Shane and Candy: Lovers, Racers, Snappy Dressers

Contributed by Candy Hagerman | Race Date: March 17, 2012 | http://bit.ly/GBQJCF

Why did I sign up for this race?

I signed up for this race because our good friends, Andy and Michelle started an adventure racing company, Adventure Addicts Racing, and this was going to be their inaugural race.  It was an opportunity to support them and to race with my favorite person, my husband Shane!

Shane and I were both so excited to race together in the 6 hour race.  We have raced together in the past and loved it.  Many people say, “How can you race with your husband?”  My response is “I love to race with him!”  He is so strong and incredibly helpful and encouraging.

Before I ever raced with him, I knew what I was getting in to.  He is very competitive and focused.  I made it very clear to him years ago that I wanted to race to have FUN!  And secretly, I am competitive too.  I knew whenever I raced with him, we would have fun and if I wanted to push myself, he would happily support that!

This brings us to getting ready for the race.

Yes, we even had a lot of fun getting ready for the race.  The majority of our friends to include Shane are very experienced racers, so “getting ready” for a 6 hour race is probably very different for them as it is for me.  Shane has spoiled me with every piece of gear imaginable, so it is hard to come up with something that I need to buy for racing.  But, that wasn’t going to stand in my way of shopping for fun gear.  I love to shop and knew that more cool gear would add to the excitement.

The race was on St. Patty’s Day, so of course I bought some green shirts at REI to wear post race.  Two of my favorite purchases were a new pink smaller Gregory pack and new trail running shoes, the Cascadia 7’s.  Shane insisted that the new shoes would help me run faster through the woods and have better grip.  While trying them on at REI, a girl said she had a pair and loved them.  That sealed the deal and off I went with new (cute blue) trail shoes and they proved to be the most comfortable trail shoes ever with great stability and grip.  And of course, I wanted a lighter weight pack so it didn’t weigh me down and if I needed to give it to Shane it would fit in his pack.  The pack was so comfortable and light weight that I didn’t need to take it off and always had my water ready to drink.  Definitely a good purchase!

As you can tell, we both are really excited for this race.  We spend the night before packing and talking about how great it is going to be to race and see all of our friends.  I’m hoping we can get to bed early so that we have a good night’s sleep before waking up at 4am to drive to Front Royal.  Life doesn’t always go as planned.  We stayed up too late and I got about 3 hours of sleep and Shane 2.  Early morning was here before we knew it and off we went to Front Royal.

When we arrived, we were greeted by the friendliest volunteers and the vibe of the event was amazing.  Everyone was in good spirits and the weather was going to be at perfect temperatures.  This was going to be a great day!

Shane and I had the biggest smiles on our faces as the race started.  I was focused on having fun and not putting any pressure on what place we finished.  There were so many teams with countless years of experience.  I wasn’t worried about how we were going to finish…until we saw three Marines with green t-shirts and Joey and Shannon Baird.  These two teams soon became the reason why I went from wanting to have fun to wanting to compete.  Of course Shane loves when this happens and he definitely likes to see what buttons will make me go even faster.  I’m in the Navy Reserves so naturally, he had some jokes about what the Marines are probably saying about the Navy.  This didn’t motivate me as much as wanting to stay in front of Joey and his wife.  Wherever I looked, they seemed to be there; slightly in front of us and smiling and joking with a great attitude.  I thought, well, we can stay with them and hopefully get in front of them.

We had to climb a lot of hills and to me they felt like mountains!  One specifically on the second trek section we climbed happened to have some sort of animal trail, so we climbed right up it.  I was so happy when I got to the top.  It didn’t matter that I was huffing and puffing, I had made it up that hill!  We start running and I asked Shane where the passport was.  He is very specific about putting it in a pouch right away to avoid losing it.  He grabbed the pouch and said, “I don’t have it!”  I wanted to cry as soon as I heard these words and looked down the hill “mountain” we had just climbed.  He said, “We have to back track and trace all of our steps so we can find it.”  I was thinking, “Yah right, we will never find it, I was looking at piles of leaves and literally wanted to sit down and start crying.  I knew he was more mad at himself than I could ever be, so I kept quiet and started backtracking with him.  And, just as we climbed what appeared to be a deer trail, he was running just like a deer.  I figured, “Oh well, we worked really hard and it is ok if we don’t have an official finish.”  As soon as I thought this, I hear him say, “I found it!”  I snapped my head back and looked up at the sky as the sun was shining in my face and I threw my hands up saying, “Thank God!”

The only bad part was Joey and his wife were long gone and so were the Marines.  I didn’t think we would ever catch up to them after this.  The next part of the event was going to be the paddle section.  I knew we would do well on the water.  One of our favorite things to do together is go paddling.  We got to the boats and saw a bunch of teams in front of us.  We quickly got in the water and were off.  Paddling with Shane is like having a motor in the boat.  He is the strongest paddler I have ever met.  We paddled hard and ended up passing at least 7 teams.  There is something so motivating about passing a team.  It is almost like it gives you twice the energy than you had before, no matter how tired you are.

The good news was, we were able to get in front of Joey and the three Marines.  I know, this seemed to be the only thing I was worried about.  After the paddle, we had a long trek section.  It seemed to go on forever!!!  As we were running, I would look back hoping I did not see their shirts.  I was running, trekking and bushwhacking faster at this point than I was at the beginning of the race.

One of my favorite points on this trek section was a point on the mountain with a breathtaking view.  Shane had pointed it out during the paddle and it was great to finally arrive there.  Yes, I did stop to drink it in.  It gave me chills and made me feel so alive!  I knew immediately that Michelle and Andy put a lot of thought into the placement of this checkpoint.  Wow, I so appreciated it and needed it!

We were running long and hard during the trek and finally reached our bikes with no sign of our made up nemesis’s.  I was happy we were doing so well.  We were right where we wanted to be and were on our way to the finish.  As we were leaving on our bikes, we saw Joey and Shannon.  I thought, “NO!!!”  So, we knew we had to bike extra hard so they didn’t catch us.  Shane kept telling me what strong bikers they were and how important it was for us to push hard to the finish.  I was peddling my little heart out and didn’t care how much it hurt because I knew we were almost finished and we could beat them if we went fast and hard.

So, we come riding in as fast as we could into the race finish.  Kelly says, wow, you guys are doing good.  We are like, “Yah, we are done, this is the finish!”  She tells us, “No, this is not the finish, there is one more checkpoint #19.”  I couldn’t believe my ears.  I just gave everything I had and we still had to go find another checkpoint?  I couldn’t believe it.  I wanted to cry and stop but knew if we could just hurry up and find the checkpoint maybe we could finish before Joey and Shannon.  Sorry to use your name so much Joey, I told you when we finished that I never need to hear your name again – now you know why!

This begins my lowest and highest point of the race.  Giving up wasn’t an option, so we went right back out to find checkpoint 19.  The pressure was really on Shane to make sure he knew exactly where it was.  He knew I was empty and was trying my very best.  We ended up getting slightly turned around in the woods and finally figured out exactly where we needed to go.  And, unfortunately, as we were out there, who do we see?  The Bairds – looking strong as they rode up to us, along with us and then slowly pulled away on a big climb.  When I saw them my heart sank.  I thought, oh no, after all this hard work they caught back up to us.  Then I thought, well they are really good and at this point what can we do?  So, Shane started towing me on bike up the hills.  I was so frustrated and as they pulled away I thought, wow, we are going to come in after them even though we tried so hard.  I was feeling sorry for myself and the hills seemed like mountains once again.  We were going up a very steep section, Joey and Shannon were nearly out of sight, the tow system broke and I wiped out.  I was hurting and for a second thought, I can just throw my bike off the mountain and give up.  Then, I thought, no, now is the time to dig deep.  I will give everything until I see the finish.

I got back on the bike we climbed a bit more and the trail leveled out.  Then Shane tells me to get off my bike and follow him through the woods.  I was like, come on, are you crazy!  Let’s just try to keep up with them.  So, he said “trust me.”  Of course I trust him so without hesitation we cut through the woods and end up coming out on the trail.  In a few seconds we see Joey and his wife behind us.  I thought, yes!  Maybe we can keep up.  Well, they kept going and I thought, oh no my legs can’t go as fast as theirs.

I kept riding and we finally could see checkpoint 19.  Joey got there a few seconds before Shane and Shannon and I turned around to start pedaling.  We both were so tired.  I started pedaling and knew this time for sure we were biking to the finish.  Something inside me thought, come on Candy don’t give up, you worked so hard, finish strong!  So, I pedaled harder and harder and went faster and faster.  It felt so good to be going fast and not struggling up the same hills.  I didn’t care about whether or not I would wipe out.  I wanted to ride as fast and as hard as I could so that when I finished, I knew I did not give up.  I didn’t know how close people were behind me, but I knew I was riding as fast and as hard as I have ever ridden a mountain bike.  And I learned that the faster you go, the easier it is!

We came out of the woods and up to the finish line and yes, I still looked to see if Joey and Shannon had beaten us to the finish line and thankfully they hadn’t!

This race wasn’t really about finishing before Joey and Shannon.  It was about reminding myself of the things I already know and that is to never give up no matter how difficult something is.  The Bairds happened to be something I could focus on and use to channel my determination.  It has been only a few years since I had battled cancer and I knew how important it was to not only be physically strong, but to be mentally strong too.  After all, life is about putting one foot in front of the other and not giving up.

Thank you Adventure Addicts Racing for putting on a great race.  I felt the adrenaline, enjoyed the people and scenery and most importantly, pushed myself beyond what I thought I was capable of.  I will use this experience as a positive touch stone throughout life and remind myself that giving up is not an option.  And a special thank you to Joey and Shannon, you guys are absolutely amazing.

Shane, I love you and I love having you as my partner in life.  Your strength, love and encouragement inspire me daily.  Thank you!!!

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Andy and Michelle have the communication skills down pat.  Especially when it comes to educating others about the sport of adventure racing.  You can hear it in their voices and read it from their gestures – not only do they love going point to point, but they believe you’ll love it too.

This past Sunday, Andy and Michelle, armed with a lean, visual presentation, spent some quality time with one of the Team’s most valued sponsors – Spokes, Etc.  Twenty or so Spokes, Etc employees huddled together with pizza and beverages after hours to hear what Andy and Michelle had to say.

While experts in all-things-bicycle, it turned out that many Spokes, Etc employees were not as familiar with the ins and outs adventure racing.  Employees knew that mountain biking was a component of the sport, but didn’t know the varied lengths of races or even the degree to which strategy impacts competition.

Andy and Michelle as well as other Team members provided insight and experiences.  What’s more, employees learned the needs of and gear favored by racers.  Spokes, Etc wants to position itself as a retailer that is not only capable of outfitting new and existing adventure racers, but known by many for this capability.

It was discovered during the evening that several Spokes, Etc. employees had signed up for the Adrenaline Rush 12 hour adventure race hosted by Andy and Michelle’s Adventure Addicts Racing company.  Naturally this brought smiles to Andy and Michelle and to the Team, but it also encouraged other Spokes, Etc employees to consider racing in future adventure races.

Team Halfway There is committed to building and maintaining partnership with its sponsors and their stakeholders.

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On Wednesday, January 25th, 2012, TeamHalfwayThere.com ventured over to Spokes, Etc. for Team Night.  In addition to off-season gorging on gourmet pizza and craft beer, the team and the knowledgeable N. Quaker Lane, Alexandria, staff shared insight and stories about biking, training, and the art of racing.

It goes without saying that it’s wonderful for any team to have a sponsor, but to have a close friendship with a sponsor takes wonderful to the next level.  We like to call it “awesome.”

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Wait, is that hair mussed?!

Come one, come all to Victor’s big training day!  Tentatively scheduled for the big holiday weekend!  Victor will be there, I’ll be there, which of course means Jen Smith’s mom will be there.  Will you be there?!

Word is Victor may be working some extra foot sections to make this an even larger training day, more info to come.

Wolf Gap Endurance MTB-O Training
July 2, 2011, 9AM (?)
Wolf Gap Campground / Recreation Area, George Washington National
Forest near Woodstock, VA, (90 minutes from northern VA or
Charlottesville)
National Geographic Trails Illustrated Map 792 – Massanutten and Great
North Mountain
http://www.natgeomaps.com/ti_792
contact: linvictor@gmail.com

10 to 60+ mile endurance mountain bike course. Bike to 8 checkpoints
in order, but all CP’s and routes are optional (CPs can be skipped).
Gear: mountain bike and Map 792. Significant elevation change, long
climbs and descents, gravel roads, singletrack, rocky ridges,
spectacular views, mountain lake, and remote backcountry along the
Virginia / West Virginia border. Good training for upcoming expedition
races in July and August.

Course Notes: This course has not been completly scouted or field
checked, but I have run some of this course during a trail running
event in this area. Therefore, no flagging at CPs and expect varying
trail conditions. This course will be physically tough. Choose your
routes wisely based on trail type, elevation, and distance. The trails
I have seen range from wide and flat to rocky, loose and technical. I
expect some sections are too tough to ride. Trails marked for foot
traffic only are off limits to bikes. Bike drop and hike is allowed
but not recommended because this is supposed to be MTB-O training.

Course Preview:
Start / Resupply / Finish – Wolf Gap Campground / Recreation Area
CP3 – Big Schloss Observation Platform trail head – amazing view
CP5 – Rockcliff Lake Beach at Trout Pond, (West Virginia) – Water Available

Suggested courses and categories:
Beginner – visit 1 CP.  Short course – visit 2 CPs.
Sport – 3 or 4 CPs.  Expert – 5 or 6 CPs
Superhero/Superstar – get all 8 CPs

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TeamHalfwayThere was all over the place, in all its incarnations, at the inaugural Rev3 Epic Adventure Race at Shenandoah River (Andy Guest) State Park on the South Fork two weekends ago.  Yes, that was the Saturday with the biblical weather conditions that turned out to be a huge, and at times thrilling, factor in the race.  Shane and Andy were racing up front with Charlie and Sarah on the Odyssey/ImonPoint team and providing fantastic encouragement for us relative greenhorns.  Bryce was racing with Trakkers (and claiming he’s retiring to the farm) and rocking a new fu manchu look that seems to signify his transitional phase from civilian to full farmer.  And Michelle was racing as TeamHalfwayThere/Calleva with Dima in winning the first of what are likely to be many races in the two person coed division.  Lastly, we somehow managed to procure our very own cheering and support section thanks to the wonderful trio of Cathy, Elaine, and Paul!  You three are racing next!  Congrats to everyone on amazing performances and thanks for all the help!

raceface!

So as not to bury the lead, TeamHalfwayThere.com/Spokes, Etc./BermudaBriangle finished strong afer more than 22 hours of racing meaning both Barry and Kelly finished their first 24 hour races – congrats to two great teammates! Not to mention, a true top ten finish and eighth place in Coed Elite, not too bad for a couple of noobs.

We headed out from Falls Church in the world’s best race vehicle, the BAMV, midday Friday.  We’d already received an email from Mark Harris, the Race Director, letting us know the paddle had been cancelled due to the dangerous river conditions.  At the time, we all moaned and groaned that this was essentially turning the race into a road triathlon.  Well we could not have been more wrong as the scheduled Skyline drive road ride was also cancelled due to permitting issues with the National Park Service.  After receiving this news at check-in, I have to say up front the RD’s did a fantastic job switching to a backup course utilizing the roads on the North/West side of the river in the Fort Valley area between Shenandoah NP and GW Nat’l Forest.  In the end, this new bike leg turned the race into a significantly more serious Adventure Race feel as it now included more nav.

We don't need no stinkin' bridge!

Race started at 7:30 a.m. with light sprinkles providing a glimpse of the weather to come.  First up was a quick prologue out and back run of about 6k to pick up our passports.  We jogged lightly with Brian politely reminding me to take it easy (something he wouldn’t have to worry about long).  One unique thing in the race was the presence of a “challenge” at the central TA which turned out to be a bit of a brain-teaser/barrel-roll that you could do at any point in the race with the only caveat that no more than three teams could be on the challenge course at any one time.  Faster teams from the prologue had already staked out spots so we headed out on the first (new) bike leg.  Barry clipped in and immediately launched himself across the already flooded low-water bridge and we all had a blast following along while we passed teams wading it and carrying their bikes.  The new bike section “mostly” turned out to be a huge boost for us as a team, especially since we’d practiced our towing and all felt comfortable and because I’ve done quite a bit riding in this area so my confidence as a new navigator was high and ultimately justified.  We were zipping right along under threatening skies until Barry had a mechanical almost to the top of Edinburgh Gap where the Bonus (or sixth) CP was.  His chain had somehow lodged itself in between his chainrings and hub and despite a ton of yanking we couldn’t free it from the rivets.  But just when Kelly and I were getting desparate on creaky knees in the increasing rain, Brian came through with some wrench magic, freed the chain, threw on a universal link and we were off.  I gave a quick pep-talk about the long, cold road ride back over the mountain to the river (and may have slightly fudged the distance for morale’s sake) and we were off.  30 minutes later we just missed the shuttle at the river that had been procured for racers in lieu of the paddle.  Had to huddle under a tent for a half hour waiting for a shuttle, but it worked out as the heavens opened up for the next hour during which we were either under the tent or on the shuttle.  By the time we arrived back at the TA, things were fairly clear and we jammed right out for a 10k or so trek including another foot crossing back and forth of the rising-water bridge.  After a shower headed to the first of the two trekking points it cleared up as we came back into the TA so we decided to hit the challenge.  We were fresh, happy, relatively dry, and in running shoes so this was a good team decision.

Hilarity ensued with lots of polite yelling between me and Barry, grimacing from Kelly and laughing from Brian.  Despite getting dusted by another team and continuously mocked by Cathy and Paul, we got through it in one try and “quickly” rushed out to the last trek point.  I was really struggling with sore tendons behind my left knee but my teammates kept my spirits up and didn’t make me feel bad and we finished strong and picked up our points for the O-Course.  Kelly took over and used some expert QOC training to nail the plotting and then we gathered in the van to change clothes and plan our attack as the skies opened up again.  Needless to say, our timing was fortuitous again!  We then headed out on the O-Course right at dusk.  We knew we were well back from the leaders who were already out on the final bike leg, but we stayed strong, took our time, and ran our own race.  After some initial difficulty using the park trail map and a good decision to ditch it in favor of strictly using the topo map, this really paid off as we found 13 of the 20 CP’s on the O-course (and 13 of 14 we actually went for).  The top teams cleared it, but we were one of only two teams who didn’t clear it to get more than a handful of points.  Kelly and I teamed up in fine style to lead us around the park through the night.

Just after midnight, the highlight of the race occured!  One checkpoint was on the “tip of island,” as in tip of an island about 20 meters into the river.  Lead teams had arrived over six hours before us and waded across chest-deep water.  That alone would have been scary in the raging current, but when we arrived it was a flooded disaster area requiring a full-out whitewater swim,

CP Animal!

 complete with log and debris dodging and the risk of being swept into the wider river.  Barry never even thought twice while stripping to his tri-shorts, tying the passport in a drybag around his wrist and ordering us to light up the crossing.  Despite my strongest discouragement against the attempt he marched about 20 meters upstream and basically dove in and swam his ass off.  I was shitting bricks, but Barry was a monster and swam his ass off barely grabbing the island.  He got the checkpoint, walked back up the island and repeated the feat coming back.  It was AWESOME!  (in full Chris Farley “van by the river” voice) After that we attacked a few more points with renewed enthusiasm (including Barry again diving into a Degoba system type swamp for another CP) and then headed back to make sure we had enough time for what promised to be a sloppy and fairly tough mountain bike leg throughout the park trail system.  Our concern was validated, especially given that we encountered the inevitable low point that occurs in 24 hour races.  But again our team dynamic came through for us as we created a plan to get through the point and with some seriously badass mulework from Brian and Barry, we picked up all the CP’s and finished with a great homestretch with the sun coming up!

We weren’t the fastest or the most talented team, but I’d like to think we may have been a great example of the heart of the sport: hanging together as a team, overcoming all obstacles, and finishing your own race on your own terms.  Oh yeah, and generally having a great time playing in the woods!

Lastly, Kelly actually beat me in the “That’s What She Said Challenge.”

Thanks to three incredible teammates!  Can’t wait to go again!

See a lot of you at Wild Wonderful in May, TD

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The 4th Annual New Years Diet (well not really New Years but…) Newsletter

Sat Feb 5th 2011

12 hours- 9am start

Little Fort Recreation Area/Edinburg Gap VA

Race Details

This is a diet. There are no rules or gear list, no forms to sign or medical staff waiting to rescue you. But there are a few things we would like you to follow for your safety. You can do as little or as much of the course as you like. It’s a diet:) But to make things interesting we will post the results and may even have prizes!

You will be trekking/running, mountain biking and navigating. If we ever do this in warmer weather there will be a paddle but not for this one.

A cell phone and bike is the only mandatory piece of gear. We highly recommend a mountain bike due to the terrain you will be riding on. And a map and pen.

Emergency # 911

HQ Michelle 703-899-3664 Volunteer # to be provided

Edinburg Lee Ranger Forest Office # 540-984-4101 (please call last )

Please text message if you can’t get a signal

The Diet will start at the parking lot for the Little Fort Recreation Area near Woodstock Tower VA at 9am.

Check-in for maps/passport, etc will begin at 7am.

There will be a short pre race brief at 8:45am for safety and course questions.

For safety reasons please be prepared at check-in to provide us with a team leader name, # of teammates and car info.

The start and finish is located at the Little Fort Campground. There are 10 campsites that are free and open year round. You are welcome to camp out friday/sat night. The sites will be first come first serve. Each camp site has a fire pit. There is no potable water and the bathrooms may be closed due to winter. So please plan accordingly.

For safety reasons the course will close at 9pm. You will have 12 hours to complete the course and return to the finish. There is a bale out option and shorter course option.

Due to darkness and weather please make every effort to start your way back to the finish by 7pm. We do not want to come looking for you late into the night.

A race map provided by myTOPO will be avaliable to buy for $15.00 Each map costs $15 a piece from myTOPO.com and there will be one map per team.

This map will be avaliable at the check-in Sat morning. Please pay cash if possible.

We highly recommend you purchase and use the myTOPO map.

You will also receive a small map of the OHV Trail System that will help you.

All CP’s will be on the myTOPO map.

You may bring any other maps you want but they are not necessary.

All CP’s on the course are either manned by volunteers have pink flagging at the CP or a question to answer.

If a CP is manned please check-in with the volunteer.

If the CP has pink flagging with a word or a question write the answer down on the space provided on the passport.

When you are done and leaving please check in with Michelle or leave a note on her car 2004 Silver VW Jetta, so she doesn’t worry about you all night. Thanks!

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TeamHalfwayThere had a great showing at Odyssey’s Wild and Wonderful 24hr Adventure Race. Michelle was first for solo-females and 9th overall. Bryce, Christy, Lukas, and Todd finished 5th overall and 3rd in the co-ed elite division. A great weekend of racing in the gorge and another great race put on by Odyssey Adventure Racing. Colin Reusch and Chris Radcliffe of MadRaceMedia was there to capture the action as well.

Photo by Chris Radcliffe, Mad Race Media

Race Report by Bryce (and Lukas):

The race started out with a sweet whitewater trip, weather was awesome. We had 2 other 2 person teams in our boat, our team seemed to be the only people paddling. I couldn’t even look backwards at a couple of them, they were just talking and letting the water move their paddles. 2nd to last team off the water. Transitioned quickly and left mid pack.

On to the trek, destination to trek out of the gorge. We followed a trail that disappeared and then followed some orange tape (maybe not the best idea) until we realized we probably overshot it. We finally got to the point and were not in bad shape, a few others had some problems. Probably 20th team through. On to the next few points, Lukas guided us swiftly on to them without much problem. On the way we crossed paths with our solo teammate a few times. The last trekking point of this section was optional, we figured it would be best to get it in the daylight as we would probably not get to the others until dark. So we got it and TD got to go for a little dip. We headed back up to the TA and again transitioned pretty quickly, at this point we were in about 15th, slowly moving up.

On the bikes, Ronnie had been telling us that there was going to be a lot of MTB’ing and he wasn’t lying. We had our first climb out of the gorge which got the blood flowing and initiated some heavy breathing. Halfway up we took a trail which made it even more challenging. We hit all the points with a decent pace, slow but good for all the single track as it was tough and our legs were tired. We did have one injunction where the Odyssey directions didn’t fail to meet expectations. We stopped and contemplated for more than 30 minutes the interpretation of “all roads off limits including X, Y, Z” This, to us meant all roads are off limits including, XYZ. (By contemplated, Bryce means we argues heatedly…but it all worked out in the end.) Very tough decision as there was a road section of less than 1km to a fire road and then to the point in 30 minutes to the CP; or a trail that would take us 3 more hours and a sign on it that said no mountain biking. 30 seconds decided our fate, Ronny came to the rescue somehow before we embarked on our way. He read the rules and saw what it said and directed us on our way. We made it to the TA after another short climb in about 14th place.

Transitioned to a trek and we were on our way. This was going to be relatively straightforward trek through one of the many abandoned strip mines in WV. Turned out there were tons of trails and decisions. We moved at a good pace and and kept going, everyone was happy to be off the bikes (for now). Halfway through the trek we all ran out of water except for Lukas’s half empty water bottle that we rationed for the next 2-3 hours. We got to see some sweet overlooks and made it through the trail systems with no problem, catching and passing a few more teams. Got the the TA in about 12th place, another quick TA and back to the bike to head back to HQ for our last 3 legs: Mountain-bike time trial, Orienteering leg, and Bike-orienteering, leg.

So we left in about 12th place for what seemed to be a short and straight forward ride, but it seemed not to be for some teams as we left the TA in 12th and arrived in 4th. We got there and were sort of reenergized with the news of 4th…then we remembered we had a 13mile gnarly singletrack time trial at 2am. This was an awesome ride but the sleepiness, unsteady legs and dark/fog led to a slow and safe pace. We finished it in about 3 hours which we were happy with. Another quick TA and then plotted our next orienteering points which seemed straightforward but widely spaced.

We focused on getting the 2 mandatory points as this is all that time would allow. We made it to them at a pretty quick pace. We did have a run in with a serious set of stinging nettles at the first point, this was a good/maybe not so good wakeup call. Moved onto the next point where we had a run in with some serious thorns/briars along a power line. Quickly turned back and made good time on our way back to TA for the last section.

There were several points on the final bike leg but we knew that we only had time to acquire the two mandatory points. The first was at a radio tower and was a straightforward, but long climb to get. Then we had to ride back down through the start/finish area to a trail that would take us all the way down to the final CP. It was a wicked descent down in a narrow gorge. The point was nestled among some spectacular waterfalls. Of course, we had to climb back out of the gorge to get to the finish. After finishing in 23hrs and 19 minutes we showered up and had breakfast at ACE Adventure resort. Another great race in the books.

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Talented photographer Chris Radcliffe (Mad Race Media) took some incredible portraits at Endorphin Fix. Check them out and click on the pictures to see (and buy) full size images:

TeamHalfwayThere.com

TeamHalfwayThere.com/Rotten Cheeseburgers

ImOnPoint.org / Odyssey AR

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When one decides that they want to do an Adventure Race in Mid Jan in the mountains of North GA there is a certain understanding that the weather and conditions will more than likely not be favorable and that at some point during the race you will ask yourself WTF am I doing. But then 2 days later it all becomes clear and you realize there is not much else you would rather have been doing over the past weekend. 

And so we have the 2101 NGAR near Chatsworth Ga, in and around beautiful Fort Mountain State park. Too bad we never got to see the beauty of it, because for most of the race we could not see 10 feet in front of us

Todd, Victor and myself along with our awesome support crew Miguel and Kathy headed down to GA on Thursday. We stopped overnight in Knoxville and on the way out Friday morning decided to stop at Outdoor World at 9am when they opened to get a map we needed. This was the first time I had been to an Outdoor World and all I can say is WOW!! They are pretty impressive and huge. But it did not have the map we needed:( However the most exciting part of the the experience for me was the Starbucks right smack in the middle of Outdoor World! Yup you should have seem my face. The team said it was priceless. If only they had a photo. (For those of you who don’t know, I am a coffee snob and even though there is much better coffee than Starbucks, it is not off of 81 South in Knoxville TN). Off we went happy with coffee in hand:) 

We had plenty of time to relax and get our gear together by the time we checked in Friday afternoon and got our maps, etc. Back to the hotel we went to plot the course, get last minute things together and a good nights sleep. Once we had the course laid out here is what we were up against. 

Course overview:

Race started at the North Bank Recreation area with a 17 mile paddle. Racers will return to North Bank and head out on a 25 mile bike to the Windy Gap Cycle Trail Tralhead. On this leg they will stop by Fort Mountain (CP8) and see their support crews. At the Windy Gap Cycle Trail Trailhead they drop bikes and go on a 13 mile hike up to Grassy Mountain. We expect snowy/rainy/cold conditions on this mountain. After returning to the bikes, they will go through Mulberry Gap and up the Pinhoti trail, returning to Fort Mountain (Cp19). At Fort Mountain they will be given coordinates to a 10 mile, 10 point orienteering course on the Fort Mountain trails.

9 am race start at the Carter Lake Dam

The Prolouge: 

The prolouge to help spread out the paddle consisted of a run down and then up a nasty dirt road near the dam. It was over a mile with about 700 feet of climbing. Only one teammate could do it so Todd took it on. 

Leg 1 The Paddle and the only part of the race without rain, well maybe some rain but we were wet anyways… 

From the prolouge off we went on the paddle across Carter Lake. We had to hit CP’S 1-4  in order but had no limitation on how to get them (paddle or portage). As we crossed the lake to hit CP 1 it was windy but in general we had good conditions on the water. Our canoe Skinny Magic was great and very fast. Before the race started we were told there was a Bass Fishing tournament going on that day so we would see a lot of boats out on the lake. Great!!

We had several portage options on the paddle and most teams cut off quite a bit of paddling by portaging from CP 1 to 2 and then from CP 4 back to CP 5 and the TA. We decided to do both portages which included carrying the boat up and down several hills through the woods, etc. Overall I think most teams saved about an hour of paddling if they chose the portage. 

TA 1 Transition to Bike. 

By the time we got off the water about 4 hours later it had started to rain so we got some warm clothes on, bundled up, got some hot food and off we went on the first big bike leg to CP’S 6-8 and Fort Mountain State Park. This first bike leg was by far the most enjoyable of the race as it was light out and not to cold even with light rain falling. Most of the roads were paved until we hit the Pebbles Fire Rd and started the climb to CP 7. On the climb we passed about 10 teams and we were feeling really good. We found the trail connector off the fire road that we needed to take and hit CP 7. From there we really started the climb up the mountain to the main road and into the park. The navigation was not that hard and we made the right turn on the single track trail we needed to follow up to the road. From what we heard later several teams missed the turned and ended up hitting the road further down from the park entrance. That part of the road was forbidden to travel on but oh well. By this point the trails had enough mud on them to make the trail up to the road unrideable so it was a bike a hike. 

Into CP 8  and a quick stop with our support crew to refuel and get our packs ready for the real start of the race and over 12 hours out on the course overnight. From CP 8 we continued on the bike to hit CP’S 9-11. These CP’S were in the park and the MB was great except for wet and muddy trails and fire roads. We hit  CP 10 by dark put on our lights and started the down hill out of the park. This is when the rain really started to fall and by the time we got into CP11 and the bike drop we were pretty wet and cold.

Bike Drop at CP11 and start of the Trekking Leg 

We had 3 CP’s to hit on the trek 12-14 and then back to CP 15 and the bike drop. Before heading out we got dry, had some soup that the race TA volunteers had made and stood by the fire for a bit before heading out. We knew it would be a long trek with a lot of elevation gain (about 2500 feet of gain to CP 13 alone) and as we hit CP 12 at the end of a long dark fireroad we made a stategic decision to skip the next two CP’S and head back to the bikes. With the time it would take to get 13 and 14  as well as the physical toll it would take with the conditions, we decided we would rather try for all of the 10 O-points at the end of the race instead of going for 2 more trekking points, and risk not having enough time at the end of the race to do the O-course. At this point it was raining harder, we were freezing, soaking wet and just plain miserable. So we slogged back to the bikes 3 hours later not looking forward to a long, cold and wet ride. Our strategy would work in our favor at the end as we had plenty of time to do the O-course and pick up several more CP’S than many teams that did the whole trekking leg. 

Final Bike Leg CP’S 16-19 

The final bike leg out of CP 15 was a long, wet, muddy slog up and over several mountains back to Fort Mountain State Park and our support crew. We had to hit CP’S 16-18. The ride was long but our spirits were lifted when we got to CP 16 at Mulberry Gap. The CP was at a warm lodge with lot’s of hot food, chips, soda, cookies, a hot oven stove, and the best bathrooms I have every been to in a race. They really were awesome. The women’s bathroom had showers and a heater that I sat down in front of for a good 10 minutes. But back to reality and off we went up a single track trail and the mountain to CP 17. The ride to CP 18 was downhill on a fireroad/trail/ATV trail. It was so foggy and dark it was hard to see and thankfully Victor was able to take the lead with his lights and guide us safety downhill. Although I did have one small crash but thanks to a soft and muddy ground I was fine. We got through CP 18 and CP 19 and finished off the bike leg just as daylight hit around 7am. 

Final leg the O-Course 

The final section of the race was a 10 mile 10 point rogaine O-Course. We did not get the points until we started the section. We had an option of plotting the points right away and heading out or we could wait 1 hour and copy the points in 3 minutes off of a master map. We decided to take the hour to get some hot food and get dry. Once we were ready to go Victor copied the 10 points in literally 3 minutes and we were off. We had 6 hours to get all 10 points and finish by the 3pm cut-off. At this point the rain had still not let up and in fact it was raining harder than ever. The wind was also picking up and the fog was even worse on the course. They were not easy points to get even in clear weather and we had a lot of land to cover. We decided to call it a race after getting 5 points. We made our way back to CP 29 and the finish a little after 2pm. 29 hours later. 

Overall we had a great race, and I think we exceeded our expectations especially with our placement. As the first race of the year we went into it for the race experience as we get ready for the year ahead.  It was a tough race and many teams called it a day much earlier. But we pushed through and as long as we felt good and were in good spirits we never let the conditions get to us. Victor and Todd were both great teammates as usual. This was Todd’s first 30 hour and he did a fantastic job. Very impressive. He never complained once, and I am pretty sure he has the full on racing bug:) 

Once again thanks to our awesome support Miguel and Kathy without whom this race would have been very different. 

Thanks to our canoe sponsor Barry and his newly named red canoe Skinny Magic, named after a sign we saw for drugs in Chatsworth GA. Not kidding. 

Thanks to Shane and his team for their help and support as well. 

Until next time……………

The Rotten Cheeseburgers

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