END-SPAR 2015 Results

Submitted by beek on Sat, 05/23/2015 - 10:06

Results of END-SPAR 2015 (our sixth year of this race!) are available here.  As always, if you think there is a mistake, please let us know.

This was our first adventure race without Andy acting as course designer and race director, and I'm super glad so many teams came out to race.  The field included many teams who were either entirely new to the sport or had members acting as navigator for the first time. As someone who is not the best navigator in the world, I can understand how daunting it is to head out into a race with nobody more experienced to rely on.  The most common thing I hear when encouraging people to sign up for AR is that they would love to, but they don't think they can navigate.  So let's give a big THANK YOU to anyone who is teaching this vital skill and helping to grow the sport!

The course was hard this year, not only because the river conditions decided against rafting and forcing everyone to stand up and pedal or march the whole day.  The rogaine sections were tricky, the trail maps incomplete, and we misplaced one point on the map (the infamous CP E, which some of you found on the trail after we discovered our error and moved the point).  I'm thankful for everyone's understanding, but these things can be improved upon for the next race.  Due to the uncertain future of ENDracing, we can't promise anything for certain--but if you were looking for certainty, you wouldn't be doing adventure races.

Team captains will be receiving an email with a survey link and a graciously donated discount code for the Spruce Woods Adventure O.  If you like our races, the next one is END-BOB, right here in Grand Forks/East Grand Forks on June 6th.

 

 

END-SPAR 2015 is over!

Submitted by beek on Sun, 05/17/2015 - 11:29

Thanks everyone for an AWESOME #ENDSPAR yesterday!  It was a tough course for a spring race, but you all pulled through to the end!  

We'll have a longer race recap sometime soon, but if you get a chance, please check out the sponsors for this race: Dakota Harvest Bakers​, Plains Chiropractic & Acupuncture​, and all those listed on the North American Adventure Racing Series​ page.  Sponsorships aren't really for ENDracing--they're for you, the racers, and help keep costs low.

Special thanks to our small but dedicated volunteer squad: Dex, Betsy and Steve (TA1) and Sandi and Erin (TA2).  Without volunteers, these races couldn't happen at all.

END-WET Guest Swimmer: Sarah Thomas

Submitted by admin on Sat, 04/11/2015 - 15:07

We’re excited to announce Sarah Thomas as this year’s guest swimmer at END-WET! Sarah joins the ranks of past guest swimmers Darren Miller, Jen Schumacher, and Annaleise Carr.

Sarah is an American open water marathon swimmer. She entered the ultra-distance swimming world in 2010, completing the Catalina Channel. That same year she was the US Masters Swimming (USMS) 6K open-water champion for her age group. In 2011, Sarah swam the esteemed Manhattan Island Marathon Swim (MIMS), taking 2nd female and 5th overall.

In 2013, Sarah completed two double-crossings in Lake Tahoe and Lake Memphremagog, impressively negative-splitting and setting records for each event. For these two record swims, Sarah was nominated for the 2013 World Open Water Swimming Woman of the Year and was the recipient of the Marathon Swimmers Forum 2013 Barra Award.

END-SURE Recap + Pictures

Submitted by Tim Bauer on Sat, 04/11/2015 - 09:04

Tim Bauer and Grant Mehring directed END-SURE in 2015.  We couldn't do it without them!  See more writing by Tim at his blog, Trails and Travails.

FIRST of ALL, thank you to the almost 90 participants who came out to experience this event! Many of you traveled significant distances and trusted that a good event would be provided. I hope your expectations were met and your journey was safe. I hope that you’ll return not only for END-SURE, but for other Extreme North Dakota Racing events.

SECONDLY, to all the volunteers who gave time, effort, and energy both before, during, and after the event. There were many people working behind the scenes, as well as being present on race day. A special thank you to Cory + Maggie for staffing the aid station and to Butch , Sandy, + Brenda for providing transportation for the 25k runners.

Maggie at Aid Station. Picture by Cory.
Maggie at Aid Station. Picture by Cory.

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1 of 2 vans and Escalade that transported 25k runners.

Also, the event wouldn’t be nearly as comfortable without the hospitality of the Hansen Family at Sheyenne Oaks Campgrounds. In between lambing and calving, they took time to get the facility ready for the onslaught of people. It was great to have parking, bathrooms, and plenty of space for food and visiting for the event!  Feel free to use their campground for your personal and family needs in this scenic area of North Dakota.

The five 100k participants began with about an inch of snow underfoot. The last 100k runner (Dave) was about .25 mile from the finish when it began to rain. This was a determined group of runners. The west side of the Grasslands with the open prairie allowed the winds to blow unabated. This added extra effort and punishment to the runners, but they all persevered.

Steven coming through the gate with 25k to go.

Steven coming through the cattle gate with 25k to go.

Steven finished the 100k in 10:32. Dave,(who ran with me last year dropping at the 75k mark) finished this year with determination and a smile on his face. Carlos, who ran his first 100k came in with 12:59 on the Trail. Jamie, using the light on his iPhone for his final miles crossed the finish line in 13:23.

Tracy getting rest and nourishment at aid station. 100k finisher.

Tracy getting rest and nourishment at aid station. 100k finisher.

The 50k group was just shy of 50 participants. The ages and experiences were as varied as the Trail terrain. A woman from Virginia came to get another state off of her list to complete at least a marathon in all 50 states. Dave from Colorado came with his son and camped at Sheyenne Oaks. He too, was checking off another state for his ultra in all 50 states. Dave didn’t run, but walked with determination and a bit of a limp. One of his canine companions was his trail partner. He finished this journey with a smile and an appetite for food following 31 miles on foot. Maggie even fed his dog at the 50k turn around!

Dave, (in center) who with his dog completed 50k.

Below are other pictures from 50k runners. Most of these were taken by Cory, while Maggie and I staffed the aid station.

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127The following pictures are of the beginning of the 25k. With the Trail gate open the nearly 40 runners set off to enjoy the trail running experience.

25k start

25k start

 

25k start.

More 25k runners.

Finally, a couple more highlights of my day with this event. One of the supervisors of theSheyenne National Grasslands stopped by the 50k turn around aid station. He was very appreciative of the event being held and encouraged more diverse use of the Grasslands. He was a great source of information about not only the trail, but other areas and aspects in the Grasslands. So, there may be other events on bike and on foot scheduled this fall.

The other interesting connection was with a group of hikers on the North Country Trail. This group was the Dakota Prairie Chapter. They were hiking 9 miles from the trail head on Ransom County Road 53 (50k turn around aid station) going west to Highway Highway 27. I have contributed to the North Country Trail and was wondering how to volunteer to help with trail development and maintenance. My questions were answered by interacting with this group. They also provided encouragement to the 100k runners as they were returning from their 50k turn around.

Once again, thanks to everyone who made this event happen! In picking up course markings I was awed by the lack of debris along the trail from the participants. It’s a beautiful area of the state and you helped maintain its beauty while enjoying what it has to offer both physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

 

ENDracing, Gen. 2

Submitted by andy on Fri, 03/20/2015 - 18:01

I (Andy), have moved on. This winter my wife and boys relocated back to New Zealand.  What was initially planned as an extended holiday has transformed into a permanent stay.  In a way, things have come full circle for us--we’re back where we first became a family and back where much of the inspiration for both ENDracing and Ground UP Adventures came from.

It has been an unexpected transition--we left Grand Forks with return tickets, epic plans for ENDracing’s future, and only hoping to reconnect with some friends and enjoy a more ‘mild’ Christmas.  But one thing has led to another and we’ve made the very hard decision not to return and to try and make a proper go of living here.  

The decision was extremely difficult.  North Dakota had been good for us, and good to us, too.  We’d connected closely with an awesome group of people and made friends with hundreds and hundreds of racers, sharing the bond of like-mindedness and a love of challenge.  I’d been lucky enough to follow my passion and share it with all of you.  But on return to NZ we realized we had strong ties here too and ultimately it is the right time to let these relationships flourish.

So what does this mean for ENDracing?  Thankfully, not much.  The organization is alive and well and, thankfully, bigger than just me.  All races will go ahead as scheduled under a great management team, many of whom have been a part of things since the get go.  These guys and gals have spent time on both sides of things--they all started out as racers too, but since have collectively been involved either as racer, staff, or volunteer in every single event we’ve produced.  And I’ll still be giving lots of help to the folks back in ND to make sure things run smoothly and the races live up to their reputation for being, well...ENDracing events.  

But you can do something too!  ENDracing is a community effort--it is really an organization of service.  We come up with and host these events to provide testing grounds and places to meet up with and share adventures with others in the very small group of adventure junkies out there.  We serve you.  ENDracing’s success is your success, and is dependent upon your support.  So although I won’t be behind the microphone talking to you about the days coming challenges, you better keep coming out!  In truth, ENDracing belongs to the community--if you’ve raced with us you are part of that community.  It will thrive and bring it’s challenges to you as long as you want it to--as long as you keep making it to the startline, keeping bringing your friends, and keep volunteering when you are able. 

So here’s to the changing of the guard.  Here’s to ENDracing’s generation two.  Here’s to another great year.  Race hard everyone!

Andy is still doing all sorts of things, just in a different part of the world.  You can follow along and contact him through on his website, UltraMentalBook.com.

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