The Great River Challenge, Off-road Triathlon

Race Description

Location: Northfield Mountain Recreation Center, 99 Millers Falls Rd., Northfield, MA 01360

The Great River Challenge is a triathlon event in the non-traditional category, being a paddle, run, and bike event. We have safety on land and water as well as water stations throughout the course, making sure your experience is fun, challenging, and safe! The timing is run by Fast Track Timing, who use timing chips to ensure accurate segment and transition times, so you can have record of every stage of the race.

Long Course

• Event Type: A canoe/kayak/SUP, trail run, and mountain bike triathlon.
• Distance: The paddle leg will be a mass start on the Connecticut River, paddling out and back and around Captain Kidd's Island over 5.5 miles.
• Running: A challenging 4 miles of single track trails in the woods followed by a 7.5-mile mountain bike on single track trails.

Short Course

• Event Type: A canoe/kayak/SUP, trail run, and mountain bike triathlon.
• Distance: The paddle leg will be a mass start on the Connecticut River, paddling out and back and around Captain Kidd's Island over 4 miles.
• Running: A challenging 2.5 miles of single track trails in the woods followed by a 3.75-mile mountain bike on single track trails.

Kayak/Canoe/SUP Leg

• Course: 5.5-mile race up and back on the Connecticut River starting at the waterfront Pavilion near the Northfield Mountain Center.
• Navigation: The river flow is somewhat variable, but the river is very wide and free of obstacles.
• Start: The start of the race will be on the water as a group, self-seeding yourselves.
• Turnaround: Short Course 4 miles will turn around before Island where a buoy and boat will designate halfway.

1st Transition

From the dock, you will bring your boat up the ramp and volunteers will shuttle your boat away, and you will run to your right into the transition zone across the timing pad. A special corral will be set up in this area for relay team members to continue on as well. At this point, you will leave the transition zone and head up the path into the parking lot onto Ferry Rd.

Run

• Course: The Running leg will be a 4-mile course (700ft of climbing) of mixed road and trails starting at the river.
• Route: The run will take you about 0.5 miles from the old Ferry Crossing up along Ferry Rd, across Rt 63 to the Recreational Center.
• Trail System: The remainder of the course will be on packed gravel trails and single-track hiking trails.
• Climb: The last third of the course will be predominantly downhill towards the transition center at the Recreation Center.

2nd Transition

You will enter the transition area by crossing over the mat and find your bike on the bike racks, or for relay teams, you will find your teammate in the corral and then they will head to the rack to find their bike. From there you will run your bike across the exit mat and head out onto the Mountain Bike Course.

Bike

• Distance: The Bike leg will be about 7.5 miles (850ft of climbing), consisting of single track.
• Initial Course: At the start of the bike, you will head out of the fields across the access road onto some mowed grass trails for about the first half-mile.
• Terrain: The single-track trails are in mixed woods and a gentle climb for about a mile.
• Finish: When you pop out under the powerlines you will have a fast last descent into the grass to the finish line.

Short Course Bike

Short Course 3.75 miles (430ft of climbing) One lap.

Registration

Register before September to get the correct shirt size.

More Information

For more details, visit the race page.