RIDE REPORT - UMM Short Course Pre Ride

What a beautiful day to be outside. The group pre ran the UMM short course minus the mystery events. There were a few stops along the way; one to try out a bike tow system, one a pit stop at the parks fine toilet facilities; one to let Ryan pull cactus out of my butt and one because Steve wasn't sure what, "Turn left at the trail junction" meant. We kept a good pace and even with the stops the overall time was 2h 5m.

Couple of thoughts on event prep:

Multi Trail Use - Emphasis must be focused on the multi use nature of the trails. Most of the single track is very fast. Safety must be paramount to competition. This is the first event of this nature at Usery Mountain Regional Park and our ability to come back and do this again next year will be based on the success of this venture. Courtesy and communication are the rules of the day.

Trail Warning Signs - The recommendation will be to put 'warning signs' on sections of the trail where there are blind corners, 90 degree turns and other hazards. This will warn participants as well as other trail users of potential dangers.

Transition Bags - The course will feature a bike finish. This means that participants will need to return to the TA to retrieve any gear they might leave. We may be able to assist both participants in retrieving gear and volunteers' with wrapping the Transition Area up after the last rider leaves by providing a plastic bag with a team number on it. Participants would stow their TA gear in the bag with their team number. Volunteers would transport the bags back to the Staging area and teams could retrieve them there, saving a trip back to the TA.

Tentative plans call for a pre run the long course in two weeks. Unlike today, I will need to avoid anything from the Wendy's Drive Thru the night before and probably stretch before taking on the long course. As always, suggestions on ways to improve the process are always welcome.

Mike B.

UMM EVENT PREPARATION REPORT

As preparations are in full swing for Usery Mountain Madness, a status report is in order. UMM is 32 days away and as April 17th approaches, it is getting busy.

Event Venue - The event venue and course routes are locked down. Jennifer Johnston, the Usery Mountain Regional Park supervisor and Daniel Bray with the Forest Service, have been wonderful to work with. Did you know UMM will be the first of its kind in the park? All eyes are on this event for a number of different reasons.

Event Web Site Update - The event site was updated with forms, event info, FAQ's and maps. Check it out at www.catchthemadness.com. Click anywhere on the splash page to open the site. A Raffle Prize page and a Volunteer page will be posted on the site this week. Please forward any suggestions for site additions or corrections to mbellows.madness@gmail.com.

Advertising - With the event about four weeks away, we are pushing registration. Check with your race buddies, AR contacts and couch potatoes friends and remind them of the event. There are quite a few links when you Google or Bing the event. Keep going back to the site as it is being updated regularly. We are running this event on very narrow margins and need to assure the charities benefit from the time and effort put into making this idea a reality.

Raffle & Door Prizes - We are hosting a raffle the day of the event. Tickets can be purchase at 1 for $5 or 3 for $10. A huge thanks to the folks who have donated prizes. Travis Jones, the owner of Two Wheel Jones Bike Shop and all around good guy, donated our Grand Prize which is a 2010 Haro Flightline Expert Hardtail (18"). This bike retails for over $1000. On behalf of the 100 Club, Rachel St. Moritz donated a new Fetish MTB frame that retails for $500. Team sponsors include Gargoyles Eyewear, Hi-tec Shoes, Alexander Building Company, Gold Medal Gardening, Skyline Signs, Nuun, Polar Water Bottle, Atac Jerseys. Event sponsors are Hammer Nutrition, Road ID, Two Wheel Jones, Adventure Cycles, and Hydrapak. They have come through with a boat load of door prizes. Check out the website for the list. We really need to maximize the generosity of our benefactors. Please let folks know about the raffle. Tickets can be pre purchased with registration or the day of the event.

Volunteers - Over the next few weeks we will be coordinating event volunteers. As you well know, events like this are not possible without volunteers. Follow up with your contacts and find out who wants to help. Have volunteers contact me by email.

Thanks to everyone who is supporting the 100 Club and Mesa Benevolent Funds through this effort.

USERY MOUNTAIN MADNESS EVENT INFO

EVENT: Charity Adventure Race
RACE DATE: Saturday, April 17, 2010
LOCATION: Usery Mountain Park
FORMAT: Duathlon / Mountain Bike & Trekking

DESCRIPTION
This is the first annual Madness Charity Event benefitting the 100 Club of Arizona and the City of Mesa Police and Fire Benevolent Funds. The event will be a team based duathlon involving mountain biking and trekking.

SPONSORS & BENEFACTORS
Madness Racing
Madness Racing originated in 2005 as a group of guys racing for a challenge and evolved to a nonprofit 501 (c)(3) organization. Madness Racing supports local charities and is dedicated to helping individuals change their mindset on health and fitness through a mix of camaraderie, challenge and charity. Helping the individual helps the community and this is what makes Madness truly contagious. www.madnessracing.com

100 Club of Arizona
The 100 Club of Arizona is a benevolent, nonprofit, 501 (c)(3) organization committed to standing behind the men and women who stand behind the badge. The mission of the 100 Club of Arizona is to provide financial assistance to families of public safety officers and firefighters who are seriously injured or killed in the line-of-duty, and to provide resources to enhance their safety and welfare. www.100club.org

Mesa Police & Fire Benevolent Funds

The Benevolent Fund is an employee based nonprofit organizations that provide financial assistance to City of Mesa employees in times of crisis.

EVENT FORMAT
This event is a duathlon that adopts aspects of adventure racing. Designed with a beginner friendly format, the courses will challenge every skill level. Disciplines include Mountain Biking and Trekking with a variety of "mystery events" throughout the course. Both the long and short courses will conform to the same format.

Distance: The estimated distance for the long course is 28 miles. The estimated distance for the short course is 16 miles.

Start: The start will be sprint style and divided into two start times, one each for the long and short course.

Order: The race will consist of a series of mountain bike and trekking loops. At designated checkpoints throughout the course, riders / runners will have to complete mystery events and / or punch a race passport in order to proceed. Mystery events may consist of physical tasks such throwing hoops over cones or cognitive tasks such as solving a puzzle. A timed open orienteering section may be presented at the end of the event for point accumulation.

Teams: Solo (male, female); Two Person (male, female, co-ed); Three Person (male, female, co-ed); Four Person (male, female, co-ed); Open Team Relay.

Finish: The top three finishers in the designated categories will receive a medal.

EVENT ACTIVITIES
Event activities will include participant Hotdog & Hamburger Cookout, Sponsor's Tables, Charity Raffle and Door Prizes. Other activities may be planned after discussion with benefactors and race sponsors.

REGISTRATION
Only one entry form per team is required. Mail a hardcopy of the entry form and fee to the address on the bottom of the entry form. Confirmation of team registration will be emailed to the team captain. Each team member needs to complete a medical waiver form, which is to be carried during the event. Please print and fill out the waiver prior to event. Copies of both forms are available by blog links or by emailing the race coordinator or director.

REGISTRATION CAP
Participants: 100 person cap

PARTICIPANT RESTRICTIONS
Participants must: be eighteen (18) years of age; or be 14+ years of age with a signed parental permission form; or be 14+ years participating on the same team as legal guardian who is an adult. All participants must sign a liability and medical waiver to participate.

EVENT FEE
Long Course: $50 per person
Short Course: $40 per person

NOTE: Event Entry Fee includes the post race BBQ for participants. Usery Park charges a Park Entry Fee of $6 per vehicle which is not included in the race entry fee. A $10 late registration fee will be applied to the event registration fee after April 1, 2010.

DONATIONS
Madness Adventure Racing will donate a portion of the entry fees to the following organizations:

Arizona 100 Club
Mesa Police Benevolent Fund
Mesa Fire Benevolent Fund

The individual benefactors may choose to use this event as a platform to conduct additional fund raising activities (i.e. pledge drives, raffles, etc.). Madness Racing will not be responsible for conducting these activities. Additional donations obtained as a result of these activities are the sole responsibility of the individual organization that raised the money.

ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS

Course Design
The course is being designed with a priority on safety. The Usery Mountain Park trail system has a variety of terrain ranging from trails with significant elevation gains to single track that pass through the numerous washes that run through the park. The trails are well maintained and in most places wide enough to allow trekkers or riders side by side.

Medical & Aid Stations
Medical and aid stations will be strategically placed through the course and an event safety monitor will maintain contact with participants of both long and short course on both biking and trekking legs. Each mystery event station will also have supplies in the event of an emergency.

Environmental Impact

All participants will be required to practice the Outdoor Code which states a person will leave an area in better condition than he or she found it. Failure to do so may result in disqualification from the event.

Weather Conditions
Weather conditions are expected to be mild with low temperatures around 60 degrees and high temperatures reaching 85 degrees. Spring rain showers may occur but are generally not accompanied by lightning. Unless dangerous weather conditions exist, the event will proceed as planned rain or shine.

Information Requests
Requests for additional information can be directed to:

Mike Bellows: mbellows.madness@gmail.com

Scott Thomas: sthomas.madness@gmail.com