One nice thing about doing a race that is more the 3 hrs away (this one was 9!) is that we are forced to take a Friday off work! We left Columbus IN Thursday after school and drove to Cincy to pick up Paul. Steve was joining Paul’s The North Star team and it made sense to carpool out to Pennsylvania. We had a small miscommunication in that we had 3 bikes to transport but only a hitch rack for two. No huge deal, I just played the jinga truck packing game and with the new topper having side hinge windows (thanks Karen for the tip) it was pretty easy. We spent a short night at a hotel and then headed out early the next morning, arriving at the paddle drop and check in location in the early afternoon. The race start was just a mile away and that was also where we were camping. For maybe the first time ever, we were the first racers on site! Karen and Kristy pulled in later and then we all headed into town for dinner. 

Race day dawned lovely and bright, which was great but boded for a warm day. We had all camped at the start which made for a less hectic start. I am trying harder these days to get my whole bag packed and put together so that on race morning I can just throw on my shoes and focus on maps! Karen stood in line for the tracker and to turn in her phone and I stood in line for the maps. We had two sets and nothing to plot, just routes to plan, which boiled down to what would we have to cut in order to make the finish time.

Leg 1: Trek – This leg started with some teams sprinting out of the gate and down the road. I always feel the urge to do the same but I know that finding and maintaining a solid steady pace is smarter for a longer race. There wasn’t much of a route choice here, just follow the leader down the road and up the mountain. Seriously, it was a steady freaking climb. In the course of 2.6 miles we climbed over 1200 feet! Our steady pace had us passing teams that had started with jogging on the road. Once we gained the ridge top, we trucked along, picking up the CP’s and logging the miles. The sun was out in force and the day was heating up to point of being too warm for my liking. The ladies had nixed my 3L bladder, which was good since I tend to fall behind on climbs and shouldn’t carry extra water. Coming off the ridge top, we had a rapid descent down to the river and we did run some of this! Coming into the TA, we filled water, packed dry bags, and headed out in our canoe. 

Leg 2: Paddle – The river section was again straight forward, with only one CP to collect which came after the Compton Rapids. The river had small ripples and ledges that we practiced on leading up to the rapids. I won’t lie and say I wasn’t nervous! I’m slowing building my skill set at the stern but still feel more agile with a canoe paddle. Luckily our team paddles really well together so I was pretty confident we could make it! We did lose our lead to The Wildlings right at the rapids when I slunk back and let them run it first so I could see the line. Seeing how it shifted the boat, we made a small adjustment and made it through just fine! After that it was just more paddling until we make it back to the start location and our TA. I wish we had a time punch of how long we spent in the TA. We did change shoes and socks and eat a substantial item. I was feeling pretty depleted after the paddle since eating and drinking while paddling is hard. I’m working on a liquid fuel in a soft bottle with a straw that I can just stuff into my pfd and sip from during paddle legs.

Leg 3: Bike – We left the TA sometime around 3:40 pm and headed out on the bikes. The same ridge we had trekked up for leg 1 was now what we tackled with our bikes. The road out of camp was lovely and fast but the heat of the day was taking a toll on me. Once we hit the trail/gravel section and the uphill I started to bonk. At CP 3-01, I took the opportunity to dunk my shirt and hat in the stream to offer some relief from the heat. From there it was a steady climb up hill with a ton of bike pushing. We finally made it to Shawl Gap and it was a CP party! Racers were strewn everywhere taking advantage of the ridge top to rest weary legs, grab a snack, and catch their breath. I gratefully joined those that were horizontal! The race notes for this section said that the trails were technical and to ride within your abilities… yeah, I struggled hiking my bike down the top of the trail! I’m sure there are racers who did descend on their bikes instead of beside them, hats off to those brave souls. Eventually the rocks became less like boulders and we rode out off the mountain and down to the TA. We had a quick snack and refuel then headed out for the second trek.

Leg 4: Trek – This was the section we decided to skip all but one point. It was still light out but trending to darkness and the whole loop would be about 20 miles. We opted to just head out to CP 4-01 and then back to the TA. 

Leg 5: Bike – As the sun started to set, my energy levels finally came back up! The heat of the day really sapped my endurance. We headed out on the bikes for a fun flow ride, picking up CPs 5-01 and 5-02 without any major issues. TA 4 to CP 5-01 was about 5 miles, took us an hour counting the time in TA. From 5-01 to 02 was around 2 miles and took us 18 mins to travel to and collect it. From 02 – 03 it was roughly 3 miles then a short hike in. This CP took us 1 hr and 26 min to find! We stopped at the correct location first but made the classic mistake of not going far enough. This was most likely because the wall of brush and thorns was nearly impassable from the attack point we chose. We then went farther down the trail, turned around, and attacked it from a different direction. This cost us time but we did find the CP! From here is was on to CP 5-04, which happened to be on the other side of the ridge. A mere 3.5 mile ride that went up 900’ and then back down 900’, taking us almost 2 hrs. By this time my energy levels from before were once again flagging. On the way to the TA, we stopped and picked up the food and drinks we’d stashed on our way out on bike Leg 1, saving us the trip back to the start/finish supply area. 

Leg 6: Trek – We were now 16 hrs into the race, roughly 1 AM, heading out on the final trek. This section was listed as about 8 miles with 10 CP’s, one of which was mandatory. We went for 9 of them and found them all! CP 6-01 was the one we left since it was more out of the way and required more climbing. Now, bear in mind, I’m writing this now about 1 1/2 months later and things are fuzzy but one thing that is NOT fuzzy is the climbs! Oh dang, did we go up and down and up and down in this section. Our end distance was over 9 miles with 1200’ gain/loss of elevation! Almost five hours later we made it back to the TA, the sun was up, and I was exhausted. 

Leg 7: Bike – I can’t describe how little I wanted to get back on the bike and head out on the trails. The final leg was biking back around the area we had just trekked through, so I knew how bad the climbs would be. For this section, the CP’s had to be collected in order, so if you wanted all of them it would be a 20+ mile bike ride. Knowing we had limited time and I had limited legs left, we started with CP 4, then did 5, 7, and 8. This gave us the time needed to head back to the finish. Seen through the lens of time, I don’t recall now how bad I hurt but I know I was feeling pretty rough!

We squeaked out the 1st place win and that felt really good! Overall, this race was really hard for me. I’ve joked a couple of times about how fit I am when compared to other groups I hang out with. For example, hiking with our IU class (typical college kids), I felt really fit! I was beating them to the top of the hills. In the CrossFit world, I’m decently fit for my age. I made the top 10% of my age group in the Open. Racing with Karen and Kristy though… I’m basically a couch potato! I’m continually surprised they keep asking me to race with them! I’m hoping the heat was the main issue and that when we tackle the 5 day Endless Mtn Race in June I will have a better tolerance for it!