Observations/Thoughts/Lessons Learned from our first Nationals

In no particular order:

Intentionally or not, in the heat of competition, people do stupid things. Taking parts off a competitors car while racing without permission is not cool. This is a sport where most of the competitors are nice. If you car breaks, just ask for help.

Motorized toys on wheels will cost $50 extra per toy, but the place is so big, if you are there for the week, it is so worth it.

If you are going to rent a car, go ahead and rent a bigger car to haul stuff – large trunks help – like an HHR. Basically midsize or larger. There is a pretty good chance that you’ll use all the space – we did.

Pick either an uncommon or bright color for the car rental if possible. There will be many rentals there on site. It makes it easier to identify your own vehicle in a sea of rentals.

Unless you don’t mind being dependent on rides, rent your own car. Everything requires driving. Find somebody you are buddies with to split costs with. It’s also very helpful if you are in the same hotel.

Don’t over walk. It is physically tiring being here for a whole week and walking around the course during the day and also walking the course a couple of times.

If Bridgestone (or probably some other tire vendor) is present, there will be candy (or snacks) and water available in their tent, so you may not need to stock up too much. There is also vending on site, though you may or may not like the quality of food.

Bring something nice to wear – you’ll need it for the awards ceremony when you walk across the stage.

The Holiday Inn Topeka West has a great 3 story indoor slide and the water in the pool is nice and warm – Priceline early to get $55/night. Later users got the room for $75/night.

Verify the banquet times onsite. Different places may post different times. If you race on Thu/Fri and plan to walk after Wednesday is done - and you want to go to Wednesday’s banquet, ask somebody to save you a spot AND get you food. Otherwise you won’t be done walking in time to get there at the beginning.

Verify the mid day course walk time. It wasn’t posted on the schedule in the information center.

If it is your first time at Nationals, do try to arrive a few days early to see how things work and figure out where things are. It will give you a chance to settle in before you have to start getting ready to race. I found it very helpful.

If you aren’t towing your vehicle, have your car transported with the rest of the group. It makes the travel very relaxing.

Plan to leave the morning after your last day of runs. This gives you a chance to hang out at the banquet, get to know fellow competitors and wind down in general.

The size of the location makes hearing announcements difficult. Bring a radio so that you can tune in to the announcements. The announcements will be on two separate channels, one for each course. Tune in to the course that you are interested in. I saw some people with headset type radios so that they can stay informed while keeping their hands free – that looks like a great idea.

If you don’t have a garage and are parking your car outside, invest in a car cover. It will keep the car dry from any overnight condensation. There will be less work to get ready to run.

Post up travel information in a central shared location, like a forum. It makes coordinating rides and hotels a lot easier.

Avoid Steve Ekstrand like the plague - he's accident prone. In the space of 24 hours, he had around 5 accidents ranging from falling down the steps in his trailer, catching his finger in the screen door while opening it, bumping his head on the underside of a cabinet, having a bottle fall out of the fridge on him and hitting a deer with his truck. On race day, he also tweaked a shoulder.

Don't do what I did - walk around with a heavy camera and go click happy the whole week. I was lucky. My right hand started swelling and I was having difficulty gripping things - but this didn't happen until Saturday.