Thunder Rolls

Thunder Rolls 24hr

August 24, 2013

Mt Carroll, IL

Rev3/MK Racers: Dusty Reppuhn, Greg Voelkel, Britt Mason

Race Report by: Britt Mason

In August, Dusty and Greg flew in to join me for Thunder Rolls in northwestern Illinois. I had done this race once before and knew it was a great one to come back to. It would also be a little reunion of sorts for the 3 of us since we’d raced Sea2Sea together earlier in the year. The top teams in the Midwest, including WEDALI, Bushwacker, and Alpine Shop, would all be there, making for some solid competition. This would be Greg’s last hurrah before his deployment, and we were ready to rock!

The race is always a midnight start, so we arrived at Camp Benson in Mt Carroll in the afternoon so Dusty could try her hand at ascending once before race time. She got the technique down quickly and flew right up the rock face during the race. After ropes practice, we threw some post race gear in the great cabins that were provided for us and got check in out of the way. We all received The North Face day packs as swag this year. Not too shabby! Greg arrived a little later due to a flight delay, and we started our gear shuffle before heading to the pre-race dinner and brief.

At the brief, we received the course layout and 8 1:24k maps that comprised most of the bike portions, the paddle, and the “advanced course” at the end of the race that contained a trek and extra bike points. All of the points were mandatory except the advanced section. During the race, we would also receive 2 pre-plotted LIDAR maps for the O courses. As we settled in to plotting and route planning, Dusty goes, “I don’t have any bike shoes.” Scrambling ensued. Turns out both of Alpine Shops ladies, Emily and Carrie, were on injured reserve and would spend the weekend cheering and spectating. They gladly offered up shoes, and Dusty found a pair that fit. Thank you Alpine Shop! They’re a great group of folks. Crisis averted.

Trek 1/Ropes

At midnight, we were off! Ran to get our map for the 8-point O course that included an ascent, rappel, and coasteering section. We chose to do the points in order, as it would take us to the furthest point first, and we would pass through the ropes section on the way towards the paddle. Some teams chose to do ropes first, which added distance. In the end, we came out almost at the same time, even though we waited in a long line at the ascent. After the ropes section, we grabbed a CP in a cave and leap frogged each other inside so we could all punch our required wristbands in the close quarters. Then on to the coasteering section (walking between the banks of the Wakarusa River) even though we’d already been walking through the river quite a bit. Got turned around for a moment and Bushwacker passed us. Also saw my bro’s 3 male team for the last time. At the bridge, we hit the road for a 3k run to the paddle put in.

Paddle

We hit the TA in 4^th place and were eager to get on the water. (Apparently too eager.) Dusty and I took the boat to riverbank. Dusty yells, “Don’t push!” Too late. I shoved her off what was apparently an 8-10 ft drop off right into the river. Who’s up for a late night swim? It wouldn’t be our last. The 8-10 mile paddle was full of log jams that required portaging. Greg has impressive steering skilz with a wing blade, and the 3 of us work well on the water together. We made a few bold moves and chose to get out and swim several times to reduce portage time. We passed Midwest Mountaineering at a log jam and Bushwacker at another, eventually hitting the take out in 2^nd place. The paddle left us wet and very cold, and we spent some extra time in TA adding layers. Here we received a new map of the Mississippi Palisades that contained “bike-o” and trek points.

Bike/Trek

The bike-o leg was really a section where you biked to a spot you wanted to drop your bikes, then grabbed a few points on foot, then got back on and rode to another location. All biking was on roads. Strategic in that you could get a handful of points or just 1 depending on where you dropped your bike. Greg and Dusty got their first glimpse of Illinois hills here. Because of the bike-o format, we put some miles in on foot in our bikes shoes, and Dusty’s were a size big. (Last time someone forgets those!) Greg’s shoes were literally coming apart at the seams by the end of this leg. We got through the section with no major problems, but Bushwacker gained an hour+ on us here. Impressive! As we rolled into TA, Greg decided to bunny hop the curb and dismounted in spectacular fashion, eating it right in front of the photographer. The action shots are priceless. If it weren’t for copyright infringement, I’d show you. The team’s mood was very light as we moved through TA and sampled the cold Monster and watermelon slices.

Trek2

Continuing through the Palisades, we had a ~6k trek for a few more points. There was no shortage of stinging nettle and briars throughout the course! When we returned to the bikes, we were solidly in 3^rd place. There was very little water out on the course, and we did not know if/when we would see some again, so we filled up in the campground prior to leaving.  Water would be a problem for many teams late in the race.

Bike 1

Gravel ride to the “advanced” trek, picking up a few points on the way. It was a sunny day, and temps were starting to climb.

Trek 3

More trekking?! I believe we were on foot for almost 2/3 of the race. For this section, points were on the 1:24k map in a section of woods that was a jumble of reentrants. The nav was very challenging, with so many reentrants not quite large enough to show up on the map and others close together that appeared to run the same direction, but Greg rose to the occasion. At one point, Bushwacker dumped back onto the road to reattack a point because they got so turned around. We came close to that but managed to regain our bearings in the woods and bag the CP. At this point, we were still in 3^rd with no signs of any teams chasing us.

Bike 2/Finish

30-35 miles of hilly gravel, picking up both advanced and mandatory CPs enroute to the finish. Almost out of water, we found a spigot at a rural golf course and took full advantage. Best tasting rusty water we had all day! Nothing a little SweetWater can’t fix. Back on the bike, as we started up a long climb, Greg pulled up beside me and said, “We’ve got company.” Having not seen anyone for hours, we were surprised. It could have been a 12 hour team or a team not clearing the course. Regardless, we didn’t want to get passed so late in the race. We had taken our time in transition and at the golf course, and now it was time to pick up the pace. Later, as I was punching a CP, that team was pulling up to the CP. I didn’t wait to see who it was, but it sure looked like WEDALI. Game on! Time to hammer. We pushed hard for the next 10-15 miles, and between the heat and the hills, we were all on the verge of bonking. We backed it off to recover then made our way to the finish. Back at Camp Benson, we were greeted by RD Gerry Voelliger, where we learned we officially finished 2^nd behind Bushwacker. Alpine Shop had missed CP37 and not punched their wristbands in the cave. WEDALI crossed the finish line 12 minutes after we did. Turns out they were the team chasing us. They bounced back from a rough start to make it exciting.

A big thank you goes out to Gerry and the rest of High Profile Adventures for putting on a fantastic race. The volunteers were first class, and the race went off without a hitch. I also want to give a shout out to Emily and Carrie of Alpine Shop for lending us their shoes and for being super fans in TAs all over the course. It’s always nice to see a familiar face out there rooting you on! As always, thanks to my teammates, Greg and Dusty, for an incredible adventure and great memories out there.  Next up, the USARA Championship in October. Stay safe on your deployment, Greg!