2021 Bitter Pill – Race Update #2

Racers – you should have received this in your inbox.

Wow, there’s a lot coming together for this race! This will not be a short update, but hopefully there’s lots of good insight here for you as we get closer to race day.

Canoe Waiver – Do This Right Now! 🙂
We’re doing everything we can to keep the check-in process this year as minimal as possible. In that spirit, please take a moment to complete the online paddle waiver. This will save you time on race morning!

Course Insights

• Lots of discipline changes on this course! Expect to be shifting to lots of different things throughout the day.
• There are no massive mountains in this area, but there is very little that is flat. Expect to be going up and down constantly.
• There will be times you will be traveling with all your required gear, including your PFD. It’s worth practicing this ahead of time.
• We recommend you consider some sort of long pants or tights; there’s a significant number of both stinging nettles and raspberry bushes in parts of the course. Consider yourself warned!

Covid Approach Update
We will largely be sticking with our covid approach for the race. Everything will be outdoors, including the food afterward.

The two adjustments we are making are:

• We will have a mass start at 6am rather than a staggered start. We will open up registration at 4:30a.m. You’ll receive your instructions and map(s) once you check-in.
• We will use standard checkpoint punches rather than words or another format.

Dinner Update!
We’re finalizing the details now, but we’ll have a local food truck coming to provide tacos (and sides), some additional snacks to grab, and individual drinks. The Craftsbury Outdoor Center will have adult beverages for sale as well. Not our typical massive buffet, but this is a reasonable option in Covid times which we are thankful we can offer. Depending on how closely together teams finish, there could be a bit of a line, but we’ll manage it as best we can.

We recommend that you bring camp chairs, blankets, etc., for after the race. Be ready to make yourself comfortable – you’ll have earned that! Feel free to bring your own cooler as you see fit, but please purchase any alcohol from the COC.

Cell Coverage
Cell phone coverage in this area ranges from extremely terrible to non-existent. We will have satellite phone coverage in the event of emergencies, but we wanted to give you a heads up on how much of a dead zone this region is.

Camping at Craftsbury Outdoor Center
Several of you have inquired recently about camping at the Craftsbury Outdoor Center. Craftsbury does not allow camping on its property, including sleeping in your car. They do still have lodging available which includes meals, in case that is of interest to you.

Closing Thought
This is going to be a Bitter Pill like no other, but some things are the same. You will have an adventure in the outdoors, go places you never would have otherwise, and have stories to tell afterward. We really appreciate the support and flexibility of so many of you; it’s this community that keeps us coming back year after year.

Cheers,
The GMARA Crew

p.s. Did you fill out that canoe waiver yet? Now is a good time.