We are diligently working on solidifying our 2012 schedule and will open registration as soon as we can for our events.  Our fans apparently like to plan very far ahead of time!  ;)  We will do the best we can to help you plan.  As we are still working on the plans and are at the mercy of permitters anyway, if you have any requests or opinions about the schedule please let us know! 
BMAR@BigMountainAR.com

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We are hoping to inspire as many people as possible to join in the adventure racing fun and comradery. Please share this newsletter with friends and family who also have a taste for adventure, and lets build a friendly and fun community of adventure enthusiasts in Colorado. Got adventure? Get some and get some more... and invite the other adrenaline junkies along with you!! :)

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Also, sign up for the outdoor sports social community Pikes Peak Sports and afterwards join the Adventure Racing Group!

Congratulations to the competitors at the 2011 Over the Edge Adventure Race that took place in the beautiful and rugged Golden Gate Canyon State Park. This was a truly tough course with several thousand feet of elevation gain, over 20 miles of technical single track, a grueling ascension, daring rappel, and a paddle slalom challenge... In short this was no mud run!!

At the sound of the air horn blasting through the chilly morning air, racers fought through the uphill burn on Leg 1 of the race. Racers pushed hard up the difficult single track of Blue Grous Trail, gaining more than 1000 feet of elevation until it was time to throw on running shoes for the Rogaine orienteering section. Ryan Ognibene with a time of 44 minutes dominated the orienteering section, followed by Nord Vrai with a time of 47 minutes, grabbing 13 checkpoints using map, compass, and some admirable orienteering skills.

Then back to mountain bikes, coursing through more uphill single track to the ropes section. Ryan Ognibene blazed first to the ropes course; almost getting there faster than it took race organizers to drive there! Here teams and solo racers had a choice of completing a traverse and slack line, or the 40ft rope ascension. All racers had to complete the rappel. Rockin-zeBOKin won the fastest ascender challenge with an impressive time of only 24 seconds and scored a sweet Camelback hydration pack from Jackrabbit Bike and Trail! Volunteers were definitely impressed by his smooth technique up the ascension. In second place was Ryan Ognibene, just one second behind.

Back on bikes again for some even more lactic acid accumulating uphill to Panorama Point Overlook. Normally this spot offers a majestic view of the snowy peaks to the northwest of Golden Gate - though the clouds this day had instead decided that an extra weather challenge was in effect. This point also marked the transition from leg burn to some sweet wind-in-your-face, exhilarating downhill. Racers cruised down past Bootleg Bottom back to Kriley Pond.

Now time to demonstrate some accuracy skills on the paddle! Racers followed a 6 gate slalom course on inflatable kayaks, competing for the fastest time. Great job to Ryan Ognibene for winning this section with the impressive time of 1 minute 39 seconds on the slalom challenge and scoring a Nathan Hydration Pack. In second place was Chrissy Nacos of Nord Vrai, with a time of 1 minute 43 seconds.

Finally, it was time for the running section. This was the last leg of the race, encompassing approximately 7 miles of running and approximately 2000 feet of elevation gain. Racers had to choose checkpoints wisely to make it back by their cutoff times (6pm for heat 1, 6:05pm for heat 2, and 6:10pm for heat 3). Despite the fatigue, many racers did an awesome job completing the full loop in this section.

The first to come in was Ryan Ognibene, winner of the solo male division and overall best time (and nearly setting the course on fire with his blazing speed)of 5 hours and 44 minutes with no penalties! Katie Ferrington won the solo female division with a time of 7 hours 56 minutes. The winner of the Two person open division was Unfrozen Caveman Lawyers with a time of 9 hours and 1 minute and team Bacon! won the two person coed division with a time of 10 hours 50 minutes. The prize winning Three/Four coed team division was claimed by Nord Vrai, with an also impressive time of 7 hours and 43 minutes. And finally the large group division was won by Extreme Westsiders with an overall time of 8 hours and 8 minutes.

We would like to shout out a huge thanks to all the athletes that braved the cool weather and put forth their best adventure racing spirit, as well as to the awesome volunteers that were the backbone of this race. Also thank you to Alpine Search and Rescue, Golden Gate Canyon State Park, and all the amazing sponsors that helped make the race possible including the generous Nathan Sports, Colorado Running Company, Planet Bike, Trailhead of Buena Vista, Phantom Canyon Brewery and many others!!

Whether you are in biking or running shoes, carrying paddles or rappel gloves, or navigating through unknown terrain - you mastered it all and demonstrated what a true adventure racer is ...rugged to the core and capable of anything!

Race Results
Split Times