Read this before race morning
Practical race-day instructions for August 9, 2026: packet contents, number placement, changeover flow, bike and paddle staging, finish procedure, and park policy.
Use this as your race-day reference
These instructions are based on the race-day packet instructions. Always read your packet materials and listen for race-official announcements, especially for last-minute safety, weather, or course changes.
Safety changes can happen
Race officials may change, shorten, or cancel part of the race for unsafe weather, course, or water conditions.
Opening instructions
Opening ceremony and general race instructions are held on Owasco Road in the Changeover Zone.
Mass start
The run starts on Owasco Road near the Emerson Park entrance.
Paddler staging
Running paddlers and kayakers must be waiting in the bike-to-paddle area or paddler staging area.
Bike course closes
All bikes must be back to the Changeover Zone by noon.
Know what belongs where
Check your packet as soon as you receive it. Timing chips and visible numbers are what allow the race to record your time, splits, checkpoints, and finish.
Your race packet should include
- QR code for race-day instructions.
- One red runner's number with the timing chip attached to the back, worn on the front.
- One red cyclist's number, worn on the low back.
- Two blue paddler numbers, or one kayaker/SUP number, worn on the front. One paddler number has the pull tag and timing chip attached to the back.
- Canoe, kayak, or SUP number with team number, placed on the right front and right rear side of the boat when two numbers are supplied.
- One bike frame number with two panels, attached to the bike frame.
- One team relay flag or wristband, passed from runner to cyclist to paddler and collected at the end.
- Safety pins.
- Team T-shirts.
General Rules and Instructions
Check your packet immediately, keep team numbers visible, and follow race-official directions throughout the day.
Special note for tandem teams and solo racers: returning cyclists must rack their bikes in the Changeover Zone bike racks after finishing. This rule will be strictly enforced.
The bike course closes at noon. All bikes must be back to the Changeover Zone by noon.
Special note for paddlers: several paddle rules are rigidly enforced to keep the launch, course, and finish safe.
Opening ceremony and general instructions are held at 9:10 AM on Owasco Road in the Changeover Zone. Additional or last-minute race instructions will be given then.
Check your packet right away and tell Registration immediately if anything is missing.
Team numbers must be visible throughout the race.
- If your number is not visible, splits may not be recorded.
- Teams may be disqualified if a number is not seen at a checkpoint.
Split recording is difficult because the course does not use a finish chute to order every exchange. Results will be posted as soon as possible. Please do not request times from the timers or tabulation center.
Do not cross, nearly cross, or re-cross a finish line unless you are actively finishing the race in which you are entered. Extra crossings create timing and split errors.
Direct questions to committee members or the Registration tent.
Follow directions from personnel in Race Official T-shirts or committee shirts.
Ambulances and first aid will be stationed at the Changeover Zone and on Deauville Island.
Please help with cleanup by using trash cans and containers.
Volunteers will be posted at all turns and major intersections on the run and bike routes.
Protests must be lodged with a race referee as soon as possible and no later than 12:30 PM on race day. Race volunteers or committee members can help locate a referee, but it is the racer's responsibility to lodge the protest. The referees' decision is final.
Because of summer heat, this is a potentially dangerous activity. Drink water before, during, and after your event.
No one may simultaneously compete on more than one team. A racer may do a different event for another team, but must never participate with two numbers on.
Good sportsmanship is required. Profane, abusive, or threatening language directed at another competitor or race official may result in disqualification.
If you drop out, return to the beach and do not enter the finish area.
The race committee may cancel, shorten, or change the race, or a portion of the race, for safety reasons or unsafe weather. Changes will be announced on the race PA system. There is no rain date or refund when this occurs.
Runner's Instructions
The run is a mass start from Owasco Road and ends with the runner passing the team wristband to the cyclist in the Changeover Zone.
There will be a mass start at 9:30 AM on Owasco Road near the Emerson Park entrance.
Stay on the right side of the road as you run.
Runners must wear the timing chip. No chip, no time.
Follow the correct run course and all race-official directions.
The Changeover Zone is on Owasco Road near the Farmer's Museum and the park entrance, where the race began.
Run into the appropriate side of the zone and go behind the bikes. Pass your team flag or wristband to your cyclist. Walk to the end of the zone and exit cautiously. Do not interfere with other runners.
There will be signs at each mile and a split time at the one-mile mark.
Changeover Zone Instructions
The Changeover Zone is controlled by race officials. Move deliberately, stay in order, and do not race inside the zone.
Only runners and cyclists may enter the Changeover Zone from the park-entrance end.
The park-entrance end of the Changeover Zone will close after cyclists have been called to line up.
Cyclists line up in numerical order with rear wheels on the shoulder of the road, facing the center of the road.
A staging area at the south end of the Changeover Zone is used for paddlers.
When paddlers are called, they must report immediately to the staging area to be organized numerically and receive final race instructions. Race officials will escort organized paddlers into the Changeover Zone.
There is absolutely no racing in the Changeover Zone. Racing begins only after exiting the zone. Bike racing stops when cyclists re-enter the zone at the lake end of the course.
There is absolutely no speeding in the Changeover Zone. Speeders may be disqualified.
Obey race officials.
Cyclists' Instructions
Cyclists must stage promptly, ride with traffic on open roads, and return to the Changeover Zone before the noon closure.
The bike course closes at noon. Any bike not back by noon will be picked up by the sag wagon. Cyclists who refuse pickup will have their team disqualified.
Hard-shell helmets are mandatory for all cyclists. Failure to wear one will result in team disqualification.
No bikes are allowed south of Oakridge Road after 9:15 AM.
Cyclists should set up in the Changeover Zone shortly after the running segment starts, and no more than 20 minutes after the race starts.
Stay in your starting spot until your runner passes the flag or wristband. Proceed with caution into the road, stay in your lane until clear of the Changeover Zone, then merge to the right lane.
Returning solo and tandem cyclists use the bike racks on the left side of the road, then run to the boat-launch area using the left side of the road.
All other cyclists use the right lane of the road to hand off to their team's paddler.
Paddlers line up in the median to receive the handoff from the cyclist, then use the left lane to run to the boat-launch area.
After handing off, cyclists continue slowly and safely past the park entrance and out of the Changeover Zone.
There is a 10 MPH speed limit in the exchange area. No racing or reckless behavior is allowed. Offenders may receive a time penalty or disqualification.
Ride with traffic. Roads are not closed to vehicles except inside the Changeover Zone, so stay aware of traffic.
Special notes to solos and tandems:
- Returning cyclists must rack their bikes in the Changeover Zone bike racks after finishing. Bypassing the racks will result in disqualification.
- Security volunteers will be in the rack area.
- As you approach the finish and see the Changeover Zone on the left, the bike racks will be the first thing you see.
- Tandem cyclists must have the timing chip attached to be timed.
- Only you, or someone designated by you with your race number or security ID bracelet from the race packet, may retrieve your bike from the rack area.
Slow your bicycle as you approach the Changeover Zone so the handoff can be made safely.
The road is marked at each mile.
Cyclists' splits are recorded as the canoeist, kayaker, or paddleboarder leaves the Changeover Zone.
Carry water on your bike.
Communications personnel from the Auburn Amateur Radio Club will be stationed at turns on the bike course. If you have a problem, let one of them know.
Canoeists', Kayakers', and SUP Instructions
Paddlers stage before the handoff, launch only from designated areas, keep orange buoys to the right, and complete the finish-line paperwork.
Life jackets must be worn by all paddlers during the race. Paddlers who cross the finish line without life jackets will be disqualified.
One canoeist, the running paddler, must be waiting at the bike-to-paddle changeover area or paddler staging area by 10:20 AM. This paddler must display race numbers on the shirt front. The other canoeist waits by the canoe.
Kayakers and paddleboarders must be waiting at the appropriate changeover area or paddler staging area by 10:20 AM with race number displayed on the shirt front.
If needed, a team's runner may wait by the kayak until the kayaker arrives. The runner may not assist in launching the kayak.
Kayakers, paddleboarders, and running canoeists must have timing chips attached to be correctly timed.
After receiving the flag or wristband, the running canoeist, kayaker, or paddleboarder must walk, jog, or run to the boat using the roped-off route.
All canoes, kayaks, and paddleboards must remain in the designated areas until the paddler with the team relay flag arrives.
When the running canoeist's team number is announced on the PA, the waiting canoeist may move the canoe into the running lane so the running canoeist can grab an end of the canoe. Both canoeists then carry the canoe into the water.
Canoes may not be placed in the water without both paddlers present. Kayakers and paddleboarders carry their own equipment to the water.
All paddlers must complete the entire course. Keep orange marker buoys to your right, even if another line appears shorter.
The turnaround is marked by the first pontoon-boat checkpoint. Large blaze-orange buoys guide the course. Go clockwise around the turnaround, where canoe, kayak, and paddleboard numbers will be recorded.
Several motorized boats will be on or next to the course to provide emergency assistance. Official boats are marked with a flag.
The race committee may cancel or shorten the paddle portion if conditions are too dangerous, including electrical storms or rough water.
Do not cross the finish line or enter the finish area unless you completed the entire paddle course for the race in which you are entered. If you drop out, return to the beach and do not enter the finish area.
Finish Line Procedure
The finish is off Deauville Island. Follow race-official instructions immediately after crossing.
Proceed through the finish and follow race-official instructions to get your canoe, kayak, or paddleboard out of the finish area.
You will receive a place card when you finish.
It is your responsibility to turn in your place card and the pull tag from your bib number to the race officials in the Finish Line Tent. Failing to do so jeopardizes your team's finish time and awards.
Clear your boat from the beach when you are done. Leaving boats on the beach blocks other paddlers who are trying to enter the lake.
Times and places will be posted as soon as possible.
Great Race Alcohol Policy
Help the race committee and Emerson Park staff comply with local laws and keep race day safe.
Everyone consuming alcohol will be asked to wear an ID wristband showing they are of legal age.
Anyone who appears to be under 30 will be asked to present valid ID to receive a wristband. Please bring a valid ID.
Respect Emerson Park's long-standing policy: no glass containers on park grounds.
Need the course layout before race morning?
Review the run, bike, and paddle routes before you stage equipment or talk through changeovers with your team.