Fri - June 23, 2006

WaterTribe Cancels Ultra Marathon that Was Run Together with Everglades Challenge ?



sea kayaks - Fort Desoto WaterTribe Chief, Steve Isaac, canceled the Ultra Marathon (UM) after announcing the increase of entrance fees for all events. The UM has accompanied the Everglades Challenge (EC) for the last four years.

The 66 mile race from Fort Desoto to Grand Outdoors at Placida was aimed to beginner endurance racers and weekend warriors. The UM was a great introduction to WaterTribe Challenges and occasion to meet more experienced WaterTribe racers. The equipment requirements for the UM were lighter than for the full challenge (e.g., no mandatory EPIRB) making it easier to enter. The Ultra Marathon was also more suitable for surf skis, outrigger canoes or racing sea kayaks than the 300 mile Everglades Challenge.

The above plot displays number of entries in major events during 6 years of WaterTribe. The UM participation was quite stable around of 50 % of the number of entries in the Everglades Challenge. Please note that in this year the racers competing in Ultimate Florida Challenge (UFC) were running at the same time the Everglades Challenge. There was a record number of 50 boats, both solo and tandem, at Fort Desoto beach on March 4, 2006 at the common start of three WaterTribe events: UM, EC, and UFC.

The 2002 was another record year for the WaterTribe when three full size challenges were organized: EC, Lake Michigan Challenge (MI) and Cross Florida Challenge (X-FL)

The plot does not include all WaterTribe events, e.g., an informal Pinellas Challenge or Sails Angel Regatta. For a full event list see the race results at WaterTribe web site.

There are two paddling race events remaining on the WaterTribe calendar: Everglades Challenge (EC) 2007 and Ultimate Florida Challenge (UFC) 2008.

The EC lost its finish line this year. America Outdoors campground at Key Largo was sold to condo developers and will not be available for the WaterTribe anymore. A temporary plan is to have a finish at Flamingo and paddle some sort of a loop on Florida Bay to keep the race distance the same. I think that EC will loose some of its expedition flavor together with the lost of the Key Largo finish.

The registration for UFC 2008 has been already open. The race course remains the same as in 2006 with the exception of the Key Largo stage point. However, the race according to Chief will be make tougher:
  • all deadlines will be strictly enforced
  • no resupplies will be transported to stage points by the race organizers
  • inline skates cannot be used any more for the 40 mile highway portage between St George and Fargo
Of course things may change. It is a long WaterTribe tradition to provide additional challenge to racers by constantly evolving and changing event rules.

I don't think that i will have a chance to try the UFC in 2008, but I would like to paddle the cross Florida segment of the race again. I am very happy with my portage system based on using inline skates and I am not going to look for anything different. After successful portage during the last UFC (40 miles in 7 hours with some breaks) I am trying to use this method for self shuttling of my Sea Wind canoe on bike trails along the Poudre and Colorado Rivers.

It looks like I may have to paddle across Florida on my own, perhaps, in combination with one of other official UFC segments. If I am on my own I am free to explore some alternatives to the official course, e.g., paddling through Okefenokee Swamp instead of the St George-Fargo portage. Anyway, I am trying to turn the Chief's decision about banning inline skates into a positive motivation.

Update 06/29/06: The Ultra Marathon is back at least for 2007 after a heated debate on WaterTribe Forum (all related threads has been erased).

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Posted at 11:49 PM    


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