For race organizers to pull off such an event requires lots of planning, preparation, staff, attention to detail, organization and communication. If done correctly, the behind-the-scenes efforts will be unnoticeable to race participants. That's what the race organizers hope for--a fluid race with no snags. This is usually accomplished due to years of experience--with learning from past mistakes--and extensive testing of the course before race day.
Manpower
PR Multisports coordinates the Mike Pigg Double Dare Adventure Race. This sprint race consists of a three to four-mile flat-water paddle, 10 to 15-mile mountain bike ride, six-mile trail run, and some navigation. The 40-50-mile course will take competitors about three to five hours to complete. Owner and race director for PR Multisports, Brad Illing, expects there to be about 150-200 participants. In order to accommodate that many racers, Illing will need about 20 staff (including volunteers) to coordinate the event.
"We will typically set up the transition area, bike racks, finish line and mark the course the day before the event," said Illing. "I don't get much sleep the night before."
On race day, Illing and his staff are up before sunrise to put the final touches on things. After the last competitor has crossed the finish line and the medals have been handed out at the awards ceremony, there is still work to be done-unusually into the wee hours of the night. Everything must be taken down, cleaned up and loaded into a truck.
Illing said it takes a staff of about eight to 10 people four to five hours to clean everything up after the last racer has finished. Then, once they get the equipment back to the storage area, everything has to be unloaded and organized.
A challenging part of the race is transporting the hard-shell canoes to the event site. Four people are responsible for the time-consuming task of loading 30-50 three-person canoes into a truck, driving them to the race site, unloading them and then doing the whole thing in reverse after the event is over.
Volunteers are an integral part of being able to host such an event. However, Illing admits that it can be frustrating because, since they are not being paid, sometimes up to 15 percent of the volunteers don't show up.
