Rain has fallen continuously on the Charlevoix region for the past few days. Today it is looking brighter, but the trails are wet and the bush thick and slow.

The course is set on the banks of the St Lawrence River, the area is rugged and wild with thick unrelenting bush. The undergrowth and the trails wet and boggy. Fog shadows the valley sides. This is another course that is set by Lawrence Foster and Geoff Langford in the true spirit of traditional adventure racing. With the late pull out of Gearsracing.com who won French River so convincingly - Will we see Simon River Sports reclaim their pole position on the point standings this race, or will we see some strong competition from Running Free and Cyclefit who both missed French River... or does this open opportunities for teams that have raced both races to take advantage and claim series points prior to Silver Star, BC and the Series Championship. See www.raidthenorth.com and go to point standings for details.

The race started later than usual due to course logistics and access to water. The countdown at the start line occurred around 4:40am. Teams started on foot towards CP1. The 10km trek was almost all off trail and required skilled navigation through thick bush. Not surprisingly, veteran teams Cyclefit (formally Star Choice) and 2003 Raid the North Series Champions Simon River Sports came into CP1 minutes behind one another at approximately 6:20am.

Team Hail to the Chimp came into CP1 almost an hour behind the two lead teams. However regained a position as Cyclefit decided to take the high ground to CP2/TA1. Both Simon River Sports and Hail to the Chimp kept in the lowlands and fought the wet undergrowth. Simon River Sports arrived first into CP2/TA1 at 7:20am followed by Hail to the chimp at 8:14am. Cyclefit lost their lead and followed an hour behind Simon River Sports.

The arrival to CP2/TA2 ends with a trek up a short ski hill. At CP2/TA1 teams met their support teams and climbed onto bikes

Three teams have not made CP1: Lost amongst the many ponds and beaver dams. Team Dirt, Team Effort and Team Jessom Optimum. These teams will be collected shortly and moved forward by race officials to join the pack again.

The top field are on the river. A fabulous paddle that spills out into the wide and majestic St. Lawrence River. The start of the paddle is 10 km along a shallow but stunning river. The radio has announced that many Teams have started closing in on CP4/TA2. The field appears as if it is closing.

A cut off approaches, teams will have to reach CP4 by 7:00pm to continue onto the river. Teams that miss this cut off will be advanced to CP7/TA3, missing the water section.

Times in for CP5 are: 16:04pm Simon River Sports. 16:32pm Running Free. 16:45pm Hail to the Chimp.

An awesome push from Team Running Free puts them within 30 mins of the leaders Simon River Sports. CP5 is the split between the advanced and regular course. The advanced teams leave their boats and head inland on a trek, regular teams will continue along the unpredictable open waters of the St. Lawrence river to the Transition at CP7/TA3. The advance section is more complicated than most as teams transition onto bikes prior to arrival at CP6, where the regular teams pull out of the water. Regular teams facing that challenge will have a 800 m portage along the St. Lawrence mud flats to CP6, as the tide is currently out! The mud is easy to move on so teams will only sink a couple of inches. From CP6 both Regular and Advanced teams ride along the banks of the St. Lawrence into a scenic ski town at the base of the LE MASSIVE resort.

CP7/TA3 is positioned at the base of LE MASSIVE ski hill that overlooks the St. Lawrence River. Teams start this section heading straight up the hill. This presents significant choice and will require some careful thought and decision making as there are service trails, hiking trails, overgrown ski runs, access roads all heading up over the hill. Race directors believe that like the first trek this section will challenge many teams. Teams then continue to bushwhack and follow trails to CP8.

2:40am - Times are updated on the leader board. Simon river Sports and Running Free lead the pack and have made it past MP1 from CP7. This section as predicted has taken longer than course staff. Simon River Sports have taken almost 2.5 hrs to complete this section. The next section is through a mix of trails and bush. Again there is nothing straight forward. At CP8 teams transfer to Bikes along trails and roads to CP10. At Cp 10 they reach la Sept Chutes - a stunning run of canyons and waterfalls. From CP10 teams will trek past the waterfalls, into water rafts. Teams will be given two rafts to shoot down 8km of class three river. Once out of the canyon they take a short trek along the canyon to the host site Canyon St Anne. Here lie the awesome layout of ropes and bridges, a 200ft rappel and the finish. Simon River Sports look to have the race ties up showing again their true dominance in the series. Seven teams paddling on the water have been pulled into shore at or between CP5/CP6 due to River Regulations. These teams will be moved forward to CP7/TA3. These teams were: Teams 1,12,13,17,18,20,22.

Sunday - 7:30am:
SIMON RIVER SPORTS WIN THE SECOND RAID THE NORTH OF 2004
THE 2003 CHAMPIONS SHOW THEIR TRUE COLOURS