Chaos Crusade AR

The Chaos Crusade has become a bit of a tradition. It started five years ago when Ryan and I decided to put together an outdoor adventure-style event over Memorial Day weekend. What began as a modest 8-hour excursion has grown into a larger, more challenging experience each year, with more participants and longer routes.

This year, with the Endless Mountains multi-day race on the horizon, we decided to level up: a full 24-hour event. I kept the course details secret from everyone, which is part of the fun, and we kicked off at 8 PM on Friday and wrapped up 24 hours later. Instead of our usual home-based start, I had everyone driven 45 minutes away to a surprise starting point — and from there, it was a multi-discipline journey back to Reading. The course revolved around the Merrimack River and included running, paddling, biking, and orienteering. Here’s how it went down, stage by stage.

Event Video

Course Flyover

Course Map

Stage 1: The Border Dash

23 mile trek

We kicked things off by driving the crew to Hampstead, New Hampshire. The looks of confusion and curiosity were priceless as we crossed the state line — no one except me knew where we were going. At a quiet pond in Hampstead, I unveiled the plan: five legs with key cutoffs — we needed to reach Newburyport by 9 AM and the orienteering leg by 2 PM.

The first leg was a nighttime trail and road run south toward the Merrimack River. Along the way, we collected geocaches (Hampstead, funny enough, is big on orienteering) and had a few memorable encounters: cutting through someone’s backyard while they arrived home at 11 PM (they were surprisingly chill), chatting with some amused guys who gave us water and food (and even FaceTimed their friends), and dodging curious, slightly tipsy strangers in Haverhill asking if we were TikTok famous.

I stubbed my toe badly — thought I broke it — but luckily it turned out to be just a nasty hit. Despite the chaos, we made it to Baypoint Riverfront Park in Haverhill, where our packrafts were stashed and prepped for the next phase.

Stage 2: Midnight “Merri” Current

20 mile packraft

This 20-mile paddle down the Merrimack River was beautiful and fast. Thanks to recent rains, the current gave us a solid 1–2 mph speed boost without extra effort. We used three packrafts — two tandems and a solo (mine).

The weather was great, though the water was chilly. We missed two checkpoints: one was unreachable due to cement walls in town, and the other we skipped to stay on schedule. A surreal moment came when a cluster of trees collapsed at a park where we’d just stepped out of our rafts — had we been there moments later, it could have been bad.

The moon lit our way as we cruised through the early morning hours. I lagged a bit in my solo raft (should’ve brought a towline), but we made it into Newburyport just after sunrise. Walking through town with packrafts drew lots of curious glances, but we were on to the next leg.

Stage 3: Roots & Ridges

35 mile mountain bike

At our transition point in Newburyport, we were welcomed by Bob and Janelle Burke, who graciously let us use their bathroom (much needed after a night on the river) and supplied water. We hit “The Angry Donut” for perhaps the best breakfast sandwiches ever — brioche buns, stacked meats, fried eggs, and hot coffee.

This 35-mile mountain bike leg was split between road and trail, weaving through Willowdale, Bradley Palmer, and Wildcat parks. Early on, Nick was having a tough time with his new mountain bike. Turned out later his front fork was installed backwards — not ideal geometry!

We skipped a couple of optional checkpoints to save energy and make the next cutoff. Despite the misadventures, it was a gorgeous ride with some solid trail work. We wrapped up at a pollinator garden in Boxford before heading into our next section.

Stage 4: Echoes in the Forest

Orienteering Relay

This orienteering leg was also a much-needed recharge point. My parents hosted the transition area, and we were joined by friends and family. My dad manned the grill, and we demolished five pounds of kielbasa and three pounds of bacon. Hero status.

Each racer had to complete a short solo orienteering loop — just over a mile, with two checkpoints per person. The rest of the time, we got to relax and socialize.

We were also visited by a reporter and photographer from the Eagle Tribune, who are doing a story on the Chaos Required team. It was great to share what we’re building and why we love adventure racing.

We were also visited by our teammate Dave, who unfortunately had to drop out of the Endless Mountains race due to a serious hand injury. Still, it was awesome to have him with us for part of the day.

Stage 5: Terminal Velocity

23 mile mountain bike

The final leg: 24 miles of mountain biking through Boxford State Forest, Harold Parker, and beyond. Nothing wildly technical at first, but things got gnarly fast. Trails were rougher than expected, and our brains were definitely running on fumes.

We were all fading hard. Nick dropped a wheel off his bike. I fell over four times. At one point, I just lay down on the trail for a breather. Ben handed off the navigation because his brain had fully bonked. Ryan stepped in and kept us moving.

But the sun came out — bright, warm, and energizing. It was the only clear blue sky we had all day, and it gave us the last push we needed. We wrapped up with some word-based geocaching, then cruised through Middleton, North Reading, and finally back home to Reading.

At the finish, friends and family were waiting. We crushed pizza, beers, and eventually showers. I sat on the shower floor for 10 minutes before crawling into bed — fully spent, fully satisfied.