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July 30, 2010
Race
Course/Format Change
We completed a little pre race ride and planning on the August 28th
event at White Oak Lake State Park. We will be changing our format
slightly to make the race a little more efficient. Advanced racers will
now start 30 minutes ahead of the sprint racers and will experience a
slightly different race where you will be challenged with a navigation
section somewhere along the of the course rather than throughout the
entire race. The biking, paddling and running sections will be marked
and simple maps used for both Advanced and Sprint racers. Advanced
racers will now PLOT their navigation points for greater accuracy. All
categories of racers will have to collect "surprise" checkpoints along
the course as we have always done for the sprint racers. We hope that
this format change will be better for all categories and will make the
race much more fun for everyone.
Updates
Sorry for the delay in
the home page updates. Unfortunately we experienced a slight web issue
and the updates were not processed. All is corrected and we are up and
running. Don't worry as we are still going strong for our August 28th
race and our November 6th event. We were recently featured in Trail
Runner Magazine in their June issue. Its going to be a great year for
racing and we want to see all of you there!
April 23, 2010
Sprint
Race Cancellation
We are
not sure what happened for this race, but there were only a few
registrations and not enough to hold the event. We hope to have this
corrected by the August event. We hope that this is not a trend for
adventure racing, we will continue to work on promoting the sport. Sorry
for any inconvenience.
April 2, 2010
Advanced Category Changes
In an effort to make the
navigation more accurate and challenging. Advanced racers will be
required to plot UTM coordinates on their maps. Also, expect the
advanced category to be slightly longer and be more off the beaten path.
We are making this change to keep the challenge in the racing and
correct the issue of not being able to exactly pinpoint the location of
the CP because of our mapping software. We hope that this change will
also attract racers who have raced with us before, but want more of a
challenge.
March 19, 2010
Navigation Clinic
After a bunch of
scheduling we have a date and location for our navigation clinic. On
April 10th , hosted at Pinnacle Mountain State Park, will be
our first clinic for 2010. We are hoping for a good turnout and with it
being pretty close to the Ouachita Adventure Race and Sprint,
participants should be pretty fresh on their navigation skills. Cost of
the clinic will be $40 per person and includes a goodie bag, maps and
navigation manuals. Sign up will be on both websites today, and you can
register up to the Wednesday before the clinic.
The clinic will start
at 1030am and finish at 330pm. Morning will be classroom style
instruction with the afternoon being all practical navigation. If you
have a gmrs radio feel free to bring it, as we use these for instruction
during the practical portion of the clinic.
Please email me if you have any questions about the clinic.
Day Clinic Schedule
Location:
Pinnacle Mountain State Park near Little Rock, AR
Maumelle River Pavilion
near boat ramp.
Map/Directions:
Directions Click here.
10:30 –
Navigation clinic to include:
·
UTM
coordinate plotting and grid identification
·
Compass familiarization and recommendations
·
Basic navigation with a standard 1:24,000 map
12:30pm –
Lunch Discussion – Team Dynamics
1:30pm –
Practical exercises in plotting and field navigation
3:30pm –
Course complete.
Clinic
Checklist:
ü
Lunch is not provided so pack yourself one or bring cash and we will
make a lunch run for everyone.
ü
Bring a few snacks and fill your water bottles or water bladders.
ü
Equipment List:
ü
Comfortable Pair
of Running Shoes or Trail Shoes
ü
Hydration system
or bottles for water
ü
Whistle
ü
Map Case or Zip
Lock Bag for Maps
ü
Compass
ü
UTM Reader
ü
Paper, Pen,
highlighter (optional) and Pencil, for notes and UTM Plotting
Race and Clinic Updates
Feb 26, 2010
Registration for all
categories is now open, so be sure register early before the fees
increase.
Race planning is going
really well. It is amazing how much area we have to work with and the
great terrain to race over. The Ouachita National Forest is a great
resource for us to use and we continue to thank the people at Mountain
Harbor Resort and the Arkansas State Parks for being our base of
operations for our sprint races this year. If you get a chance to get to
go out to the resort or to any of the Arkansas State Parks please be
sure to mention that we sent you.
In other news, a
Navigation and basic adventure racing clinic now being planned. Please
email
us here if you are interested in
attending this clinic. We will decide on a location for the clinic based
on where the majority of interested persons come from.
Arkansas Adventure Sprint Championship
Feb 9, 2010
The
Ozark Extreme Sprint Series Award for 2010 has been restructured to into
the Arkansas Adventure Sprint Championship. More races are now included
in the point series. Points will be restructured into simple categories and
now will include the Raid the Rock Sprint and Lewis and Clark Urban
Adventure race. New rules and points will be updated soon with the new
website. Check back here for more information.
2010 Races
Jan 13, 2010
Sorry for the delay everyone. Races are now
official and we are gearing up for a new season of races. New for this
year we are trying to get other races on board with a new State Sprint
Championship. This is the main reason we are only having two races this
year, rather than the normal three. Check out the great locations and
race dates. More info will be coming out soon, with race registration.
T-Shirt/ Entry Coupons
Sept 4, 2009
The entry discount coupons have been emailed
to the people who requested them. If you did not receive one, and placed
your name on the list, please email me with a valid address. Some of the
email addresses were not valid or were left off the form.
A Big Thanks
August 31, 2009
Thanks to all of you for coming out to our
events this year. Each event was held at some great locations throughout
the state and we were very happy with the Arkansas State Parks we had
our races in. Each race was held on unique terrain for the state and
showed each of us what all Arkansas has to offer.
We hope that all of you had a great year and
enjoyed our events, our staff worked hard to make each race the best we
could. Of course there will always be some unforeseen issues with the
courses, and our staff worked quickly to try to resolve them as they
were happening. I am extremely happy to have put together the courses
for this year and the opportunity to be a race director and hope to see
all of you next year for an all new set of races.
Now we are preparing for one of our largest
races to date. The Ouachita Adventure Race will be a spectacular race
that will encompass some of the most challenging terrain in that area.
Read more at
www.ouachitaadventurerace.com.
Again, thank you all for coming out and
being a part of our races and supporting the great sport of Adventure
Racing.
Series Giveaways
August 23, 2009
Don't forget that thanks to the Arkansas
State Parks we now have three great prizes for our final event. Remember
you must pre-register for any of our events to be automatically entered
into the drawing.
The Prizes are:
One night for two people at Mt. Magazine
State Park in a one bedroom cabin.
One night for two people at Mt. Magazine
State Park Lodge
Two nights of camping at any of the Arkansas
State Parks that allow camping.
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**DEVILS DEN
PRE-RACE INFO - AUGUST 29th, 2009***
A whole season of sprint races has flown
by, we are now at our final sprint race of the season and the series
finals. The Devils Den State Park Race will be a challenging event
with plenty of tough terrain and some surprises. Racing in this part
of the Ozark Mountains is always challenging. Expect tough hills, creek crossings
and some caving. Due to a condition that is endangering the local
bat population, our caving will be limited but still will be a part
of the race. Bring PLENTY OF BUG REPELLENT, the bugs are out there
and waiting. The temperature will be much cooler than usual, but
make sure you plan on
carrying water with you anyway. Dehydration can happen in even cold
temperatures. Be sure to give a big thanks to the
Arkansas State Parks Staff for the time and work it takes to give us
these wonderful places to experience adventure racing.
The course will be a mix of trails and
bushwhacking while the paddling section will be on a creek.
Distances for this event are estimated at: 12 miles of mountain
biking, 5 miles of trekking, .5 miles of paddling and caving.
Plan for muddy conditions in the caves and be prepared for
a few creek crossings. You will need bike tail lights and headlamps for this
race. Again, bring bug spray.
Registration will be at the pavilion
just past the restaurant and dam.
Race day schedule:
-
7:30am to 9:45am - Race day
registration and Check-in
-
9:45am to 10:15am - Pre-Race Meeting
-
10:30am Race Start
-
4:30pm Race Cutoff - All teams,
regardless of course progression, must return to start.
-
4:30 Awards Ceremony and Sprint
Series Awards.
As with our past races we are constantly
tweaking the "awards ceremony". Once the top five teams, or solos,
in any category finishes, we will calculate the times and make the
awards available for you if you wish to leave the event early.
Otherwise we will give the official ceremony at 4:30pm along with
prize giveaways. *We will not give out Series Awards Prior to the
Ceremony.
Click
here for directions to the event.
View
Devils Den State Park - August 29, 2009 in a larger map
If you have any last minute questions
please email us at
admin@ozarkextreme.com or call us at (501)612-1045. Cell signals
are intermittent out there so leave a message if we do not answer
and we will get back with you as soon as possible.
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Post Race - Village Creek
June 7, 2009
Thanks to all of you who attended the race
at Village Creek State Park. The race was a little tougher than previous
races this year. The terrain surprised quite a few people with the
varied topography for the Arkansas' Delta Region. A special thanks goes
to our Ozark Extreme Staff and Volunteers, without them this race
couldn't have happened. Be sure to thank them at any chance you get.
Another thanks goes to the Arkansas State Parks for the partnership
which brought us to this great park.
Please stay tuned for the sprint series
totals to be posted later this week as we work on getting them
calculated.
Sprint Site Updates:
June 2, 2009
Race Series Info/ Special Prizes
Thanks to the Arkansas State Parks we now
have three great prizes for our final event. Remember you must
pre-register for any of our events to be automatically entered into the
drawing.
The Prizes are:
One night for two people at Mt. Magazine
State Park in a one bedroom cabin.
One night for two people at Mt. Magazine
State Park Lodge
Two nights of camping at any of the Arkansas
State Parks that allow camping.
Series Award Points will be calculated after
the second race and displayed on the Series Award Page. For more
information please see our rules page.
June 1, 2009
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***VILLAGE CREEK
PRE-RACE INFO - June 6th, 2009***
Wow, its already time for our second
sprint adventure race of our series. The event at Village Creek
State Park will be a blast. The terrain is pretty challenging, as we
will be racing on part of Crowley's ridge. Expect hills and plenty
of creek crossings. Bring PLENTY OF BUG REPELLENT, the bugs are out
in force. The temperature will be hotter than usual, so plan on
carrying water with you. Be sure to give a big thanks to the
Arkansas State Parks Staff for the time and work it takes to give us
these wonderful places to experience adventure racing.
The course will be a mix of trails and
bushwhacking while the paddling section will be on a small lake.
Distances for this event are estimated at: 12 miles of mountain
biking, 5 miles of trekking, 1 mile of paddling.
Plan for muddy conditions and be prepared for
hotter temperatures (80s to mid 90s). You will not need bike lights or headlamps for this
race. Again, bring bug spray.
Race day schedule:
-
7:30am to 9:45am - Race day
registration and Check-in
-
9:45am to 10:15am - Pre-Race Meeting
-
10:30am Race Start
-
4:30pm Race Cutoff - All teams,
regardless of course progression, must return to start.
-
4:30 Awards Ceremony
As with our past races we are constantly
tweaking the "awards ceremony". Once the top five teams, or solos,
in any category finishes, we will calculate the times and make the
awards available for you if you wish to leave the event early.
Otherwise we will give the official ceremony at 4:30pm along with
prize giveaways.
Click
here for directions to the event.
If you have any last minute questions
please email us at
admin@ozarkextreme.com or call us at (501)612-1045. Cell signals
are intermittent out there so leave a message if we do not answer
and we will get back with you as soon as possible.
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April 26, 2009
We have been working on updating our sites
to a new look and integrating Twitter, Facebook and MySpace into our
format for easier sharing. We are also simplifying the pages so that
more information can be found on fewer pages. Please bear with us as we
fine tune our new looks and layouts.
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***Ozark Extreme Adventure Sports Clinic
Information, Schedule and Outline***
April 25th, 2009
Clinic Cost: $60 per person (pre-paid
registrants please check in at clinic)
Location: John Irvin, Pavilion in Burns
Park, North Little Rock.
Street Location: W Military and Burns Park
Drive, North Little Rock, AR
Google Map Link:
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&ie=UTF8&t=h&msa=0&msid=106006142593631407881.000461cbe46197fd32128&ll=34.801594,-92.300831&spn=0.004343,0.009656&z=17
Schedule:
9:00am - Introduction and Course
Information
9:30am - Adventure Racing Gear:
·
Adventure Race Specific Gear
·
Gear Vs
Weight
·
Practical Gear Choices
10:00 - Basic Navigation to include:
·
UTM
coordinate plotting and grid identification
·
Compass
familiarization and recommendations
·
Basic
navigation with a standard 1:24,000 map
·
Practical exercises in plotting and field navigation
12:30pm – Lunch Discussion – Team Dynamics
1:30pm – Mountain Biking:
·
General Mountain Biking Techniques
·
Basic
Mountain Bike Field Repair
·
Practical exercises with a ride and demonstrations
4:00pm – Course complete.
Clinic
Checklist:
ü
Lunch
is not provided so pack yourself one or bring cash and we will make
a lunch run for everyone.
ü
Bring a
few snacks and fill your water bottles or water bladders.
ü
Equipment List:
ü
Comfortable Pair of
Running Shoes or Trail Shoes
ü
Mountain bike and
bike helmet (No Cyclocross or Hybrid bikes)
ü
Bike repair tool
ü
Hydration system or
bottles for water
ü
Whistle
ü
Map Case or Zip
Lock Bag for Maps
ü
Compass
ü
UTM Reader
ü
Paper, Pen,
highlighter (optional) and Pencil, for notes and UTM Plotting
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Season Updates
April 22, 2009
We have been working hard on our clinics and
our next event at Village Creek State Park. This park is an impressive
mixture of terrain with some interesting challenges thrown in. We are
excited to host our event in this park and think that all of you will
get the additional "challenge" that you are asking for. Due to your
feedback we are planning the event to be tougher than our last race, yet
still achievable to new racers. Expect some additional fun along our
course, as we may be adding in some special skills to this event. Hope
to see all of you there.
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***Cane Creek Pre-Race Info - March 21,
2009***
March 17th, 2009
Its that time again. The seasons first
sprint adventure race of our series. We are really excited to be
able to offer this event at Cane Creek State Park. Don't let your
perception of the Arkansas Delta area mislead you, there are hills
and obstacles to be overcome in this one of a kind park. Be prepared
for plenty of stream and bridge crossings in addition to plenty of
bushwhacking! The event will be a change from our usual schedule.
Due to the ice storms and significant damage to the parks trail
systems in North West Arkansas we had to alter our schedule to
utilize Cane Creek State Park first in our series. We were, at
first, wondering how this little park was going to work into our
series...boy were we impressed with what we found. We can't wait for
all of you to experience this great little gem of a park. A
big thanks to the Arkansas State Parks goes out for the time and
work it takes to give us these wonderful places to experience
adventure racing.
The course will be a mix of trails and
bushwhacking while the paddling section will be on a small lake.
Plan for muddy conditions and be prepared for possible colder
temperatures. You will not need bike lights or headlamps for this
race.
Race day schedule:
-
7:30am to 9:45am - Race day
registration and Check-in
-
9:45am to 10:15am - Pre-Race Meeting
-
10:30am Race Start
-
4:30pm Race Cutoff - All teams,
regardless of course progression, must return to start.
-
4:30 Awards Ceremony
As with our past races we are constantly
tweaking the "awards ceremony". Once the top five teams, or solos,
in any category finishes, we will calculate the times and make the
awards available for you if you wish to leave the event early.
Otherwise we will give the official ceremony at 4:30pm along with
prize giveaways.
Click
here for directions to the event.
If you have any last minute questions
please email us at
admin@ozarkextreme.com or call us at (501)612-1045.
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March 8, 2009
More Updates
We have been working hard for this year's events, renewing our
commitment to giving participants one of the most exciting experiences
in the outdoors. I personally am extremely excited after our advanced
scouting trips to have and be using the three phenomenal Arkansas State
Parks we have chosen for the 2009 events.
Our chief partners in this endeavor, Arkansas State Parks and Today's
THV, and our Presenting Sponsors, Mountain Harbor Resort, Ozark Outdoor
Supply and Kash-Web.com, are all dedicated to the sport and our exciting
events. Be sure to visit them via the links on the right and tell them
how much you appreciate the support.
You may have noticed the weather widget from Today's THV on our home
page. This is a great resource for checking the weather before you head
out for a long day of training or racing. Also check out THVTOGO.com on
your phone, this is an excellent resource for checking the weather and
breaking news on the go.
February 25, 2009
Event Updates
The Cane Creek event planning is going well and is working out to be a
great location for a sprint distance adventure race. We cannot wait for
all of you to experience this recently updated park and its
spectacular muli-use trails. From hiking to mountain biking and even
some great paddling this park offers plenty for adventure seekers. Read
more about it at
http://arkansasstateparks.com/canecreek/
We would like to thank our sponsors for supporting adventure racing and
our events. Please be sure to check out our sponsors page for
information on each of our presenting and general sponsors.
February 1, 2009
North Little Rock Clinic
Ozark Extreme Adventure Racing will be holding an adventure racing
clinic in Burns Park on April 25th, 2009.
General clinic information can be found on our "Clinics" page, but the
specifics for this clinic will include:
-
Navigation for Adventure Racing,
Classroom and Course- Learn the basic concepts for navigating with a
map and compass utilizing plotting, terrain following, UTM reading,
distance calculations and strategy.
-
Adventure Racing Team Dynamics -
Understand the dynamics involved with keeping your team together and
racing. Understand techniques for coping with injury, stress and
fatigue.
-
Gear Choices for Adventure Racing,
Classroom - Learn how to choose the best gear for you and assist
your team in learning about all the different gear choices out there
and the advantages and disadvantages of each. Understand the
relationship between performance and gear choices.
-
Basic Mountain Biking, Classroom
and Course - Understand the basics of mountain biking from
terminology to repair then take a ride with us to learn some
techniques on how to cope with obstacles and utilize specialized
gear for adventure racing.
-
Women's Basic Mountain Biking Clinic,
Classroom and Course - Same course as our basic mountain biking
course with a Women's only twist. This clinic is for women only and
will be taught by the ladies of Ozark Extreme.
To sign up for the clinic go to our registration page. We are interested
in giving you the best quality of information and prepare you for your
next adventure race.
January 31, 2009
Sponsor Updates
We are excited to be partnering with Today's
THV to bring you the best race coverage and weather updates from
training to racing days check with todaysthv.com before you go or
thvtogo.com on your cell phone while you are out.
December 31, 2008
Registration Info
Yes even on the last day of the year we are hard at work on our events.
We are going to delay the registration opening until we can negotiate a
better service for registering our racers. Stay tuned for more info.
November
22, 2009
2009 Events and Info
Wow...where did the last 5 years go? Ozark Extreme Adventure Sprints is
now in its 5th year. Thanks to all of you for supporting our events and
showing that Adventure Racing is the most exciting sport out there. We have been
planning our 2009 events early and we are excited to have partnered with
the Arkansas State Parks and Mountain Harbor Resort and Spa to bring you
some of our best events ever.
Our slogan for 2009 is "Get your fix!" we went with this to show
just how exciting these events are and how much each racer gets out of
them. We have three great sprint events in 2009 with a additional
regular Adventure Race at 12 hours in length on Lake Ouachita.
Yes...those of you who want to know there will be caving at Devils Den
and some other exciting events at our other races.
The Ouachita Adventure Race will be a day length race (12 hour max) with
all the amenities of a regular adventure race. For more info check out
the site at www.ouachitaadventurerace.com.
We have been very concerned about what has been viewed as a demise of
longer adventure races and have vowed to show our sponsors and the
public that if you put on a great race...people will come and Adventure
Racing isn't on its way out. Check out our site and see the great locations we
have for 2009, we have also changed up the locations of the races to
make them much more fun, and not so hot or cold.
On to one of our problems with 2008. Its a fact that the economy hit
many businesses very hard. Some of our suppliers of our hats and shirts
had to cut back and delayed or canceled many production items, namely
ours, which were not cost effective. Since we were not able to
affordably move our shirts and hats to another supplier, we issued the
gift certificates. We think all of our loyal racers deserved an
explanation.
Now here is the part where we ask for your help. We need to make this
the best year yet, we are being watched closely by our remaining
sponsors and industry insiders which we have asked to pay close
attention to these type of events. Its important to get the word out to
everyone what you have come to enjoy about our events and help us
recruit people.
For those of you who want to do the Ouachtia Adventure Race this
October, we will offer a clinic in North Little Rock to assist anyone to
prepare for
this event.
Wow...that was a lot in a first update. Please email me if you have any
suggestions or comments at
brandon@ozarkextreme.com.
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