I'm going on zero sleep so this may be off.. but here is what I remember
- 8-9 PM FRIDAY
- Start at Amee farm.
- Follow glow-sticks in woods.
- Take gear and mandatory bike up 1800 feet to top of Joe's hill.
- Remove front and rear wheel from bike.
- Remove chain from bike.
- Hangout by the fire pit and "strategize".
- Race director says: "You will carry your bikes with you for the entire race"
- 10 PM FRIDAY
- Pre-Race meeting - Thanks to volunteers, staff, private land owners, and thanks to all the nuts that showed up to the Death Race.
- Race Director says: "Matches and Lighters are not approved gear".
- 11 PM FRIDAY
- Take bikes/gear but not wheels/chain back down mountain to Amee farm
- MIDNIGHT
- Try to get some sleep
- 3:30 AM SATURDAY
- Head lamps start to come on, people getting out of cars, packing gear including axe.
- 3:55 AM SATURDAY
- Race director says: (while holding huge tree stump) "First task will be to find a tree stump with your bib number on it and dig it out of the ground with your axe, or what ever tools you are carrying with you." Reminder, whatever gear you start with, you must take with you the entire race.
- Race Director says: "You must keep roots on stump.
- 3:57 AM - Race director - when you get your tree stump, you will carry it for the entire race.. with all of your gear and bike... also there are 2 hour task cut-offs. If you don't finish in time, you are out of the race.
- 4:oo AM - Race start
- It's pitch dark
- The next 12 hours went something like this...
- Cross route 100 get in drainage ditch
- Crawl uphill in long ditch under barbed wire (about 1 foot off ground) with gear
- Turn right into uphill clearing full of trees cut off about 1 foot from ground
- Find the tree with your number, in the dark it could be anywhere
- Remove your tree from ground with whatever tools you have
- At least 3 people drop out here or do not make the 2 hour cut-off
- Once you have your tree stump, carry it with your gear back down hill in ditch under barbed wire
- Back across route 100 to Amee Farm
- Take your gear, bike and stump down hill towards river into another ditch under barbed wire.
- Crawl under very low foot bridge with barbed wire with all gear, bike stump
- Exit ditch and enter extremely rocky river
- Rocks are from baseball size to watermelon size, there is no flat ground, water is knee deep. All rocks are very slippery. Walking is very difficult, most people fall in.
- Walk in river down stream a mile or two.
- You will see a man.
- Man gives you a single match (not waterproof) which you must carry with you for another task.
- Turn around in river and head back upstream
- Still carrying gear, bike, match and stump.
- Back into ditch this time uphill under bridge, under barbed wire and back up to Amee Farm
- Cross rt 100
- Find pile of 20 large logs
- quarter/split every log in pile
- Some larger logs take racers 30-40 minutes each
- More racers drop out
- After logs are quatered, stack all but six logs
- you will carry 6 pieces of wood up to the colton camp
- Start hiking uphill to colton camp with 6 logs, bike, gear, stump and match
- Once at colton camp (about a mile up hill) put your logs on the wood pile (keep your stump)
- Next instruction, hike up very very very steep mountain trail with all gear, bike stump
- at the top of the trail there will be a list of 10 names.
- Memorize the 10 names
- Return down very steep trail to colton camp to recite the names
- if you forget any names, you must climb up again and again .,. with your bike, gear and stump
- From colton camp hike back down to Amee farm
- You will see a pond.
- Get in new ditch under barbed wire and crawl up hill to foot bridge
- on the bridge there will be an object made out of Legos ... yes Legos.
- Memorize the structure/colors exactly
- run down hill jump into pond and get a bag of Legos from the far end.
- Take Legos to shore and build the structure that you just saw
- if you do not make an exact copy, back in the ditch you go under the barbed wire and to the foot bridge.
- Until you get it right
- *by the end of this task, 50% of the racers have dropped out or missed the cut-off
- Rain storm
- Back to Amee farm
- Back downhill with your gear, bike, stump under barbed wire
- under bridge
- back into river
- this time turning right (upstream)
- Very very long river walk with river rocks carrying everything
- Get to flame/torch in water
- Get out of river and read instructions for next task
- drop your bike and pack, and hike up hill to riverside farm
- find hidden chicken egg in field
- find fire wood
- bring egg and wood back over hill to the riverside where you left your gear, stump, bike
- Use your single match and wood to build fire
- Use old cans (some were dog food cans) to boil water
- cook egg in boiling water
- if you crack your egg, you must go back up hill to riverside farm and get another
- eat egg
- more racers drop out or miss the cut-off
- It is now mid-day
- rain starts hard
- pick up gear, stump, bike and head back over hill to riverside farm
- you will find your bike tires
- put the tires back on your bike
- go to pond
- dive to retreive your bike chain out of pond (not sure how this was done, as i was trying to catch up to race leaders)
- Put chain back on bike
- Ride bike around Joe's field and then put your bike in the barn
- You are done with your bike
- go back to pond and get weighed on scale
- grab bucked and fill with 20% of your body weight in rocks
- take bucket of rocks, gear and stump up a fucking killer hike to Joe's hill
- Most of the hike is strait up a revine with waterfalls
- lots of non-trail hiking through thick woods and nettles
- Close to top of hill (this was about a 2 hour hike) dump your rocks
- hike up to top of joe's hilla
- you must now hike back down the other side of the mountain with your stump, gear and empty bucket
- this hike is very sketchy, branches in the way, a 4 foot drop off etc.
- at the bottom, you must completly fill your 5 gallon bucket with water
- then turn around and go back up steep steep hill with full bucket of water, gear and stump
- oh, and if you spill any water, you have to do it again.
- this hike up took the fastest racers over an hour
- Once back at the top of Joe's hill, dump out your water.
- Head back down front side of mountain
- back uphill to Amee farm in trench
- under bridge
- under barbed wire with your gear and stump
- 20 hours have passed since you hiked your bike up Joe's hill for the first time
- First finishers cross the line. Most did not make it.
- It's past 4 PM on SATURDAY ... hardcore.