Adventure Racing

I've been asked multiple times to join teams for an adventure race, but for some reason or another was never able to do it. I finally got my chance last weekend. Stephen Regenold (of www.thegearjunkie.com) my adventure journalist partner, old pal Stanley (whom I met on North Dakota's Mah Dah Hey trail in '06), and a friend of his, Stephanie embarked on a 6.5 hour race.

First we started on foot, reading maps, orienteering our way to checkpoints. We ran through groves of saplings, swamps, rocky ravines and more. Length: Approx. 6 miles.

Then we were routed to a creek. We hiked/ran up the creek, hitting checkpoints along the way. The creek wound through several huge culverts that were dark and dripping. As if hiking through a creek is not hard enough, try turning out the lights! This was actually a favorite part of the race for me.

When the creek dead-ended at a 80' waterfall, we climbed out of the creek and onto bicycles. We rode roughly 12 miles on the road to a river.

At the river we loaded our bikes into a truck, grabbed 2 inflatable kayaks, paddles, and set off for 6 miles of wet drudgery. Not really. My legs were welcoming the rest and the day was perfect for a paddle. Hot, but not too hot. The water felt good. River was s bit low, so there were some short portages.

Upon reaching the 6 mile point we exited the water and grabbed our bikes for another few miles of road biking that would bring us to Mount Kato - a ski hill that has singletrack trails all over it. We rode 8 or 9 miles of singletrack, hitting checkpoints along the way. Another 4-5 miles of road biking to the finish point.

We were the second co-ed, 4 person team to show, but a missed optional checkpoint bumped us into 3rd when the team behind us made it to the finish with their time bonus. Dern. We had to settle for 3rd place. For a first race, I was happy enough. It was super fun to be in the woods and wild all day. There was suffering and cramps to be sure, but it was too fun to dwell on the negatives.

I might get into another one of these this year - I'll post if I do.

***Not sure who to credit photos to. Someone borrowed Stephen's camera. If you want credit, stand up.