EUREKA, MO — A sell-out crowd of 79 teams toed the line at the 11th annual Osprey Packs Castlewood 8-Hr Adventure Race on Saturday. Teams gathered at The Legends Country Club for a pre-race meeting after having dropped their bikes off at Route 66 State Park Visitor’s Center on the east side of the Meramec River. The teams started the adventure with a 5k road run through The Legends and up a monstrous hill on Hunter’s Ford Road. They arrived at the Allenton Access Boat Ramp to the sight of 125 canoes and began their journey downstream on the Meramec River. They paused their paddle at the Route 66 State Park Visitor’s Center to get out, collect their waiting bikes, and ride up another huge hill on technical singletrack to “the picnic table” at West Tyson County Park. There, teams received a brand-new map featuring orienteering checkpoints scattered throughout the rugged park. They trekked on foot to as many checkpoints as possible before 2:00 PM, when they exited the park on their bikes via more technical singletrack. They then crossed the Meramec River with their bikes in the canoes, and unloaded them in Route 66 State Park for a final biking section before finishing back at The Legends Country Club.
The event was supported by Osprey Packs, and Missouri-based sponsors Huga Bar, Kuat Racks, Optimal Performance Center, Extreme Electrical Contractors, Urban Chestnut Brewing Company, Dogfish Custom Graphic Apparel, Saint Louis Orienteering Club, and Bass River Resorts. Thanks to the City of Eureka, Missouri Department of Natural Resources, Missouri Department of Conservation, St. Louis County Parks & Recreation, Missouri State Highway & Water Patrol, and The Legends Country Club & Homeowners Associations for granting event permits.
RESULTS & SPLITS
PHOTOS
Travis Irvin – Allenton Access Boat Ramp
Travis Irvin – West Tyson County Park
Amanda Lappe – TA 4&5 at West Tyson County Park
Lindy Carroll – Route 66 State Park
Kate Kelly – Start, Bike Drop, Finish line
Robin Misukonis – Team Adventure Crewe and Team Mankini
SPECIAL FEATURES
RACE REPORTS – send them in to ekorsch@alpineshop.com!
Reanna Pearson – Entirely Suboptimal (BOR)
Joe Stryjewski – Guinea Pigs (Family Division Pilot Program)
MAPS
Map 1 (Course Overview aerial photo map printed by MyTopo)
Map 2 (West Tyson County park orienteering map)
Map 3 (West Tyson County Park orienteering map)
Map 4 (Route 66 State Park map)
WANT MORE?
Check out the USARA‘s list of regional races for 2017! Don’t be scared by the category of “regional qualifier”…these are races that host all team abilities just like the Osprey Packs Castlewood 8-Hr. A lot of them are in really cool locations, and you get to explore off the beaten tourist path. If you have any questions about particular races, please get in touch with Emily or Erl (Race Directors) since we’ve done most of these events and can help you pick one or three 🙂 .