CLIMB EVERY MOUNTAIN, 

PADDLE EVERY RIVER, 

RIDE EVERY TRAIL

2018 No Sleep Adventure

Racer Communication 2

Its almost race week!

This is your second Racer Communication. Scroll down to see Racer Communication 1. There was some important information about water, parking and other items that would be good to review. Race day weather is looking good at the moment. Things are finally starting to dry up a little on the course but we'll see how this week goes. 

Gear
The Gear List is final. Important! We've added one piece of required gear for 24-hour racers: a 10-foot  or longer section of rope or webbing. You will not have to carry this the entire race. You'll receive more info on this at the pre-race meeting. 

Camping
We still have several campsites available at the race Start Finish area at Pine Ridge Campground at Pounds Hollow. More details are available in the first communication. If you would like to reserve one of these sites at no charge, please fill out the online form. Fill out the form for each person camping so we have a total headcount of those camping. 

Reserve a Campsite

Emergency Numbers
If you want to go ahead and add emergency numbers to your phone, they are listed below. When you are checking in, we will ask that you let us know which phone/number your team will be carrying with you during the race. 

John Farless: 812-719-5074
Brian Fribley: 812-568-0180
SNF District Ranger: Joan Rizkallah 414-731-1514

Horses
This side of the Shawnee is heavily used by horse riders and part of the course is adjacent to a horse camp. We'll cover this in more details during the pre-race meeting but we strongly encourage you to know good etiquette when you meet horse riders on the trails. Always yield to horses both on foot and on the bike. If you run into horses on the paddle, you may be doing it wrong. Move off the trail but remain visible to horses when passing them. It's also important to talk to the horse riders and make some noise as they pass. Staying silent and in the horse's peripheral vision can spook the horse. Just say hello chat with riders as they pass. Be aware and look as far up the trail as possible, especially when biking. 

Teams
The Team List should be up to date on the website. Please review your information and if it is not correct, let us know as soon as possible so we can update our official team roster. 

Pre-Race and Check In
Several of you have asked when maps will be distributed and if there is any need to check in early. Maps will not be distributed until the pre-race meeting on Friday night. Once you check in you are free to go eat, set up camp or do whatever you need to do until the race meeting. We just ask that everyone doesn't check in at the last minute so we can get the meeting going on time. 

Ticks
Ticks are VERY bad on the course this year. We highly recommend long trekking pants or tights and lots of bug juice! 
​

Racer Communication 1

Greetings Racers!

Here is Racer Communication 1. We’ll send a final update closer to the start. 

The 2018 No Sleep Adventure is less than a month away!  The 8-hour course has been fully vetted and we are in the final stages of vetting the 24-hour course. We'll begin setting checkpoints soon. At this time the entire Eastern side of the Shawnee National Forest is under embargo. We’ve got another scenic course lined up for you that won’t disappoint!

With all the rain in the area this spring be prepared for lots of mosquitoes, ticks, stinging nettles, and poison ivy on the course. Leggings or trekking pants recommended! It’s a rocky area so many of the roads and trails dry out quickly but if we have a lot of rain in the coming weeks, you’ll find plenty of mud and even standing water!  

Pre-Race Meeting

Check-in and the pre-race meeting will be at the Frank Sisk Building in Equality Illinois
197 Benton St.
Equality, IL 62934

Check in is Friday from 4-6:30 p.m. with a pre-race meeting at 7 p.m. You will be able to stay at the building and plot maps and ask questions until 9:30 p.m. Friday night.

Signal and data access in the Shawnee National Forest can be spotty or non-existent in areas. We encourage you to print directions, gear lists, rules or other info you may want prior to arrival as you may not be able to access those items online once you get there.

Food

There will be no pre-race meal provided, however, our friends at The Red Onion restaurant in Equality will be a serving a pasta dinner (Spaghetti and Ziti, garlic bread, salad and drink) for $8/plate. A vegetarian option will be available. You may bring dinners to the Frank Sisk pre-race venue, just be sure to clean up after yourself.

There is also a pizza place, Gillio’s, in Shawneetown a short drive away. There are plenty of other restaurants in Harrisburg a little farther away.

A post-race meal will be served for both the 24-hour and 8-Hour races beginning approximately one hour before race cut off at the Pine Ridge Campground S/F area.

Camping

There is no group camp area this year but we do have a limited number of primitive campsites available at the Start/Finish area at Pine Ridge Campground at Pounds Hollow Recreation Area. You must reserve a campsite in advance! Because of the limited number of sites, we are asking that teams camp together. If you are a solo or two-person team, we may place you with another group. (4 people per site) The sites are fairly large. Sites do not have electric or water but there is water access so plan accordingly.

Facilities are limited to pit toilets and portable toilets as well as a hand-washing station. There are no showers in the campground. There are a couple of outdoor cold-water beach showers at the lake. And the lake feels pretty good this time of year! No firewood or ice available at campground.

There is also camping in the Pine Ridge Campground with electric sites (no water) but these are first come, first served and the campground can fill up fast this time of year. Also, some camping at Garden of the Gods and Camp Cadiz nearby—again first come.

Pine Ridge Campground
Camp Cadiz
Pharaoh Campground (Garden of the Gods)

There are other lodging opportunities with campgrounds, cabins, and some hotels in the area. www.shawneeforest.com/Lodging

Parking

There should be plenty of parking at the pre-race venue.

Parking at the race start/finish is limited so we appreciate any carpooling you can do. Parking is only allowed in the first two camping loops on the right side of the road as you enter the campground. (Sites 1-34). Park only on the rights side of the loop road and leave room for one way traffic! Absolutely no parking on the main campground road. You will be able to use your campsite or vehicle as a TA at one point in the race. You will be allowed to access any food, gear and water you have at this TA.

Race Start Times

8-hour race start is 8 a.m., with a race cutoff of 4 p.m. Saturday afternoon.

The 24-hour race will start at 9 a.m., with a cutoff of 9 a.m. Sunday morning

Gear

The Gear List is posted and up to date. For the 24-hour race, you will be required to carry any personal paddles or PFDs for a portion of the course. Note that climbing gear is only needed for the 24-hour race. You will need to carry ropes gear for a portion but not all of the race.

Bike, Ropes and Paddle Gear Drops

8-hour racers will have a bike drop on Saturday morning which will open at 6:30 a.m. 24-hour bike drop will open at 7:30 a.m. The bike drops are approximately 15 minutes away from the race start/finish. 

Both races should plan to start with their personal paddle gear so keep that with you at the start. No drops. If you are using provided paddle gear, it will be where you need it when you get there. 8-hour racers will have to carry paddle gear for a very short distance (1/2 mile). 24-hour racers will have to carry personal paddle gear a little further—this will be clear when you see your maps.

24-hour teams may stage their ropes gear with their bikes at the bike drop. You will be required to carry it with you when you leave that TA. You may also stage water at this TA. We will throw away any empty jugs.

Water

Water access at the Start/Finish is limited. There is only one main spigot for the entire campground. We will try to keep some 5-gallon coolers filled as well. Because of limited water access, we encourage you to bring water or at least water jugs with you to the race start to prevent a bottleneck at the water access. 24-hour teams may also drop water with bike gear at the bike drop. We plan to have some water at that TA as well but can't guarantee you will find water there.

Maps

8-hour maps will be pre-plotted points.

24-hour racers will plot all checkpoints. You will receive maps and coordinates on Friday night at the pre-race meeting. All teams will need to have a 1:24000 scale UTM plotter and be familiar with using it. If you have never plotted UTM coordinates, let us know ahead of time. We will have plenty of help available at the pre-race meeting to assist with plotting if needed.

Maps, other than the race map and any supplemental maps provided, are prohibited.

Ropes

There are no 8-hour ropes.

The 24-hour course will have a ropes section again this year thanks to our one of our premier sponsors, Vertical Excape! 

Be prepared for a rappel as well as an ascent and/or a top rope belayed climb. Mechanical ascenders will be provided if needed. Make sure you have all other required climbing gear listed on the gear list. All ropes sections will be manned by professionally certified climbing instructors.

Race Coverage

We will try to provide a few updates on social media during the race but due to spotty reception, we may not be able to update as often as we’d like. Spot trackers are allow as long as they don’t have a display screen.
Twitter: @NoSleepAdv
Facebook: Facebook.com/NoSleepAdventures
Results will be posted at NoSleepAdventures.com

Contact

Contact us if you have any additional questions. Race specific questions should be held until the pre-race meeting. We will send out at least one more racer communication the week prior to race day. We look forward to seeing everyone soon!

Send any follow-up questions to director@nosleepadventures.com or call 812-719-5074 or 812-568-0180.

Cheers! John and Brian