Vladimir Bukalo Photography presents...

785 photos from the Third Annual Calleva Adventure Race. If you want to purchase CD with all high resolutions pictures, send email to Vladimir. Few more pictures taken by volunteers are in this Picasa album and on the Calleva Race Facebook page. We will have more photos online this week. If you have pictures or race report you want to share send us email, or leave a comment. We'll put your link here.

We also fixed all mistakes in results, included all penalties and bonuses. You can see the final results including CP breakdown EXPERT, SPORT.

2010 Calleva Race Results

The Third Annual Calleva Race Official results including CP breakdown:

EXPERT | SPORT

A-List/Too Many Kids once again took the first in EXPERT prime!
First place in SPORT prime is going to The Regulators.

Team Huckleberry is first in EXPERT open.
Team Filthy Frog is first in SPORT open.

We want to thank all racers for taking on this incredible challenge. We have already started working on 2010 Calleva Adventure Race.

Keep up the good training and get ready for the next year.



We have many photos and even some video from the race, but in two days team Calleva is going north to New Hampshire for 3 days Untamed New England adventure race. We will upload most photos and videos next week. We are sorry for delay.

Vetting team recommendations.

On July 18th our vetting team Brian and Monika tested the EXPERT course of the Calleva Race 2010!
Here are some of their recommendations. All these recommendation, except of the river swim are good for the SPORT category racers.

Brain, team SOG:

• Pants are not needed. The only times we ran into significant nettles were when we were in the wrong place.
• On land navigation isn’t too tricky. I made a few route choices but don’t think they affected our time much. I mostly tried to avoid going up and down hills and was able to do so successfully many times. You can choose your routes to suit your preferences and maybe the ease of navigating.
• On water, navigation was tricky. Should definitely be interesting with lots of people paddling up and down the river.
• Water stops are dispersed well throughout the course. 3L water carrying capacity recommended (3L bladder or 2L bladder plus bottles).
• Make sure to fill up AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE before leaving the last water stop. If you clear the end of the course you will need all the water you can carry to make it back if you are staying hydrated.
• Be sure to fuel up (eat extra food) before you go on river swim unless you plan on stopping during the swim to eat something. It will take more than an hour which is a long time to go without eating if you haven’t just eaten.
• Knee pads are recommended but not necessary on the river swim. Also recommended to have flippers with covered toes or where some sort of shoes in flippers in your fins.
• Bring a large backpack. PFD’s and bike helmets are hard to squeeze into a small backpack. You can bring multiple sizes to the race to test out when you get there but plan on using a 25+L. 30L recommended.
• River Swim navigation is a little tricky.
• Be sure to allocate enough time to finish the course. The end of the course does not allow for much shortcutting (optional points) so you may have to skip some optional points earlier than expected to make sure and finish on time. (SPORT category have more optional points at the end of the race)
• I enjoyed land navigation. Nothing too tricky just challenging enough. There was more terrain than in past years to help navigate instead of having to rely on bearings and land markings as in past years.

Monika, team Trakkers:

• Bring a backpack big enough to fit your helmet and PFD
• Our pre-race day was really hot and I drank three full bladders for the entire race and I ran out of water the last hour
• I hit my knees several times on the rocks swimming in the river, maybe you want to take some knee protectors with you
• It's a fun course, enjoy it. Definitely some navigation in it!

More photos from the pre-run are on the Calleva Race Facebook page.
The next race bulletin will be out 1 week before the race

New Race Discipline for 2010! River Swim!

This year we are introducing a new race discipline for the Expert category. In addition to running, biking and paddling these brave racers will swim in white (and flat) water on a riverboard, also known as a boogie board. According to the father of the riverboarding sport, Robert Carlson, the newest extreme sport is actually one of the oldest. He has been quoted as saying, "Anyone who jumps into the water and grabs onto a log is doing riverboarding. It goes back to Paleolithic times." Read more about history of riverboarding.

Many adventure races have a river swim as a discipline. Here is a video from the 2008 Untamed Virginia river swim demo:


Calleva's river swim will not have such white water, but you better learn to avoid underwater obstacles. Don't forget fins, they will help you to maneuver and move faster in flat water sections. You would be very wise to get a good waterproof case for your map; you will navigate while in the water. We recommend you to have a foam boogie board with a leash. You can buy one in most sporting goods stores like Sport Authority. Try to avoid the heavy plastic boards (aka ripboards), because you might run/hike with your boards for part of the course.

Don't forget to register before the end of the month. Registration fees will increase June 1st!

2009 race recap.

By Fred Barton. Photos Vladimir Bukalo.

Calleva race 2009 was a race to remember. I registered in the expert 3 person coed division but lost a member before race day so actually competed in the 2 person male divison. After registering and recieving our maps, all expert racers were bused to the start location; a dirt road dividing fields of soy. As the race started, we ran to our passports, and began orienteering our way to our first checkpoints. Unfortunatly, my teammate got quite sick during this portion and dropped out, leaving me to complete the race unoffically on my own.

After acquiring the fairly straightforward first checkpoints, I reached a manned checkpoint where I recieved a kayak for the second portion of the race. This was a very easy section for me, and I passed a number of teams during the five mile paddle to Adventure Island. The scenary was beautiful and wildlife was abundant.However, the day of the race also happened to be one of the hottest days of the year and you could really feel it on the water. I found myself wishing for the end so I could get back into the shade. Adventure Island was a highlight of the race for a number of teams as there was a short section where one could rapid swim and a number of cool high elements for time deductions. I chose to do a high climb, a balance beam in a tree, and a tree climb. There was also an option for a giant swing and a helping hands element for those teams consisting of more then one member. Upon completion of these elements, I made my way back to my boat and paddled across the Potomac to Riley's lock. At this point, the true orienteering began.

I deposited my boat and set off into the woods to locate a number of cleverely hidden checkpoints. I witnessed a number of frustrated teams arguing over which direction the checkpoints could be in and I lost twenty minutes on a particularly difficult one myself. It was really during this section that I felt the lack of a team most keenly as an added pair of eyes and someone else to discuss directions with would have been quite welcome. When I did finally complete this section of the race, however, I headed back to Riley's lock to pick up my bike.

My team had agonized over bike selection but my final choice of a high front-travel, hardtail turned out to be a good choice as the begining of the bike section was about ten miles of road riding. This was very straightforward with no checkpoints. I ended at Shaeffer's farms; one of my favorite biking locations. This part was awesome in that you could really fly around the singletrack. There were a number of optional checkpoints hidden on the maps at various intersections throught the park and I crossed paths with a number of other Calleva teams. When I had had my fill of mountain biking, I left Shaeffer's and bike to the next manned checkpoint where I dropped off my bike and began a long trek back to Rileys.

As running is my weakest point, I was forced to skip a few of the checkpoints during the ten mile hike back. Unfortunatly, even omitting some checkpoints I still arrived back to Riley's an hour after the race had officaly ended; utterly exhausted but triumphant. The race was epic. I had a ton of fun, was challenged both mentally and physically, and would recommend next year's race to anyone looking for a fun way to spend a day.

Official race results are here.
Photos: link 1, link 2.
All posts about Calleva Race 2009 are here.
Other reports about Calleva Race 2009 we found on the web are at thoughtiknewthen and bobalog. The last one also has Google maps of the course. If you have one and want us to add the link, send us email, or just leave your comment.

Calleva Race Registration is OPEN!

Washington DC's most exciting race is now open for registration. The 3rd
Annual Calleva Adventure Race will be held on August 8, 2010 near
Poolesville, MD. The 10 hour race will have both Expert and Sport
categories for teams of 1, 2 or 3 racers. Expert racers will be challenged
with paddling, white water swimming, mountain biking, and trekking. Sport
navigation will be more obvious, biking will be less technical, and paddling
will be flat water. The course will cover brand new terrain and will
include NEW Calleva's challenges.

You can register online or print the registration form [.pdf file]and mail it to us, following the instructions on the form. Online registration charges small non-refundable fees. Additionally, every racer must sign the race waiver [.pdf file] and bring it to check in on the race day.

The registration fees include canoes for all teams, kayaks for solo racers, t-shirts, post race food, bus transportation to/from start/finish and the most exciting race in the Washington, DC metro area.

Register early to save big!

To read more about EXPERT and SPORT categories click here.

Calleva camp registration is OPEN!

Another great summer is coming! Are your kids ready to have fun and compete with their parents for the next adventure? They better be, because Calleva is ready to roll with a full year of adventure for you and your family. Online camp registration is now OPEN for returning campers and will open to the general public on February 1. All returning camp families were sent an email notifying them it is time to register for camp. As you know, Calleva programs fill quickly, so get your registration forms in today!!

Check out the new 2010 BROCHURE!