Thanks from GMARA / Frigid registration cap

(This went out to the mailing list, but if you’re not on there… sign up!)

First, an important note: We have to cap registration for the Frigid! We’re at 33 teams already, another three in the works, so we’re setting the cap at 40. Too many teams on the course would make it less an adventure and more a snowshoe conga line, which is why we’re limiting registration. We might adjust that cap in the future, but if you’ve been planning to sign up late, this isn’t the year to do it – register now to avoid missing out.

Second, a welcome to everyone who showed interest in GMARA at the BANFF film festival this past weekend!

On to the real purpose of this note: Thanks for keeping GMARA awesome!

This year we tried something new – a poster contest designed to spread the word about the Frigid. Whether it was the posters or just word of mouth, it worked – we had more early registrations than any Frigid in GMARA history, and we have you to thank for that!

Many of you know that GMARA is a true non-profit, nobody gets paid to run these races, we only show up because we know you’ll be there. Whether you’re a great crowd to begin with or racing at GMARA events makes you great, we’ll never know – we’re just glad you keep coming back year after year – racing, volunteering, getting lost in the green mountains, and bringing friends along to experience the fun. Thanks for making this organization something we all enjoy.

We did draw a winner for the contest – one of our local volunteers, Brittany Garland. She’s probably climbing a wall of ice somewhere, but we’ll get her that OGE gift certificate shortly. Even though the contest is over, we still encourage you to decorate with posters – we’ve got one for the Wintry Wander too:

While we’re thanking people for keeping the organization going, we’ll send a special shout-out to Brian Staveley from team UltraBambi. He’s been racing the Frigid since it began, and every year he shows up with a group of new racers, sharing the joy of a little light suffering. Tor books just published his first novel, an epic fantasy – not exactly adventure racing news, except that his characters are heavily influenced by his time on the course. If you’re curious, check out this post and look for The Emperor’s Blades on amazon and in local bookstores.

One last thing – if you’re planning ahead for this summer, I hear there’s a bunch of old friends spending time in the woods on August 2nd.

See you out there,

Shawn & the GMARA crew