Castlewood Adventure Race Report
Former USARA national champions, Carrie and Jeff Sona, embarked on directing their third Alpine Shop-sponsored Castlewood 8-hour adventure race. The race is held in early December each year, sells out early (at 300 racers, no less), and is one of the oldest adventure races in the country, having been run consistently since 2006.
This adventure race is also unique in that it happens to be inside the metropolitan area of St. Louis, and this year’s course was almost all within St. Louis County which is bordered in part by the floatable Meramec River and contains a good amount of public land. Given its proximity to St. Louis, the race is designed to be friendly to those who can travel and also approachable for beginners, and many over the years have had their first adventure race start at the Castlewood. The race also sports a family division, which has additional flexibility afforded to the family teams.
2024 brought a challenging course for the crowded field and always a roll of the dice with the weather given the time of the year. Castlewood racers have experienced single digit temperatures, snow, cold rain, and even 70 degrees. This year, the sun was out for the whole day, and temps climbed to close to 50 degrees but only after a frosty start.
Packet pick-up was the night before at the Alpine Shop in the downtown area of a St. Louis suburb. For the benefit of the beginners, maps are typically pre-plotted (with an orienteering section or two to be handed out separately). This year, there was a bike drop and car drop with a school buses shuttling racers to a chilly start line near a Meramec River boat ramp about 20 minutes away.
After a short trekking section, racers entered the water for a six-mile paddle downstream. The bikes awaited their cold and wobbly owners at the Route 66 State Park boat ramp for a ride through that park (which is on the site of a former town that had to be abandoned in the 1970s), complete with a bike/run tandem route, and into downtown Eureka. The holiday shoppers along main street peered at the racers with envy and awe!
The elevation climb started out of the downtown area, and, if teams chose counter-clockwise and in chronological order, they encountered one of the largest climbs in the area, up the dreaded Alt Road which passes by Vail Resort-owned Hidden Valley ski area. More than 10 miles of biking along scenic and hilly roads led racers to the Green Rock Trail, and extensive single track in Greensfelder County Park. For those less used to single track, much bike whacking was to be had.
Bikes were abandoned near the top of Greensfelder for two trekking sections, one of which for the fastest time earns the “You’ve Frei’d it” award, named after the Sona’s long-time teammate, David Frei, who passed away 18 months ago. Then back towards the cars at Camp Wyman, a frequent and kind host to the Castlewood, for the finish.
The distance for those clearing the course was approximately 40 miles and over 4,000 feet of gain – totals boosted by the combination of single track and road riding and climbing from the river valley bottom to the entrance of the local ski hill!
As if the running of this distinguished race wasn’t enough, there was excitement in the air for the chance of a successful team over the years to four-peat: 46 Down had won the Castlewood the previous three years – a streak started when they were 43 Down! This team’s name is unique in that it changes annually in accordance with their age. The team is comprised of Jeff Ryan, Angie Ryan, Jason Noakes, and Josh Borgmeyer. Each is an endurance athlete, and they help to organize St. Louis Orienteering Club events in their spare time.
True to form, 46 Down won again this year with a time of 6:10 and clearing the course with 47 points. Deviate (with Mike Garrison, the Executive Director of the United States Adventure Racing Association included) came in second place 18 minutes behind, followed by Toporadicals.
The Family division winners included the Darr family who has won the family division the past 4 years and routinely places in the top 10. The second place team in the family division, including the youngest racer, for two years in a row, Stanley Scherrer who raced his first Castlewood in 2023 when only 9 years old!
Said Stanley at the end of the race, “I’ve never been more tired in my life!”
Race directors Jeff and Carrie were certainly impressed by 46 Down’s 4-peat, but it should be noted that they are themselves 4-peaters in the Castlewood! They won the race each year from 2006 to 2009 with their longtime partner, David Frei.
