Palmetto Possum Adventure Biathlon
The Palmetto Possum 8-Hour Adventure Biathlon comes to Spartanburg
Press Release / 24.08.2022
Always wanted to get in on the AR action but don’t have a boat or paddle experience? Possum Jump Adventures has put together a new adventure biathlon in Croft State Park, South Carolina, on October 8th that’s designed just for you!
The Palmetto Possum is an 8-hour adventure biathlon (bike and trek only) that will be the first adventure event held in Croft State Park. Sitting between Greenville, South Carolina, and Charlotte, North Carolina, Croft is over 7,000 acres that’s ripe for exploration.
“When I talk to people who want to get into adventure racing, the paddle is a barrier that comes up time and again,” says race director Tracey Brower. “People are worried that they don’t have the experience, or the right kind of boat, or whatever. So I created this event as a way to get some of those folks to a starting line. Once they get a taste for it, I’m certain they’ll be back for a three-discipline event.”
To make the event more accessible to new racers, Brower is offering a free mini-clinic at the starting line the night before the race, and will help nervous solo racers pair up so that they have a partner. “This is about making people fall in love with our sport,” she says.
Croft Park – the second largest state park in South Carolina – sits just minutes outside of Spartanburg and has some of the highest rated mountain biking trails in the state, consistently rated by the MTB project as a top biking destination. Both the bike segments and the trek segment will use parts of the iconic Palmetto Trail, which runs for almost 17 miles through the park. There are historic farmsteads, bridges built by the famed Civilian Conservation Corps, and abandoned cemeteries that will give new and experienced racers a challenge as they ferret out hidden checkpoints, and the October race date will be at the height of leaf season at the park, so participants will not only enjoy cooler temps but get to see the forest in full color as they circle the park’s two lakes and wade a few streams to get their points.
The mountain bike segment has up to 24 miles of biking for racers strong enough to cover all the ground, most of it on singletrack that winds through the hilliest portion of the park. The trek segments are gentler, but you’ll still be challenged with 16 miles of trail available on a series of intersecting trails through the park that skirt Lake Johnson and Lake Craig, with a high-value checkpoint hidden somewhere in the eerie ruins of White Springs Resort, an abandoned hotel from the early 1900’s that is masked by the encroaching forest…
Brower notes that with the entire event contained within the park, and virtually all the action on-trail, it’s perfect for racers that want to bring teens and give them a taste for AR without worrying about road traffic. And with registration limited to 50 racers, it’s a great opportunity to mix with other racers and meet new teammates at the post-race barbeque.
Registration is just $99 per racer, with registration open until October 5th. “We can keep registration open a little later than normal because we don’t have to make final counts for boats, but we are limited to 50 racers so I honestly think it will fill before then. I’m really excited to bring a race to this park – it has so much to offer and the rangers here have been incredible to partner up with. They’re just as excited as we are to finally see an adventure race here. It’s so much fun to work with them and build a race from scratch, in a place no one has raced before.”
People can find more information on Possum Jump Adventures and the Palmetto Possum at https://possumjump.com/the-palmetto-possum-adventure-biathlon/
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