Expedition Oregon Gives THANKS!
This year, for 2nd edition of Expedition Oregon we were extremely lucky to have an amazing set of sponsors and supporters. Because of them, we were able to give away prizes to all the athletes, volunteers and staff! Every team earned their prizes and medals by trekking, snowshoeing, biking, climbing and white water paddling 250 miles over challenging and always changing terrain. From snow covered mountains to sharp lava fields to cold technical whitewater to exposed rock climbing, they navigated there way back to Bend, Oregon by map and compass.
As we clean the course, pack away the gear and recap the race in its entirety, we'd like to take a moment to thank the companies who have supported us and the many teams that came out to test themselves in this epic 5 day race.
A huge thanks is in order for the following sponsors who helped make this event go above and beyond!
Discover Bend Chiropractic and LOGE sponsored the checkin for Expedition Oregon. LOGE was the hotel this year and is the perfect staging ground for any level of outdoor adventurer - from beginner to elite. Discover Bend Chiropractic offered free massaged and chiropractic adjustments to all the racers during their check in process.
Leki sponsored stage 1, "The Maiden", a 20 mile trekking stage that required some snowshoeing at higher elevations. They provided some awesome poles, of which awarded to Team NYARA for taking the longest to cross the river at the stages end. Their micro vario poles are great for trekking, but could also have been used to probe the depth of that river and know that it was only knee deep...saving them a long walk around.
Leki also sponsored Team BendRacing/Canada for this race.
NiteIze sponsored the transition areas before the two different orienteering courses. They provided gear ties, ultra light "s-biners" and glow sticks to every racer, as well as 4 sets of their new bomber waterproof Runoff bags. We gave the bags to Team Bones, BendRacing, Naturkompaniet Pioneers and JourneyRacing, as we thought they needed a little more help with organizing their gear!
Angelina Skin Care and Autoban Coffee sponsored the transition area before stage 5, the "Deschutes Dash", a 30 mile class 2-3 whitewater paddle down Deschutes canyon. Angelina's Skin Doctor is our favorite skin care product, so we made sure every single racer got one! Angelina's also awarded a recovery package to the team that spent the longest time on the river - "Around the Bend." They camped out overnight on the side of the river after an accidental swim just after dark.
Autobahn Coffee provided much needed coffee to all the racers before they got on the river at 6 o'clock in the morning!
Hydrapak sponsored stage 4, the amazing 80 mile mountain bike leg that took teams much longer than they expected! It featured a mix of single track, confusing fire roads and stop offs at some amazing hidden caves! Each racer (and volunteer!) got a Hydrapak soft flask, which they all used A LOT on this leg! Bonus - the flask is compatible with the BeFree filter, so the water they were drinking was clean!
Petzl sponsored our climb site check point, which was during the very last stage of the race. True technical climbing has never been done in an Adventure Race, so we are pleased to be making history with Petzl!
At this checkpoint two racers from the team had to lead climb an exposed 5.8 multi-pitch up to the top of Opposum spire where they got views of the entire course. The two other racers had to top rope a single pitch. Petzl provided all of the gear required to make racers feel safe while doing this. Our team of 6 climbing guides got to split the gear amongst themselves afterwards!
Hydroflask sponsored the biking portion of the last stage. Teams had to bike from near Smith Rock State Park all the way back to Bend using only fire roads and single track.
Hydroflask provided every racer and volunteer with a much needed Hydroflask, as this leg was COLD in the middle of the night. Team Perpetual Motion won 4 of their coffee mugs because they clearly survived just barely survived the cold nights.
Recharge Sport sponsored the finish line lounge area, they provided two set of Normatec boots of which many racers took advantage of by falling asleep in them for hours and hours!
Other amazing companies that supported Expedition Oregon were as follows:
Pili Hunters provided every racer with multiple packets of their amazing highly nutritious and caloric nut butter, they also provided jars of it for the team that needed it the most at the end of the race!
Ciele Hats provided 30 awesome technical hats, of which we gave some to Team Norcal, and Team Mountain Race Company who were both so close to breaking into the top 5. With Ciele Hats proprietary "beast mode" function we'll sure that next time they will be right up there. We also outfitted many of our volunteers and staff with them as thanks.
PrAna provided each team with a chalk bag for their multi-pitch climb as well as a set of yoga mats for a team, of which we gave to Team NA Traverse, as we thought they could use them in the transition areas because they spent so much time there. they might as well do some yoga!
J Tree Skin care provided every racer and volunteer with their special SPF chapstick, which we all needed out there as the course was very sunny, windy and cold!
North Face provided duffel bags which were awarded to team Recalculated (who brought too much gear!), and winning team Quest who might need some extra bags to carry home all their Excitement!
SunSkis Sunglasses provided some sweet shades, of which we gave to Team Spotted Kiwis, because they were relaxed and chill whenever they came through transitions areas.
Deschutes Beer provided all racers and volunteers with lots of delicious local beer!
Caboost Kombucha provided the racers with a keg of basil watermelon kombucha- thank you!
Again, thank you to all of these amazing sponsors and supporters for helping us spoil all of the incredible athletes who came out to BendRacings Expedition Oregon !!!
