Saturday, Sept 18 - NEWS FROM BASE CAMP 

It's 4:30am and 5 degrees outside.  33 teams started racing at 4:00am sharp,  running directly up the ski hills at Calabogie Peaks, headlamps creating a reflection of the starry sky on the ground.  It took race director Geoff Langford 11 minutes to do the trek up to CP1 when testing the course.  Let's see how many teams can beat his time!

Racers will be embarking on either a regular course of approximately 88 kilometers in length, or an advanced course of 95 kilometers in length.  This course will have many challenges for racers, but with good weather on our side, they should do well!

5:00am:  We have some fast moving teams out there!  All teams reached CP1 in 15 minutes or less.  Leading the charge was team EAS/Hammer, in first at 4:08.  Followed immediately behind them were teams SRS/Raidpulse.com, Xplore and Beowulf Reloaded, all in at 4:09.  A total of 8 teams were capable of beating Geoff Langford's time of 11 minutes! 

It's a strong field of competitors!  And with the trek to CP2/TA1, we expect these teams to spread out before they transition to the bikes.

7:30am:  Maintaining their lead, EAS/Hammer arrived at CP2 at 5:42 this morning.  Right on their heels, Beowulf arrived in to the CP at 5:45.  Immediately behind them at 5:46, team Xplore in third place.  Fourth place was quickly grabbed by Canadian Hardcorps arriving in at 5:50.  This group of four has a marginal lead over a second group of 6 teams, running 10 to 20 minutes behind the lead pack, but a sustainable lead if they keep pushing hard!

In an incredibly close race, we have two of our three female teams running on each others heels!  Adventure Girls and Charlie's Angels departed CP2 just two minutes apart.  The bike ride should showcase their cycling skills and see where these teams jockey for position at the next CP.

9:30am:  All teams have successfully cleared CP2/TA1,  with the front-runners already through CP3/TA2.  Racing into CP3/TA2 at the exact same time, teams EAS/Hammer and Xplore arrived at 8:23.  Closely behind the two front teams, was team Beowulf at 8:27 and Beowulf Reloaded at 8:31.  However, Beowulf Reloaded was caught missing a whistle on a mandatory gear check and will subsequently be served a 10 minute time penalty to their finishing time.

With their amazing efforts to pull up from third place to a tie for first, team Xplore may have more time to make up again.  After departing CP3/TA2 on the paddle, the team realized 5 minutes into the leg, that they left a backpack behind at the CP.  This loss of time will give them extra work on the paddle to keep their sights on first place!

The bike leg took it's toll on team's gear with a few reported broken chains.  Team Coureur des Bois was one of them.  Despite that, the team arrived at CP3/TA2 at 9:04, not too far behind the pack, considering the mishap.

SRS/Raidpulse.com took an aggressive line on the bikes and managed to make up some considerable time after being in 17th place overall, by the time they had reached CP2/TA1.  They managed to move up to 6th place by the time they reached CP3/TA2 at exactly 9:00am.

We're all curious to know how the neck-and-neck female teams are doing on the bike leg, and will report back as soon as more race results are forwarded!

12:00 noon:  The race is moving quickly up front in the pack, with the top teams jockeying for first place.  At this time, Beowulf Reloaded has taken the lead as the first team on the Advanced Course, arriving at CP4A at 11:54.  Shortly behind them are Beowulf at 12:02.

The other 4 teams through CP4A came through only one minute apart from each other!  These were: SRS/Raidpulse.com at 12:27, EAS/Hammer at 12:28, Canadian Hardcorps at 12:29 and "Xplore" at 12:30.  The race for the finish is on, and it's HOT!

1:00pm:

Our female teams have put a wide split between themselves with Charlie's Angels 56 minutes ahead of the Adventure Girls, into CP3 at 10:26 and 11:22, respectively.  Our third team in the all female category is team Nenikikamen.  Last heard from, they were still making their way to CP3/TA2 at this time.

We have quite a few teams in the middle of the pack, who will be vying for the top five finishes in their categories.  That middle group has the chance to pull up in the ranks, considering the amount of teams with very close CP times.  Calabogie Peaks Resort team is doing quite well considering this is a first Salomon Adventure Challenge race for all three members of the Host-Site team.  The group was into CP4/TA3 at 12:01, putting them currently in 8th out of 16 all male teams.  And in relation to the overall position, in the top 15!

Other teams fighting it out just outside of the lead pack are teams Bonkavengers.ca, Coureur des Bois, ESAR.ca, Lather. Rinse. Repeat/Full Throttle, Hunger and Sports Excellence/Corus.

CP4B volunteers have reported a team swimming across Green Lake. This part of the advanced trek certainly lent itself to packraft strategy, but after the chilly paddle, we didn't expect any teams to plunge into the lake for a swim! We've confirmed that it is team Beowulf Reloaded making the strategic swim, and they've gained substantially on the lead pack in the advanced stage.

About the Calabogie Peaks region...

Situated in the beautiful Ottawa Valley, and so close for Ontario and Quebec competitors, Calabogie Peaks Resort offers up world class accommodation, spectacular hospitality and facilities, and access to a magnificent adventure playground. The stage is set for an unforgettable 2004 Salomon Adventure Challenge Canadian Championship!

14 hours will not be enough to truly explore the wilderness surrounding Calabogie Peaks. With Algonquin to the north, the Ottawa River Valley to the east, and the Madawaska Highlands all around, our course options are endless. This is a beautiful, mountainous region with extensive Crown land areas, hardwood forests, and hundreds of lakes. The landscape of pristine waterways, rolling woodlands and dramatic landforms beckon people out-of-doors. Renowned for canoeing, kayaking and whitewater rafting opportunities, the Calabogie region is a favorite scenic area.

In the heart of maple country, nature's display of colours in the fall will provide a brilliant backdrop for this event. We'll journey through gentle, rolling hills that give way to vast hardwood forests set amidst the rugged beauty of the Canadian Shield. Maybe challenge the mighty Ottawa and Madawaska rivers - considered the best whitewater east of the Rockies - or dip our paddles along scores of canoeing and kayaking routes. Bike past rustic barns, old stone fences and ghost towns on groomed snowmobile trails along the Opeongo Line. Even with a long-format race, we'll be stretching it to experience all this area has to offer.