Welcome to our race!
The Bordulac Attack is a multi-discipline adventure race in the heart of Northern Michigan's Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. Comprised of six fun race segments:
Hike • Run • Swim • Bike • Paddle • Climb
You can tackle them on your own or as a team. Complete all six segments or just the ones you like! All are welcome. Race season opens on June 1. Join us!
The best part of the Bordulac Attack: You decide when it’s race day!
You choose when to do a race segment, whether alone, with a partner, or with your entire crew. Wait until there’s no wind and the sun is out. Get up early or wait until sunset; it’s entirely your call.
This race series is done independently using the Strava mobile app. You decide the times and dates you attack one or more of our six race segments. The race is open from June 1 to October 31, and racers may re-race a segment whenever they want to improve their ranking and jump ahead on the leaderboard until Oct 31.
All racers who sign up for the $40 DELUXE registration will receive the 2024 Bordulac Attack fully sublimated beach towel. Take a look; it’s pretty great.
Racers who opt for the $15 BASIC registration will receive an official Bordulac Attack UV-protected vinyl race decal.
Six Race Segments
1. Gator Hike
The first race segment of the Bordulac Attack! This 2.65 mile trail run/hike will take you up and down hills on old logging roads and trails to the Glen Lake and Lake Michigan Scenic Overlooks on Alligator Hill—one of the most beautiful hikes in Leelanau County.
This hike will take you from bench to bench overlooking two beautiful bodies of water in Northern Michigan. Lots of fun terrain on this route! Enjoy the scenery and grab a wild blackberry along the trail!
2. Crystal Paddle
The second race segment starts at the Trail Head of the Crystal River on S Dunns Farm & Fisher Rd. You will paddle a kayak, SUP, or canoe solo down the river to the first portage. There you will make the portage unassisted and proceed to the second leg of the Crystal River. Continue on through the third portage until you reach the “Shoot the Tube” sign finish line at the Crystal River Outfitters in Glen Arbor.
This event is stunningly gorgeous yet challenging. You have to navigate sandbars and branches, portage your gear, and interact with other sightseeing paddlers, who may or may not be moving very quickly at various points along the river. Hot tip: STAY IN YOUR BOAT!
3. Solo Swim
Event three is the only segment of the Bordulac Attack where you can choose the location you compete in. Home turf advantage all day!
All that matters is that you log a 0.5 mile (805 meters) swim SOMEWHERE in Leelanau County on your Strava app and email us a screenshot at bordulacattack@gmail.com.
We want everyone to be safe, and open-water swimming has inherent risks. Be smart. Have someone paddle alongside you in a kayak, and race with an inflatable swim buoy. Good choices win races and allow us to compete again tomorrow.
4. Beer Run
The fourth race segment begins as you stand in front of Art’s Tavern in Glen Arbor. Don’t go inside just yet. You’ve got a 2.31 loop to run! Point yourself west on Western Ave, and go. This race segment is an ideal flat course for our 2-miler specialists. Be careful; there can be a lot of traffic on M-22. Choose your run time wisely. Don’t be surprised if you see some wild turkeys and a deer or two along the way.
If you stop in Art’s for an adult beverage afterward, that’s your call. We’d have one with you if we were there!
5. Bear of a Bike
5a. Palmer Pedal
If off-road is where you like to ride, check out the Palmer Pedal. Mountain bikers, this one is for you! Complete this race segment as an option to the Bear of a Bike. Located at the epic Palmer Woods Forest Reserve, this 4.63-mile loop will take you through some twists and turns on fun terrain in the beautiful north woods.
This season, we are using the Ursa Minor and Ursa Major trails as our routes for the Palmer Pedal. Do Ursa Minor first, then stay on your bike and pedal over to Ursa Major to complete that loop. Keep your eyes on the direction of travel trail signs!
This one’s a doozy. Ready for a 27.4 mile biking challenge? Race segment number five will take you on a bike ride around Big and Little Glen past D.H. Day Farm and through the Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive loop at Sleeping Bear Dunes. It is epic. Best scenic ride in Leelanau County!
Enjoy the gorgeous scenery as you struggle to maintain momentum on the uphills. Try not to succumb to the death wobble on the descents! This route is as stunning as it is brutal.
6. Dune Climb
Last but not least, race segment six, the Dune Climb. You begin this assault on Sleeping Bear as you stand next to the warning sign (and it’s there for a reason) at the Lake Michigan Overlook on Pierce Stocking Scenic Dr. As soon as you take your first step down the dune towards Lake Michigan, you are on the clock. Walk, run, jump, or roll your way to the bottom, then turn around and scamper back up to the top of the dune any way you can.
Some run, some walk, some bear crawl. This final segment will test your mettle. Foot wimps, beware. Crying is allowed.
OG • BOSS • CREW
Join the ranks and claim your title.
The mark of a Bordulac Attack OG.
Original Gangsters
Enter today, and you have from June 1 until Halloween to complete all six segment races. If you don’t want to complete all six races or have enough time to get them in; just do what you can. Perhaps swimming is not your jam, but you love to bike. You don’t have to complete all six events. Be a segment race winner, and claim the crown for that event, or create a team and share the work and the fun!
The Bordulac Attack will have individual Segment Race Winners and one overall Grand “Champignon,” the racer with the fastest combined time from all six events.
Winners will be announced on November 1 and be ranked by age and gender classification.
Complete all six segments on or before October 31, and you will be named a Bordulac Attack Original Gangster!
Official Mark of a Bordulac Attack Boss - You get claws!
Bosses
Most of us mere mortals will spread the races out over our entire vacation or return in a few weeks and grind out another stage. But for some, the taste of competition and the quest for glory demands an even stiffer challenge. For those of you seeking the ultimate in Bordulac Attack glory, we have created the title of Bordulac Attack Boss.
A Bordulac Attack Boss is a next-level athlete with an intense pain threshold on a vision quest of self-inflicted torture.
To earn the elite status of Boss, an individual must complete ALL SIX segment races in 24 hours.
Official mark of a Bordulac Attack Crew Member
Crews
Register as a team and drop the hammer with your crew.
Not sure you have what it takes to be an OG? Maybe doing all six race segments does not appeal. Are you a swimming specialist with a best friend who’s a sick bike racer that’s got a cousin who can fly up a sand dune? Register as a team! Rally your crew and divide the work.
Crews can be made up of two, three, or six people.
2-person team – each team member completes three stage races.
3-person team – each team member completes two stage races.
6-person team – each team member completes one stage race.
All the same race rules and requirements apply to teams as they do to individual racers. Each team member must register individually and record their own race times on their mobile Strava app.
Rules to Live by:
Racers have from June 1 until October 31 to test and retest one or more of the six Bordulac Attack race segments. That’s right; it’s not one-and-done; you can re-race and reclaim your spot on the leaderboard.
Stage race segment times will be posted on our website for all to see and try to beat. If you see that someone has beaten you on a segment, you can rerace that segment and reclaim the lead.
Each racer MUST record their own time on their own Strava mobile app. To see the leaderboard on Strava, you will need a subscription to the app. We will post current rankings and race segment leaders on our website.
Our website leaderboard is official. Bootleggers who don’t register for the race may use our segments and appear on the Strava app leaderboard. They are not counted in our official Bordulac Attack results. Only those who register on our website are officially entered and will have their race results counted.
The race officially ends on Halloween, Oct 31. That is when the course closes.
No posted times are safe or solid until Nov 1, when winners are announced.
Individuals must complete all six stage races to be an OG.
Individual racers must complete all six stage races in 24 hours to earn the elite status of BOSS.
Teams cannot earn OG or Boss status. Those titles are for individual racers only.
Read all the segment race rules & info on how to use the Strava app HERE.
Sign me up now! I want in on this madness.
Join our Training Club
on Strava!
Adventure racers, we’ve got a training club on Strava where you can connect with other athletes who are hiking, climbing, biking, running, swimming, and paddling. Join us for motivation and camaraderie in the great outdoors. Going solo is great, but who doesn’t like a friend? See what other racers are up to!
“Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming ‘Wow! What a Ride!’”
— Hunter S. Thompson