KONG Awakens… The Season of the BEAST is Upon Us.

KONG only got a short nap this winter... and he's pissed!

The annual BEAST (Best Ever Awesomest Sprint Training) training race series for the Patch Sprint will get underway this upcoming Thursday, March 29.  Participants will meet at the 1812 Homestead in Willsboro at 5 pm.    Each week racers will be vying for points as they try to appease KONG and tame the Beast that is the patch sprint course.

Jim Kobak getting warmed up for the BEAST to begin by running the Tebow trail to the base of Mark Sanchez Mountain in Peru.

The early start to the spring season has allowed Patch Sprinters to get out early, already the Patch Sprint trail has been scouted and conditions on all four mountains are reported to be good and surprisingly dry.  Thus, the BEAST will start earlier than usual.

Tom Moffett gets ready for the BEAST by running the Tebow Trail to the base of Mark Sanchez Mountain in Peru.

Each Wednesday the BEAST fore-runners will establish the official course and will deliver KONG to the finish area.  On Thursday, racers will run the course and receive points based on their time relative to the fore-running crew.  Racers will also receive bonus points if they can locate KONG after finishing.  Likewise, each week the training event will have a theme, and points will be awarded to participants based upon how well they adhere to the theme (voting will take place online via Facebook).

BEAST 2.0 Schedule of Events… all events start at 5 pm unless otherwise noted:

2.0.1 Thursday 3/29…  BARE Mt Blast!!!  Race from the Pillars to the Bare Mt. Summit….  THEME:  TEBOWMANIA (help welcome the new messiah to New York!)

2.0.2 Thursday 4/5… RATTLESNAKE.  Race the History Trail to the Rattlesnake Summit… THEME: EASTER BUNNY (the big day for bunnies is only a three days away)

2.0.3 Thursday 4/12. WEDNESDAY 4/11… 1 pm…. ROAD RACE… Race from Beaver Rd to the top of Schoolhouse Hill… THEME:  INCOME TAX (only 3 days left before you need to file your 1040)

2.0.4 Thursday 4/19… SUGARLOAF… Race to the summit of Sugarloaf Mt. and explore the backside… THEME: EARTH DAY (Earth day was first celebrated in 1970)

2.0.5 Thursday 4/26… POKO TT (meet at snowplow turnaround on Rt. 9) Race to summit of Poko… THEME: CHERNOBYL (the infamous disaster took place near Kiev, Ukraine in 1986)

2.0.6 Thursday 5/3…  Downhill Race from Summit of Rattlesnake to the Homestead… THEME… KENTUCKY DERBY (Bill Shoemaker became the oldest person to win the Kentucky Derby aboard Ferdinand in 1986)

2.0.7 Thursday 5/10…  SUGARLOAF summit to Route 9 (car drop-off)… THEME: LEWIS AND CLARK (the famous explorers set off from St. Louis to the unknown west in 1804)

2.0.8 Thursday 5/17… POKO TT #2 (meet at snowplow turnaround on Rt 9) Race to summit of Poko.. THEME: MT ST HELENS (the mighty Washington Volcanoe exploded in 1980)

2.0.9 Thursday 5/24… BEAST FINALE… race from homestead to Bare Spot  THEME: BABE RUTH  (the legendary slugger hit his final homerun #714 on this day in 1935)