Author's Note: While normally a regular member of the Mountain Khakis/Rev3 Adventure racing team, I decided to race in the solo category for most of 2011 due to an extremely busy travel schedule with my job in the US Air Force. It was a great year for both me and the MK/Rev3 team, finishing off with a team 1st place points win in the United States Adventure Racing Association competition and my 1st place points win in the Checkpoint Tracker competition for 2011. This is a race report of my final solo race of the year.
The Checkpoint Tracker National Championship is an annual expedition-distance race held every fall. It's used to finalize the year-long points race and to determine the best single-race teams/soloist of the year in an epic contest involving trekking, mountain biking, and paddling over difficult terrain for up to 30 hours with no stopping. The location and race director changes each year. In 2011 we ended up in beautiful Between the Lakes Kentucky and were lucky enough to have Jason Elsnraat from Bonk Hard Racing as the host.
The race followed the following format:
1) Trek 3 miles getting 3 points at Lake Barkley Resort State Park (the start/finish of the race)
2) Paddle approximately 6 miles across Lake Barkley to the dam at Energy Lake in the Land Between the Lakes Recreation Area
3) Complete a 40km Orienteering course, majority of this was bushwhacking (few trails/roads) and in hilly forest
4) Paddle about 8 miles from Energy Lake to Honker Lake, getting a checkpoint in Jake Ford Bay along the way
5) Trek carrying your paddling gear approximately 2 miles
6) Bike...all over the place. About half fire road, about half technical single track. All hilly! 30-40 miles?
7) One "mystery" challenge checkpoint
8) More epic biking about 20-30 miles...to get even more check points and then backtrack to the paddle point at Energy Lake (boats were transported for us)
9) Paddle 6 mile to the finish line
Here is a brief summary of my adventures:
Never trust a race director! This was supposed to start as a trek, but at the last minute we were told that instead we would be getting in our boats and paddling around two buoys in the lake. It looked like a very short paddle. So we grabbed our life jackets and paddles, hopped in our boats and started at a full sprint. He didn't tell us that the wooden swimming area floats were still in the water, and just barely obscured by the morning fog. "Whack! Whack!" as 70 canoes and kayaks ran into the 2-foot long pieces of wood strung across the water. As a soloist, I was allowed to bring my personal kayak to this race vs. using the provided canoe. Unfortunately I was the only one with a fixed rudder, and I got flipped over and took a swim.
Hopping in my kayak to start the race!
30 seconds into a 30-hour race. Completely soaked. 40 degrees outside. And the race photographer had it all on film...awesome!
And promptly falling out!
Hopping back in my boat, I finished the short "prologue" paddle in the back of the pack and started on the short trekking section. The first checkpoint was a real bugger to find, and I was a bit shaken up by the unscheduled swim. I finally found it, then nailed the other two points to finish this section at the back end of the pack. It's never a good sign when you head to a transition area and see that most of the boats or bikes are already gone, especially in the first hour of a long race. But with lots of race left I knew there was plenty of opportunity to catch up. And warm up!
Careful to paddle slowly back over the wooden buoys, I then began to capitalize on my secret weapon. A Surfski from Epic Kayaks, my boat was by far the fastest one on the water. Originally designed for lifeguards to quickly paddle out into rough surf and save a distressed swimmer, they Surfski is very narrow, 17 feet long, and a Ferrari of kayaks. In that relatively short 6 mile paddle I passed at least 9 other teams. Normally teams of 2 or more in a boat should have an advantage over a solo paddler. But my Surfski did more than equalize, and my spirits greatly improved as I rose in the rankings.
Looking over the race course the night before, I had determined that the next section would be the deciding factor for the overall winners of the race. A very difficult orienteering course over heavily wooded hills, the kind that without a pace count and accurate compass azimuth one reentrant looks just like another and you...are...suddenly...lost. This stage also had a 10-hour time limit, so any team that did not find all the checkpoints in time would have to continue with no chance to "clean" the course and thus fall behind in the rankings of any teams who found more checkpoints in the race.
Plotting points on the 40km Orienteering Course
Now most normal, sane people would read that last paragraph and really hone in on the "40K" and "10 hour time limit" portions. Whoa...that's like running a marathon, entirely through the woods, with a 20lb pack, up and down hills, constantly following your movements with a map and compass, and moving constantly for up to 10 hours. Well, obviously we don't run the entire thing. We do run most of it though!
The euphoria that I experienced as I checked out of this section in just under 9 hours with a full punch card made up for all the hours and hours of training. If you have never done something this hard, you just would not understand. Only a few teams got all of the control points on this section.
Big smile as I "cleaned" the 40km orienteering course
Night snuck up as I transitioned back to the paddle, and I enjoyed a very quiet and private leg to the next transition area. The stars were out in force, and with no large cities nearby the view was spectacular. Armed with probably the most powerful headlamp ever made, a Lupine from Gretna Bikes, I had the equivalent of a car headlight to help guide me and the battery power to go 12 hours before needed a recharge.
Most of the other teams had finished closer to the 10-hour point on the orienteering course, a full hour behind me. I had made up for my rough start and put some distance on the pack, finally up front with the fastest teams!
Until I stopped...dead in the water. Evidently the water level in lake Barkley was lower than normal, and the sandbars that are so easy to spot in full daylight are completely invisible at night with a headlamp. And there were LOTS of sandbars. I ended up dragging my kayak in about 2 inches of water for over a mile. The bottom was a soft sandy mud, just thick enough to rise up to your ankle and suck your foot in with every step, really energy draining. And did I mention it was hovering just above freezing??
Finally arriving at the transition to a short trek, I wanted nothing more than to go as fast as possible. The next checkpoint had a bonfire and the 2nd half of our maps and checkpoints to plot. In my hurry I missed the trail head, and ended up going the long way around a small lake adding a mile to my cold and miserable jog.
Finally at the fire, I joined several other racers in stripping down and getting as close to the fire as possible without becoming human barbecue. It looked like a sauna with all of the steam coming off our now rapidly heating shoes, socks, jackets, and gloves. Good thing there were not children around, as we were showing more skin than a soft-core porn flick!
After taking a full hour to warm up, eat, and plot the next half of the race points I headed out on a very, very long mountain bike ride. Most race directors will avoid mountain biking during the early hours of the morning, between 2 am and 6 am, when your mind is sluggish and sleep deprivation is strongest. It is very easy to make a mistake that, while riding a mountain bike at 20+ mph, will lead to a crash and injury. But this is nationals...toughest race of the year!
So...I crashed. A lot. And missed turns at trail intersections. And had optical illusions of animals in the middle of the trail and rocks where there were none or didn't see rocks when they were right in front of me. Typical things your mind will do as it gets tired. Racing as a soloist, by far the hardest part is dealing with these issues at night by yourself. Fortunately I linked up with a friendly 4-person team "Yoga Slackers". We rode together on a single track trail for an hour or two and their conversation helped get me through those difficult hours.
Lots and lots of mountain biking. Some fantastic single track trails...and SO MANY HILLS! I was very glad to be riding top-end racing bike, the BikesDirect Team Fly Titanium. Bullet-proof titanium frame and a full Shimano XTR group made for a lightweight, extremely reliable bike. Exactly what is needed in these conditions!
I finally arrived at the "mystery checkpoint." Racers were presented with a challenge: A checkpoint was located across a lake, and you were required to get to the checkpoint and back. The catch: You had to use a handful of swimming pool "noodles" (long Styrofoam-like floaties), PVC pipe, and duct tape to get across the lake. An ambulance and several paramedics were standing by and one racer who had attempted the lake crossing was sitting by the fire. Evidently he had been sitting by the fire for about 2 hours...still trying to warm up after falling in the lake. As I was already cold and wet, the outside temps were in the upper 30s and the sun was not up yet, I elected to skip this checkpoint. It was the only one I missed during the race.
The sun came up as I grabbed the last mandatory checkpoints at the furthest possible distance from the start/finish line. Now I was looking at a very long bike back along the same harsh single track I had ridden last night, followed by a 6 mile paddle back to the finish line. If my calculations were correct, I would have just enough time to make it back...or be disqualified if I was late! It is amazing that, no matter how long you race in an expedition length event, once you know you are heading for the finish line you have extra reserves of energy that are just incredible. I flew along the bike trails and made it to the paddle transition about 30 minutes faster than I thought possible.
Paddling into the finish line
Grabbing my kayak and feeling good with the race finish only 6 miles away, I ran into one of my teams also completing their race. Team Florida Xtreme had not gotten as many checkpoints as I had (they didn't clear the orienteering course), but were making a great showing and capping off an impressive season. We paddled back to the finish line together. As there were no teams in front or close behind us, we enjoyed a leisurely (for adventure racing) time together for the final miles and traded stories about how difficult and beautiful a race venue we were blessed to find ourselves in this year.
Finished with the race, I was excited...for a nap!
Crossing the finish line around the 29:30:00 mark, I found out that I was the 2nd place male soloist and 9th place overall. I had also defended my place as the #1 soloist for 2011 in the points race. I was thrilled, but after 30+ hours with no sleep, constant motion, and covered with grime I many not have shown it on my face.
At the awards banquet...check out those sexy MK pants!
Another great result for team Mountain Khakis/Rev3 Adventure! Thanks to my sponsors, Mountain Khakis, Lupine Lights, Epic Kayaks, BikesDirect and the many others that made this moment possible.
And thanks to my biggest fan, supporter, cheer leader, and photographer: Diane!
~Dash
@rev3adventure.com
No comments:
Post a Comment