The 3rd annual Polar Bear Challenge was an amazing experience, it is a great race, and really any chance you get to race at shale hill you should take it! No other race i have been to has one of the owners, Rob, going around the course repeatedly just to check in on racers, giving advice when needed, words of encouragement, or giving out high 5's. Both Rob, and Jill, who is the other owner, remember you, when you walk up, greet you with a smile. Rob is always adding obstacles, some of which you will never find elsewhere. Some of which are incredibly hard, like the tarzan swing, which is much longer than other races version. The traverse wall is 5 times as long, zig zagged, and connected by a balance beam, or overhead boards, so much harder than any other wall you have done! This race debuted 2 new obstacles one being the "zig zag of awesomeness" which is a traverse pipe then transfer I ng to another pipe, and followed up with a rope to climb down. He has also built a warped wall, i do not know how tall, but it is pretty high, is is challenging, but oh so much fun! Needless to say, you can tell i love this course! Pre-race registration was easy, you get a swag bag chop full of goodies: trail toes sample, battle frog and race local rubber bracelets, and icebug buff, race x headband, some stickers, a temp tattoo, and a cool long sleeve finishers shirt. They have rooms organized for your drop box/bag check, and parking a short walk away, all of which were included in entry. Race morning started at 6am, when the all day buffet started (also included, food for 8 hours, all you can eat!) Breakfast was eggs (unlimited all day) bacon, french toast, fruit. Shortly after Rob ran down the pre-race meeting discussing safety info about the cold, and water stops and answering questions, and going over any other info on the 10k course (Rob aid it was about 6.5 miles). Elite heats were the same price as journeyman, which is an awesome bonus. Journeyman division is penalty free, if you can't do it, just keep going on to the next one, no worries. Journeyman division is not able to earn prizes, but still all the fun! Due to all the fresh knee deep snow in some places (and im 6'1) and fresh powder everywhere, it was a slow start! But still so much fun. The temp was below freezing all day with a high of 26 f and some flurries wile out on course, such a memorable race day!!! (Make sure to check your gear, good shoes, 2 sock, 2 pants, 2 hats and a good tech shirt and tech jacket/hoodie). There are also fun obstacles like giant sea saws, hay bales and other stuff, so this place is great for all skill levels, they run training specials as well, and Rob is an awesome teacher, and reminds you to always smile, because it's fun! For each obstacle that you fail you take a penalty chip, different colors net different penalties. Each chip is a multiplier, when you finish the course, before you cross the finish line you do you penalties. And the good thing is you can try the obstacles as many times as you want before you collect your chip.
The penalties were chosen by luck, roll the die, there was a grid with different options based on die number and color. Some of the penalties were: saltines (maybe without water), snow angel burpees, sled, board walks (2 boards you alternate walking down and back, log flips, pups (push up pipes). Pups are horribly awesome push up device that uses stabilizing muscles in forearms and i am incredibly sore from the 125 i had to do! (Shoveling will be fun tomorrow) be sure to check out all of their future races, it is well worth the commute to Benson, VT. There are plenty of places to stay for pretty cheap if you get a group of friends together, if you are lucky and call in advance with enough time, they have an apartment on property that is a good price. If you could not tell this place is awesome, and regardless of skill levels, it is a great experience! Rob and Jill are great people, very nice, and when you can go to a race, and the owners remember your name, it makes a world of difference. You should be looking for reasons to go to one of the most fun places, and really not too far away. Make sure to put this on your radar this year!
(Photo Credit Paul Jones)
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