BOK’s Inaugural Unnamed Adventure Race
Return to this page for updates as race day approaches.
This is an evolving document; latest updates are highlighted in orange.
What
BOK’s first adventure race – up to 8 hours of trekking, cycling, and paddling on and around Beaverdam Lake, a “no motor craft allowed” section of Falls Lake State Recreation Area in Creedmoor, 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). No awards are currently planned; but that might change.
When
Sunday, October 20. Mass start at 10:00 AM. Mandatory briefing at 9:45. Map handout at 9:00. (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: Beaverdam Access/ Falls Lake Recreation Area. Shelter 21. (GPS coordinates = 36.036255, -78.685134). There are water fountains and bathroom facilities nearby.
Paddle launch/return: Beaverdam boat launch. (GPS = 36.033803, -78.683809). If you have your own kayak or canoe, you or a teammate may secure it (them) near the boat launch the morning of the event. You may not leave equipment in the park overnight. See information below about kayak rental.
Bike staging area: Between the parking lot and Shelter 21. (GPS = 36.036436, -78.685416). You or a teammate 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.
Cost
- $35 registration fee for each runner (BOK annual pass discount of $5)
- $5 fingerstick rental (if needed)
- $40 kayak rental per person for tandem kayak (if needed)
- $65 kayak rental for solo (if needed)
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.
Registration fee of $35 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 by 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 2024/2025 BOK annual pass (individual or family). 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.
Lodging/Camping
Drive-in campsites are available at Holly Point, part of Falls Lake SRA. Make reservations here. Travel distance from this campgound to the start is approximately 15 minutes. When last checked, there are a handful of airbnb rentals available within 15 miles of the event center.
The course
The course consists of four ‘loops’ which may be done in any order with the exception that, if you choose to do Loop4, it must be the final loop attempted. People may attempt any and all loops within the 8 hour time limit for the race. Each entry will get their map and course notes before the race (9:00 AM) only for the first loop that they choose. Maps and course notes for the subsequent loops will only be handed out after completion of the prior loop. Teams will receive only two map copies. The following table summarizes basic information about each loop. Note that all biking will be on single track bike trails, and distances are given as straight line point-to-point distances. You (and your teammates) should decide before the race which loop you will do first. Otherwise, you will be assigned a first loop by the race director in a way that equalizes the distribution of first loops across starters.
| Loop | Trek distance | Bike distance | Paddle distance | CPs | Points available |
| 1 | 2.7 km | 9.8 km | 0 | 20 | 20 |
| 2 | 6.0 km | 0 | 7.2 km | 10 | 20 |
| 3 | 5.8 km | 0 | 7.5 km | 10 | 20 |
| 4 | 0 | 7.5 km | 0 | 5 | 5 |
The map
For each loop, the map will be printed on multiple (non-waterproof) pages at a scale of 1:10000. 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.
Very little of the map will have been field-checked. However, contour lines will be extremely accurate, and trail networks will be quite accurate. Vegetation will not be particularly well-mapped; however, on much of the course, it won’t matter because most of the woods will be open and runnable. On the flip side, there are some areas of very dense vegetation that will not be mapped as such. In general, you will likely see many things on your course that are not mapped; but you hopefully won’t see too much that is mapped that is not on the ground.
Navigators on each team should be familiar with the orienteering map symbol set. A few of the more relevant (or specialized) ones appear in the image below.
Additionally, you may print a legend with these and more symbols from this web page: https://backwoodsok.org/images/iofcontroldesc.pdf and carry it with you on the course.
CP descriptions on the map will be given using the international symbol set for orienteering control descriptions. Navigators are encouraged to learn these before the race. Learn them here. Time permitting, the event director can translate them to you into English before you start.
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 is not explicitly mapped as such. Obey all posted signs, 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 permitted on most trails mapped as foot trails EXCEPT on trails mapped with a green border. Several of the bike trails may only be traversed in only one direction, and racers are expected to adhere to the proper direction of these trails.
Mandatory equipment
Mandatory Team Gear
- 1 SportIdent fingerstick (rentals available)
- 1 compass (two compasses for teams)
- 1 cell phone, charged, preferably with LiveLox pre-installed
- Maps and Course notes (distributed at race shelter)
- 1 water resistant timepiece
- 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
- Bike helmet (if biking)
- 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 any electronics
Livelox
There will be a LiveLox page for this event. Return to this page for its URL, or look for it after the event in the posted race results. At a minimum, LiveLox will support race analysis after the event for competitors who are able to record and upload their GPS tracks. Currently, it is not clear whether it will be worthwhile to provide live event tracking throug LiveLox. If we do, we’ll inform you here.
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.
Any loop of the course can be attempted on foot if so desired. In other words, competitors who prefer to treat this race as a long score-O on foot – without biking or paddling – may do so. They will not be able to clear the course, however, because one control on Loop3 is not reachable by foot. Note that course distances when doing a loop entirely on foot may be significantly longer than the sum of the paddle and foot distances given in the table above. This rule applies to the loop — not individual CPs. Thus, if competitors take bikes out on a loop, in general, they cannot park their bikes and acquire batches of CPs on foot. There are exceptions to this rule (e.g., a team must acquire two or three controls on foot before returning to their bikes) that are described in the rules for each loop.
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 as either 1 or 2 points depending on which loop you are on. CPs only score points during the loop that you are on. Thus, if run across a CP that is not on your current map, you will not score points by punching it. When transitioning to a trekking portion of a loop, there will be constraints on which CPs can serve as transition areas. These constraints will be detailed in the instructions for each loop. Competitors will need to download and clear their fingerstick after each loop.
Competitors who have not finished by 8 hours will lose one point for every minute after the finish time that they are late. Competitors that know that they will not make the cutoff will earn back 2 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.
In general, all teammates must stay within audible distance (appx. 30 m) of at least one other team member. However, 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. (Note that this means that teams of two and solos must abandon their equipment while punching.) 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 sucessful CP acquisition. The general principle to be adhered to at all times is to not allow a teammate either to separate from their team or get into a potentially dangerous situation by themselves.
Off limits.
At all times, Hwy-50 is off limits. (This is a rule imposed on us by the park — not by the event director.) It is permissible to trek safely alongside the road; however trekking or biking on it or its shoulder will be grounds for disqualification. There is one permissible place to cross Hwy-50 that will be marked on your map. The rest of the road is out of bounds.
TA/CP rules.
TAs will not be manned. Details on how/where to secure your kayaks in order to minimize theft will be provided either here or on race day. To be preemptive, you should plan on brining a cable and lock to secure your craft at the TA.
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 offer compelling evidence that the site was visited.
Hydration.
All racers are 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 limited number of park water fountains will also be indicated on your map.
Paddle rental
Racers are encouraged to use their own paddling craft and equipment. For those who need to rent, a limited number of kayaks (plus pfds and paddles) will be available for rental. We are using Neuse River Outfitters for this service, and providing a limited number of single and double kayaks at cost
If you will be renting a kayak, it is important to register for the event before Thursday, October 17, so that we can place an accurate order with our outfitter. The outfitter will ask all participants who use their watercraft to sign a waiver and to accept responsibility for any damage or theft. If/when we exceed the outfitter’s supply, we will note this on our registration page, and will not accept registrations that need rentals.
It will be permissible for competitors to share a rental craft with another competitor by mutual agreement. This can only work if one competitor does a bike/trek leg while the other does a paddle leg. Of course, different legs will take different amounts of time, so this strategy could result in delay and frustration while someone waits for another to finish.
All paddle craft and equipment will need to be returned to the boat lauch by 6:00 PM so that the outfitter can load them and leave the park before closing.
Bike legs
It is possible that heavy rains will force the park to close the bike trails. If trails are closed, all bike CPs will become trekking points. As previously mentioned, some of the trails can only be biked in one direction. Please keep this in mind when planning your route. Failure to ride trails in the prescribed direction will result in a loss of points for all CPs near the trail. If you are on foot on the bike trails, you do not need to adhere to the prescribed trail direction. Note also that there are a few single track trails that are off-limits to bikes. Riding a bike on these trails will result in disqualification. It is permissible to carry your bike through the woods; but you may not ride it off trail.
Questions?
Write Dave at dw.orienteer@gmail.com