Were not in Kansas anymore...just Nebraska

After many hours and calls, I finally filled the roster for the Run, Row, and Roll less than 10 days from the race. An up and coming race director and fellow Kansan, Charmion Harris joined Jake and I for the duration of the course. She was planning on sitting this race out after finding out that it was three member teams only, but she gladly filled our hole and challenged her team to "keep up."

June 19th

2:30pm - lonely drive up Missouri and across Nebraska (no phone reception)

6pm - met up with Jake at race HQ and got race packet(s)

6:30pm - got Subway (seems to be a race tradition)

7pm -plotted map and organized gear

8pm - drove part of course

10ish - bed

June 20th

5:15am - rise and shine

6am - bike drop

7:30am - prerace meeting

8am - start

We began this race with a mysterious "red neck subway" (horsetrailer) ride to the start. We exited in mass to a 3-4 mile run to our first "challenge." Build a raft from innertubes and a 2x4 ladder that matched a diagram. With that successfully done, we took two paddles and floated/walked it ~1.5 miles down the Little Blue River. After loading the "raft" back into another trailer we ran another half mile to the bike transition. We picked some time and spots during this first wheeled section. But the flat and rolling hills, pavement and gravel quickly became dirt and grass tracks into canyons you wouldn't expect to find in the Midwest (especially Nebraska). I think the barefoot running through the river caught up with me, because hike and bike with my cleats caused some wild calf/achilles cramps. Also the wet sand started chewing my feet up pretty bad. Oh well, no pain... Anyway, the other team events were fun (archery, stationary calf roping, mud plinko) as well. We continued on throughout our difficulties and the rain, having an awesome trekking section. One more long ride, and a total of just under 9 hours later we finished to a BBQ sandwich meal! Yum!

I was so brain dead after this race though, that I left my bike shoes at the finishe line. Thankfully, Jim Craig (angry cow adventures owner) got them back to me quickly (and clean!).

Before and after with Jake, Charmion & the Lake Adventures crew.

"We're on a MISSION from God"

Mission AR...that is.

Tyler, Megan, & I successfully endured another qualifying race.

Here is the race rundown...
-Friday we arrived just in time for meal & meeting (timezone change - oops!)
-Cheap and gimpy TA tent (good times - ask anyone of us)
-No prerace strategy, map, or coords. (maps were handed out at starting line)
-Began race in Thunderstorm at 6am
-Road muddy singletrack until bikes would no longer roll
-Subsequent brake problems from mud (Megan's back brakes went out - ask her about her raspberry and road rash)
-Missed CP7 because of brain fart (novice plotting mistake)
-Canoed up and down the Ohio (yes, the big river) while towing our bikes in an inflatable raft
-More fast biking (no brakes - reverse towing: Tyler & I were Megan's brakes down a couple big hills)
-High ropes (Megan volunteered to be blindfolded)
-Awesome night trek/orienteering (Powerhiking...nuff said)
-Marinara Meatball sandwiches at midnight (check out that alliteration)
-NO CRAMPS! (I love you e-caps!)

Photos of our fun...

A Tale of Two Races - part II

What can only be said of the LBL is ouch!

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...

New Stuff Coming...

So...I haven't been able to put words or thoughts down on paper or screen very regularly this spring, but that is about to change. I have a lot announcements to make and new things to share, and before I can do that I need to catch up the race reports from earlier this year. So...I will be posting at least once a day for the next week to try to make up for lost time.

Up next...

A tale of two races cont'd.

A Tale of Two Races

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times..." -Dickens

This could be said of almost any adventure race, but I find it fitting to recap the last two in which I participated.

The first race of the pair was the Milford Extreme Spring Sprint AR. Now every sprint race prior to this that I have participated in has been in the 3-5hr range. This race was upwards of 6-8 hours for the majority of the field. The teammates that I had gathered for this race were relative newbies to AR and did a fine job of pushing each other to a third place finish. The raceday went down as such:

We arrived and had only minimal time to check-in, stage bikes, pack, and plot coordinates (10 minutes with maps prior to race start).

The race started with a fast 1mile sprint to CP1 and then to the bikes. We took a quick trail into the woods, nabbed this point, and were first on the bikes. Having never raced together before, our pace line into 25 mph headwind was scattered, but we continued to jockey for first through CP2 & Cp3. We were the first to start the orienteering section and headed directly to the climbing tower.

The tower was our first physical challenge as we had to climb ropes up the outside of the structure using mechanical ascenders within the 30 minute time limit. We hadn't attended the training camp, so our knowledge of ropes was less than stellar. I fastened in looser than I should and end up over extended and supremely tired by the time I reached the top. Having learned alot about how to setup the harness system from my near failure, I helped my teammates (Jake, Max, & Julie) get situated.

After our team ropes challenge, we set off on the rest of our orienteering loop. This is where having only mere minutes to plot the CPs cost us...they were slightly off. We searched the shoreline of the lake for quite some time before pulling out the map and replotting. After doing so, we made our way along the cliff line and stumble across the CP. We then dove out of sight of before nearby teams could see. We trekked field and shore to the next 2 CPs and then headed back toward the bike drop. It was about this time that the slight cramps started...

At the bike drop, we were informed of the paddle section in which we needed to collect song titles and bands. This actually proved the hardest section of all. The 25mph winds were by this time even gustier. Between the wind, a broken boat, and some paddling inexperiencce, I am surprised we stayed as dry as we did. That being said Jake, me and the broken boat nearly got capsized as we got banged against the shore.

The exhaustion of the boats (also the long portage) was followed by a final ride to the finish by way of CP6. This was probably my favorite section barrelling down gravel Kansas backroads. We finished with worn out smiles on our faces in 7:38:06. Then after a photo and an apology to our supportive guest (Max's wife), we went for some post race grub (BBQ sandwiches & Beer, mmmm).

Exhausted, but satisfied.

To be continued...