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.

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.

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.