**Final racer email with info from the 3-, 8-, and 24-hour races all included.
Dear racers,
We are less than 1 week from race day and we couldn’t be more excited to welcome you all to the 8th annual Maine Summer Adventure Race! This email will serve as our final communication before race day. Please review carefully, discuss with your teammates, and email us ([email protected]) with any last-minute questions that arise.
Race Headquarters and Parking. Registration will be at the gazebo in P-3 Park in Brunswick. Look for race volunteers who will direct you to park at the Brunswick Naval Aviation Museum, right next door. Please note that racers cannot park in the parking spots along P-3 Park and must leave their vehicles in the museum parking lot. There will be port-a-potties at P-3 Park and racers can also use the facilities at Wild Oats Bakery and Cafe just across the street. Wild Oats opens at 7:30 a.m. on Saturday morning for those who want to purchase breakfast or other food items. We recommend bringing your own water to fill your bottles and bladders for the race start. We will not provide water for racers at the start.
3-Hour Schedule and Race Notes. 3-hour race registration opens at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday. Teams will receive their map and course instructions at registration and we will hold a pre-race meeting at 11:30 a.m. to answer any additional questions. The race will begin at noon.
The 3-hour event is designed to be beginner- and family-friendly. Teams will need to bring bikes this year in order to get themselves to the hiking section. There is no paddle section for the 3-hour race. Family teams can bring bike trailers, backpacks, or any other gear needed to gently encourage younger teammates to move around the course!
8-Hour Schedule. 8-hour race registration opens at 6:00 a.m. on Saturday. Teams will receive their map and course instructions at registration and we will hold a pre-race meeting at 7:30 a.m. to answer any additional questions. The race will begin at 8:00 a.m and will finish at 4:00 p.m.
8-Hour Change to Personal Paddle Gear. Due to logistical constraints, we have determined that we will not accept personal paddle gear (e.g., PFDs, paddles) for the race. All racers will use the paddle gear provided by our kayak providers, which will include life jackets / PFDs and double-bladed kayak paddles.
8-Hour Boat Configurations. Teams will be assigned kayaks by race staff when they arrive at the paddle transition area. We will assign boats in the following configurations:
24-Hour Event Tracking. We are excited to be partnering once again with Enabled Tracking to offer 24-hour live GPS tracking of our teams out on course! Share the link [https://live.enabledtracking.com/msa2024/] with your friends and family so they can follow along. You can also view this video on how to wear your trackers so that your signal will remain strong throughout the race.
24-Hour Schedule. 24-hour race registration opens at 7:45 a.m. on Saturday. Teams will receive their map and course instructions at registration and we will hold a pre-race meeting at 9:30 a.m. to answer any additional questions. The race will begin at 10:00 a.m and will finish on Sunday at 10:00 a.m.
24-Hour Mandatory Bike Drop. This year we will require teams to drop their bikes at the Sawyer Park Boat Launch in Brunswick, located 10 minutes away by car from race headquarters. The bike drop will open at 7:00 a.m. on Saturday morning and your bikes will be watched by volunteers until you arrive during the race. You can leave a bike helmet, bike shoes, and any food or drinks that are attached to your bike, no additional bags or other gear.
24-Hour Boat Configurations. Teams will be assigned kayaks by race staff when they arrive at the paddle transition area. We will assign boats in the following configurations:
24-Hour Paddle Bags. Remember that all teams can bring one paddle bag that they will see before and after the paddle section(s) as well as at one other TA on course. This is a good place to stash extra changes of clothing and food resupplies. There will be water at all TAs so teams do not need to pack water in the paddle bags. Please do not overload your bags with liquids as this makes it very difficult for volunteers to transport your gear around the course. This year, we are instituting a 50-lb. limit on all paddle bags - and we will be weighing them at check-in.
Weather. At the moment, Saturday looks like it will be in the mid- to high-70s with a small chance of rain. We recommend checking throughout the week so that you can plan accordingly!
Mandatory Gear Lists. Please review the mandatory gear list for your race. Remember that these items are mandatory and may be checked on course; teams missing any items will be penalized 1 CP per missing item. We require these items for your safety. Teams should review this list as soon as possible and make sure they have all of the items by race day.
Please note that GPS-enabled watches and bike computers are not allowed. Racers who wish to use their Garmin watch in AR-mode must alert volunteers at registration. We will check your watch at the finish to ensure that it remained in AR mode for the duration of the event.
General Tips. We highly recommend arriving as close to when registration opens as possible because course maps will be handed out as you register, so arriving early means you will have more time to plan your route. Most teams in all of our races will not get all checkpoints (i.e. “clear the course”), meaning they will need to make strategic choices throughout the race about which checkpoints to go for and which ones to skip. All checkpoints (unless otherwise noted) will be marked with orange and white orienteering flags. Teams will use the punch hanging from the flag to mark the race-provided passport, showing which checkpoints they obtained. The team that obtains the most checkpoints in the least amount of time wins the race!
Spectators. Friends and family are welcome and encouraged to cheer you on throughout the course. We can provide more information about the course to fans interested in meeting their favorite teams on-course after the race start. Please alert your fans that they are not allowed to provide any special assistance to your team while the race is in progress.
Post-Race Celebration. We will hold a post-race party immediately following the race. All food will be sourced locally by our race partner, Wild Oats Bakery and Cafe. Friends and family are welcome to join in for the party and can purchase their own food at Wild Oats. And each racer 21+ gets one complimentary cup of P-3 Pale Ale from Flight Deck Brewing, which is right next door in case you want to keep the post-race party going!
Sponsors. We couldn’t do this without the generous support of our sponsors. Please consider supporting the businesses listed on our website as you stock up for your AR needs. We appreciate their ongoing support of our event and the sport of adventure racing!
As thank-you to all our racers, OutThereUSA is offering a 20% discount on their fantastic AR-specific race packs. Use the code: StrongMachine20
Facebook. Please “like” our Facebook page to get updates before, during (for friends and family), and after the race!
Did you miss our first racer update? Check it out on our website.
We can’t wait to see you all next weekend!
- Kate and Cliff
Dear racers,
We are less than 1 week from race day and we couldn’t be more excited to welcome you all to the 8th annual Maine Summer Adventure Race! This email will serve as our final communication before race day. Please review carefully, discuss with your teammates, and email us ([email protected]) with any last-minute questions that arise.
Race Headquarters and Parking. Registration will be at the gazebo in P-3 Park in Brunswick. Look for race volunteers who will direct you to park at the Brunswick Naval Aviation Museum, right next door. Please note that racers cannot park in the parking spots along P-3 Park and must leave their vehicles in the museum parking lot. There will be port-a-potties at P-3 Park and racers can also use the facilities at Wild Oats Bakery and Cafe just across the street. Wild Oats opens at 7:30 a.m. on Saturday morning for those who want to purchase breakfast or other food items. We recommend bringing your own water to fill your bottles and bladders for the race start. We will not provide water for racers at the start.
3-Hour Schedule and Race Notes. 3-hour race registration opens at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday. Teams will receive their map and course instructions at registration and we will hold a pre-race meeting at 11:30 a.m. to answer any additional questions. The race will begin at noon.
The 3-hour event is designed to be beginner- and family-friendly. Teams will need to bring bikes this year in order to get themselves to the hiking section. There is no paddle section for the 3-hour race. Family teams can bring bike trailers, backpacks, or any other gear needed to gently encourage younger teammates to move around the course!
8-Hour Schedule. 8-hour race registration opens at 6:00 a.m. on Saturday. Teams will receive their map and course instructions at registration and we will hold a pre-race meeting at 7:30 a.m. to answer any additional questions. The race will begin at 8:00 a.m and will finish at 4:00 p.m.
8-Hour Change to Personal Paddle Gear. Due to logistical constraints, we have determined that we will not accept personal paddle gear (e.g., PFDs, paddles) for the race. All racers will use the paddle gear provided by our kayak providers, which will include life jackets / PFDs and double-bladed kayak paddles.
8-Hour Boat Configurations. Teams will be assigned kayaks by race staff when they arrive at the paddle transition area. We will assign boats in the following configurations:
- Solo racers - 1 single kayak
- Mixed gender and female 2-person teams - 1 tandem kayak
- Male 2-person teams - 2 single kayaks
- All 3-person teams - 1 tandem kayak, 1 single kayak
- All 4-person teams - 1 tandem kayak, 2 single kayaks
24-Hour Event Tracking. We are excited to be partnering once again with Enabled Tracking to offer 24-hour live GPS tracking of our teams out on course! Share the link [https://live.enabledtracking.com/msa2024/] with your friends and family so they can follow along. You can also view this video on how to wear your trackers so that your signal will remain strong throughout the race.
24-Hour Schedule. 24-hour race registration opens at 7:45 a.m. on Saturday. Teams will receive their map and course instructions at registration and we will hold a pre-race meeting at 9:30 a.m. to answer any additional questions. The race will begin at 10:00 a.m and will finish on Sunday at 10:00 a.m.
24-Hour Mandatory Bike Drop. This year we will require teams to drop their bikes at the Sawyer Park Boat Launch in Brunswick, located 10 minutes away by car from race headquarters. The bike drop will open at 7:00 a.m. on Saturday morning and your bikes will be watched by volunteers until you arrive during the race. You can leave a bike helmet, bike shoes, and any food or drinks that are attached to your bike, no additional bags or other gear.
24-Hour Boat Configurations. Teams will be assigned kayaks by race staff when they arrive at the paddle transition area. We will assign boats in the following configurations:
- Solo racers - 1 single kayak
- All 2-person teams - 1 tandem kayak
- All 3-person teams - 1 tandem kayak, 1 single kayak
- Mixed gender and female 4-person teams - 2 tandem kayaks
- Male 4-person teams - 1 tandem kayak, 2 single kayaks
24-Hour Paddle Bags. Remember that all teams can bring one paddle bag that they will see before and after the paddle section(s) as well as at one other TA on course. This is a good place to stash extra changes of clothing and food resupplies. There will be water at all TAs so teams do not need to pack water in the paddle bags. Please do not overload your bags with liquids as this makes it very difficult for volunteers to transport your gear around the course. This year, we are instituting a 50-lb. limit on all paddle bags - and we will be weighing them at check-in.
Weather. At the moment, Saturday looks like it will be in the mid- to high-70s with a small chance of rain. We recommend checking throughout the week so that you can plan accordingly!
Mandatory Gear Lists. Please review the mandatory gear list for your race. Remember that these items are mandatory and may be checked on course; teams missing any items will be penalized 1 CP per missing item. We require these items for your safety. Teams should review this list as soon as possible and make sure they have all of the items by race day.
Please note that GPS-enabled watches and bike computers are not allowed. Racers who wish to use their Garmin watch in AR-mode must alert volunteers at registration. We will check your watch at the finish to ensure that it remained in AR mode for the duration of the event.
General Tips. We highly recommend arriving as close to when registration opens as possible because course maps will be handed out as you register, so arriving early means you will have more time to plan your route. Most teams in all of our races will not get all checkpoints (i.e. “clear the course”), meaning they will need to make strategic choices throughout the race about which checkpoints to go for and which ones to skip. All checkpoints (unless otherwise noted) will be marked with orange and white orienteering flags. Teams will use the punch hanging from the flag to mark the race-provided passport, showing which checkpoints they obtained. The team that obtains the most checkpoints in the least amount of time wins the race!
Spectators. Friends and family are welcome and encouraged to cheer you on throughout the course. We can provide more information about the course to fans interested in meeting their favorite teams on-course after the race start. Please alert your fans that they are not allowed to provide any special assistance to your team while the race is in progress.
Post-Race Celebration. We will hold a post-race party immediately following the race. All food will be sourced locally by our race partner, Wild Oats Bakery and Cafe. Friends and family are welcome to join in for the party and can purchase their own food at Wild Oats. And each racer 21+ gets one complimentary cup of P-3 Pale Ale from Flight Deck Brewing, which is right next door in case you want to keep the post-race party going!
Sponsors. We couldn’t do this without the generous support of our sponsors. Please consider supporting the businesses listed on our website as you stock up for your AR needs. We appreciate their ongoing support of our event and the sport of adventure racing!
As thank-you to all our racers, OutThereUSA is offering a 20% discount on their fantastic AR-specific race packs. Use the code: StrongMachine20
Facebook. Please “like” our Facebook page to get updates before, during (for friends and family), and after the race!
Did you miss our first racer update? Check it out on our website.
We can’t wait to see you all next weekend!
- Kate and Cliff
