This past weekend I had the good fortune to race in the Raid the Hammer race in Hamilton (Waterdown if you want to be technical). I registered and decided that I wanted to embark on this race/ journey with my husband and brother. I later realized that this was either a brilliant plan or a recipe for a 72-day-Kim-Kardashion-divorce-and-family-meltdown. As time passed and I realized that the race was coming up sooner than I thought, a terrible thought dawned on me: I had NO idea how to use a compass. Ok running fans, let me digress. Raid the Hammer is a trail running race, with a twist. It’s not a point A to B marked trail. Rather, the morning of the race, you and your teammates (3 to a team!) are given maps with checkpoints labelled, and YOU, dear runner, have to figure out with your team how to find these checkpoints in the fastest order possible. The race website advertises the race as anywhere between 23 and 28km. I suppose this means if you are spot-on with your orienteering, you run 23 kms. If you end up horribly lost in the wilderness, you are practically running a marathon. The race website was fantastic and eased my already frayed nerves. It had sample maps from years past, tips for the newbie, and videos on what to expect. I resigned myself to being the scout of the team with my limited compass/ orienteering experience, and put my fate in the hands of my brother and husband, with significantly more experience. We were all first-timers, and due to this fact, learned a few lessons I would love to share with you.
1. Even if it’s +18oC outside, PLEASE wear tights and long-sleeves in an adventure race. I should have clued in when the race directors told us that one of the legs was called ‘Game of Thorns’. I think I left a significant amount of my epidermis out on the trail.
2. It is SO important to hydrate and eat the ENTIRE time. My husband learned the hard way (twice) during the race. To quote him, “I felt like dying. Twice”.
And last but not least 3. Have fun! Don’t stress too much and remember; you are WAY tougher and savvier than those trail runners who run on trails (or is it the other way around?).
Overall we had a great time. The course was very well organized, volunteers were all friendly, and we were blessed with great weather. I worried before the race that I would like the race so much that I would want to do it again. While that seems like a silly thing for anyone to say, adventure races are on the high end of the cost scale so it’s not accessible for everyone. From high race entry fees (I imagine due to the logistics and the insurance associated) to the gear you need to have to do the race, this isn’t for every runner. I would also highly recommend some orienteering sessions if you have no race experience, or starting out with the half/ mini-raid to see if you like it. Most races offer these courses or have links to where you can find more information on orienteering. So what’s next for me and my team? For now, running like the regular folk on marked trails. But I am seriously considering for the snowshoe raid in Collingwood in January….
