The Purdue Outing Club Adventure Race (POCAR) is a 48 hour orienteering race held every year over Martin Luther King Jr. Day weekend in Southern Indiana. The course can range from 20-40 miles as the crow flies, depending on the location and planners. Teams should be prepared to cover 50 miles on foot. Teams from all over the world come to participate. Alumni often travel many hours to compete. POCAR can get cold, rainy, muddy, dirty, exhausting, etc. Now get excited!
The first POCAR took place in January 2001 during Martin Luther King Jr. Day weekend, as have all subsequent POCARs. The strategy behind these sets of dates was to allow the racers and volunteers to have a day to recover before returning to work and school. A race in the dead of winter, when days are short, nights are long, and the weather can go from bad to worse quickly, is enough to test anyone's will and endurance.
Endurance was the theme of the first race and all others that have succeeded it. The race is generally 30+ miles as the crow flies, and participants have 48 hours (Saturday morning to Monday morning) to cover the distance. This is extremely challenging and sometimes only 10% of the competitors complete the entire race.
A map is supplied to each team, which they will use to navigate point-to-point in a specified order. Once all valid points (there are decoys) are visited, a team has completed the course. At each checkpoint, the team must sign their name, the time they arrived, and any comments, serious or otherwise. This allows the race organizers and volunteers to track the progress of the team and provide assistance if necessary. A system of punch cards is set up to verify a team has indeed found a checkpoint. It is required that at least one team member has experience with the UTM coordinate system. There will be a beginner orienteering trip in November for those who would like to learn.
Anyone can race. The original POCAR was held exclusively for Purdue Outing Club members, but since the event was successful and well-received, anyone can now take part.
No. Racers are responsible for their own health and nutrition. Nutrition is essential, and significant thought should be put into what you will eat.
As long as a team still has four members, they can continue the race and place. Members from two or more defunct teams may form a hybrid team in order to continue the race, but they will not be able to place. This is to allow people who may not be able to physically complete the race to participate for part of the event. Racing alone is strictly prohibited.