Reading the comments I see most are from teams that finished the entire course (well done). Well here's one from a weekend warrior just looking for an adventure.

Great race, excellent job changing it up from last year considering the limiting biking and padding options in the park. Really liked the format changes:

1. in race CP plotting
2. team splits on 1a, 1b, 1c.
3. the swimming was a great addition.
4. CP 16s random order.

All these changes elevated the race beyond last years. The course was very challenging (only 19 teams finishing), some may say too challenging but to me that's the attraction and what will bring me back.

One suggestion, maybe try to come up with a means to assign time penalties for missed CPs and missed cut-off times. Not all CPs warrant the same time penalty depending on location/difficulty but it shouldn't be to difficult to assign times for each. That way the 13 teams (mine of course being one) that finished in the unranked category can get a ranking and thus see how we did against the other teams.

Tom Cappelletti, Team The Road Less Traveled

P.S. In the results our comment reads "picked up 106". Does that mean we were picked on 106 because we weren't or does it mean we hiked a portion of the race on 106 because we did do that?

Ok, so maybe this wasn't the best choice for our first AR! However, there is no question as to what we need to do, and we will use this as the benchmark for any other race in which we participate. TLD has given us priceless experience for improvement. So as it stands now, all we have to do is get lighter, faster, and stronger! Then WE will get to the end of the paddling section at 9:45AM!!! Team NYARA and ATP all we saw were your capes billowing in the dust cloud you made!!! (Just one important point: after humping throught the forest, paddling, and biking for 12 hours and only consuming gel and electrolyte replacement, thanks for having it available, but don't wolf down 3 pieces of pizza at the finish.

Marc Feldman, TEAM J

What a fab time we had. We had one other race under our belts (BB24 NYC 02) and entered Longest Day with the aim to be more aggressive on nav and get off the trails. This was the perfect course for that kind of attitude and we had a blast. We had to work hard on the nav but looking back it was kind of effortless - just one constant effort. Course was just great. Design to split people up and give choice was the key. Only downside is that we will not do as well on a course with easy nav!! You have spoiled us.

Kirsten Begg, Team reallygoodstuff.com

The only problem we had was at the end we were 15 to 20 minutes from the finish on the bike loop which would have been approx. 1930 hrs. But we beared right instead of left which put us 2 mountains east of where we should have been. We ended up going through Doodletown on a fire road near the cemetery where CP2 was last year. We popped out on the 9W just south of Bear Mtn. Inn. At that point we made it to the Park police station at Bear Mtn. to get word back to race officials that we were all right and no injuries other than our egos. At that time it was about 2145 hrs. We met a lieutenant of the park police who in turn called his desk to notify race officials. The desk called back and was told all teams were accounted for (OOPS!!!!). A ranger gave one of our members a ride back to Anthony Wayne for his truck, by the time we got back to the lot everybody was gone. So much for accountability. Being chief of a fire dept. that could be a slight problem. Although we do look forward to next year and kicking the course's butt. The only question I have is how can we make arrangements to get our paddles back?

We really enjoyed the on the fly plotting - it added a little twist to the race. Our team chose to stay together instead of splitting up for 1A, 1B, and 1C. We made great time catching teams that were ahead of us. Putting in a surprise swim in the race was a nice cool down (not good for chaffing). Being this was our second time doing this race we surprised ourselves with the confidence we built until our egos were shot 15 minutes from the finish with a wrong turn. We look forward to the next race and maybe we can restore our egos.

Thanks for the challenge and we look forward to the next one.

Mike, Team Platypus

Did you think the level of organization was adequate?
No - Work on the awards. At a minimum give something to the top 3 coed and first place in other divisions. Not even a medal?

Great use of the park. Nice job on the trek sections. This is what AR should be. Nav should be as hard as the terrain allows. Maybe next year we can paddle the Hudson?

Joe Brautigam, Team Mobic

Many thanks to all involved in the production of the Longest Day. With the disciplines of a multi-day race packed into one day, the race has, once again, lived up to it's name. It's beggining to get a reputation for it's navigation section. It was good to see an alternative course offered for those who didn't make the cutoff times. Again, a great job by all.

Tom Pink, Team USUK

Rich and all NYARA,

Thanks for an interesting, challenging, and well-organized event. We really enjoyed the course.

Scott Pleban, Team ATP

This race was freakin HARD!

Maybe if I could read map it would have been a little easier, but whatever.

Having to give up after 12 hours because we couldn't find one of the 4 pieces of 16 really didn't make for an enjoyable end to the day - that and the fact that we had to hike 4 miles back up 7 lakes drive to where we finally got a ride back.

Could ya maybe put try and make the checkpoints a lot lot bigger, or maybe play music at each one so we know were at least close? ;) Ha ha!

See ya next year!

Kevin McGeehan, Team Hell Yeah

Perfect

Brian Callaghan, Team Lost in the Woods

The race in general was good, but I don't think when racers sign up for an adventure race they expect this type of setup. The controls were so buried that it became more like an orienteering competition and less about endurance. Secondly, if you are going to bury all the controls off trail why not give the coordinates the night before to maximize accuracy? The combination of so many CP's and burying them off trail then compounding by having to plot during the race made it to difficult to reach the final TP within the cutoff.

Michael White, Team Hell Yeah

My first NYARA event and really enjoyed the beautiful course you put together! Saw many animals and the landscape was spectacular - We probaly saw more unique sites than most as we traveled without a trail map. :) I enjoyed the options of the collecting the CP's at 1 and 16 along with the challenge of plotting on the fly. The swim was well placed in the race, a welcomed rinse.

This is the shortest race I've ever done and found it as chellenging as the multi-day races.

The volunteers were wonderful. We thanked all we saw but I'm sure there were many more behind the scenes we didn't see. Please thank them for us.

Beth Albright, Team FIDO

Thanks for a real world-class race NYARA. I'm not sure how many of the other racers are doing events in other parts of the country, but by comparison, TLD is exceptionally challenging. Many big name races don't offer the intensity of route selection that we had at TLD. I don't know which order we collected the 16's in (our pen wouldn't write well enough to see more than the dot on the map), but we sure enjoyed finding them. Thanks for placing every CP in the correct position - not something to be taken for granted!

I tried to thank every race personnel and volunteer and Park Ranger as I saw them, but if I missed any - Thank You!! You made a seamless race from this racer's point of view!

Lastly, Congrats to ATP for putting on a virtual AR clinic for the rest of us - you guys have the legs of a Gazelle and the nose of hound dog - I think you could smell the CP's : )

John Hartley

Proud to have raced as Team NYARA

Rich and crew-

I gotta say that I was very impressed with the level of involvement at the race. It was very well organized and offered some interesting new folds that made it more challenging.

Another successful NYARA race.

And, to top it all, I got to follow Steve Fleisig for most of the race, which is truly a treat.

His new pants idea will quickly catch on and I expect that the kids will be wearing them soon.

Later,

Chris Rice, Team Cheese Whiz

This was a great race. It turned out to be a harder experience then I thought, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. Good job.

Anon

You guys continue to put on some of the best races around. We really enjoyed some of the additional twists and turns in this years race. Having a lot of navigation decisions to make in a race really makes a big difference, keep up the good work.

We look forward to The Gap Race in September.

Rodney Villella, Team HYPE

Thanks for a fantastic event! My feet are sore but my sole (hehe) is enriched and thanks to all the friendly, helpful volunteers including the curious cute kids. I will always be proud to say my first AR was TLD. To add to this exhilarating challenge, my team & Pete's team saw a beautiful bear within just 100 yards. It was a first for almost all of us to witness a bear in it's natural habitat and I couldn't resist saying "Awesome, I saw a bear on Bear Mountain- how cool is that?" Ok, it wasn't officially Bear Mtn we were on but I am working on my navigation skills.

Looking forward to more challenging adventures,

Tara

Once again, NYARA put on a great event! Many thanks to the countless tireless volunteers who gave their time and effort so that the rest of us could race in this event. Thanks also to Harriman State Park, who let us run, paddle, and ride all over their beautiful venue. This was my third NYARA race and I have really enjoyed them all. The course was excellent, and we REALLY appreciated the fact that the long canoe portage was downhill this year (!), especially since the rest of the race course was so challenging. I liked the interesting challenges posed by of checkpoints 1a thru 1c where teams could split up to attack the checkpoints, and 16a thru 16d which could be done in any order...those sections really benefitted the strong navigators and kept everyone guessing about where other teams were on the course. I think it was a major accomplishment just to finish the race within the time limit - it really did feel like the "longest" day!

Jim Weber, Team JAM

You guys are freakin sick. Thanks for a great race. Maybe get us on the bikes a little earlier. More bike check points.

Needed to clarify absolutely the rules regarding travel on the road and travel on the AT.

I like the fact that you split up the teams, it added an element of excitement to race day. The points were all pretty much where you said.

I have done the 24 and many Genesis races and this was the real deal. It really challenged me and pushed me passed what I thought my limits were. Thank you again!!

Richard Reid, Team Genesis Adventures

Not your ordinary adventure race! A very unique approach with "on the fly" CP plotting and route selection. What a great idea and well received by the racers, too!

Harriman offers great terrain for hiking, although biking and paddling options are limited. Great job by the race organizers to create a very challenging race both mentally and physically. Their enthusiasm and dedication are inspiring!

Can't wait for the Gap!

Mike Sarnowski, Team JAM