Manatees, dolphins, otters . . . and alligators?  This might sound like a trip to the zoo, but for competitors in the WeCeFAR Swamp Stomp, manatees, dolphins, otters and alligators are just a few examples of the wildlife that has been seen on the course in previous years.

  Since 2004, the jewel of the WeCeFAR race calendar has been the 30-hour Swamp Stomp adventure race, an unsupported, modified rogaine style race that attracts teams from across the continent.  As part of the Checkpoint Tracker Series, the Swamp Stomp offers teams registered with the series to accrue points towards the National Championship being held October 29th in the Rocky Mountain region (visit www.checkpointtracker.com to find out how to register your team).

The Swamp Stomp is the brainchild of Kip and Jessica Koelsch, adventure racers themselves for over a decade.  After years of putting together mock adventure racing events for themselves and friends, they started the West Central Adventure Racing Club (WeCeFAR) in 2004, an organization who is “dedicated to promoting adventure racing and environmentally responsible adventure recreation with athletes of all fitness levels, skills, and abilities.” Six years later, the WeCeFar race calendar now includes a range of adventure and multisport races that cater to athletes of all desires and abilities. 

This year’s 30-hour Swamp Stomp, which is open to two and four person teams of single and mixed gender, takes place February 13-14, 2010, in an undisclosed location within an hour of Tampa, Florida.  WeCeFAR likes to keep the location of the race under wraps until approximately one month before the event so that local teams don’t have too much of a “hometown advantage” or opportunities to scout the area. The race is unsupported and canoes are provided, making it easy for teams outside of the area to come to Florida for a fun and exciting weekend of racing. In addition to the ever popular 30-hour race, this year WeCeFAR is adding a new event to the weekend roster: the 6-8 hour Son of Swamp Stomp (SSS) race.  This shorter race will allow newer teams (or simply those who don’t want to spend the night lost in a swamp!) to experience some of the highlights of the Swamp Stomp course in a point-to-point format.

The modified rogaine format of the race allows teams of varying experience to compete alongside one another, each setting and achieving its own goals.  Racers follow a pre-determined route which features many opportunities for optional bonus points, making strategy – not just speed – a key component to this race. And although one might be encouraged to think that Florida’s lack of elevation will make this race easy, WeCeFAR’s Jessica Koelsch warns that this isn’t exactly the case. “In Florida,” Koelsch explains, “you use features like vegetation boundaries rather than elevation and vertical relief to navigate.” This can sometimes be a little tricky for teams that come from locations in which they are used to navigating off of more distinct terrain features.

Despite the potential navigational challenges that the race might present, competitors in the Swamp Stomp will be rewarded not only with a wide variety of potential wildlife sightings, but also the opportunity to traverse through natural areas that are usually inaccessible to the general public.  Says Koelsch, “the race will journey racers through some of the most beautiful and pristine ecosystems in West Central Florida – places ‘sane people’ rarely go!  Racers have an opportunity to see really amazing special places they would not otherwise have access too -- they just need to take a moment to slow down and enjoy it!” 

When asked to summarize the course highlights, Koelsch says that this year’s Swamp Stomp will feature “some really amazing natural features not thought of when folks think of Florida.  We should have a fun (but easy) ropes challenge to keep things lively! Beautiful crystal clear natural springs, amazing wildlife and lots of route choices! With the course format there are an infinite possibilities and every team’s race will likely be a little (or a lot) different!”

Want to be a part of the “race that everybody talks about all year long”? You’re not too late!  To date, registration for both the Swamp Stomp and the Son of Swamp Stomp is still open.  Discounted entries are available for teams wanting to raise money for Sea to Shore Alliance, an environmental organization dedicated to the preservation of coastal ecosystems. Visit www.wecefar.com to register for these and other events put on by WeCeFAR.  

 

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