After a break of several years, we were very excited to return to our roots with our longest standing race, The Bitter Pill. The 2025 edition ventured into new territory in the wilds of the Northeast Kingdom.

Racers started the day with a dark and misty 4:15AM arrival to Burke Mountain Hotel where they loaded buses and set off for a yet-to-be-disclosed starting location. As the ride progressed, some teams began to get nervous about just how far this bus was taking them. A few racers took the opportunity to get some additional sleep!

After the mysterious forty-five minute ride, they arrived and found themselves on the southern fog-drenched shores of Moore Reservoir in Littleton, NH – the first time the Bitter Pill has ever been outside of Vermont proper.

Still with no idea of what exactly lay ahead, teams received sealed envelopes, a short verbal introduction, and then the clock started at about 5:50AM as they revealed their maps and course instructions for the first time. As of that moment, they were on the clock, with an official end of race cutoff at 6:10pm. (Ten extra minutes! GMARA must be getting soft…)

For the first leg, teams could gather up to 13 points using a combination of paddling and trekking. While a few teams headed straight for the boats to brave the dense fog that was hiding TA1 on the other side of the reservoir, most folks set off on foot, jogging down the snowmobile trail toward CPs 2-5. Aside from some briar-ravaged legs (we warned you!) and a few bee strings (bad luck), racers reemerged from the woods in good spirits and headed for the water.

The reservoir presented some unique strategy decisions. There were 3 points (CPs A, B, C) on the opposite shore where teammates could split up and gain efficiency by dropping a team member at one point and picking them up farther down the shore. There were also two points that could be gathered on this stage or in the following stage by bike, saving a couple miles of paddling in exchange for some added miles of biking and a short swim.

Teams started trickling in off the water to TA1 at the Waterford boat launch (back in Vermont, phew) around 9:00AM where they were greeted by a group of friendly volunteers and their bikes.

From there started the longest leg of the race with a minimum of 16.5 miles and more than 2000’ of hills ahead. Aside from a few grassy logging roads to access some optional points along the reservoir, most of the ride northward was on classic VT gravel, class four (unmaintained) roads, some ATV trails and only a couple hundred yards of pavement. Those who skipped CP10 on the paddle could also zip down a rough trail on bikes and swim ~200ft out to the flag perched on a buoy.

Navigation was generally pretty straightforward, but a surprise Saturday visit by the Victory town road grader gave racers an extra challenge with loose gravel and clouds of dust along the final long climb to TA2. While some conspiracy theorists may implicate GMARA in arranging said grader, we promise it was just a pleasant coincidence.

By the time teams reached TA2 in the heart of Victory State Forest, the heat and humidity had climbed at about the same pace as the elevation gain. Luckily, fresh water and surprise freeze pops awaited them for a double action boost to morale and blood sugar.

Once teams had finished their pops and planned their Stage 3 trek, they headed into the woods on foot. There were a total of 13 CPs available (all optional) spanning high elevation reentrants to lowland points around “Bog Pond” – who could resist! (well, actually everyone except one team. It’s almost like people have some memories of GMARA and bogs and ponds and swamps, oh my. Note: we’ll have to try to find Bog Swamp Pond for the next race.)

There were two points that teams could retrieve on foot during this stage or on the following bike stage; teams definitely took differing strategies here which we love to see.

The woodland travel was extremely variable, ranging from open deciduous forests and beaver ponds, to moss covered evergreen groves and dense cedar swamps. Teams who stayed close to the TA had relatively simpler navigation, and things got trickier the further afield they ventured.

Course instructions recommended returning from the trek and leaving TA3 by 3:45PM in order to make time for the last bike stage back to the finish line. While only a minimum of 8.5 miles, it packed another healthy dose of elevation (at least 1500’) as the route snaked around and up the back side of Burke mountain. Teams could choose a more direct route with extra elevation that ascended single track trails before dropping down to the rough, unmaintained CCC Road, or take a longer route that back tracked down Victory Hill Road and entered the CCC Road on mellower terrain (at least to start).

While mostly biking (plus some bike pushing, let’s be honest), this last stage also offered optional points to trek up the steep ski slopes of Burke Mountain, or up the Red Trail to a beautiful mossy saddle. Seven teams also took the option to drop down onto some more technical mountain biking trails, and make their way back to the finish from below, while the rest of the field decided to ride the rough and rocky, water bar-filled CCC Road down to the Toll Road and back to the finish!

The finish line was an exciting place to be as most teams rolled in between 6:00 and 6:10PM, squeaking in right under the time limit to a crowd of cheering friends, family and fellow racers. Everyone was down safe and sound by 7:00PM and welcomed by cold Shrubbly beverages (one of our sponsors), a hearty buffet, plus awards and raffle at the resort.

Thank you to all the racers who showed up and gave it their all on a big and challenging course. And a huge shout out to and thank you to all the volunteers, friends, family and partners whose ingrained knowledge & go-get-it-done attitude keeps the gears turning and the freeze pops flowing.

And special thank you to our sponsors!
– Mammut
– Outdoor Gear Exchange
– Shrubbly
– New Chapter
– Ski Vermont
– Cabot Cheese

In the premier 3 person coed division, team GMARA edged ahead of Rootstock Racing by just 2 points to take first place. Interestingly, across the course there were 3 CPs that were only visited once, two of them by GMARA and one by Rootstock. Other division winners were Chaos Required (2 person male), NYARA-Ubuntu (2 person coed), Out of Control (3 person male), Snack Attack (3 person female) and Meowtain Cats (2 person female).

And here are the full race results, in either a google sheet or excel format, down to every last CP punch! And be sure to check out the copious race photos.

If any teams have GPS tracks or writeups, please send them our way and we’ll include them here!

– Chaos Required Race Writeup

Lastly, check out this set of heat maps that show how often CPs were frequented! Sample:

Note: This went to racers in early June.

Hello Racers!

With May and all its 40° rain and snow behind us, it felt like a good time to send a thread of warmth from the summer everyone’s been patiently waiting for.

We’re very excited to see this year’s Bitter Pill filling up fast, with only a couple 2-person team openings left, and a few more in the 3-person category. If you have friends or family who want to join, now is the time to sign up! Speaking of which…

Please Register Your Teammates!
If your team has not filled its roster yet (e.g. you have a 3 person team, but only 1 or 2 people signed up so far), please do so ASAP. We will be placing an order for shirts very soon, and we need everyone’s shirt size from the registration form to make that happen. The sooner you do this, the less nerve wracking it is for us (and the more likely it is you’ll get the right size shirt). Thank you! (Link to Registration)

Accommodations & Bike Rentals
The East Burke area is abound with options for places to stay, but our host, Burke Mountain Hotel, has kindly offered a 10% discount on hotel rooms. Just ask for the GMARA room block and the discount to be applied to your stay. If you’ve already booked a room, you can call up reservations (866-966-4820) and ask them to move your reservation into the GMARA block and the discount will be applied retroactively.

Also, whether you need a bike for the race, or are making it a long weekend and want to rent something beefier for before-or-after fun on Kingdom Trails or the Burke Mountain Bike Park, there are multiple shops around town that offer great rental options.

Every Course Detail You Could Ever Want
Just kidding. But what you can look forward to is some beautiful paddling, all sorts of different biking, as much trekking as you want, a particularly diverse set of strategy decisions, and maybe a few surprises thrown in along the way. Also, note that there will be one mandatory bike leg of significant distance on (mostly) VT dirt/4th class roads that might be worth preparing for with some longer rides over the next month and a half.

We hope your training is going well and look forward to seeing you in July!

Cheers,
The GMARA Crew

More details coming soon, but in a surprise to even us we ARE bringing the Bitter Pill back in 2025, in an entirely new area of Vermont. More soon! Registration soon! Get adventuring now!

We’ve fielded lots of questions about our 2024 schedule. It’s exciting to see all the interest!

Thanks for your patience while we sorted through what was possible. After hosting last year’s USARA National Championships, we needed some time to see who had energy to focus on this year’s events.

We will be hosting the 24-hour Hard Fall in southern Vermont. We expect this event to sell out well in advance, so please sign up as soon as registration opens to guarantee your team a spot. We are determining if we can also hold a shorter Test Your Nettle event that same weekend; we’ll have an update on that front in a few weeks.

We’ll also be hosting, in partnership with Women of AR, a weekend training clinic to help women grow in the sport. Details will be posted to the site soon.

And inclosing, some disappointing news to many – we will not be holding a Bitter Pill in 2024. Our organizers are either focused on the two events above or spending some time racing themselves. We do expect the Bitter Pill to return in 2025!

The Bitter Pill returned to familiar terrain for 2022, starting from Blush Hill Country Club in Waterbury on a crisp 49º morning.

A heavy fog was rising as racers began their descent, and the silence was unbroken but for the eerie cry of burning brakes on a rented Mongoose mountain bike and the crunch of broken glass under bike tires in the middle of the road. Starting things off right!

Racers received maps at race start, one big overview map with a number of smaller focus areas. The first leg was mostly on Vermont roads and the navigation wasn’t too complex, so teams set out without needing much planning time, collecting a single checkpoint flag on a local bike path.

Whatever route teams chose, one thing was certain – reaching the first transition area meant a lot of uphill biking, a harbinger of the day ahead.

The next leg had checkpoints placed all around the Waterworks trail network, the source of Waterbury’s water supply. Unlike many GMARA legs with the word “water” in them, this wasn’t a swamp – but it was a maze of twisty passages, with official trails not always matching the reality on the ground.

Racers at TA1 had many options – they could leave their bikes in the large field of goldenrod and pick up points on foot, they could attempt to bike the trails (with permission from the town for our event), or a little of both. Teams even had the option of hitting the final two CPs as part of this section or on the way to TA 3.  A few teams found all the points 2-9 and Bonus Point A during this leg, but all the teams found the navigation a challenge.

After they’d had their fill of trails, racers left TA2 on their bikes. Dirt roads, paved roads, and a bit of travel on scenic route 100 took them over the north end of Waterbury Reservoir into the Mount Mansfield State Forest, collecting one beautiful waterfall checkpoint midway.

Thankfully, this did involve a bit more biking uphill. Wouldn’t want those tires to get cold.

It was during this leg that racers had their first shot at CP Y, a non-standard “get it anytime today” checkpoint on the edge of the reservoir.

At TA3, a gallon of fresh water and some happy birthday mini cupcakes were waiting for racers when they arrived. Bikes were set aside again for “the big trek” – checkpoints 11-19 and three bonus points B-C-D at higher elevation were available for teams on foot.

Many racers expressed appreciation that this was “pure orienteering”, no nasty web of trails to throw off your navigation. Volunteers staffing TA 3/4 enjoyed seeing that there was no clear consensus about the best way to start, and racers chose a variety of routes. If you’re curious to see more route details, check out the Strava Flyby. It’s fascinating! If you’ve uploaded your track to Strava and need help making it public so it adds to the tangle, please let us know.

After the trek it was back to TA4. Teams traded in their old, ripe passport for a fresh new one and enjoyed a few snacks including Seriously Sharp Cheddar provided by Cabot. The next leg would take racers through the flow trails at Little River State Park, so they were handed a WATA trail map to make sure they weren’t going up the downhills or biking on the hike trails.

As expected, everyone was super stoked to start another 1000′ of climbing. During the climb, there were 3 checkpoints to collect, the first at the site of a large landslide in 2019, which destroyed the shortcut trail from TA 4 to Little River State Park. The history of the region is quite interesting, as the Ricker Basin was once a thriving community in the 1800s.  However, after the flood of 1927, the Civilian Conservation Corps constructed a dam and flooded the region creating what is now the Waterbury Reservoir.

There are still old stone walls, foundations, and chimneys remaining in the area, but racers may not have noticed as they enjoyed the well-crafted S curves and the downhill travel. 3 more checkpoints and another possible “get it when it feels right” CP X on a tiny peninsula on the reservoir, and racers arrived at TA 5.

Our thoughts exactly, Jim.

Up, over, and into the reservoir they went.

One team even swam out to CP 26, a buoy close to shore.

Checkpoints 26-31 were waiting on the water, as well as another chance to pick up CP X — and CP Y if you wanted to add an extra 2 miles of paddling!

After bringing their boats back to TA6, it was time for the final trek back to Blush Hill. For the ambitious, there were an additional 5 bonus points to collect during the final trek, but teams had to clear the entire paddle section to even be eligible. After such a long day, it’s no surprise only a couple of teams even attempted these bonus points.

As can happen during adventure races, the challenge on the trek to the finish was less about navigation and more about land ownership and permissions, so racers were given a detailed map review before heading out. After 11 hours of racing, “Follow this exact route, but don’t be too exact about it” is guaranteed to make your head spin a bit.

Oh, and since they were heading back to Blush Hill, racers closed their day with another 600′ of elevation gain! Supposedly if you finish where you started, the amount of downhill should equal the amount of uphill. More than one team might now be questioning this logic after spending what felt like all day climbing.

Friends, family, and volunteers were waiting at the finish line. Almost every team was off the course by 5:30, undoubtedly looking forward to dinner and relaxation.

Two teams collected every point and continued to the post-paddle bonus section. Ultrabambi won the premier 3-person coed division picking up every primary point and one of those final bonus checkpoints in 11 hours and 39 minutes, while Strong Machine’s 2-man team picked up one point more than that and finished only 4 minutes later. Winning teams (and raffle winners) went home with some fabulous prizes from Mammut, the Outdoor Gear Exchange, and Cabot.

Check out the extensive details on the results page.

Racers – you should have received this in your inbox.

Hi Racers!
We are just a week and half away from 12 hours of epic adventuring by foot, bike, and boat.  In the 11th hour, we got some good news regarding course design resulting in a few changes that we are excited to share.

1) There will be NO bike drop-off Friday evening.  You simply bring your bikes with you to the race start Saturday morning.  For those of you who like to sleep with your bike the night before for good luck, be our guest.

2) In fact, we are CANCELING the entire Friday night check-in.  If you are receiving this email, you are indeed registered and all set.  Simply show up Saturday morning bright and early with all of your gear and ready to race.  If you happen to be in the area and have last minute burning questions or just want to say hi, I (and perhaps other GMARA volunteers) will be hanging out at a local bar from 6-8 pm.  Stay tuned for the update next week as to what bar we will be at, but this will not be an official event nor will any checkpoint location hints be given out.

Lots of good news for both course design and travel/sleep plans.  But that is not all.  Oh, no.  That is not all.

3) In our generosity, we are giving you an extra 15 minutes of more sleep.  The 2022 Bitter Pill race will officially start at 5:15 am from Blush Hill Country Club.  You should plan on being ready to race at 5:15.  This means bags are packed, gear is ready, and stretching is done, so show up early to give yourself enough time.  GMARA volunteers will be on site by 4:45 am.  We are currently working on having bathroom access early in the morning, and will be included in next week’s final race update.

4) There will be a cash bar at Blush Hill open as soon as you finish.  They have asked for as many folks as possible to use cash to speed up the line as their credit card machine can be slow.  If possible, please bring cash with you if you will want a beverage.

5) We do not have access to their showers.  Please respect our host venue’s request as their water system would not be able to handle the load.  Don’t worry about your smell, as we will all be sweaty together (except for teams whose boat capsized).

Answers to other questions we have received via email:
– Camping is not allowed on site
– Parking Saturday morning will be at Blush Hill Country Club.  There will be a GMARA volunteer instructing you where to park starting by 4:45 am.
– You should plan on being able to carry all gear with you (except for bike) during all parts of the race.  You may find that you are allowed to leave certain items such as bike shoes or water bottles with your bike at various points in the race.  However, it is possible that your bike may be moved by GMARA race volunteers, perhaps for significant distances, and we are not responsible for any gear that might become dislodged easily from the bike.
– Declination for the area is about 14 degrees west.  The exact declination will be given at race start.

Next race update will be next Wednesday.  Don’t hesitate to reach out via email with any other questions before then.  Looking forward to seeing everyone soon.
Cheers,
Ross and the GMARA crew

The moment you have all been waiting for … registration for the GMARA 2022 Bitter Pill is now open!  This year we return to a home base at Blush Hill Country Club for 12 hours of navigating while biking, trekking, and paddling through the Green Mountains.  We would love to share more about the details of the course and the location of checkpoints, but that will have to wait till bright and early on August 13.  One thing you can count on is plenty of adventure with some fun surprises mixed in.

With the exciting rise in popularity of adventure racing, we do expect the race to sell out.  Registration is first come, first serve, so sign up early and guarantee your spot.   Note that we have separate caps for 2 and 3 person teams based on boat availability, and thus, recruit your teammate(s) now.  We are trying out a new registration process this year, so please reach out if you run into any difficulties or have any questions at all.

With the snow melting and spring arriving, it’s time to start your training.  While we promise to be friendly to new racers, those looking to compete for the podium will surely be challenged.  Looking forward to seeing you this summer!

The Bitter Pill Returns!
We’re excited to announce that we’ll be opening registration for the Bitter Pill on 4/1. Event basics are posted. It’s safe to say you’ll get to enjoy all the summer classics – paddling, trekking, navigation, and mountain biking.

We do expect to fill up again, and fill quickly, regardless of how many boats we can source from our suppliers. If you plan to race, sign up quickly to reserve your spot!

The 2021 Bitter Pill featured a record number of teams, discipline changes, and comments about swamps and marshes. All of which were completely positive! People love swamps. And marshes.

This was our first course in Craftsbury since 2012, so we were excited to explore some new terrain and showcase what the Craftsbury Outdoor Center has to offer.

Teams received their primary map at check-in that morning, giving them longer than usual to plan overall strategy.

We held back the map for the first leg (a six-point navigation section on Craftsbury Outdoor Center property) until 5:58am, to help add that feeling of frantic confusion customary at the GMARA starting line.

Planning on their feet, racers hit the trail network. Thankfully, some early rain made sure that nobody overheated.

Teams switched to bikes after the first section. With rain increasing, they followed:

• remote roads
• trails that once were roads
• trails that were never roads
• former roads that became small ponds

Racers expressed their appreciation for the intense storm, keeping them cool and preventing these not-really-roads from being too fast.

They arrived at TA 2, a pond near Eden Mountain Lodge & Dogsledding, where one team stayed the night before! We enjoyed listening to their conversation as they realized where they were. Sad for them, the beautiful cabins were on the other side of the road, and pausing for a hot shower would lead to a DQ.

Leaving from the pond on foot, racers began the most navigationally-challenging section of the day. Twelve points, two of which were more difficult and worth extra credit.

After a surprise gear check, teams were back on bikes. Some took a calculated risk to see if a trail not on the map was a shortcut through the woods (it was!) and a few chose to get a bonus point along the way. For most teams, the sun started coming out on this leg, and the day became quite lovely.

Provided they made it to TA 4 by 2:00 p.m., teams were given a detailed orienteering map including fields, woods, a small river crossing or two, and a magnificently terrible yet wonderful swamp/marsh experience. With volunteer-made cookies and rhubarb-ade, most headed out to grab those three checkpoints.

This section was amazing in many ways, especially for race directors who love to plan a good swamp-whack. A few teams mentioned that missing the cutoff for this section may have been a good thing…

After leaving the morasses of the marsh, they biked back to the Craftsbury Outdoor Center to find six checkpoints on the mountain biking trails and one on a swim buoy in Little Hosmer Pond.

The prospect of a short but refreshing dip in (relatively) clear water encouraged some teams to send multiple racers on the swim, despite the rules which only required a single teammate in the water.

Teams finished their bike leg at TA 6, where they grabbed their tandem kayak (2-person teams) or canoe (3-person teams), enjoyed a short portage, and then paddled to four points around Great Hosmer Pond.

After portaging their boat back, they had a short ride to the finish. Every team made it to the finish on time, which is a bit surprising given the number of teams out on the race course. Lots of happy smiles as teams finished a very unique course in picturesque Vermont terrain.

Teams ended their day spread across the large field at Craftsbury Outdoor Center, with the Caja Madera food truck providing excellent post-race tacos.

Thanks to all the sponsors, partners, volunteers, and racers for making this another great day in the woods. We couldn’t do it without your support!

A special thanks to spouses and kids who put up with adventure-planning craziness. They know that these events aren’t just a huge amount of work, they’re a huge amount of fun – like a family reunion — but a family with some really odd traditions.

Photos are up in the usual spot. If you’ve got photos, videos, blog posts, GPS tracks or stories from the trail, please send a note to staff@gmara.org with details and we’ll get them up here.

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.