Hello 2021 MSAR racers!
Thank you for registering for the sixth annual Maine Summer Adventure Race! We are excited to host you at Pineland Farms in New Gloucester for our 3-, 8-, and 24-hour events this year. Please read this racer update carefully as it is full of important information, some of it requiring time-sensitive action.
Pre-Race Meeting. We will host a virtual pre-race meeting in the week prior to the race date to provide additional information about the events and answer questions. We will post a recording of the meeting on YouTube. It is mandatory that all racers watch the entirety of the meeting before the race, as it will contain important updates.
COVID Update. After cancelling this race in 2020, we feel very lucky to be back this year hosting our community of adventure racers. Given the dropping number of COVID cases, the increasing availability of vaccines, and increased information about how to slow the spread of this virus, we are able to relax some of our COVID protocols from previous events (like the Wildlands Adventure Challenge we held in October 2020, which is returning for its fourth edition in late September 2021!). For this year we are recommending that all racers bring a mask and use it at their discretion. We plan to hold all race-related events outside (including registration, transition areas, and post-race festivities) in areas where social distancing is possible, but if you find yourself inside or otherwise in a location that requires or recommends mask-wearing (such as some of the restaurants or gas stations along the course), we ask that you comply with those rules. We will comply with all current USARA guidance about holding races safely while this public health emergency continues.
GPS Tracking for 24-Hour Teams. New for this year, we are offering GPS tracking for the 24-hour race through Enabled Tracking. This will allow race staff to track racers through the event for increased safety, but will also mean that your fans at home can watch your progress through the race course! We will send out the tracking website and post it to social media in the days leading up to the event.
Mandatory Gear Lists. The mandatory gear lists for each race are finalized and available to view on our website. Please 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.
Team Lists. Please review the team list as soon as possible and let us know if there are any errors or teammates missing. If you are waiting on a teammate to register they should register soon as all of our races are filling quickly. We have some limited spaces available for the 24-hour race for teammates looking to join existing teams. Please have your teammate join the waitlist and email us so we can send them a link to register.
Paddle Section(s) Info. The 3-hour race will not have any paddling this year. For the 8-hour and 24-hour races, expect flatwater conditions, with maybe a few riffles in places.
Paddle Gear. 8-hour teams wishing to use their own paddle gear can bundle their paddles and PFDs together and bring them to registration. No other gear or food resupply will be allowed in those bags.
For 24-hour racers, every team is allowed 1 paddle gear bag, and 24-hour teams in the packraft division with 3 or 4 team members are allowed 2 paddle gear bags. All gear must be contained within the bag or well-secured to the bag. We are not responsible for lost gear that is not sufficiently bundled together. You may use your paddle bag for food and gear resupply, with a 5 lb. per-racer limit (we will not be weighing bags but are asking teams to be respectful of our volunteers who will be lifting these around the course). In these bags you can include personal paddles, PFDs, packrafts, extra food, extra clothing, and anything else you may want to bring for resupply. All racers (packraft and non-packraft divisions) will have the same opportunities to access these bags, and will see them at more than one point during the race.There will be water available at the transition areas so do not pack water in your paddle bags; a small amount of other beverages are fine to pack. Even non-packrafting teams who are using the race-provided paddles and PFDs are encouraged to pack a small resupply paddle bag.
Packrafts. Only a few of the top teams will have time to complete the packraft section in the 24-hour race. Unless your team regularly clears (obtains all checkpoints on) 24-hour courses, you won't need a packraft. Of course, you're welcome to bring and use them if you're gung-ho on doing our packrafting section. But for all teams except the very top of the field, that decision will probably come at the cost of sacrificing other checkpoints during the race. Like last year, this year's course will be long enough to keep most racers busy for the full 24 hours even without doing the optional packrafting section. The course will also include a lengthy sea kayaking section (with kayak rentals included in the race fee), so everyone will get their fill of paddling even without packrafting. So why include a packrafting section? Packrafts allow us to reach really cool places that are inaccessible by other means. We also think they add an element of strategy to the race, as they are portable and allow for greater route choice.
Race Headquarters and Parking. Race day check-in will be located at the Pineland Farms Outdoors Center, at 15 Farm View Drive in New Gloucester, Maine. Plan to park in the lot on your first right as you enter the center (we will have volunteers guiding you in). Parking is about a five-minute walk away from registration.We have rented ample port-a-potties and there are also a couple of bathrooms inside the Pineland Farms Market, right by our registration table.
Race Day Schedule. The race day schedule for each race is available to view on our website. The 8-hour race registration opens at 6:00 a.m. with the pre-race briefing at 7:30 a.m. and race start at 8:00 a.m. The 24-hour race registration opens at 8:00 a.m. with the pre-race briefing at 9:30 a.m. and race start at 10:00 a.m. The 3-hour race registration opens at 10:30 a.m. with the pre-race briefing at 11:30 a.m. and race start at noon. We highly recommend arriving as close to when registration opens as possible because maps will be handed out as you register, so arriving early means you will have more time to plan your route. There is no bike drop for any of our races this year; bring your bikes to the start area ready to race (with lights for nighttime for 24-hour racers). Delicious hot and cold breakfast items will be available for purchase starting at 6:30 a.m. at the start location, perfect for munching on as you look over maps.
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 (except for hugs, which are allowed).
Post-Race Celebration. As usual, we will hold a post-race party immediately following the race. For 3- and 8-hour racers, we’ll have a hot food option (we think it will be a selection of grilled items but we’re waiting on confirmation) plus some side dishes. For 24-hour racers, we’ll have a full, hot breakfast buffet sourced locally by our host location, Pineland Farms. Vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free options will be available. Friends and family are welcome to join with a $15 donation to cover food costs. And there will be plenty of free beer flowing from our local beer sponsor, Oxbow Brewing (They’re great! Check out their breweries in Portland, Oxford, and Newcastle).
Seeking Volunteers. We are forever indebted to our fantastic volunteer crew, who you will see throughout the race weekend staffing our registration table and transition areas, and shuttling gear all over the course. If you know anyone who would like to help out during the race weekend, please have them get in touch with us. We offer 75% off entry fees to a future race for all of our volunteers as well as an event t-shirt, food during the race, extra swag, and entry to our big post-race feast.
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 an early thank-you to all our racers, Swiftwick is offering a 20% discount on a single order. Use the code: EVT21SMAR
Facebook. Please “like” our Facebook page to get updates before, during (for friends and family), and after the race!
Questions? Email us anytime at strongmachineAR@gmail.com.
Thank you for registering for the sixth annual Maine Summer Adventure Race! We are excited to host you at Pineland Farms in New Gloucester for our 3-, 8-, and 24-hour events this year. Please read this racer update carefully as it is full of important information, some of it requiring time-sensitive action.
Pre-Race Meeting. We will host a virtual pre-race meeting in the week prior to the race date to provide additional information about the events and answer questions. We will post a recording of the meeting on YouTube. It is mandatory that all racers watch the entirety of the meeting before the race, as it will contain important updates.
COVID Update. After cancelling this race in 2020, we feel very lucky to be back this year hosting our community of adventure racers. Given the dropping number of COVID cases, the increasing availability of vaccines, and increased information about how to slow the spread of this virus, we are able to relax some of our COVID protocols from previous events (like the Wildlands Adventure Challenge we held in October 2020, which is returning for its fourth edition in late September 2021!). For this year we are recommending that all racers bring a mask and use it at their discretion. We plan to hold all race-related events outside (including registration, transition areas, and post-race festivities) in areas where social distancing is possible, but if you find yourself inside or otherwise in a location that requires or recommends mask-wearing (such as some of the restaurants or gas stations along the course), we ask that you comply with those rules. We will comply with all current USARA guidance about holding races safely while this public health emergency continues.
GPS Tracking for 24-Hour Teams. New for this year, we are offering GPS tracking for the 24-hour race through Enabled Tracking. This will allow race staff to track racers through the event for increased safety, but will also mean that your fans at home can watch your progress through the race course! We will send out the tracking website and post it to social media in the days leading up to the event.
Mandatory Gear Lists. The mandatory gear lists for each race are finalized and available to view on our website. Please 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.
Team Lists. Please review the team list as soon as possible and let us know if there are any errors or teammates missing. If you are waiting on a teammate to register they should register soon as all of our races are filling quickly. We have some limited spaces available for the 24-hour race for teammates looking to join existing teams. Please have your teammate join the waitlist and email us so we can send them a link to register.
Paddle Section(s) Info. The 3-hour race will not have any paddling this year. For the 8-hour and 24-hour races, expect flatwater conditions, with maybe a few riffles in places.
Paddle Gear. 8-hour teams wishing to use their own paddle gear can bundle their paddles and PFDs together and bring them to registration. No other gear or food resupply will be allowed in those bags.
For 24-hour racers, every team is allowed 1 paddle gear bag, and 24-hour teams in the packraft division with 3 or 4 team members are allowed 2 paddle gear bags. All gear must be contained within the bag or well-secured to the bag. We are not responsible for lost gear that is not sufficiently bundled together. You may use your paddle bag for food and gear resupply, with a 5 lb. per-racer limit (we will not be weighing bags but are asking teams to be respectful of our volunteers who will be lifting these around the course). In these bags you can include personal paddles, PFDs, packrafts, extra food, extra clothing, and anything else you may want to bring for resupply. All racers (packraft and non-packraft divisions) will have the same opportunities to access these bags, and will see them at more than one point during the race.There will be water available at the transition areas so do not pack water in your paddle bags; a small amount of other beverages are fine to pack. Even non-packrafting teams who are using the race-provided paddles and PFDs are encouraged to pack a small resupply paddle bag.
Packrafts. Only a few of the top teams will have time to complete the packraft section in the 24-hour race. Unless your team regularly clears (obtains all checkpoints on) 24-hour courses, you won't need a packraft. Of course, you're welcome to bring and use them if you're gung-ho on doing our packrafting section. But for all teams except the very top of the field, that decision will probably come at the cost of sacrificing other checkpoints during the race. Like last year, this year's course will be long enough to keep most racers busy for the full 24 hours even without doing the optional packrafting section. The course will also include a lengthy sea kayaking section (with kayak rentals included in the race fee), so everyone will get their fill of paddling even without packrafting. So why include a packrafting section? Packrafts allow us to reach really cool places that are inaccessible by other means. We also think they add an element of strategy to the race, as they are portable and allow for greater route choice.
Race Headquarters and Parking. Race day check-in will be located at the Pineland Farms Outdoors Center, at 15 Farm View Drive in New Gloucester, Maine. Plan to park in the lot on your first right as you enter the center (we will have volunteers guiding you in). Parking is about a five-minute walk away from registration.We have rented ample port-a-potties and there are also a couple of bathrooms inside the Pineland Farms Market, right by our registration table.
Race Day Schedule. The race day schedule for each race is available to view on our website. The 8-hour race registration opens at 6:00 a.m. with the pre-race briefing at 7:30 a.m. and race start at 8:00 a.m. The 24-hour race registration opens at 8:00 a.m. with the pre-race briefing at 9:30 a.m. and race start at 10:00 a.m. The 3-hour race registration opens at 10:30 a.m. with the pre-race briefing at 11:30 a.m. and race start at noon. We highly recommend arriving as close to when registration opens as possible because maps will be handed out as you register, so arriving early means you will have more time to plan your route. There is no bike drop for any of our races this year; bring your bikes to the start area ready to race (with lights for nighttime for 24-hour racers). Delicious hot and cold breakfast items will be available for purchase starting at 6:30 a.m. at the start location, perfect for munching on as you look over maps.
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 (except for hugs, which are allowed).
Post-Race Celebration. As usual, we will hold a post-race party immediately following the race. For 3- and 8-hour racers, we’ll have a hot food option (we think it will be a selection of grilled items but we’re waiting on confirmation) plus some side dishes. For 24-hour racers, we’ll have a full, hot breakfast buffet sourced locally by our host location, Pineland Farms. Vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free options will be available. Friends and family are welcome to join with a $15 donation to cover food costs. And there will be plenty of free beer flowing from our local beer sponsor, Oxbow Brewing (They’re great! Check out their breweries in Portland, Oxford, and Newcastle).
Seeking Volunteers. We are forever indebted to our fantastic volunteer crew, who you will see throughout the race weekend staffing our registration table and transition areas, and shuttling gear all over the course. If you know anyone who would like to help out during the race weekend, please have them get in touch with us. We offer 75% off entry fees to a future race for all of our volunteers as well as an event t-shirt, food during the race, extra swag, and entry to our big post-race feast.
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 an early thank-you to all our racers, Swiftwick is offering a 20% discount on a single order. Use the code: EVT21SMAR
- 20% off everything except closeout, clearance, 3-packs, and eGiftCard items
- Limited to one use per customer
- Expires 12/31/21 at 11:59 pm CST
Facebook. Please “like” our Facebook page to get updates before, during (for friends and family), and after the race!
Questions? Email us anytime at strongmachineAR@gmail.com.
