The first Adirondack 540 RAAM Qualifier, held September 24 - 26, 1999 was a resounding success. The course, a 136-mile loop that had to be ridden four times, featured several steep 2 - 4 mile climbs, three screaming downhills and the rest of the route consisted of short rollers. The flat sections were short and few and far between.

The entire route was held within the Adirondack State Park, which at 6,000,000 acres (roughly the size of Vermont) is the largest park in the nation (outside of Alaska). Riders started in Ticonderoga, NY near Fort Ticonderoga, the site of the first American victory in the Revolutionary War.

The weather was mostly sunny with some strong headwinds (especially for the first 10 hours) and some intermittent showers during the race. Daytime highs were in the 70's on Friday, 60's on Saturday. Lows were in the mid 40's to low 50's depending on where you were on the course.

Morlock and Klaus Battle
The race started out, as expected, as a battle between Rob Morlock and Rainer Klaus. By the first checkpoint (60 miles) they were averaging 21 mph, and had a 20-minute lead on Rich Kondzielaski. The winner would be one of these two if they both stayed in the race.

After their first lap, they slowed a bit, but still managed to increase their lead. By Friday night, the course was beginning to show its brutality. Morlock and Klaus were both hurting and slowed down quite a bit. Morlock was feeling the effects of pushing against the wind and Klaus was beginning to have stomach problems. Also, Pat Carter (136-miles), Luke Wiaczek (197-miles), Les Handy (197-miles), and Ray Fortman (272-miles) had dropped out. We were down to three solo riders and one team. This course was indeed tough!

The biggest surprise was yet to come though. As I was patrolling the course, I passed by Morlock and Klaus. Morlock had a 15-minute lead over Klaus, and both riders were moving along pretty well. I turned around and passed both riders again as I headed to the second checkpoint to wait for them. When I got to the checkpoint, Morlock came through about when I expected, but I never saw Klaus. After taking a short nap, I figured I must have missed him. When I called in to the main checkpoint, Roger Byrom said Klaus had dropped out. Klaus had said he was having trouble digesting his food - between the fast pace, and all of the hills, there was little time to allow him to recover enough to digest.

We were down to two riders. When I saw Morlock come through the second checkpoint, he was flying. This was his third lap, and he rode it almost as fast as his first. He was taking advantage of the calm wind and low traffic while trying to fend off Klaus. When he came through 136 miles later (on his final lap), he was hurting pretty badly. He took a 15-minute break and I talked with him. He said that he pushed so hard on the third lap because he expected Klaus to come flying by at any moment. He also said that he was now paying for that third lap in a big way: one of his knees was hurting.

Morlock ended up struggling through the last 75 miles and winning in a time of 35 hours 15 minutes. The only other rider to finish was Rich Kondzielaski in a time of 38 hours 20 minutes. Kondzielaski was a real pleasure to watch, and I hope he can put together a RAAM attempt someday. He commented on how the course was very challenging and how it was "my home state at its most beautiful". He added "The good thing about a four loop course is that you know what's coming. The bad thing though, is that you know what's coming".

The Course
The route traveled north along Lake Champlain, through Crown Point, Port Henry and Westport before turning west towards the mountains. In Elizabethtown, riders climbed over Hurricane Mountain on the way to Keene. In Keene, the route turned north going through Jay then west to Wilmington, which is at the base of Whiteface Mountain. Here, the race turned south through Lake Placid (home of the 1932 and 1980 Winter Olympics), past the ominous ski jumping facilities, through Keene (again!), Underwood, North Hudson to Severence. Here the race turned east, climbing to the top of Tongue Mountain before being rewarded with a 2-mile descent back into Ticonderoga. Only three more laps to go!

Rider Reaction
Rider reaction to the course and race was very positive, with everyone saying they will be back next year. Tom Ryan of Team Cyclone said: "Great ultra race. The course was more challenging then many of the races I participated in the west". "Look out next year! Now I know what I am up against," said Luke Wiaczek. Ray Fortman added, "It was a great race. The terrain was very challenging and the roads were very good. The scenery was beautiful with all the mountains, streams and rivers. There were some good climbs and some great downhills. I love the area and will be back next year!"

But, the most rewarding comment on our inaugural race was from Rainer Klaus, who traveled all the way from Germany: "It was a very tough course, but the most scenic I've done. I will be back next year to and break Rob's record". I hope so. And thanks to all of the racers, their crews, volunteers and to Roger Byrom who put it all together..