09/11/2011 - THANK YOU & RESULTS!

Thank you to all of the racers that came out and participated in the second running of the Wakarusa Off-Road Challenge! We hope you have a fantastic time at the race! Results (including split times) have been posted on the website. Please check back over the next week for photos.

We would like to thank all of the volunteers that came out and helped us with this race! We REALLY appreciated your help, and the race would not have been possible without you!!! Thank you all so much!

We would also like to thank the Lawrence Parks and Recreation Department for allowing us to host this race and the Lawrence Mountain Bike Club for building and maintaining all of the fantastic trails in the Lawrence area. As you could tell, the River Trails are some of the fastest, smoothest and most well-maintained trails in the area. This is all because of the volunteer work provided by the Lawrence Mountain Bike Club!

Bonk Hard Racing would like to give a very special thank you to all of the sponsors of the Wakarusa Off-Road Challenge! Please visit their stores and websites often, and when it's time to make a purchase of outdoor-related gear, remember that these companies spent extra time and money on providing prizes and support for the Wakarusa Off-Road Challenge.

Alpine Shop
Kuat Racks
Columbia Sportswear
nuun
yurbuds
My Sweet Life
Sunflower Outdoor & Bike
Zanfel

Also, we have additional race shirts from this year (as well as race shirts from last year) if you are interested in purchasing an additional shirt. We are selling this year's shirt for $7 and last year's shirt for $10. I believe we have almost all sizes available in both years. Please contact us if you would like one. Thanks.

A huge congratulations to John Bradley, the first place overall winner! A huge congratulations to all the top teams and to all teams for giving it their best. It was a great day for racing and we hope you all had a great time.

We hope to see you at some upcoming Bonk Hard Racing events! In the meantime, continue to get out and ride and run our trails and paddle our great rivers!

Jason Elsenraat
Bonk Hard Racing, LLC

09/06/2011 - RACE START TIME

We wanted everyone to be aware that the race starts at 8:00AM on Saturday, September 10th! There was some confusion and we wanted to clear that up! 8:00 AM START TIME! We're looking forward to seeing everyone this weekend!

Jason Elsenraat
Bonk Hard Racing, LLC

08/23/2011 - WAKARUSA OFF-ROAD CHALLENGE :: PRE-RACE UPDATE

Alright Wakarusa racers...it's almost go time! We hope you are getting excited about this race, because I know we are! Below are some more details and reminders about the race. Please read them carefully and let us know if you have any questions.

RACER CHECK-IN: Racer check-in will be held on Friday evening and Saturday morning. If at all possible, we recommend that you check-in on Friday evening to help save us and yourselves some time on race morning. Friday evening check-in will take place at Sunflower Outdoor and Bike in Lawrence from 4PM until 6:30PM. We will be located upstairs by the climbing wall. Their address is 804 Massachusetts Street, Lawrence, KS. Their phone number is 785-843-5000. Racer check-in will also be taking place the morning of the race at our Race Headquarters at the River Trails trailhead from 6:30AM until 7:30AM. It is required that all racers check-in before the race. Team members are not required to check-in together, but ALL racers must check-in before the start of the race!

REQUIRED GEAR: Please remember that bike helmets must be worn at all times during the mountain biking leg and Personal Floatation Devices (PFDs) must be worn at all times during the paddling leg of the race. We (Bonk Hard Racing) will ONLY provide PFDs and paddles to teams that rent a canoe from us. All teams that are bringing their own canoe and all soloists MUST bring their own PFDs and paddles to the race and you must wear your PFDs while you are paddling!

RULES: PLEASE read over all of the rules of the race before Saturday! Even if you have already read the rules, please read them again as a refresher. All soloists and teams that PROVIDE THEIR OWN BOATS must go to the Mud Creek boat ramp to pick up your boat, paddles and PFDs after the race. If you are one of these people, please print out these directions from Race Headquarters to the Mud Creek boat ramp:

View & Print Directions to Boat Pick-up After Race

(Google would not let me put the ending placemark on the actual Mud Creek boat ramp. Look to the Southeast of the ending placemark to view the location of the Mud Creek boat ramp. Please print these directions if you need to pick up your boat after the race. Thanks!)

WATER & DRINKS: We will have water and sports drinks at Race Headquarters and the Mud Creek boat ramp. Please make sure you bring water bottles or a hydration pack with you during the race. If you would like other drinks and food for during the race, you are more than welcome to bring them with you and put them in the Transition Area (TA) at Race Headquarters.

PARKING: There is limited parking at the race and not all racers will be able to park at the 8th Street Boat Ramp area (Race Headquarters). If at all possible, please carpool to the race with people you may know to save on parking spaces. Please do not park in anyone's yards or on private property and do not block any roads. There is an overflow parking lot West of the Race Headquarters area at the intersections of N 2nd St. and Locust Rd. If you have to park here, you will have to ride your bike about 1 mile from the parking lot to Race H.Q. (on the Levee Trail). If you are bringing your own boat, please drive it to the boat ramp first, and then find a parking spot. Below is a map with a pinpoint showing the overflow parking area:

Map Showing Race HQ, Overflow Parking & Mud Creek Boat Ramp

COURSE: Please look over the Course page and maps on the website before the race and make sure you are familiar with the course before the race.

AWARDS CEREMONY: There will be an awards ceremony at Race Headquarters at 12PM on Saturday. We encourage everyone to stick around and congratulate the winning teams in each division at the Awards Ceremony!

WEATHER: At this point in time, the race is too far out to get an accurate forecast. However, if there is severe weather conditions on race day, and we deem the race is not safe for any reason (high winds, hail, treacherous rains, etc.), the race will be rescheduled to the following weekend, Saturday, September 17th. Let's hope this doesn't occur, but if it does, we will try to make a decision as soon as possible and post it on the website. The River Trails can sustain quite a bit of rain and still be rideable. If you are unable to make the rescheduled date, there will be no refunds given.

BANFF MOUNTAIN FILM FESTIVAL AND WORLD TOUR: Are we lucky or what? It just happens to work out that the Banff Mountain Film Festival will be in Lawrence on race weekend! The proceeds of many tour screenings benefit a local outdoor program, community cause, or a non-profit such as youth adventure and outdoor pursuit programs, search and rescue operations, climbing clubs, adaptive sport programs, conservation groups, and trail maintenance organizations.

To learn more about the Banff Mountain Film Festival, please check out their website. There is also information on the Sunflower Outdoor and Bike website. This is a world class film festival for anyone interested in outdoor sports. Lawrence is a wonderful place with a vibrant downtown. We recommend you try and stay for the film festival and check out downtown Lawrence on Saturday afternoon and evening. It should be a fantastic day full of adventure and good times.

Watch the Banff Mountain Film Festival Promo Video

We are looking forward to seeing you all at the Wakarusa Off-Road Challenge and please let us know if you have any questions. Thanks!

Jason Elsenraat
Bonk Hard Racing, LLC

06/17/2011 - EARLY, REGULAR & LATE REGISTRATION DATES HAVE BEEN MODIFIED

The registration cut-offs for the Wakarusa Off-Road Challenge have been modified. They have all be pushed back to accommodate racers not knowing their plans that early in advance of the race. We hope this helps you out with your planning!

Stay tuned for more updates.

Jason Elsenraat
Bonk Hard Racing, LLC

10/20/2010 - REGISTRATION FOR THE 2ND RUNNING OF THE WAKARUSA OFF-ROAD CHALLENGE IS OPEN!

Registration for the 2nd running of the Wakarusa Off-Road Challenge is officially open! Grab a team mate or register as a soloist, but you will not want to miss the 2nd running of this instantly popular race in Lawrence, Kansas! Only 75 soloists and 75 teams of two will be allowed to race this year.

Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions about the race. Otherwise, we'll see you on September 10th!

Racer:  Is this heaven?
Bonk Hard Racing:  It's the Wakarusa Off-Road Challenge.
Racer:  The Wakarusa Off-Road Challenge?  I could have sworn this was heaven.

Stay tuned for more updates.

Jason Elsenraat
Bonk Hard Racing, LLC