Registration for the 2008 Ultra O-gaine is now open! The event will again take place inside Prentice Cooper State Forest just outside Chattanooga, TN. We have both 12 hour (Half Ultra) and 24 hour (Ultra) courses available for your navigation pleasure. The Ultra O-gaine will be open to solos and teams of two and three.

The 2008 UOG will be fairly similar in structure to the 2007 event, but of course with an entirely new course. Due to higher costs to produce the UOG, we’ve also had to raise the entry fee. Higher costs for permitting, unleaded gas, and credit card processing fees were the major reasons for the price increase.

Ultra distance Orienteering and roGAINE; the Ultra O-gaine will be fraught with difficult navigation throughout the rugged terrain of Prentice Cooper State Forest. This event will be similar to a traditional rogaine with a few surprises thrown in. You will spend significant time off trail during both courses!

If navigation is your bag, this is THE event you don’t want to miss in 2008.

When: May 16-17, 2008
Where: Just outside Chattanooga, TN

We are limiting this event to 100 people. Last year, we had over 90 and turned a few away at the last minute. With teams from all over the East Coast including, AR, NC, MI, CT, TN, FL, GA, SC, MO, and KY, this event will be near capacity. Get in while you can.

Patrick and I hope to see you in May!

I’d like to take a moment and say thank you to each of our sponsors in 2007. Without their sponsorship, your swag bags would have been lighter and the prize table smaller. Our sponsors were very gracious this year and we want to take a moment to highlight the companies that helped us in 2007. We choose sponsors that produce/deliver products that we use ourselves or that we think would be of interest to those who participate in our events. We hope you enjoyed the goodies provided by our sponsors. Please think of our sponsors when you are making your next endurance related purchases.

Hammer Nutrition: Hammer Nutrition makes a ton of products for endurance athletes and provided samples and prizes for the UOG. I’ve sworn by e-caps for a number of years and use some of their other products as well.

Zanfel: Zanfel provided some prizes for the UOG. Cathi and I have used Zanfel after placing checkpoints in Poison Ivy infested areas a number of times the past few years. I think the most either of us got after using Zanfel was maybe one or two bumps with zero itching. I highly recommend their product.

Paceline Products Butt’r: Paceline Products provided samples and prizes for A24 before it was canceled. Anyone who has ridden a long ride without Butt’r can tell you what a great product it is. Any ride over 2-3 hours shouldn’t be done without Butt’r.

Mytopo: Mytopo printed all the maps for UOG this year. They make it affordable for us to give you great maps. You can print out your own custom map at their website too. Patrick and I have been very pleased working with Mytopo the last few years.

It’s no secret that Google Maps (and for that fact Google Earth) have been a huge success for Google. With the Google Maps API, anyone can add information onto a Google Map instance on their own website. In fact, we used the Google Maps API to give our team lists a spruce up last year. You can see an example of a Google Map loaded with all the registered Ultra O-gaine teams here.

If you visited the UOG team list before, you may notice a change in the Google Map linked above. Up until a few weeks ago, you could only have a map, satellite, and hybrid layer on your Google Map. A few weeks ago Google added a terrain layer to the previous layers available. With a few lines of additional code I’ve added the terrain layer to our own Google Map. I’ve been toying with some other ideas on how to use the terrain layer, so you may see this new option in Google Maps show up somewhere else on our website. Stay tuned.

[Via the Map Room]

I’ve been meaning to put up a Checkpoint Adventures online store for quite some time. I finally got around to doing it last night. Right now there is only one item, but it’s a cool one I think. We’re selling the sticker below for $3.00 and that includes shipping. If you’re interested, check out our online store.

For those of you looking for a race in October, I suggest you check out the Strong Adventure Race. The race will feature a youth event (2 hours) and a longer main event (6 hours). The race takes place in Chattanooga and benefits a local YMCA so the proceeds are going to a very good cause. The Strong AR is directed by our very own Cathi Cannon!

Registration is currently underway and the price is very reasonable. Your money includes a goodie bag, food, drinks, and an event shirt. 3 person coed teams (main event only) will compete for a $1,000 cash purse. Check out the race website for more information.