Eastern Mountain Sports Team Blog
presented by EMS

Always a bridesmaid, never a bride?

After finishing in second place the last two years at the Michigan Coast to Coast, Team Eastern Mountain Sports is determined to rewrite that little bit of history next week as they head to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan for THE MIX. Infittera Sports has reformatted their flagship race, the Michigan Coast to Coast, with The Mix, which stands for the Michigan Expedition. It's a non-stop, 103 hour expedition-style adventure race with co-ed teams of four racing around the clock to complete the 350 mile course. The race will be comprised of approximately 75-85 miles of paddling (canoe and kayak), 185-195 miles of mountain biking, and 65-80 miles of trekking/trail running (people always ask what the difference is between trekking and trail running. Trekking is what you call it when you're too tired to run anymore. Sounds cooler than the truth....walking.) Somewhere along the way there will be a caving section(!!) and a ropes course. Many people also ask why the distances are not precise. That is because the course is unmarked, so teams get to chose the route they think is best. That means some teams try to stick to roads and trails, even though it might be longer, while others will just bushwhack right through the woods using just a compass and map. And no, GPS is not allowed. And, of course, there is extra distance added for getting lost or, as we like to call it, being temporarily disoriented.

Hopefully there won't be a lot of getting lost. I'm thrilled that Vytenis Benetis is once again joining Team Eastern Mountain Sports from Lithuania. His expert navigation, combined with the uncanny map reading abilities of Dave Lamb, make this a navigational power house. Rounding out the Team are Chad Denning from the USARA 2006 National Championship team and Captain, Jennifer Shultis.

Everyone from the Team will be assembled in St. Ignace, Michigan, just over the Mackinaw Bridge from the lower peninsula by Sunday at noon. The team will go through gear check in the early evening and then receive their maps. Although coordinates will be given at that time (those are the UTM plots that tell us where we will go during the race) we likely won't know what modes of travel we must use for each section (bike, run, paddle) until the pe-race briefing on Memorial Day, Monday. Once we have the full picture, hours will be spent organizing gear and planning routes. The team will get a few hours sleep and be lined up for the start of the race on Tuesday morning at 7am.

Besides a change in name and location, this year's MIX will be an unsupported race. That means that teams will have all of their gear and food transported in bins from location to location and will be unable to depend on the help of a crew to assist them and cook for them in transition areas. This adds a level of complexity for teams who will need to distribute responsibilities among themselves during transitions. They will need to be self-sufficient and be content to race on a diet of sports bars and gels for the majority of the race. And at 1-3 hours, will they sleep and, if so, where and for how long?

Thanks a millions times over to our sponsors... Teva shoes (http://www.teva.com/) for the X-1 trail racing shoes. You give us the edge on our competition; to Gregory Packs (http://gregorypacks.com/) for helping us carry all our gear around the course in your comfortable and super-light packs; to Rocky Mountain Bikes (http://www.bikes.com/), what can I say, LOVE the ride (love, love, love the ride); to SmartWool (https://www.smartwool.com/) socks, in adventure racing your feet are everything and these socks are the best there is; to NUUN (http://www.nuun.com/) for keeping our electrolyte levels right where they need to be so we can perform at our best; and last, but certainly not least, to our title sponsor, Eastern Mountain Sports (www.ems.com)--our extended family who has believed in us from the start. You're the heart and soul behind this team and we carry you with us out on the course. Thanks to every last one of you, with special thanks extended to Will, Roger, Scott, Beth, Keiko, Marshall, Catherine, Rick, Anne and the incredible staffs at the Harvard Square, Commonwealth Avenue, and West Lebanon stores. You guys are the BEST!
The Team is excited, feeling ready and is itching for the gun to go off. Follow along at home here,
Follow the action with frequent updates from the field right here, http://www.checkpointtracker.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=app.showDashboard&eventID=102
(Don't forget to send up a Shout Out. We will receive them on the course!)
Read the Racer Update here, http://www.infiterrasports.com/pdf/MIX_Racer_Update_%232.pdf
Race Website, http://www.infiterrasports.com/07MIX.htm
Best wishes to all and thank you for your support!
Jennifer Shultis
Captain, Team Eastern Mountain Sports
http://teameasternmountainsports.blogspot.com/