Sunday, September 27, 2009

Death Race blow by blow

found this detailed summary of this years race as i'm gearing up for my assault on next years course. check this out! thanks to Jack Carey for doing a detailed write up!

  1. 8-9 PM FRIDAY
  2. Start at Amee farm.
  3. Follow glow-sticks in woods.
  4. Take gear and mandatory bike up 1800 feet to top of Joe's hill.
  5. Remove front and rear wheel from bike.
  6. Remove chain from bike.
  7. Hangout by the fire pit and "strategize".
  8. Race director says: "You will carry your bikes with you for the entire race"
  9. 10 PM FRIDAY
  10. Pre-Race meeting - Thanks to volunteers, staff, private land owners, and thanks to all the nuts that showed up to the Death Race.
  11. Race Director says: "Matches and Lighters are not approved gear".
  12. 11 PM FRIDAY
  13. Take bikes/gear but not wheels/chain back down mountain to Amee farm
  14. MIDNIGHT
  15. Try to get some sleep
  16. 3:30 AM SATURDAY
  17. Head lamps start to come on, people getting out of cars, packing gear including axe.
  18. 3:55 AM SATURDAY
  19. Race director says: (while holding huge tree stump) "First task will be to find a tree stump with your bib number on it and dig it out of the ground with your axe, or what ever tools you are carrying with you." Reminder, whatever gear you start with, you must take with you the entire race.
  20. Race Director says: "You must keep roots on stump.
  21. 3:57 AM - Race director - when you get your tree stump, you will carry it for the entire race.. with all of your gear and bike... also there are 2 hour task cut-offs. If you don't finish in time, you are out of the race.
  22. 4:oo AM - Race start
  23. It's pitch dark
  24. The next 12 hours went something like this...
  25. Cross route 100 get in drainage ditch
  26. Crawl uphill in long ditch under barbed wire (about 1 foot off ground) with gear
  27. Turn right into uphill clearing full of trees cut off about 1 foot from ground
  28. Find the tree with your number, in the dark it could be anywhere
  29. Remove your tree from ground with whatever tools you have
  30. At least 3 people drop out here or do not make the 2 hour cut-off
  31. Once you have your tree stump, carry it with your gear back down hill in ditch under barbed wire
  32. Back across route 100 to Amee Farm
  33. Take your gear, bike and stump down hill towards river into another ditch under barbed wire.
  34. Crawl under very low foot bridge with barbed wire with all gear, bike stump
  35. Exit ditch and enter extremely rocky river
  36. Rocks are from baseball size to watermelon size, there is no flat ground, water is knee deep. All rocks are very slippery. Walking is very difficult, most people fall in.
  37. Walk in river down stream a mile or two.
  38. You will see a man.
  39. Man gives you a single match (not waterproof) which you must carry with you for another task.
  40. Turn around in river and head back upstream
  41. Still carrying gear, bike, match and stump.
  42. Back into ditch this time uphill under bridge, under barbed wire and back up to Amee Farm
  43. Cross rt 100
  44. Find pile of 20 large logs
  45. quarter/split every log in pile
  46. Some larger logs take racers 30-40 minutes each
  47. More racers drop out
  48. After logs are quatered, stack all but six logs
  49. you will carry 6 pieces of wood up to the colton camp
  50. Start hiking uphill to colton camp with 6 logs, bike, gear, stump and match
  51. Once at colton camp (about a mile up hill) put your logs on the wood pile (keep your stump)
  52. Next instruction, hike up very very very steep mountain trail with all gear, bike stump
  53. at the top of the trail there will be a list of 10 names.
  54. Memorize the 10 names
  55. Return down very steep trail to colton camp to recite the names
  56. if you forget any names, you must climb up again and again .,. with your bike, gear and stump
  57. From colton camp hike back down to Amee farm
  58. You will see a pond.
  59. Get in new ditch under barbed wire and crawl up hill to foot bridge
  60. on the bridge there will be an object made out of Legos ... yes Legos.
  61. Memorize the structure/colors exactly
  62. run down hill jump into pond and get a bag of Legos from the far end.
  63. Take Legos to shore and build the structure that you just saw
  64. if you do not make an exact copy, back in the ditch you go under the barbed wire and to the foot bridge.
  65. Until you get it right
  66. *by the end of this task, 50% of the racers have dropped out or missed the cut-off
  67. Rain storm
  68. Back to Amee farm
  69. Back downhill with your gear, bike, stump under barbed wire
  70. under bridge
  71. back into river
  72. this time turning right (upstream)
  73. Very very long river walk with river rocks carrying everything
  74. Get to flame/torch in water
  75. Get out of river and read instructions for next task
  76. drop your bike and pack, and hike up hill to riverside farm
  77. find hidden chicken egg in field
  78. find fire wood
  79. bring egg and wood back over hill to the riverside where you left your gear, stump, bike
  80. Use your single match and wood to build fire
  81. Use old cans (some were dog food cans) to boil water
  82. cook egg in boiling water
  83. if you crack your egg, you must go back up hill to riverside farm and get another
  84. eat egg
  85. more racers drop out or miss the cut-off
  86. It is now mid-day
  87. rain starts hard
  88. pick up gear, stump, bike and head back over hill to riverside farm
  89. you will find your bike tires
  90. put the tires back on your bike
  91. go to pond
  92. dive to retreive your bike chain out of pond (not sure how this was done, as i was trying to catch up to race leaders)
  93. Put chain back on bike
  94. Ride bike around Joe's field and then put your bike in the barn
  95. You are done with your bike
  96. go back to pond and get weighed on scale
  97. grab bucked and fill with 20% of your body weight in rocks
  98. take bucket of rocks, gear and stump up a fucking killer hike to Joe's hill
  99. Most of the hike is strait up a revine with waterfalls
  100. lots of non-trail hiking through thick woods and nettles
  101. Close to top of hill (this was about a 2 hour hike) dump your rocks
  102. hike up to top of joe's hilla
  103. you must now hike back down the other side of the mountain with your stump, gear and empty bucket
  104. this hike is very sketchy, branches in the way, a 4 foot drop off etc.
  105. at the bottom, you must completly fill your 5 gallon bucket with water
  106. then turn around and go back up steep steep hill with full bucket of water, gear and stump
  107. oh, and if you spill any water, you have to do it again.
  108. this hike up took the fastest racers over an hour
  109. Once back at the top of Joe's hill, dump out your water.
  110. Head back down front side of mountain
  111. back uphill to Amee farm in trench
  112. under bridge
  113. under barbed wire with your gear and stump
  114. 20 hours have passed since you hiked your bike up Joe's hill for the first time
  115. First finishers cross the line. Most did not make it.
  116. It's past 4 PM on SATURDAY ... hardcore.