Ali will be competing in the Arrowhead 135 race this coming Monday, January 28th. Here she is on the right:
On the left is Ted. They’re planning on riding together for the race, since it’s the first one for them both. Ali’s feet are artfully camoflaged so that she may pedal undetected (in fact these are boot covers, and they are Dave Simmons approved).
For family and friends, here is some information about the race this year:
- Official website: http://www.arrowheadultra.com/
- Official results: http://www.arrowheadultra.com/index.php/results/2013-results NOTE: The official results are not going to be super up-to-date, because they get uploaded when the race organizers get a chance. So if you see it’s been a long time since Ali and Ted have come through a checkpoint, don’t worry.
- LIVE MAP: http://mattbk.com/~matthewbk/warrior.html (new window). Ali is carrying a SPOT tracking device that she will be “checking in” with during the race. As she checks in, her position will show up on the map, and each check-in will be listed on the right side. Although the SPOT device communicates with satellites and not with the cellular network (which is spotty in the area), there may be a delay in posting the most current position. (Computers are involved, so who knows what will happen.)
- Other racers: http://trackleaders.com/arrowhead You’ll also be able to live track some of the other racers at this map, if you’re interested in what else is going on.
- Update: news video from the week before: http://www.wday.com/event/article/id/74326/
- Regarding all safety and emergency protocols: volunteers on snowmobiles will be going back and forth on the course throughout the race. I will also be at the race and meeting up with Ali and Ted at various road crossings. If you are relying on the map or results linked to here and are worried, please DO NOT try to contact the race directors–call/text me instead, I will know what is going on.
- I will be updating Facebook as much as I can with relevant information (and hopefully photos), but this will depend on the cellular coverage.
- For general race info and positions and photos, you can follow me on Twitter at nplainsathletes or you can follow along with the hashtag #AH135 (I have no idea how much this will get used, but I know at least a few others should be using it).
Ali will be competing against 10 other women this year, under conditions that are actually expected to be warmer than normal! We’re both super psyched to see how she does, see a new area of Minnesota, and be part of a great endurance tradition.
A nice Sunday morning drive:
One final note: you can leave comments here, but I will probably not be able to reply to them until we get back from the race.