Jeremy, Kelly, Paul, and BriHy at Green Ridge finish
Submitted by Brian | July 21, 2012 | http://greenridgeadventurechallenge.com/
Vitals
8 AM on Saturday the 21st, Paul, Kelly, Jeremy and myself were at another starting line – this time in Greenridge State Forest, Flintstone, Maryland. First-time race director Kevin Howser, had put together 60+ miles of river paddling, trekking and mountain biking (on and off road) to keep us busy until 8 PM. The Green Ridge was held on the same day as the Odyssey One Day race. We fielded two teams for the One Day and we also wanted TeamHalfWayThere.com to be represented at this Checkpoint Tracker and USARA sanctioned event.
Experience
The lingering image of the race was going through a several hundred-yard long train tunnel on bike with virtually no light. Jeremy took the lead with a slight glow from his rear tail light. Kelly and I followed and Jeremy and Paul brought up the rear with a weak white light. The path was about 3-feet in width with a natural rock wall on the right and a steel rail to our left. Everyone caught a handlebar and bounced off the wall at least once. Although Jeremy’s nav was spot on all day, we initially missed CP9 after the bike transition, but everyone kept a positive attitude about moving on the to the next CP. My lowest point was getting attacked by a nest of hornets on the paddle. I sustained 5 neck and head stings and ducking paddle swings from my canoe-mate Jeremy while he tried to hit the hornets. But,the final bike leg made up for unfortunate events. We BOMBED the downhills during the bike section in the last 45 minutes of the race. Kelly was tentative prior to that, but when we were faced with a 3 person co-ed team competing neck and neck with us, she took the lead and absolutely crushed the bike. On a particularly fast descent, the 3 person team missed the turn and we dropped them on our way to the finish.
Dave demonstrates how to crash a party
Recommendations
Good set up by the race director. It was well organized, the CPs were where they should be and the post real food was fantastic.
Shout-Outs
We hope Todd Davis heals quickly! Todd was originally scheduled to race and broke his collar in four places while mountain biking a week before the race. Thanks to Paul Morris for jumping in as our 4th at the last minute. Also, most of us are running tubeless with Stan’s No Tubes. This is the first adventure race I’ve done where we didn’t have at least one flat. Loved it!
Results
1st place in 4 person co-ed and 4th place overall in co-ed elite.
BriHy and Paul
Lessons Learned
- Trekking poles are worth their weight in gold for saving your legs on climbs.
- Bottles of Hammer gel are a convenient way to get carbs and a great compliment to solid food.
- Smoother, less forced strokes make you faster on the water.