We knew going into it, that we would be up against some of the toughest competition in the midwest and in some regards U.S. We didn't quite realize, however, the magnitude of the course Jason from BonkHard Racing had in store for us...
Arriving the evening before the race, we (Jake, Tyler, Megan, and Fletcher) checked in at both race and motel, dinned on typical prerace pasta, set up gear, and attended the "meeting." We learned of a provisions drop about 2/3rds of the way through the course, of which we were later very much thankful. Received 2 huge maps and as well as 3 pages of coordinates/notes, and a handful of other helpful warnings.
When then spent the next 3-4hrs plotting and checking coordinates, copying & laminating maps, and packing bags. Post 12am sleepytime. Tommorrow, our first race together as a new team!
Early morning bike drop, breakfast, & potty...We lined up with nearly a hundred other competitors at the start and at 8am, it was go time.
3...2...1...GO!
The race started with a running/trekking section that was 3-5miles and took us to our bikes. We then headed counterclockwise along some of the sweetest singletrack I've seen, before heading over every surface imaginable on our first 35mile+ biking leg.
Midway through this section (about 5hrs into the race) I began having heat cramps in quads which slowed us down considerably. I hyperhydrated, unlayered, and took a couple tows as we pushed through them. We eventually made it to the next TA, and on to another Trekking section (9-10miles).
We make steady and quick work of this trekking section, posting a time only slower than the top 5 teams (without running). Thanks to Google for helping us embelish our maps the night before!
We then entered the lake. With two canoes and a singleblade paddle a piece, it was a fight to make up time against the field (mostly sporting doubleblade kayak padddles). We slowly watched most teams disappear around penisulas as the light gradually faded to night. Just after dark the wind picked up. So much so, that we had to rake our canoes to keep the bow pointed into the waves (2-3' swells). Very Scary!
We survived the 5+ hours on the water (did I mention this was only Tyler's 2nd time canoing?) and got warm by the fire before embarking on another 12-15miles of biking. The cooler temps and extra hydration seemed to have curred me of my cramps, because I flew through this section. We quickly made it to the refueling drop and transitioned for the night orienteering.
This prooved to be a lot harder than we expected, probably due to exhaustion, pain, etc. We struggled to get as many as possible by 6am, so we could push to the end. I think we got half and some chaffing. We then planned a condensed route back to the finish to avoid a few tough hills.
We skipped a checkpoint, but were making great time on bike. Then all of a sudden we were reminded of a couple things mentioned the night before. "There will be several routes, but not all of them have been cleared." We almost instantly hit thick clay/mud roads and a tangle of fallen trees (a major ice-storm had hit this area earlier in the year) that we bike-whacked for several miles until we rejoined the major trail/road system again. Within minutes we met up with teams that had left the TA at the same time as us. So much for a shortcut.
We were pushing hard to the finish, every minute feeling more like we wouldn't make the cutoff. We finally caught a break, finding the paved hike&bike trail and making up some major ground. We were within 5-10miles of the finish with a little over an hour, when we hit trouble again...
Jake's bike hit a large root at just the right angle and nearly through him over the bars. Thankfully he was okay, but the front brakes were completely jammed. We struggled to knife out the brake pads and we cautiously raced to the finish sans some stopping power.
It was a great feeling to know we made it with time to spare (~27hrs & 90+ miles) Baked potatos and sour cream never tasted so good. After loading up bikes and gear, we cleaned up and went for a meal. Gotta love crackerbarrel! And then we pushed all the way back to KC, nearly sleeping at the wheel. What a rush! I'm never doing that again...
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