23rd Annual Maumee Valley Tri-Adventue Race
Home
Results The Naturalist Scouts

Welcome to the Maumee Valley Tri-Adventure Race official website!


Sponsored by: The Volunteer Connection of Northwest Ohio and The Naturalist Scouts
When: Saturday, May 17, 2008, 7:00AM
Where: Independence Dam State Park, State Route 424, 3 miles east of Defiance, Ohio
Fees: $30.00 age 21 and over, $10.00 age 20 and under

Classes:

Most people do this event with a partner as these two guys are doing. There will be six (6) classes in 2008.
  1. Youth & Adult: Someone 15 or younger with someone 18 or older
  2. Young Adult: A team of 2 in which both members are between 16 & 24
  3. Adult & Adult: Two people 25 or older, or someone 16 or older with someone 25 or older
  4. Senior: Two people 50 or older
  5. Solo: Anyone one person 18 or older
  6. Relay: Make up a team however you wish. The canoeing event requires one person to be at least 18 years of age. The other events require participants to be 16 or older.
Awards are given to the best male team, the best female team, and the best male-female team in each class as long as they have another team to compete against, and finish with a time under 6 hours.

Starting

Most people do the canoeing or kayaking first. Each team must portage their canoe or kayak about 250 yards from the marina parking lot to the river just below Independence Dam. Teams are released 30 seconds apart. Those who register first get the earliest starting time, unless a later time is requested. Most teams start between 7:45 and 9:30AM. If you have little or no canoeing experience you must come to the class we are offering Saturday, May 12th, 2007, from 2-4PM at the Swanton Reservoir, which is locatedon State route 64 one mile south of Airport Highway (St. Rt. 2). To sign up contact

Canoeing

Once you are out on the open river, it is about 6 miles from Independence Dam to the village of Florida. Most people require about 2 hours for this leg. Highly skilled people can do it in about 1 hour. Everyone must wear a life jacket at all times while canoeing or kayaking.
 

Transition #1

You will know you are finished canoeing when you reach the first bridge that crosses the Maumee River. At this point, you must stop and take your canoe or kayak out on the left bank just before the bridge. Then you must carry your canoe up the small hill and slide it into the old canal. From this point it is only about a quarter mile east to the finish point at Gessner Park in the village of Florida. In the event of a serious flooding on the Maumee River, The entire canoeing leg will be done in the old canal. The distance is the same.



Backpacking


There is no time out during transition. It is important not to waste time as you move from the canoeing leg to the backpacking leg. Your backpack must be 20% of your body weight, or you may use the height-weight chart we mail out after we receive your application. You may drop off your pack anytime after 6:30AM at Gessner Park. Another option is to get your backpack weighed at the marina parking lot at the Independence Dam; and we will truck it to Gessner Park for you.


Hiking

The backpacking leg is 8 miles. You start at Gessner Park and hike uphill for 1 mile. Then you will pass a checkpoint, cross a bridge over a waterfall, and head west on the towpath trail. The towpath trail is a beautiful 5 mile hike with the river on your left and the old canal on your right. The trail is a tunnel of trees, and there are many spring wildflowers. The last 2 miles passes through picnic areas in the Independence Dam State Park. The hike ends at the marina parking lot where you began. You can lock your pack in your vehicle and get your bike for the last leg. We have never had a bicycle stolen, but suggest you keep it locked or chained to a tree while canoeing and hiking.

Transition #2

It is important that you make the transition from hiking to biking very quickly. Once again there are no time outs. Most people do the biking last, but if you are highly skilled biker, you may elect to do the biking first if you are 18 or older. We call this the Peloton.  Those in the Peloton will have a mass start at 7:45a.m. This allows them to race around the entire 36-mile bike route. If you wish to be in the Peloton remember to mark this on your entry form.

Biking

The entire bike route is 36 miles, making the entire event 50 miles. Each team will be given a map just as they start biking. We have also painted green arrows on the road to mark the route. There will be 3-4 check points where you must stop and sign a clipboard to prove that you did not take any shortcuts. Ice water will be available at each check point. We suggest using a road bike because the entire route is on paved roads. Most of the roads have very light traffic. We require that you wear a helmet at all times for safety.

Finish

When you finish the biking, you must check in with the timekeepers. They will give you your final times. We will post the times on this web site as well. The awards will be mailed in mid-June.

Additional Information

Brochures are available at most northwest Ohio, southeastern Michigan, and northeastern Indiana bike shops and health clubs. You may also call 419.826.5182 between 7-10PM, 419.825.2735 between 8AM-5PM, or email  . Mail entry forms, entry fees, and canoe rental fees to
 
 
The Volunteer Connection of Northwest Ohio
613 West Third Street
Defiance, Ohio 43511
 Made with PadglaSoft 
Firefox 2

Visitors to date