Return to this page for updates as race day approaches.

This is an evolving document; latest updates (date) are highlighted in orange.

What

BOK’s annual adventure race. Last year, we called this the ‘Unnamed Adventure Race’. This year, we’re happy to announce that it has a name; but it will only be revealed on race day. The race involves up to 8 hours of trekking, cycling, and paddling through Umstead State Park and Lake Crabtree County park in Morrisville, NC.

Who

The event is open to anyone with orienteering or adventure racing experience. First-timers may compete, but must have at least one experienced teammate. Solo entries are allowed; but teams up to four are encouraged. There are no scoring divisions (e.g., solos, co-eds, teams, etc. will all compete against each other in the standings). Three individuals or teams will be awarded a prize at the finish, based on the quality of their performance.

When

Sunday, October 19. Mass start at 10:00 AM. Mandatory briefing at 9:45. Map handout at 8:30. (Note: Park opens at 8:00 AM and closes at 8:00 PM). Race Finish: 6:00 PM. Late starts can be accommodated; but the 6:00 finish deadline is firm for everyone.

Where

• Registration/Start/Finish: William B. Umstead Park, South entrance, Reedy Creek Shelter #2 (GPS coordinates = 35.836017, -78.758909). Note that this is the small shelter that is east of the parking lot – not the large one that we typically use. There are water fountains and bathroom facilities nearby.

• Paddle launch/return: Lake Crabtree Park boat launch. (GPS = 35.839002, -78.790671). See kayak notes below, especially if you are bringing your own watercraft and equipment.

• Bike staging area: Between the parking lot and race shelter. (GPS = 35.836017, -78.758909). You may secure your bike(s) in this area the morning of the event. You may also keep bikes racked on your car at any time before or during the event. Our friends from River Mill Cycles will have their mobile shop van on site from 8:15 to 9:45. Be sure to stop by for a tune up, tire inflation, derailleur adjustment, etc. before the race.

Cost

• $40 registration fee for each runner (BOK annual pass discount of $5)
• $5 (optional) fingerstick rental
• $40 (optional) kayak rental per person for tandem kayak
• $65 (optional) kayak rental for solo
• $20 (optional) for post-race food

Registration Notes

Everyone competing in the event must register individually. Even if you are on a team with a captain taking care of the logistics, you still need to register yourself. Note that we have a relatively early registration deadline because maps will need to be printed on Friday.

Registration fee of $40 does not cover kayak rental. (If you need to rent a kayak, you may want to consider asking around to see whether you have a friend who might lend you one.)

There is no bike rental; but all bike loops can be done on foot if so desired. You may also be able to rent a bike on your own.

There is a $5 discount for people with a 2025/2026 BOK annual pass (individual or family). This pass will entitle you to free registration for all of BOK’s regular events in the 2025/2026 season. You may purchase an annual pass here.

Part of the registration process requires you to sign our waiver, available here. If you do not print and sign this waiver and bring it with you to the event, you will be asked to sign it at the event.

If you are renting a kayak, you will be asked to sign an additional waiver with the outfitter. This waiver will require you to take responsibility for the safety of the rental craft.

The course

The course consists of four ‘loops’ which may be done in any order. People may attempt any and all loops within the 8 hour time limit for the race. At the 8:30 map handout, you will receive maps for all four of the loops. Teams will receive only two map copies. Any loop can be done solely on foot; however on some loops, bikes are not allowed.

The map

For each loop, the map will be printed on one or more non-waterproof pages at scales of either 1:7500, 1:10000 or 1:15000. Contour interval is 2.5m. The map will look more like an orienteering map than a USGS map. Meridians are aligned with magnetic north (i.e., don’t worry about declination) and are spaced at 500m. All CPs and TAs will be pre-circled. CP descriptions will be in English.

About half of the race area will have been professionally field-checked, and is extremely detailed. The other half will be extremely accurate, but considerably less detailed, consisting at times of only contour lines, trails, roads, and power lines.

Navigators on each team should be familiar with the orienteering map symbol set. In addition, you will want to know these symbols which are unique to this map:

Additionally, you may print a legend with the standard orienteering symbol set from this web page: https://backwoodsok.org/images/iofcontroldesc.pdf and carry it with you on the course.

Off limit areas are marked by red crosshatches on the map. Additionally, there is a significant amount of private property on the map, and it may not be explicitly mapped as such. Obey all posted signs (except where noted in the course notes), and be careful not to go onto private property. Boundaries of public greenspaces are mapped with thick dashed olive colored lines. Dashed magenta lines show property boundaries between different public jurisdictions, and are safe/legal to cross. You are expected to stay within these public spaces at all times. Bikes are not permitted on most trails, except those mapped using bright green (see above).

Mandatory equipment

Mandatory Team Gear

• 1 SportIdent fingerstick (rentals available)
• 2 compasses
• 1 cell phone, charged, with LiveLox pre-installed. Download the LiveLox recorder from Google Play or the App Store.
• Maps and Course notes (distributed on race day)
• 1 water resistant timepiece
• On bike legs, tire repair equipment suitable for fixing one flat
• First aid, including: bandages, analgesic (e.g., Ibuprofen, Aleve), benadryl, moleskin and/or second skin, safety pins, tweezers or tick remover, insect sting relief, antiseptic wipes, antibiotic ointment, ~3m of duct tape, epi-pen (if needed), asthma inhaler + albuterol (if needed)

Mandatory Individual Gear

• Hydration — each racer must carry at least 1L
• Whistle
• On bike legs, a bike helmet is mandatory
• On paddling legs, a PFD and paddle is mandatory

Highly suggested Gear

• Bike locks/chains to secure bikes and boats at transition areas
• Protective case/covering for maps and electronics
• Power bank to ensure a full charge on your team’s GPS tracker

Livelox

There will be a LiveLox page for this event. For your own safety and for post-race analysis, one of your team members will be required to install and run the LiveLox recorder during the race. Download the LiveLox recorder from Google Play or the App Store. Note that you will stop recording after each loop, and begin recording at the start of each loop. Start recording at the beginning of your race, and stop when you’re done with the entire race. Instructions on using LiveLox will be given during the pre-race briefing.

General ground rules applying to all loops

No biking or paddling equipment may be left on the course. At the end of each loop, bikes will be back to the shelter/parking lot, and boats will be back to the boat launch. The penalty for breaking this rule is disqualification.

Scoring and Mandatory CPs. All CPs are optional. Within any loop, CPs can be visited in any order. You do not have to visit every CP within a loop before finishing the loop and starting another. Each CP will count between 2 and 7 points. Point values for the CP are listed in the leftmost column of the CP description table on each map. Unless noted otherwise, CPs only score points during the loop that you are on. Thus, if you run across a CP that is not on your current map, you will generally not score points by punching it. Teams must download and clear their fingerstick after each loop in order to earn their points for that loop.

Teams who have not finished by 8 hours will lose seven points immediately, at 8 hours and 1 second. Thereafter, they will lose one point for every minute. Teams that know that they will not make the cutoff will earn back five penalty points by phoning or texting the meet director between 6:02 and 6:15 PM and updating him about their situation. Text or voice updates after 6:15 will earn 1 point back.

Proximity. At all times, each teammate must stay within audible distance (appx. 30 m) of at least one other team member. At many paddling and bike CPs, it will be permissible for a team to split up such that some members leave the shore or trail to punch the CP, while one or more stay behind to rest or guard team equipment. In these situations, at least two team members must go to the CP and these team members must regroup with the rest of the team after acquiring the CP. Obviously, team members chosen to punch the CP will need to have the team’s fingerstick; but they should also carry the team’s GPS recorder in case they later need to verify a successful CP acquisition. If a team splits up like this, the away group is only allowed to punch one CP before regrouping with the team. If a team wants to drop some of their equipment in order to acquire more than one CP on foot during a bike or kayak leg, then the entire team must stay together. Failure to adhere to these rules will result in the loss of points for all CPs involved. For example, in a four person team, two teammates are tired, and let the other two members go off. The two members visit #41, #42, and #44 before regrouping with their team and continuing on. Because the away group acquired more than one control before regrouping, this team would lose points for all three of these controls.

If a team member wants to quit the race, he or she must do so at the shelter. Once a team member quits the race, they cannot re-enter it later. If the team member needs to quit partway through a loop, the entire team must come back together and drop that teammate off. (The rest of the team may continue on the loop or start a new one at that point.) If a competitor quits the race and comes back to the shelter without his or her team, the team will lose all points for that loop.

TA/CP rules. Our kayak outfitter will be at the paddle transition point; but otherwise all points will be unmanned. Please lock, secure, (and possibly hide) your equipment safely in all areas where you leave them.

It is possible that one or more CPs will not have electronic punching. If you visit one of these CPs, follow instructions in your course notes or at the CP on how to score its points. It is also possible that a control can go missing before the event. Points for missing CPs may be awarded at the director’s discretion if competitors’ recorded GPS tracks or independent eyewitness reports offer compelling evidence that the site was visited.

Hydration. Each team member is required to carry water with them and to begin each leg with at least 1 liter of water on them. Plentiful drinking water will be available at the start, and a number of park public fountains will also be indicated on your map (as a small blue square).

Biking notes

We lost about 70% of our originally planned single track biking trails at Lake Crabtree due to RDU’s decision to discontinue its lease to Wake Co. However, 30% of these trails are still in tact, and we will at least be able to use them. It is possible that heavy rains will force Crabtree park to close their single track bike trails. If these trails are closed, all CPs in the Crabtree/286 area will become trekking points. It is permissible to carry your bike through the woods; but you may not ride it off trail. Bikes may not be ridden on I-40. The penalty for not obeying this rule will be disqualification and possible arrest by law enforcement.

Don’t forget to leave time before the race to visit River Mill Cycle’s mobile shop van near the start. They will be available from 8:15 to 9:45 to do small repairs and adjustments on your bike.

Kayak notes

Rental kayaks will be available for each team from our outfitter at the transition area in Lake Crabtree park. GPS location of this transition area is (35.839002, -78.790671). The outfitter will also supply paddles and PFDs. If you have your own watercraft and/or additional paddling equipment, you will need to leave it secured near this TA in the morning, before you arrive to the start at Umstead. Do not take or leave your paddling equipment at the TA before race day – it cannot be left in the park overnight.

There will be CPs on the paddle portion of the course that cannot be punched from your kayak. Prepare to disembark from your boats in order to punch these CPs on foot. If you think that you need to beach your kayak for an extended period, please try to beach it in an unpopulated area, or leave one or two team members behind to guard your boats and equipment.

Questions? Email Dave at dw.orienteer@gmail.com