For all the years I spent growing up and going to school in NY, I’ve never gotten a chance to do an adventure race there. When new Checkpoint Zero teammates Jen Shultis and Joe Brautigam asked me to join them for the Longest Day, I jumped at the chance. I’d get to see my family and race in a new part of the country.

Organized by the New York Adventure Racing Association, The Longest Day is one of their premier events, and usually pull out all the stops to make a challenging, but fun and memorable course. Suffice to say, racers this year were not disappointed.

In a move that breaks with the trend of most races I’ve done, there was no day before registration and no plotting. I like this for several reasons. It makes for a relaxing evening before the race, opportunity to get a decent amount of sleep the night before, as well as taking away the persistent problem many races have, bad UTM’s in the instructions. There has been some debate amongst racers whether plotting, and plotting on or off the clock should be an adventure racing discipline. I lean towards making teams plot, but if giving out pre plotted maps eliminated bad UTM’s, I’d certainly vote for it.

At 4:30 AM we rose from our sleep, packed our gear into the cars and made the short trip from our hotel to Belleayre ski area for registration and the start. Being a bit of a stranger to the north east race scene, I saw a few familiar faces, but by the conversations it was clear Jen and Joe knew pretty much everyone. After getting the maps we were given about an hour to look at the maps, figure out a route, and digest the rules. Some quick re-shuffling of gear and we were set to begin.

We were given envelopes with prologue maps and instructions, consisting of two identical sets of topo maps, satellite photos, and passports. We were told the team could split up, and collectively we had to visit all 9 prologue points. Joe and I quickly split the points and took off in opposite directions, leaving Jen at the start, as nothing said the whole team had to go anywhere. I think we were the only team that did that. At the last point I visited, I had the first of several minor accidents of the race. As I stepped off a road and into the woods I slipped and instinctively put my had down to catch myself. As I regained balance and brought my hand up I felt a sharp pain right between my pinky and ring finger. I looked, and there was part of a stick, about the diameter of a match, poking out of my hand! I tried to extract it with my other hand, but it broke off, and I could feel what was left in my hand.

Running back to the start line I was hollering for some tweezers. I wiped away the blood that was now trickling down my fingers and presented my wound to Jen. She poked around for a second and asked “Is there really something in there?” Knowing the clock was ticking, I answered rather impatiently, “Yes, I know there is something in there!” It’s not that she was taking her time, it was that we had a race to run and I didn’t want to blow it right off the bat. With several pairs of tweezers, one holding back the flap of skin, the other digging into the soft flesh of my hand, I felt Jen grab what was in there and I told her to pull hard. TOo much adrenalin to feel any pain. What came out was a (relatively) huge chunk of branch about a 1/4″ long!

Now having spared us a trip to the hospital, we started the race. There was a quick bike orienteering section at the ski area that confused most of the teams as there were a maze of trails both shown and not shown. This was followed by a hike a bike to the top, and a ride back down the mountain. Along the way I had the second of my little accidents, this time getting my front wheel stuck in a little ditch which unsurprisingly sent me over the handle bars, jamming a seat into my thigh before landing in a patch of stinging nettles. Good times, I felt it the rest of the race and have a massive yellow and purple bruise on the inside of my leg as I type. A short road ride and we made it to the first transition. Here we got on foot and got our one mandatory, and 3 optional checkpoints before getting to one of the highlights of the race, the rafting section.

Wild ride on the Esopus Creek

The rafting was on Esopus Creek, which most of the time is fairly tame, but there had been a water release starting the evening before which turned sections of the river into fairly technical class 2 and 3 white water. We were given 10′ white water rafts, PFDs and paddles and sent on our way. None of the three of us were terribly experienced white water paddlers so we spent the first few minutes bouncing off, over, and around every rock in the river. As our boat started to fill with water, we tried to bail some of it out with little success. Once we had a foot of water in the raft we knew we had to pull over and dump it. Have you ever tried to dump a raft with that much water in it? It isn’t easy if you don’t know what you are doing. We finally managed to tilt the raft upright and got most of the water out, when Joe spotted his bladder hose from the bottom side of the raft. How could that be visible? Probably had something to do with the 10″ L-shaped tear in the bottom of the boat. We realized there would be no more bailing for us and we’d have to make the rest of the trip water logged.

Unfortunately for us, this all happened right before the most technical section of the river, and the part that had the most spectators. Somehow we made it through without looking like total fools, although maybe we did look like fools and the kayakers were kind enough not to point it out. Further downstream we did come across a mandatory portage that was manned by two volunteers. We convinced them to let us swap boats with them as theirs was sea worthy and they didn’t have to paddle any more.

Still smiling at the end of it!

By early afternoon we were off the river and back on the bikes for a ride, or rather a climb, to the next trek. Even though the net elevation gain in the race was zero, it felt like 3/4′s of the race was spent going up hill. The second trek had a time limit on it, which meant we missed most of the points available there before getting to the best part of the race. The zip line. This was no ordinary zip line, only the longest and highest in North America. At a height of 500 feet above the ground, and reaching speeds of up to 50 miles per hour, this was by far the coolest ropes section I’ve ever done in any race so far. If you ever get a chance to go to Hunter Mountain, check it out.

After the zip line, it was a mere formality to trek back down the mountain and ride to the finish line. We finished in second place behind SOG, who were amazingly fast and certainly deserved the win. I can safely say this event was probably my favorite of the year so far, and it will be hard to top. I can only hope that I have a chance to go race it again next year.

The approach to Hanging Rock State Park

Heading into the end of May, there were several races at stake. Not only were there several adventure races, but the race for Checkpoint Tracker Points was on, with the leader at the end of the month heading to Canada for the Ultimate XC.

Our season started off with several disappointing races, most notably a DNF at the Endorphin Fix. Looking at t he races left, and polling the team for their interest, we decided to not worry about racing for points, and rather just do a few events that sounded fun. That’s how we wound up at the Isoseries Yuki Joy Adventure Race.

We’d seen this race advertized last year and heard good reviews. It also provided a closer option than heading all the way up to WV for the Wild Wonderful, which was where we figured the points series would be decided.

On the drive to the event from Atlanta, the heavens opened up and started dumping rain. The kind of rain that makes you reconsider what you’re about to do. Nonetheless, we pushed on and arrived at the check in just as a large U-Haul came rumbling out of the camping area. Had we gotten there any earlier, we’d have gotten to help free it from the mud hole it was stuck in.

View from one of the very scenic CP's

With the camping area looking more and more like a rice paddy, we were preparing to sleep in our cars for the night when Paul got the idea to sleep in the back of the U-Haul. Why not? Plenty of space to spread out and we hoped there wouldn’t be any leaks. The only bad part about sleeping there was since it was parked right on the road, every car that went by in the night reverberated like rush hour traffic in a tunnel, but at least we stayed dry.

Waking several hours before dawn, we rushed to prepare packs for the race and I hustled to make it to the very short pre race meeting. Unlike several weeks before at Atomic, it was short and to the point. The passports were handed out and then Todd, the race director, said somewhat unceremoniously, “time to go”. Most of the teams, us included, weren’t really prepared and we all scattered like cockroaches caught in a flashlight beam to find the rest of our teams and gear and get moving.

The race itself was split up nicely, a quick bike to a decently long paddle. Once off of the paddle it was back on the bikes where we hit a very nice stretch of single track. Race directors take note, anytime you can squeeze single track into a race, please do. It was one of the highlights of the race. Once off the bikes, we hit the real gem of the event, the trekking section around Hanging Rock State Park. If you’ve never been, I highly suggest it as it is a beautiful park and has miles of great trails, scenic views, rock climbing, bouldering, camping, and I’m sure other attractions we didn’t have time to stop and see. Be sure to check out our photo gallery from the race for other highlights.

Racing back to the start finish line, we were the first team to arrive. Shortly after other teams started to come in and were all treated to a weenie roast. I know hot dogs aren’t the best thing for you, but something about them tastes so good after pushing yourself for 12 hours. Or maybe that was just the hunger talking.

Paul punching a scenic CP that proved elusive to many teams.

With 50 more points to add to our Checkpoint Tracker Series total, we had to wait out the weekend to see the results of Wild Wonderful. We found out that Trakkers squeezed out a win over Roc Gear, but because of the way raced are weighted, we ended up edging Trakkers out for the top spot at the end of the month.

Now we’re packing our bags and headed to the great white north to see how much pain and suffering the Ultimate XC can put forth. I can’t say I’m thrilled about a 34 mile paddle, but it should build character, or at least that’s what I’m telling myself. Stay tuned for post stage reports and photos.

The Odyssey Endorphin Fix has carved quite a reputation for itself over the years. It’s become known as a no nonsense suffer-fest measured in vertical feed of elevation gain and, unfortunately, for obscurely worded rules subject to individual interpretation. The 2010 edition was no exception on both fronts.

This year saw what was likely the strongest field of adventure racing athletes assembled at one race outside of Nationals. In addition to bragging rights, being able to say you’d tamed E-Fix, this race was worth 200 Checkpoint Tracker points, consequently there was a lot on the line.

And on the line we stood, awaiting the Start which was set for 2 pm Friday afternoon at Camp Bluestone in West Virginia. Ahead lay 50 hours of the “toughest race in the country”.

Did I mention it just started snowing moments before…this just keeps getting better.

We arrived knowing that this wasn’t just any race, it was E-Fix, an unsupported trial of suffering and pain. We’d read in the weeks leading up to the race that the area had seen 20 inches of snow and the rivers were flooded rivers. Spring seemed a long ways off.

Was this insanely difficult race about to become event more difficult?

After arriving late Thursday night we awoke to grey skies on Friday and had breakfast with the other teams at the beautiful Camp Bluestone. We spent the rest of the morning gathering gear, picking up our maps and plotting the ~200 miles of race course. After the race briefing there was little time to make final preparations before the Start.

To separate the pack we were sent on a short single track prologue (this was really the only single track we ever saw….really I should of brought my road bike) then up a hill and back to Bluestone where we ditched our bikes and begin the first trek.

We were 2nd out of the TA on that first trek and quickly started making our way to the various trekking points. We were joined off and on by EMS, Bones, Tecnu and a few others. This section went by relatively easy with the only big decision being whether to continue down the river back to camp or up and over a hill. It appears most of the leading teams went up and over the hill.

Back at the Bluestone TA we were given the next set of paddle/trek points which should have been a clue as to what that section would be like. After a short portage down to the lake we were paddling to drop our bikes after securing them in the boat. Packing bikes in boasts is something most race directors avoid, but for some reason Ronny seems to love it.

We dropped our bikes right at dusk and continued our paddle, thankful to have left them behind. The fading light and fast moving “lake current”, yes moving water in a lake, made it very difficult to paddle. We decided to ditch the boats and run to get the mandatory and some of the optional points. Looking back on this we should have blown off most if not all of the optional points. However, at the time our thinking was that we would be one of the few teams to ‘clear the course’…so off we went. Between the fog, a few creatively placed points, and the strong current, we lost precious time and had to leave this section around dawn having left a few optional points out there.

After paddling back downstream…in the lake…yes the lake…we left our canoes to begin biking. The lake shore was a sloppy mess of mud, and when I say mud I mean mud. Past your knees and up to your waist in some places…and it stank…bad.

After reassembling our bikes, in the mud, we rode off to collect points on the way to Pipestem SP. This was last year’s Start/Finish. It was good to be in familiar territory. Along the way we hit a convenience store that provided us with great sausage-n-egg biscuits and coffee for a mid morning pick me up. This section was an O-Course with mandatory & optional points. Teams had to be checked out by 4pm or else get “short coursed”.

Remember that phrase.

The weather on Saturday was brilliant after a day of rain and snow on Friday followed by cold temps Friday night and into Saturday morning. We cleared all the points at Pipestem and rode off back towards our boats. Along the way Michele had serious a mechanical on her bike. She broke a spring in her derailleur. That woman doesn’t know how strong her legs are. Seriously, it was just a random, unfortunate act of God.

Not being able to fix it we considered all our options including a DNF. Several teams stopped to offer genuine assistance as we stood there scratching our heads. However, with a downhill to the TA, and our mud clogged boats, we were able to coast down to the river. When we got there we heard that nuun-SportMulti had dropped out of the race due to a sick teammate. We quickly called HQ to see if we could borrow Jenn Rinderle’s bike from nuun-SportMulti…afterall, they’d borrowed Jenn from us for this race :-)

This worked a treat and we paddled down the river, I mean lake, and met Jenn half way to switch bikes and continue on to the next TA. This is a really good example of the great friends we have in this sport. Even though rivals, there is always a willingness to assist each other.

At the next TA we assemble our bikes, again, on what was now Saturday evening and a setting sun. A haiku for race volunteers got us each a brownie that was well received. The one I composed cannot be repeated here. Then off we went into the setting sun and MORE road biking. I did bring a mountain bike didn’t I?

We reached Camp Creek SP around 11pm, feeling the effect of over 30 hours without sleep and cold temps. We completed most of this ride with team ImONPoint, but did put some distance between them towards the end. This is amazing considering we were all having some serious issues with the sleepmonster by this point. I was having visions of characters running around my feet again.

We decided on a 15 minute nap which really never happened with the cold biting at us as we lay on the frigid ground. We left the TA on foot to collect the mandatory and as many optional points as we could and still be back to that same TA by 2am.

This is where it all gets a little cloudy.

Between misreading/misinterpreted the rules we didn’t make the 2am cut off and found ourselves being “short coursed”.

There’s that phrase again.

This rule confusion was about to catch a few teams out, including some of the top contenders, but the fact is we we’re the ones that didn’t read rules properly. Upon reflection we should have spent less time on optional points early in the race.

Having been “short coursed” it was back to the boats…the exact same way we had just ridden to get to the park. This left us less than enthused about continuing. When we considered that we weren’t going to get the invaluable Checkpoint Tracker points we were hoping for, coupled with a teammate dealing with a deteriorating foot and general unhappiness with the overall race, we decided to drop.

Yes, drop and hang out by the camp fire at the TA while we waited for a ride back to the finish line. This was a long, cold, 4 hour wait punctuated by other teams returning to the TA to discover their fate was the same as ours, a long ride back to their boat.

We thought that route could be best described as “the longest out-n-back ever”.

We finally got a ride back with Ronny , with our bikes, only to have to turn around and drive back…again…to get our boats. Our good friends nuun offered insistently to go get our boats, but we refused. After all that we were back to Camp Bluestone to clean an load gear, grab a shower and take a nap before the long ride home.

There has been a lot discussion, debate and even a little angst over this race. While there is something to be said for letting the dust settle, or in this case the mud, there appear to be some valid concerns regarding certain things. Only time will tell if passion and energy will be translated into changes next time around.