I’m suspect of these hooks however and expect them to rust and foul up long before the pack wears out. I would rather they were detachable.

There are also some other attachment points on the straps, including some plastic D-rings and some buckle clips, designed to fit a separate chest pack attachment. This attachment from the manufacturer looks to be much too bulky for adventure racing–in my opinion–similar to the waterproof waist pack.

All in all, I give the bag a great rating. It’s the best adventure racing bag that I’ve used thus far and look forward to see how it performs on race day.

Product description from the manufacture: