I’m new to adventure racing, relatively speaking. My first race was a 10 hr Rogain, the Winter Wildcat in February of last year (2022). Since then, it’s become quite a passion of mine for a multitude of reasons: It’s a physical and mental challenge. It’s an escape from reality. It allows me to experience a child-like sense of adventure and discovery that doesn’t always exist in everyday life. It binds me with others who have a thirst for these same things. I could expound on each one of these reasons, but one of the biggest is for the love of the map.
It kinda hit me when I was reading Mark Lattanzi’s excellent book, the "bible" of adventure racing, Squiggly Lines. Right there in the beginning he talks about how much he loves maps. I've always loved maps too! I think it started on family vacations long before the use of GPS navigation when we would hit the road in the family truckster guided by a Rand-McNally road atlas. My dad would drive and I would be his “navigator”. It was a special role. I loved tracing our location on the map, seeing what town or exit or cross-road was ahead and sure enough there it would be. There was a certain trustworthiness and dependability about it. I would study it for hours. I’d get “lost” in it. I’d enter into that two dimensional world that would then translate to the real world.
Along came adventure racing and my understanding of the importance of topographical maps. Mind blown. It’s almost magical how three dimensions can project onto a two dimensional piece of paper and represent actual topography. Then, to go out and actually experience the topographical features! To know it more intimately than just running my eyes and my mind on it. How thrilling it is to paddle and ride and run up and down and through it. Doing all this while taking in the beauty of creation and getting a small glimpse into the mind of the Creator, who knows the mysteries of the landscape infinitely more than I. It’s amazing.
There is something special about obtaining a fresh map peppered with checkpoints right before a race. It represents a world of endless possibilities and requires rigorous focus, attention and planning. Sometimes while racing my love of the map can slow me down. I tend to over-analyze and study it too much. I’m learning how to keep on moving while my head's in the map. It’s a skill and an art form that I will continue to hone. The thrill of finding that next checkpoint will drive me on. The map will guide me like a faithful friend, inviting me to experience the heart of adventure.
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