RED RIVER GORGE AMERICAN CLASSIC, THE FIG XII
CHAMPIONSHIP RACE IN THE UNBRIDLED ADVENTURE RACE SERIES
NATURAL BRIDGE STATE RESORT PARK
PRE-RACE BRIEFING
Thanks!
First and foremost, thanks to all of the racers, volunteers, staff, and sponsors participating in this 12th
year of the Red River Gorge American Classic, familiarly known as “The Fig.” This is the final race in the
Unbridled Adventure Race Series in Kentucky State Parks for 2014 and we’re so pleased to see how this
series has grown over the last three years since its inception. Having a competitive field of racers, a
corps of enthusiastic volunteers, a reliable and super competent staff, and a slate of loving sponsors is
pretty much everything a race organizer can hope for, and then some.
On top of all that, we’ve benefitted from having an incredibly
supportive partner in Kentucky State Parks. As a native Kentuckian, I’m
so proud to be from a state that is committed to preserving our most
valuable natural resource for the enjoyment and enrichment of this
and future generations. Our parks are under a lot of pressure to make
money, and you should know that parks make money off golf courses,
food and lodging. They don’t make money off maintaining trails or
preserving geological landmarks or improving water quality so we can paddle on our lakes and rivers.
And yet, Kentucky State Parks has shown, through this series and countless other programs and events,
its commitment to outdoor recreation and its understanding of the value of adventure tourism to local
economies.
USARA Regional Qualifier
In 2015, the state of Kentucky is hosting the Outdoor Adventure Games, a series
of national championship events across the state in a variety of sports, including
orienteering and adventure racing. The Fig is the first Regional Qualifier for the
2015 USARA Adventure Race National Championship, which will take place at Pine
Mountain State Resort Park in Bell County, Kentucky. If you experienced the 2011
championship at Cumberland Falls, then you have an idea of how Kentucky State
Parks is planning to pull out all the stops in showcasing our great state and our
beautiful parks system to racers from around the country. We’re super excited to
be part of that.
The winning co-ed team in the combined 3 and 4-person co-ed divisions of this race will receive these
awesome RQ Champion jackets, along with a $400 scholarship from Flying Squirrel Adventures to attend
next year’s USARA National Championship. You can bet you’ll hear us cheering you on at Pine
Mountain. In addition to our Regional Champions, the next 3 teams in that combined division will also
receive invitations to compete at Nationals. The top 4 teams in the combined 3 and 4-person male
divisions will receive invitations to compete in the Open Category at Nationals. An invitation to compete
in the Open Category will also be extended to our female teams, provided they are official finishers of
the race. We hope to see all of you there.
So, what will it take to finish this year’s Fig? The question that is burning in all of your bellies, I know.
Course Outline
The total distance for this year’s Fig is just over 50 miles to clear the course. That breaks down into a
total of 33 miles of biking, 3 miles of paddling, 14 miles of trekking, and a big ol’ zipline. I expect several
teams to clear this year’s course and I expect every team to be back here at the finish by 7 p.m. without
any trouble.
CPs 1 – 14 and CP 26 (the finish) are mandatory. CP 14 is the zipline or zipline alternate point. In other
words, everything on the course up to and including the zipline or its alternate point is mandatory. This
is to ensure the field is sufficiently spread out once you reach the zipline that we don’t end up with a
back-up. If you fail to visit a mandatory CP, you will not be disqualified, but you will rank behind every
team that visited all of the mandatory CPs. In other words, final standings will be determined based on
mandatory CPs visited, total CPs visited, and then time.
You must complete the legs of the race in order and you must visit CPs according to the mode or modes
of travel specified for that leg. Some legs require that you visit CPs in order and others allow you to visit
CPs in any order. These are clearly spelled out in your course instructions. Be sure you read them, word
for word.
You must check in with the volunteer and sign a check-in sheet upon your first arrival at each TA. It is
your responsibility to sign your team in, not the volunteer’s. It invariably happens that we think a team
is unaccounted for because a volunteer did not mark the arrival of a team that came in with a larger
group of teams and went unnoticed. This is the reason we’ve implemented this sign-in system. You will
be penalized 30 minutes for failing to sign in upon arrival at a TA (if you depart the TA before signing in).
Your course instructions clearly spell out at which points in the race you must sign in at the TA.
You must also sign in at the finish. In addition to signing by your team name, you must also record your
finish time and total number of CPs obtained (out of 26). This will serve as a back-up to our volunteers
at the finish line.
Saturday’s Schedule
Late check-in will begin at 5:00 a.m. at the Woodlands Activity Center. The breakfast kiosk will open at
5:30 a.m. We will play the zipline safety briefing/demo at 5:45 a.m. (more on that below).
Maps, UTM coordinates, and Course Instructions will be distributed at 6:00 a.m. at the Woodlands
Activity Center. You will be provided UTM coordinates for CPs 4 – 10 and the TAs. You will be given
supplemental maps for CPs 1 – 3 and CPs 11 – 14 and will not have to plot those points. You will not be
provided UTM coordinates for CPs 15 – 25 before the start of the race. Rather, those coordinates will be
plotted during the race, should you choose to visit those optional CPs. Be sure you take your plotter and
a marking tool with you. Given that everything up to that point will be mandatory, you will not be
required to make any decisions about dropping CPs before you have seen all of the course.
Passports will be handed out at 6:55 a.m. at Hoedown Island and the race will begin from there at 7:00
a.m. You will start the race on foot from Hoedown Island. You must be out of the Woodlands Activity
Center by 6:45 a.m. We will turn out the lights and lock the doors to the center at that time and make
our way down to Hoedown Island. You cannot start the race until you have picked up your passport
from Hoedown Island.
Maps
All plotting will be done on a MyTopo 1:24,000 scale waterproof map. Supplemental maps will include a
trail map of Natural Bridge State Resort Park and topo maps of Cliffview Resort. These will not be
waterproof. Be sure to bring your mandatory waterproof map case. If you’re
able to print and laminate (or packing-tape) the trail map of Natural Bridge in
advance, I suggest you do that.
Checkpoints
All CPs you will visit on the paddle or on foot will be marked with a standard orange and white
orienteering flag. The flag and punch will be locked to a tree or other object. All CPs you will visit on the
bike will be cable-locked and marked with prominent clusters of orange and pink surveyor’s flagging.
The only other flagging on the course that has been put there by us is some flagging to help you locate
the trail between Point A and the nearby road (this will make sense when you see the map). Any other
flagging you might encounter out in the woods should be ignored. It is highly unlikely that any of the
CPs would have been stolen. The CPs are located on sufficiently distinct features that you should not
have any doubt as to whether you are at the correct location. If you are at the correct location, you
should be able to see the CP. If a CP has been discretely placed to make it less visible from a nearby
trail, the clue will provide sufficient detail to allow you to locate the flag without difficulty. Be sure you
read the clues accompanying the CPs. Please note your course instructions will not be on waterproof
paper. You may want to bring packing tape or a clear plastic sleeve or similar supply to waterproof your
course instructions within your main waterproof map case.
Gear Staging
You will be staging all biking and paddling specific gear at Mill Creek Lake. You may begin staging gear in
the designated area at 8 p.m. Friday night; follow directions from the race volunteer. Your gear must be
staged before the start of the race Saturday morning.
You may stage extra food, drink, clothes, and anything else you want with your gear at Mill Creek Lake.
We will secure bikes, boats, paddles, and PFDs. However, we cannot secure or guaranty the security of
other miscellaneous items left in the Mill Creek Lake transition area (expensive trail shoes or sunglasses,
e.g.). Therefore, do not leave any such valuable items in that transition area when you leave there. You
are welcome to park your vehicle in that parking lot and lock items in your vehicle for transition. You
may not have a support person keep items for your use in any transition area, or take items from you in
a transition area or on the course. This is an unsupported race.
Rental and Personal Boats
We will have yellow duct tape and markers at the gear staging area. If you brought your own boat,
please mark it with your team number on the yellow duct tape. If you rented a boat, you should not
take any boat with a team number in yellow duct tape on it. Rental boats have been assigned to
particular teams. Your team number will be clearly marked on high vis orange cardstock on the boat.
Please select the boat with your team number on it only. Rental canoes come with canoe paddles and
rental kayaks come with kayak paddles. All rentals come with PFDs. You may use your own paddles or
PFDs, and stage those in the boat either Friday night or Saturday morning.
Other Gear Considerations
You need to wear your bib number on the front of your body. I suggest beneath whatever jacket you
might be wearing at the start of the race, given the likelihood that jacket will come off at some point
during the day (let’s hope it warms up that much). You are not going to be required to carry your
mandatory gear on the zipline loop, so if you put your bib number on your pack, you likely wouldn’t
have it with you at the zipline. I want your bib number to be visible to the guide/volunteer at the
zipline. It’s fine to have it under your jacket. You can just unzip and show the guide/volunteer before
getting on the zipline.
There will be several locations along the course where you might stop and purchase
food or drink. I suggest you take money with you.
Don’t forget to slather some RunGoo on those feet! We’ll have RunGoo stations set
up at the Woodlands Activity Center before the race start and also at TAs. Be sure to
apply a thick layer. The stuff works like magic to prevent blisters.
GPS devices
It’s been called to my attention that there are various models of watches by Garmin and other
manufacturers that track speed, distance and/or route, though they do not show the wearer his or her
location on a map. Such devices are strictly prohibited. Please do not show me your watch 5 minutes
before the race starts and ask if it’s “okay.” I have no way of knowing what your watch does or does not
do. I’m not an e-person. I have a flip phone. I don’t text. I own nothing with gps technology. I’m not
really sure what “the cloud” is. What I can say is this: to me, adventure racing is about competing with
your wits and your guts. Use your map and your compass. When you’re on your bike, it’s okay to use an
“old school” bike computer that measures your distance according to the number of revolutions your
wheel makes. In fact, I strongly encourage it. Beyond that, I’ll really appreciate it if you just seal your
devices up in the envelope I’ll be giving you and don’t ask me to make judgment calls about whether this
or that technology is okay to keep unsealed.
I appreciate the value of having a gps tracker record your route for later analysis. I think it’s useful to
help you improve as a navigator and to share your race story with others and to post colorful maps to
the internet and all that. So turn it on, seal it up, and turn it in at the finish line, and everyone wins.
Please know we will have a gear check on the course to ensure your device is sealed up and to ensure
your team has no banned devices in addition to the one sealed in the enveloped we’ve issued you.
If you want a recommendation for a digital camera that is waterproof, shock-proof, lightweight, and a
great little camera to carry in adventure races, ask Sara Dallman. Hers is a real gem.
Losing a team member
If your team decides to pull out of the race, you must contact race staff and inform us, so we do not
send search-and-rescue looking for you. If you have a teammate who decides to pull out of the race,
you are responsible for assisting him or her to a TA or HQ. If you leave a teammate unassisted, you may
not continue the race. If you leave a teammate at a TA or HQ, you may continue racing unranked. You
must notify race staff in order to continue racing unranked.
Emergency contact information
In the event of a serious medical emergency, call 9-1-1 and then call race staff. In the event of a minor
medical emergency that does not warrant a trip to the ER, but requires the assistance of our on-site
paramedic, call race staff. Our on-site paramedic and SAR coordinator is David Fifer, a volunteer with
Wolfe County Search and Rescue. His cell number is on your course instructions. Stephanie’s cell
number is also on your instructions. Please note that Stephanie cannot receive texts, but David can. If
you have spotty coverage, try getting a text out to David.
Your biggest risk in light of the current weather forecast is hypothermia. Wet and cold are a very bad
combination. I strongly suggest you pack an extra long-sleeved thermal shirt, in addition to whatever
you’re wearing at the start of the race, so that you can change when you get to Cliffview. That zipline is
going to be awfully cold if you’re wet. A change of socks and gloves would also be advised at that point.
Leave No Trace
The Fig, like all Flying Squirrel Adventures, is USARA sanctioned. All USARA sanctioned events must
comply with the Leave No Trace ethic. Additionally, please be reminded that it is illegal to remove any
natural or manmade artifact or object found on state park property.
State Nature Preserve travel rules
There will be some checkpoints located within the state park on the west side of Highway 11. The
entirety of the state park on the west side of Highway 11 is a designated state nature preserve. The
checkpoints on this side of the highway are located within 50’ of the trail. You may travel off-trail only
so far as is necessary to access the CP, and may not otherwise travel off-trail or bushwhack within the
state nature preserve on the west side of Highway 11. The state park property on the east side of
Highway 11 is not within the state nature preserve. Nevertheless, please tread lightly here and
everywhere.
Zipline – please read carefully!!
Red River Gorge Zipline (“RRGZ”) will conduct a demonstration and
safety briefing during the pre-race briefing Friday night. They will also
provide important tips on how to minimize the risk of not making it to
the other end of the zipline, requiring a tow in from the guide. They
will also have a separate waiver you will need to sign. We will
videotape this presentation and show it at 5:45 a.m. Saturday
morning in the Woodlands Activity Center. You may not get on the zipline without having the safety
briefing and signing the waiver. You will be given a color-coded Tyvek wristband upon viewing the
safety briefing and signing the waiver. You may not ride the zipline without that wristband. If you miss
the briefing Friday night and miss the viewing Saturday morning, you will either have to undergo the
briefing and sign the waiver at the TA prior to ziplining or opt for the zipline alternate point.
There is a 250-pound limit for anyone using the zipline. If you are close to this limit, RRGZ will ask you to
step on a scales. If you exceed the 250-pound limit, you will need to opt for the zipline alternate point.
You must visit all CPs prior to arrival at the zipline TA. Those are CPs 1 – 10. CPs 11 – 14 are at Cliffview
Resort. You will receive a topo map of this area with CPs 11 – 14 pre-plotted. CPs 11 – 13 comprise a
short trekking leg, beginning and ending at the zipline TA. The zipline loop you will complete to secure
your punch for CP 14 also begins and ends at the zipline TA. If we have several teams come in at once,
some will be directed to the trekking leg first and others to the zipline loop first. Everyone must do both
the trekking leg and the zipline loop. Both begin and end at the zipline TA, eliminating any advantage or
disadvantage to doing one or the other first.
Passport exchange
Before beginning the zipline loop, you must turn in your main passport and pick up a special passport for
the zipline loop. The zipline loop will consist of three CPs, marked A – C, that you must visit and punch
on your special passport (it will have boxes marked A – C). Upon completion of the zipline loop, you
must turn in your special passport, with CPs A – C punched, in order to receive a punch for CP 14. The
zipline loop counts as 1 CP, which will be punched in the space for CP 14 on your main passport. It is
your job – not the volunteers’ job – to exchange your main passport for the zipline passport before
heading out on this loop and it is your job – not the volunteers’ job – to exchange your zipline passport
for the main passport and have CP 14 punched upon completion of the zipline loop. Do not come to me
and report that the volunteer failed to give you the zipline passport before you took off and so rather
than going back to pick it up, you decided to just punch your map, your main passport, your teammate,
whatever.
Read this again: it is your responsibility to exchange the main passport for the zipline passport and vice
versa. It is not anyone else’s responsibility to exchange the main passport for the zipline passport and
vice versa, except yours. Yours. Yours. One of you will come to me and say the volunteer failed to take
your main passport and give you the zipline passport. I will hold up my hand and avert my eyes from
your disgrace. And you will not get the point, which is mandatory.
Assignment of zipline
Now, further to avoid any back-up on the zipline, we will be utilizing two different ziplines that run
approximately parallel to one another, but in opposite directions. You will be assigned to the
appropriate zipline based on the division in which you are racing. Every team within a given division will
be on the same zipline. The map you receive for the zipline loop will spell out very clearly which zipline
your team is assigned to and which direction you should therefore travel on the zipline loop. You may
not choose which zipline to take. You must take the zipline assigned to your division. Your wristband
will be color-coded to the zipline and your Cliffview map will be specific to your direction of travel and
zipline, to avoid any confusion. The Cliffview map will clearly spell out which divisions should be using
that map. Double-check that you have the correct map for your division, and you’ll be fine.
Utilizing two different ziplines means the two loops are not exactly the same. The total distance of the
two loops is very nearly the same, but one zipline is longer than the other. Therefore, some teams will
travel further by zipline and therefore a shorter distance on foot. It is a few hundred feet difference. All
male teams of 2/3/4 will be on the shorter zipline and, therefore, the all-male teams will travel the
longer distance on foot. Given the advantage these teams have on the paddle and on the bike, I’m
guessing this still doesn’t level the playing field in terms of natural physical advantage, so this seemed to
me the fairest way to divide up the field. All soloists and all co-ed teams will be assigned to the other
zipline. This breaks the field of 125 racers down into 55 racers going one way (soloists and co-ed teams)
and 70 racers going the other (male teams of 2/3/4). Additionally, both directions actually have a pair of
lines running parallel (so-called “dueling ziplines”) and, therefore, the field will be further broken down
into ~ 28-35 racers per line. The field should be sufficiently spread out upon reaching the zipline TA that
we can move these numbers through without a significant back-up. RRGZ has been great working with
us to ensure efficiency on the ziplines. Many thanks to their professional and hospitable staff, especially
Amy Sellin, their marketing director and a previous Fig racer herself.
All team members on same line
All members of the same team must utilize the same line, even if the dual line is available. This will be
communicated to volunteers and zipline guides. However, you are responsible for following this rule.
Be assured that if you break this rule, someone will report you. Someone reports a known or suspected
rules violation every single race. Someone will report you, even if our volunteers or guides do not catch
you. Do not come back and tell me a volunteer or a guide said it was okay for you and your teammate
to race each other across “because we’re not really competitive, anyway, we’re just here to have fun.” I
get it, and I’m not trying to kill your joy. If you and your teammate want to race each other on the
dueling ziplines, then join us on Sunday for the group zipline tour. Do not use the dueling ziplines during
the race. Your team will be disqualified if you do. I’ve worked very hard to create as level a playing field
as I can while incorporating this zipline loop into the race. Please don’t muck it up and make me
disqualify your team by using more than one line. If you don’t understand this instruction, please ask
me to explain further.
Zipline alternate point
If you prefer not to zip or are unable to zip for whatever reason, there will be an alternate point you may
visit instead of the zipline. You will still take the special passport and visit the other 2 of the 3 CPs along
the loop, in addition to this zipline alternate point. Your team’s loop will be roughly equivalent to the
total distance of the loops traveled by teams taking the zipline. However, you will have to climb back
out of the gorge rather than riding the zipline across the gorge. Additionally, upon returning to the TA,
each member of your team will be required to trek out and back, relay-style, to a designated point 1,500
meters from the TA. Each team member visits the same point. There is no real navigation involved.
This relay element is merely to mimic the time it would otherwise take each team member to get in and
out of his or her ziplining gear, and assumes a few-minute wait at the zipline. The alternate point has
been set up to mimic as closely as possible the actual time it would otherwise take your team to
complete the loop with the zipline, so that there is no inherent time penalty if you prefer not to zip. The
alternate point will obviously take more of a physical toll on racers. Whether your team could complete
the alternate point loop more quickly than the zipline loop depends very much on your fitness level and
speed in the 1500-meter relay.
Zipline time window
The latest you may get on the zipline is 5 p.m. Teams are expected to start arriving at the zipline TA by
11 a.m., so you should not have any problem making the zipline. The only reason you would not make it
to the zipline TA by 5 p.m. would be the result of a race-ending injury or bike mechanical failure or a
very serious navigational error costing you several hours. [knocking on wood]
That’s it. See you soon!
Racers paddle Mill Creek
Lake in the early fog.