Muni - Expert

Hello Unicon Muni Participants and Volunteers,

We are less than a week from competition day (Wednesday July 17) and we have some important information for you, including a change in the XC course.

Course Information

Northern Minnesota received a huge rainstorm a few weeks ago greatly damaging parts of the trails. The trail crew at Giants Ridge has been working overtime to repair the damage, but unfortunately a part of the XC course will not be repaired in time so we have had to adjust the XC course. Fortunately, the vast majority of the trails will be reopened and rideable before Unicon.

XC Course

The course will still be about the same length (12 km for intermediate, 25 km for Elite) and approximately the same elevation. However, the southern loop is removed and we will repeat the northern loop at the end of the Elite course. Course map available on the Unicon website.

DH Course

The course has not changed, and will be approximately as shown on the Unicon website.

Practice Day

Monday, July 15 is the practice day for muni. It is also the first day that Unicon has access to Giants Ridge so we will be marking the course at the same time. That means the courses may not be fully marked as you ride on practice day. Please come prepared with the course maps downloaded on your phone.

Giants Ridge is open to muni riders on practice day from 9:30am-2:00pm. The lift will be running during this time. This is the same time that the bus riders will be there (see full schedule below). You can also visit Giants Ridge on Saturday, July 13 or Sunday, July 14 when they are open to the public, but the courses will not be marked. Giants Ridge is not open to any riders on Tuesday, July 16.

Riders who pre-purchased their practice day lift ticket will receive a green wristband at packet pick up at Unicon central. You must wear this on practice day to ride the lift. If you still need to purchase a practice day lift ticket, you can do so at packet pick up or at Giants Ridge on Monday.

Bus Details

See full schedule below. If you purchased breakfast from the dorms, it will be available as a take away breakfast at a table next to bus pick up starting 30 minutes before the bus leaves, both on practice day and competition day. The bus leaves from Oak Hall at 7am on practice day, and 6am on competition day. Do not be late. Eating is allowed on the bus (please be clean). A toilet is available on the bus.

Food & Water

Giants Ridge will have food available to purchase on practice day and competition day. You can also fill up on water. Restrooms are also available.

Competition Details

XC Competition

All riders who are signed up for intermediate and elite cross country will start together on the intermediate course (12 km). We will start the race in large heats separated by a few minutes each. Riders will self sort themselves into these heats. The race director will assist in the case of disagreements on heats.

All riders who complete the intermediate course before the cut-off time (about 1 hour) will be placed into the Elite category and have the option to continue onto the full Elite course (22 km total). All riders who finish the intermediate course after the cut-off time will be awarded in intermediate and will not continue. See full details and rules on the Unicon website. 

DH Competition

Riders will be allowed two runs on the course, with the faster time awarded. There are no additional finals. We will allow top riders to start their runs first, to minimize passing. Top riders must be at the start line on time to receive this preferential start. We will also give a 10 minute break about halfway through the afternoon to allow top riders to start their second run on an empty course.

Event Schedule - below

*All riders must be at the XC start line ready to ride by 9:30, otherwise they will risk disqualification.

Muni Giants Ridge Volunteering

We still need lots of volunteers! If you are interested in volunteering, you can see the shifts and sign up here. We have a lot of shifts to be filled, and many of them are fun and you can watch the competitors! (For example: course marshall.) And you get to ride the bus for free!

Other Muni Competitions

All Uphill and Beginner Muni are held on July 23, at Buena Vista Ski Area close to Bemidji. More details are coming soon and will be posted on the muni website.

Additional Questions

Please remember that I am also only a volunteer with a full time job and social responsibilities. Please attempt to answer any additional questions yourself first via the Unicon website before replying to this email.

Scott Wilton

Muni Director