34 teams have already signed up for this year’s race! Of those, exactly half signed up in the packraft division. In addition, we have been able to source a sizable number of rafts for use by those that do not own their own packrafts.

As a result, we have decided to move to a packraft ONLY event!

We are very excited for this change, but it does mean we’ve had to lower the cap to 50 for racers needing boats. As I write this, there are 47 slots full (47 once all registered teams fill their rosters).

That means we only have registration space for 1 more team that need packrafts.

For those that do own your own rafts, there is currently no cap, but that’s no reason to delay signing up – pricing only goes up as the race gets closer!

To register, visit this page: Hard Fall 24hr Adventure Race 2024 (runsignup.com)

Several people have reached out either looking to join a team, or hoping to find someone to join their existing one. To help connect fellow racers, I created this simple spreadsheet which you can add your name to and browse at any time to find teammates.

Lastly, one question I’ve been asked by several people – “Will we be required to carry our packrafts during the race or will they be staged”? The answer is they will be staged, there won’t be any legs you are REQUIRED to carry them, though there may be parts where you choose to.

Hello Test Your Nettle Racers!

Oct 9th is quickly approaching, I hope you are getting as excited as we are! A few notes:

Final pre-race briefing:

• Test your Nettle 3hr race virtual Pre-Race Briefing will be Tuesday Oct 5th at 8:00p.

• The zoom link will be: (This link has been removed from the website post to prevent bot SPAM, if you need the link please email us)

• The meeting will be recorded if you cannot attend.

Additional notes:

• Race location: Drumroll please….Check-in/Race start and Finish will be….At the overflow parking lot on the south end of Lake Willoughby! We’ll have flags out, and the entrance to this lot is right next to the driveway for the notch house, so if you put that into your GPS you’ll find us. Here’s the google map.

• Weather is looking pretty good for the moment! partly cloudy with highs around 64. Though there is a chance of some evening showers that may sneak up on us. Friendly reminder to pack an extra warm and/or dry layer to make your race pleasant no matter the conditions.

• We have boat capacity for several more teams, so if you know anyone that might be interested in an event like this, please encourage them to sign up – registration officially closes this Sunday Oct 3rd.

• We look forward to seeing you on Tuesday, Oct 5th, at 8:00PM ET for the pre-race briefing!

Hello Hard Fall Racers!

Final pre-race briefing:

• The Hard Fall 24hr race virtual Pre-Race Briefing will be Tuesday, Oct 5th, at 8:30PM ET.

• The zoom link will be: (We removed this link from the website posting to prevent SPAM, if you don’t have the link please email us)

• The meeting will be recorded if you cannot attend.

Additional notes:

• We have a new waiver that needs your signature. This will need to be completed before you can race, so please take care of it right now, it will take 3 minutes tops. ****As a reward for opening the link and signing the waiver, you’ll learn a secret about the course route!! 🙂  https://waiver.smartwaiver.com/w/5eb5a23fd993e/web/

• I have confirmed with the boat provider that canoes do not have a middle seat. For 3-4 person teams that have and want to bring a removable middle seat, this will be allowed to be transported in your team’s paddle bag. For anyone looking to make their own, here’s a fun DIY example I saw Bend Racing put together for nationals earlier this month with a little PVC and an adjustable strap: https://www.facebook.com/BendRacing/photos/pcb.6719361948089227/6719361204755968

• A clarification on paddle gear/paddle bags – you only need to bring a bag if you are bringing your own gear (paddles, PFDs, and/or canoe seat). If you plan to use the gear supplied by the boat provider, we will handle all transport.

• Garmin watches with the special “AR mode” will be allowed. If you plan to use one, please notify race staff at race check in, and you must show race staff at the finish to verify it remained in AR mode for the duration of the race.

• Extended weather forecast is looking marginally decent – partly cloudy with daytime highs around 64, and Saturday night lows around 44 with a short window of possible evening showers. Of course the weatherman is only right 50% of the time so take that forecast with a healthy dose of skepticism, but let it serve as a friendly reminder it can get cold quickly at night, especially with a little rain, so make sure you’re packing plenty of warm/dry clothes – it’ll make 3am all the more pleasant.

• That’s all for now, see you all Tuesday!

Hard Fall racer update #1:

Lots of news to share, so we’ll get straight to the good stuff:

1. Check-in/finish location:
   1. The St. Johnsbury School – 257 Western Ave, St Johnsbury, VT 05819
2. Schedule updates:
   1. Check-in will now take place race morning, starting at 7AM. Race instructions and maps (or at least some of the maps) will be handed out after your entire team checks in.
   2. Race start has been pushed back slightly to 10AM, though you will be transported by bus to a secret start location, so be ready by 9AM still. Expect that masks will be mandatory for the drive.
3. Discounted lodging:
   1. The Comfort Inn and Suites in St. Johnsbury is about 1.5 miles from the check-in/finish.
   2. If you call to book and mention “GMARA”, you can get a reduced rate of $199/night with a 1 night minimum if arriving on Friday (while availability permits).
4. Updated bike policy:
   1. The Hard Fall FAQ posted on the site had specifically disallowed road and cyclocross bikes – then we got questions about gravel bikes and figured it may be time to re-evaluate the policy.
   2. The update is as follows: “Our courses typically feature all sorts of terrain, including technical trails, forest roads, paved roads, and even hike-a-bike sections. We want people to be safe and that means at minimum, no road bikes or road bike tires. If you show up with a road bike or skinny/slick road type tires, we won’t be letting you race. While we STRONGLY encourage bikes with front suspension, gravel or cyclocross bikes are now also fair game (though your arms and backside might not appreciate the decision).
5. Gear transport
   1. For each team we will be transporting (1) paddle bag, and (1) gear bin. Paddle bags must contain ONLY PFD’s and paddles. Please no bladders full of water, extra food, etc (that’s what the gear bin is for!)
   2. Gear bin’s must be the 27 gallon, yellow top type like this one from lowes. Home Depot, Walmart etc all carry the same one.
6. Boats and paddles
   1. We expect 3 and 4 person teams will be in canoes (1 boat for 3 person teams, 2 boats for 4 person teams), and 2 person teams will be in tandem kayaks. This may change if we run into supply shortages in the canoe category.
   2. Teams may choose to bring their own paddles and pfd’s, or use the race supplied options. (Basic style pfd, racers in canoes would get canoe paddles, and kayakers would get kayak paddles)
7. Zoom Q&A “Racing for Rookies”:
   1. Not sure what to expect race morning? Looking for tips and tricks to make your first adventure race go more smoothly? Then join us for our “Racing for Rookies Q&A”
   2. This will be held mid September, exact date and time still TBD
8. Zoom final Q&A for all racers:
   1. We will have a call in the week leading up to the race to answer all of your final questions, exact date and time still TBD.

Lastly, we’re going to leave the comments open for this post on the website, if you have questions as the race approaches please leave them there.

GMARA was proud to partner with the Hinesburg Town Forest Committee for the first time, and to bring you the third edition of our bite-sized adventures!

From the feedback we continue to receive, the bite-sized, “do it at your own speed, on your own time” type events seems to be a hit! Unfortunately due to some insurance hiccups we weren’t able to announce this thirt installment until just a couple days before it opened, but that didn’t stop almost 20 teams from exploring the beautiful winter wonderland of the HTF.

Timing could not have been better as the warm weather is quickly rolling in, and temps climbing briefly into the 60’s – we might not have snow much longer! The combination of warm and cold days added unique challenges – some teams had clumps of wet sticky snow as ankle weights, and other teams had a crusty top layer that would only sometimes break under full weight, making every off-trail step a clunky surprise! You can see the photos teams shared, as well as their result sheets, in the photo gallery.

EVENT RECAP:

Teams received their instructions and maps before the “nine-day drop-in-whenever-you-like” window began. Participants were given 2 options for maps, either a HTF trail map with the points pre-plotted, or alternatively a blank trail map along with a topo map of plotted points incase they wanted to practice reading a topo map and transferring the points to the trail map (a valuable skill in adventure racing!) There were 18 total points, and of those only 4 were on trail. The layout of points was designed so there wasn’t just one clear route choice for a team looking to clear all the points – I’d say this was a success as we received multiple emails wondering how other teams approached the course and what was the best route.

It was fun to see the varied approaches, ranging from teams dropping by on multiple days to grab a few more points each time, to experienced teams pushing to do everything as quickly as they could in a single go.

We’re glad you all made the event your own!

While this was largely a non-competitive event, we can’t help but highlight team CloudKicker who postholed the entire course and finished in an impressive 3 hours 45 minutes! (Even after losing a shoe in knee deep snow and having to dig a giant hole to find it!) An impressive feat of navigation, speed, and endurance!

Congratulations to everyone that participated. For those curious for something bigger, the Bitter Pill is coming up later this summer. To everyone reading this, we hope you are finding time to have adventures, whatever size they may be!

Hello adventure racers!

T-Minus 2 1/2 weeks till race day! Bolton backcountry just got another foot yesterday with more on the way!

A few important details:

• NOTE TO THOSE PLANNING TO RENT EQUIPMENT: Bolton has a ton of new staff this year including at the Nordic center. This year they are not reserving equipment in advance as in year’s past. To avoid any last minute problems/rental shortages, please fill out this form so we can give Bolton an accurate number of expected rentals and make sure they have enough size 9 boots and such. https://goo.gl/forms/tGJbv6QSYoZU24Uz2
• Please review the race documents including rules, required gear lists, and waivers (link below). If you are a veteran racer it will all look familiar as nothing has changed. Pack carefully, there might be an on course gear check or challenge that will be made easier with what you’ve packed (hint hint) Race Rules/Mandatory Gear/Waivers
• For Nettle racers the same gear lists applies, with the exception that xc skis are optional.
• If you’re looking for an easy solution to the med kit requirements, I’m a big fan of the “Adventure Medical Kits Ultra light” kits, OGE stocks them.
• As it stands now we will NOT force you to carry your skis through the wilderness – they’ll be on your feet or in the care of a volunteer. You’re welcome.

FRIGID RACERS SCHEDULE:

Check in will be Friday March 1st anytime 5:30pm-9:00pm. Expect this to take about 20-30 minutes. Verifying gear, filling out medical forms, team picture and picking up race swag!

Pre-race briefing is scheduled for Saturday morning at 4:30am. You’ll want to make sure you’re ready to go by then. Race start is at 5am, with all racers expected to be off course no later than 3pm. Dinner is expected to be served by 4:30pm.

NETTLE RACERS SCHEDULE:

Check in will be Saturday March 2nd from 9-9:45am, followed by the pre-race briefing at 9:45 and mass start at 10am, with all racers expected to be off course no later than 3pm. Dinner is expected to be served by 4:30pm.

FREE NAVIGATION CLINIC:

Friday evening from 8-9pm we will be hosting a free navigation clinic for anyone that wants to hone/refresh some skills before race day. If you’ve never used a compass or looked at a topo map before, it would be good to spend a few minutes learning the basics between now and then. REI has a great video (7 minutes) explaining compass navigation which can be found here: Learn to Navigate With Map And Compass

WIN A $50 OGE GIFT CARD!

In case you missed our last email, we’re extending our OGE gift card raffle! To win, all you have to do is spread the word about the races – When a team of new racers signs up for either the Frigid or the Nettle by Feb 18th and mentions your name, you’re automatically entered!

ANY OTHER QUESTIONS?

If you have any questions please post in the comments section below so we can answer for all to see!

— Tom