News

Letter from our most excellent race coordinator, Steve Rogers, sent to Juniors list Nov 29, 2011.
Steve writes:

Hi folks,

Thanks to Adrian for kicking off this conversation regarding TORC Juniors and racing. Additionally, I tip my hat to Luke who came in 2nd in the Open Male 19-29 category at 6BC.

With regard to Juniors and racing I’d like to clarify and/or amplify a few points.

First, I’d love seeing Juniors racing in the Endurance series. That said, I want to emphasize to all participants, six hours should be looked upon as a maximum ride duration. These are endurance races but the maximum time limit has nothing to do with how long any given person should ride. Some riders are perfectly capable of riding six or more hours. Others are not. The point is that juniors, in conjunction with their parents, need to make a call on how much is enough in any and all events.

Secondly, from Expert to Open to Duo to Recreation, our races have several different classes to meet the endurance, conditioning, and competitive characteristics of our participants. Hopefully, your Junior rider can find a perfect class. For example, Luke did great in the Open category. His little brother teamed up with his Mom and Dad in the Recreation category. Despite Adrian shedding a bit of blood on the course, it appeared they all had a good time.

Finally, if there is adequate interest, I’ll be happy to incorporate a Kid’s race into “Curse at the Crab” and “Meltdown.” I anticipate having either a short loop or a straight line race course of some gentle single track and fire road. Here’s the thing – I expect to be swamped prior to the start of the six hour race, and will be racing. Thus, I will not be around to do the kid’s race. So, if we’re going to do it, I need some help.

First off, I will need a person to take responsibility for the kid’s race. This person will need to help me mark the course on Friday afternoon, know the start and finish line, know where to get adults positioned to act as marshals, know when and where to get the kids together for the race, start the race, give awards. And, so on… It sounds complicated, but it’s really pretty simple and basic.

Secondly, we will need some marshals. I usually like to have some adults either positioned along the course and some adults riding with the kids.

Otherwise, I’ll coordinate with the land manager, get the course approved, make awards for the kids, etc. In other words, if there is interest in a kid’s race, I will do the “heavy lifting” prior to the race, but other folks are going to have to do the fun stuff on race day..

I don’t want to put a hard and fast number on the minimum number of participants. However, given the work involved it’s a lot more rewarding to have eight or more kids than three or four. Thus, I’d appreciate an idea of the number of kids we might be able to get out to the race.

I look forward to hearing from you all.

Thanks,

Steve
—
Steven F. Rogers
TORC Race Director
919-357-5369 (Cell)

In summary, we need:

  • An focal point/coordinator: This person will need to help mark the course on the Friday afternoon before the race, know the start and finish line, know where to get adults positioned to act as marshals, know when and where to get the kids together for the race, start the race, give awards. And, so on.
  • Marshals: Parents or people stationed along the route to help direct kids at turns, encourage kids, help push smaller kids up hills :-)
  • Awards and such: If we sign up for the above, Steve will provide this.