Fellow Sports Enthusiasts,

Here it is – the much requested and greatly anticipated Racer Update for the Dakota Rogaining Championships. The Champs are three events in one – the 24-hour championship, a 12-hour intermediate race, and a 4-hour short course for beginners and juniors. We are now two weeks out from having the time of your life!

The schedule is unchanged – here are some highlights:

•The Game Lodge Group Campground opens at 3 PM on Friday, May 7th

•First Timers training is at 6 PM

•Park Indoctrination is at 9:30 AM on Saturday, May 8th

•24-Hour maps distributed at 10 AM

•Start at 12 Noon

•Park Indoctrination at 6:30 AM on Sunday, May 9th for 4-Hour participants

•All teams Finish by Noon

•Awards dinner at 1 PM  

We have been garnering booty for the competitors. When you arrive, please check-in for registration and waiver confirmations, your RoadID race bibs, event tee orders, and team packets with goodies from our sponsors. The fine folks supporting our event include Custer State Park, Zanfel, nuun, SportMulti, TankaBar, Starbucks, RoadID, Coca-Cola, Scheels, SleepMonsters, and Avis.

Getting There

Directions-wise, there are about six ways into Custer State Park, but the most direct way for accessing the Game Lodge Group Campground with the Hash House (event headquarters) is from the east. Take SD 79 to just south of Hermosa and turn west on SD 36. Stay on SD 36 all the way to the Park. SD 36 merges into US 16A near the Park boundary. The GLGC is just north of the junction for US 16A and the Wildlife Loop Road. It is about 11 1/2 miles from SD 79 to the Hash House.

If you are coming from Custer and the west, it is 14 miles from Custer. Follow US 16A east through the Park and past the Game Lodge Resort. The GLGC will be on the north side about a mile down from the Game Lodge itself.

To keep flow at the Hash House optimal, parking is across the street at the Well House lot – a single-room log structure. We will have a gear drop at the HH, but the rest of the traffic will be foot, organizers, and media.

The Event

The course has 50+ checkpoints (CP’s) dispersed across 164 square kilometers (63 square miles). As promised, the terrain will be very diverse – from prairie to pinnacles and from canyons to mountains. Placements are featured to include summits, saddles, spurs, reentrants and places in between. Elevation changes between 38 and 66 meters per kilometer (200 to 350 feet per mile), averaging 47 mpk (or 250 fpm). The course has a bit of ebb and flow - quicker sections mixed with steeps or drops and numerous approaches to checkpoints.

Scoring is a factor of distance, orienteering, and scenery.

•CP’s 31-39 – 30 points each

•CP’s 41-49 – 40 points each

•CP’s 51-59 – 50 points each

•CP’s 61-69 – 60 points each

•CP’s 71-79 – 70 points each

•CP’s 81-86 – 80 points each

There is much wildlife in the Park so you shouldn’t be bored, but do be careful!  Scouting has shown buffalo, deer, elk, big horn sheep, antelope, and mountain lions across the course. Water stations will incorporate campgrounds and Park buildings. There are numerous natural sources, but treatment is recommended with the abundant wildlife. Portions of the course offer more remote backcountry so please bring a filter if you anticipate the need.

A rules document based on USOF and IRF guidelines is being prepared and will be distributed at registration. It will also be posted before the race so please visit the event website often. Participants will be responsible for information presented on www.peakassurance.net.

Accommodations

The Game Lodge Group Campground will be for racer tent camping only. Race Management will have a couple of travel campers for emergencies and staff. If you are pulling a camper to the Rogaine, please coordinate with the Park directly for reservations. The GLGC has free showers, two big fire pits, and a large lighted picnic shelter. Numerous picnic tables are provided for map work and dining. We will also have additional pop-up tents primarily for Race Management.

Food options will be plentiful and diverse. Trust me, you won’t starve! Also, thanks for the heads-up on the vegan offerings – we will try to accommodate you appropriately.

If you are coming in early or staying late, there are lots of activities to do and places to see. South Dakota is known for its hospitality. Lodging options are plentiful, we have a discount with Avis for rentals, and restaurants are numerous and fairly diverse.

We look forward to your visit!

You asked for it! Here is what we have to-date, as teams are still registering.

•   Entries from 14 states and provinces including multiple past NA and US Rogaining Champions

•   59 participants - 39 in the 24-hour, 13 in the 12-hour, and 7 in the 4-hour

•   24-hour is distributed as 6 MSV, 10 XSV, 3 MV, 4 WV, 8 XV, 6 MO, 2 WO

•   12-hour is distributed as 3 XV, 3 MO, 7 WO

1. •   4-hour has 7 XO
   

If you know of other folks racing that are registering onsite, please be sure they at least let me know so I can confirm counts for the awards dinner!