Charlie Kharsa, Matt Hayes, Mari Chandler, and Kyle Peter of Team Tecnu Extreme/StaphAseptic were off to Covington Virginia for the 2010 Equinox Traverse 2 day adventure race.  Looking at the course layout and number of CP’s (19 mandatory, and 21 optional) the night before the race, Kyle predicted we would finish within 36 hours.   We talked to the course director Chris Caul and he predicted the winning time to complete the entire course would be about 40 hours, we wanted to prove him wrong.  This race was unsupported and with the exception of paddling gear, we had to carry everything we would need for the entire race from start to finish.   We were a little concerned about the 83+ degree temperature and 90% humidity, but it would be the first race this year that we would not be freezing cold and wet at any point which would be a nice change of pace.

The race started with a 30-k bike ride.  Unfortunately after fixing a flat tire we over shot the 2nd CP and spent about 1.5 hours looking for it and re-attacking the point.  The CP was ‘optional’, but knowing we needed every point to win it was not optional for us to skip.  Kyle and Matt worked well together and were able to finally get us to the control and we were back on our bikes, slightly frustrated, and in last place motivated to put the hammer down, and make up the time, and catch the front-runners.

We did catch one team at the final CP before getting to our canoes for a 65-k paddle.  The first half of the paddle section was in Lake Moomaw followed by a 5-k portage down a paved road to the Jackson River for the remaining 28-k.  While we were at the boat takeout we were told we were 1 hour and 53 min behind the lead teams, which was somewhat of a shock as we were not accustomed to being that far off the pace.  We entered the river at 9:30 pm and the warm air mixing with the cold river water created a thick layer of fog over the water which was kind of eerie, and quiet, and we stealthily gained on some teams . We had been told earlier that there were class I rapids down the length of the river.   What would normally be tiny little ‘ripples’ in the water during the day time sounded like raging white water to us in the dark and our headlamps were almost useless in the fog.   But after we ‘survived’ the first few rapids we got comfortable running the river ‘blind’ and learned to navigate the small rocks.   Earlier while on the bikes we had crossed a bridge over the same river and Matt had noticed that there were 2 gnarly strainers on opposite sides of the river hanging out over the water where the water was moving fast.   He reminded us of this which was very helpful and we were able to maneuver around the strainers in the darkness without any trouble.  Unfortunately 2 teams did not do so well, and had caspsized in the fog.   We saw a team standing on shore and we asked them if they were ok, and they said they could not find their boat.  A few seconds later we saw their boat upside down with another team’s boat also upside down and pinned against it into a large rock.   We immediately pulled over to the shore to help them.   20 minutes later we had both boats on shore, and made sure they had all of their gear gathered back up and we were back into our boats and continued on our way feeling good to have helped out some fellow adventurers in need.    Shortly after 1 a.m. we left the river and were off for a 25-k trek.  We knew we had our work cut out for us as we were still 2 hours behind and were all motivated to let fly our feet and close the gap.   We set a strong pace throughout the night working very well together, and by day light we had passed several teams and at the next TA we were told we were only 25 minutes behind EMS and ImOnPoint, the 2 lead teams.

After fixing another flat tire, we were back on the bikes and with our spirits high we hammered out the next 25-k bike section.  We caught sight of EMS on an out and back section and knew we had closed the gap a bit more. We were now back in the hunt for the win, and we were excited to be racing once again.  At the next TA we were able to unload some weight out of our packs as the this section was a 10 point optional orienteering section and we would be returning to the same area to pick up our bikes and gear again.   With the heat of the day coming on strong, and starting to take its toll on all our competitors, we took off on the O course about 10 minutes behind EMS and ImOnPoint had not checked in as of yet.  Kyle’s spot on nav and great route choice brought us back to our bikes with all 10 points and into the lead. We would NOT relinquish this lead, and wanted to push hard and stretch it out a bit.  We were in the home stretch but it wasn’t over yet and we transitioned quickly and were off on our bikes.  We had 28-k to go with 3 CP’s and a monster 3000′ foot climb ahead of us to the last CP at a look-out tower high up on the ridge and then a short rappel right as the sun was setting.  What a beautiful sight and a welcome, albeit short respite off our feet.  Once we finished the rappel we had a short hike back up to our bikes and were off for the final 25-k to the finish.

We hammered the final stretch, and we finished the race at 10:13 pm, with a race time of just over 36 hours (as predicted by Kyle…..) and our first win of the season after so many trips to the podium, finally a first.  Yeah Tecnu Extreme/StaphAseptic!  We had a great time at this event and take great pride in our ability to work well together as a team despite having a terrible start, and having to recover, we were able to rally and push on for the win.   Thanks to Doug and Chris for putting on a great race.  Thanks to EMS and the other east coast teams for great competition. As one of only two 4-person co-ed teams to complete the course, we are excited by the way the team is gelling going into the second half of the season.  We are fit, experienced, and have some great races ahead.  We are looking forward to seeing you at there Tahoe Big Blue in july and the Untamed Adventure race later in the season.  It’s going to be a epic battle.