Event Details - IMPORTANT
Welcome racers to the 2024 Over Under Biathlon!
Packet Pick Up:
You can pick your packets up Friday September 27 at The Salty Turtle Beer Company (103 Triton Lane Surf City, NC 28445) between 4pm and 6:00pm. )
Last chance packet race morning at the Sound Side Park between 6am and 7:20am.
Arrival/Parking:
You should plan to arrive around 7 am in order to allow yourself time to park and unloadyour board. There is parking in the Sound Side Park (DO NOT PARK IN SPACES MARKED “FOR TRAILER PARKING ONLY” (these are for boaters). Max’s Pizza has offered its entire parking lot to our participants as well. Surf City town representatives have told me that there will be no ticketing for the spaces on Roland Ave around the park the morning ofour event as well (so you can park on the street for free).
Race Day Schedule:
6am-7:20am: Packet pick up
7:25am: MANDATORY racers meeting by the kayak launch
7:40am: Start launching boards/kayaks into the water. TAKE YOUR TIME. I will be wearing a bright red shirt and bright red hat. I will be the last one off the launch. If you are ahead of me, you will not miss the race start! The race start will be a standing start on the water. I will be on the water with you starting it with an air horn.
8:00am: In water start for Biathlon, Relay, Wild Card and Paddle Only Divisions
8:20am: 5K Run Only Start
10:00am: Cut off for the paddling portion. You must be finished with your paddle portion by this time. This is 40 minutes per mile which should be manageable for every single participant. No one was close to not making it the last two years.
10:15am (or earlier if we can): Awards Ceremony
11:00am: Cut off for all racers. Your entire event will be completed by 11am or you will not be scored.
Timing:
Paddlers: At Packet Pick Up you will be issued an ankle timing strap and a bib number.
Please tightly secure the strap to your ankle before the beginning of the race. The bib number needs to be visible on the front of your body.
Runners: At Packet Pick Up you will be issued a bib that contains your timing chip. Please have the bib visible on the front of your body.
Relay: At Packet Pick up you will be issued a Velcro Ankle Timing strap and 2 bib numbers. The Velcro ankle strap needs to be worn by the paddler and then transferred in the transition area to the runner. Each relay member should also wear a bib number visible on the front of your body.
Weather/Tide:
Currently, we are looking great for the weather. Should be about 65 and partly sunny at the race start. Wind is predicted to be relatively normal as well. (Wind is impossible to predict, we won’t know for sure until race morning). We will have an incoming/rising tide at the race start. This means we will head SOUTH (same as last year) from the start. This will allow you to go out against the tide and come back with it. If you get tired on the way out, good news, you have help on the way back in. Wind is projected to come from the north meaning it will be at your back on the way out and in your face on the way in. Trust me, the tide will be more of a factor. Coming back should be easier than going out.
Race Strategy:
If you are racing for position/placing and trying to beat as many people as possible (nothing wrong with that ) you are going to need to be mindful of the fact that only 1-2 paddlers can approach the launch at one time when finishing the paddle portion. So with around 1/2 a mile or so to go to the launch you’ll need to separate yourself from your competition if you want a clean entry. If you’re behind you may be able to make up ground at the transition.
Mile 1 is moderate. Mile 2 will be the most challenging section with some wind and chop. Mile 3 will be smooth sailing back to the paddle finish!
The bottom line, every racer has the same obstacles to overcome, if you want to beat them, overcome the obstacles better than they do.
Start:
The start line will be lined up in front of Sound Side Park kayak launch. It will be an on water start, meaning everyone will get in the water on their craft and line up. We will send off ALL paddle athletes at 8:00. It will be a crazy fun start with over 100 paddle craft going at one time.
5K Run Only Participants will start at 8:20 AM
Paddle Finish and Transition:
Paddlers will come up the new ADA compliant board launch at the park. I along with some other volunteers will be there to help you get your board/kayak out of the water and up the ramp to the grass. When you exit the boat ramp you will cross a timing mat with will capture your paddle finish time.
There will be an area with picnic tables for you to place your shoes and any drinks/snacks you may need. We will also have a cooler of water and Gatorade there with cups. This is where you will put your shoes on or high-five your relay partner and begin the run. When you leave the transition area, you will follow the boardwalk and pennant line to the run start where you will cross another timing mat. This will give you a paddle time, a transition time, and a run time. I will go over this in more detail at the racers meeting.
We will provide you with a finish time at the race and transition times will be posted later in the day.
Relay Members
You will meet your teammate in the transition area and transfer the ankle timing strap from paddler to runner. The runner will then cross the timing mat to begin the run section of the event. *You must have your relay chip strap on your ankle to get a finish time for the Paddle and Run so take a moment to make the transfer.
Run portion: Follow the signs and volunteers. This is an out and back course for the most part. Remember that the bridge is .72 miles long each way, meaning it is half of the entire run by itself. Pace yourself accordingly. There will be a water/Gatorade stop on the mainland side of the bridge that you will go past around 1 mile and again around 2.3 miles. You will finish by turning onto the boardwalk and going to the park.
SAFETY!
1) Life jackets are mandatory on your kayak or SUP. It is the law. You don’t have to wear it, just has to be on your board.
2) Don’t go beyond your limits. If you feel you need to turn around during the paddle portion, do it! You can still transition to the run, you just won’t be able to make the podium. The paddle portion is against the tide (and the wind according to todaysforecast) on the way out, and with it on the way back. Meaning that it will be easier coming back than it was going out.
Awards Ceremony:
If you place you are going to want to stick around for these awards. They are awesome. My goal is to get the awards ceremony done as early as we can, even if others are still finishing the run portion of the race in an effort to get everyone home sooner. With that in mind10:15am would be my expected start time for the awards.
Raffle Tickets:
We are still selling raffle tickets for an $1800 paddle board package donated by On Shore Surf Shop. Tickets are 3 for $20, 9 for $50, and 20 for $100. If you would like to purchase them you can Venmo @overunderbiathlon and include your name and phone number forme to write on the tickets. I’ll text you a picture of your tickets as confirmation. Do not have to be present to win.
If you have any other questions you can reach me at overundernc@gmail.com. I lookforward to seeing you all on race day!
