Life Is An Adventure Race

by Jim Farmer (farmerjp@bellsouth.net)

It’s been a few months since I’ve put pen to paper. Actually, I’m a computer jockey so, other than the occasional Post-It note, pen to paper is a rare occurrence, but I’m getting off subject again and I haven’t even started yet. The first half of my adventure racing calendar was chock full of 24-plus hour adventure races with a couple of sprints (read as 12 hours or below) thrown in for good measure. Once the heat of summer hits though, the full-day and multi-day affairs tend to dry up and the shorter races hold sway until the longer races come back again in the fall. This is the adventure racing cycle of life in the southeast.

Team Explorer had three 12-hour races slated for the summer. The Ocmulgee Adventure Race, in Macon, Georgia, would start things off in late July followed by the Midnight Rush AR in Dawsonville, Georgia, the following weekend. A few weeks later we would head over to middle Tennessee for the Fall Creek Falls Adventure Race put on by the folks at River Sports Outfitters. Due to conflicting schedules and commitments to other teams, the roster varied from race to race, but Team Explorer made a strong statement for the fledgling program on the summer racing circuit.

After convincing Dan Miller, a strong cyclist and experienced adventure racer with Team Litespeed, to race with me and Patricia Williams Smith we felt good about our chances in the swampy blast furnace known as Macon, GA. $1,000 for the winning team gave us plenty of motivation to suffer through the heat, humidity and “aggressive” vegetation along the Ocmulgee race route. Racing against Dan’s teammates from Litespeed added some inspiration as well.

The race started, just as the sun began to rise, with a one-mile prologue around the track at the Central City Park. When we got back to the shelter that served as the transition area for this unsupported affair, we were given the passport and maps for the race. Luckily, most of the checkpoints were already on the large map, so only a handful of them needed to be plotted as I dripped sweat all over the papers that would serve as our lifeline for the rest of the day. Making quick work of them and getting into our bike gear we took off on the first cycling leg and quickly caught Litespeed. Knocking off the first couple of checkpoints was easy but checkpoint 2A had both teams running around like headless chickens in the heavy vegetation along the east bank of the Ocmulgee River. Forty-five minutes of bushwhacking finally paid off as we punched the flag and discovered the hidden trail leading to it from the other side of the creek teeming with racers that were obviously much smarter than us. We were in the hole and our legs were torn to shreds, but we high-tailed it through the remainder of the bike CPs to catch the teams in front of us.

One of the reasons I love adventure racing is the fact that, typically, little or no swimming is involved. I had tried the triathlon thing years ago but found that swimming just wasn’t for me. In fact, I hate it. I love the water, but only in a boat with a paddle. I knew that there would be some swimming in this race, but I figured I could just suck it up and tough it out. I didn’t count on the exhaustion and four bee stings though. But I couldn’t really complain since I only swell up and get a little dizzy when stung but I don’t have the kind of reactions that the Simrils from Team Litespeed have. Lee had to break out the Epi pins to stave off anaphylactic shock, but he’s a trooper and kept on trucking. That’s an adventure racer for you.

The swim wasn’t long thank god, but being fully clothed with a life jacket and full pack on, plus trying to keep the maps dry, made it a stressful endeavor to say the least. Our bikes had been transported across the river to a sand bar that we trekked to after the swim and that’s where I had what could only be described as a meltdown. Dizzy from the swim and the bee stings, I tried to rearrange the soaking wet maps and gear up for the next bike leg. The sand had caked up my shoes making it impossible to tighten the ratchet straps, the zipper on my pack busted, the maps were soaked and stuck together and, worst of all, Litespeed was getting away from us. The following bike section was sheer hell as I tried to get my act together, all the while following other teams to the ensuing checkpoints since my maps were useless at that point. Catching Litespeed after they flatted reduced the stress level quite a bit, and we were soon dropping our bikes for the last time.

Finishing the bike leg, we started off on foot again to the boat put-in on the Ocmulgee. Although the Litespeed folks are better paddlers than us, we had an ace up our sleeves. Borrowing a Kevlar racing canoe for the race made all the difference as we put several minutes on them before the last trekking section to the finish. Unfortunately for me, there was another short swim thrown in for good measure. I have to admit that the cool water was a nice diversion from the oppressive heat of southern Georgia in July, but it wasn’t enough to keep me from getting my butt towed on the last several miles of the run to the finish. Our heads were on a swivel the entire time expecting Litespeed to come around a corner at full speed. But they never caught sight of us and we crossed the finish line in first place with a couple of minutes to spare.

Although it was well worth the effort, Ocmulgee took a lot out of me and the fever and sore throat were not good signs going into the Midnight Rush Adventure Race the following weekend. Tom Sell, my homeboy from Chattanooga, joined up with Whitney Malina and me for this race. Whitney had only done one adventure race before, but she was a strong athlete and in great shape. Due to my depleted state and our lack of experience racing together, I didn’t have high expectations for this race. Our fifth place finish wasn’t anything to sneeze at though, given the fact that the four teams that finished in front of us were some of the best in the region.

I had a couple of weeks to recover before heading off to middle Tennessee and the Fall Creek Falls Adventure Race in late August. Patricia was back with me for this one and we invited Allen McAdams, one of our teammates from the Swamp Stomp victory earlier in the year, to join us. Once again we would be pitted against Team Litespeed, but this time there was a twist. Brenda and Lee Simril teamed up with Ardie Olson, of Team Mighty Dog fame, to form Team Litespeed I while Jay Curwen and his wife, Monica, hooked up with Chuck Dumke, a super stud triathlete, to form Team Litespeed II. I knew we had a chance to slay this two-headed beast, but only if we raced extremely well.

Ed McAlister and the River Sports folks always put on races with plenty of surprises and beautiful scenery. This race would be teeming with both. Twenty minutes before the gun went off we were given the race map and five checkpoint coordinates given in latitude and longitude. Puzzled looks were everywhere as teams struggled with the seldom-used coordinate system. Luckily, I was able to do the calculations necessary and get all five of the CPs plotted accurately before we headed out for a quick out-and-back run on the way to the lake. Did I mention how much I hated swimming? The Fall Creek Falls Adventure Race has historically made racers swim the third of a mile or so across the dammed-up lake, so I prepared myself by practicing in full gear in the weeks prior to the race. It wasn’t enough practice to make me fast, but at least I was able to relax a bit more.

Reaching the other side of the lake didn’t give us the opportunity to dry off as the race folks had overturned our canoes and pushed them away from shore. Allen reached his racing canoe first and was able to dump the water out before Patricia and I arrived. A fast boat usually means an unstable boat, but we were able to get in without too much trouble and headed out of the cluster of boats and swimmers to circumnavigate the lake while picking up the next three checkpoints. Only Team Litespeed I was ahead of us as we exited the water and headed towards Group Camp I along Cane Creek on the east side of the state park. After a navigation bobble, which allowed several other teams to catch us, we jumped off of the diving board at the camp swimming hole and into Cane Creek for another swim section.

I always say that ignorance is bliss and not knowing how far we would have to swim was probably a good thing since it ended up being close to a mile upstream. This checkpoint was one of several “moving” CPs in the race. The directions simply said swim upstream until you come across a race official. Luckily, Patricia and Allen are good swimmers and they bungeed me up for most of the drudgery. Once out of the water, we made our way on foot to CP7 at the junction of Cane Creek and the park road leading to the horse stables. Litespeed I had gained time on us on the previous section, but it was all for naught as we caught up with them trying to find the hidden checkpoint. Together, we double-timed it to the transition area, but Litespeed II and Adventure Sports Magazine (ASM) were nipping at our heels.

After painstakingly plotting several more latitude/longitude coordinates given to us on small strips of paper, we headed out of the transition area in first place, but were soon joined by the two-headed Litespeed monster. Making quick work of the bike CPs we entered the last transition area bunched together. Quickly plotting a few more checkpoints and grabbing our climbing gear, we headed south along the power lines back towards Cane Creek. Another moving checkpoint lay in between and we had to count the number of power line poles and write it in our passport before hitting the road that took us to the Cable Trail just below Cane Creek Falls. Once there we had to stay in the mostly dried up creek bed on our way towards Fall Creek Falls, picking up another moving checkpoint along the way. It’s very tough to try to gain time on your opponents when you’re climbing up and down wet, moss-laden boulders and cobbles in a creek bed, so the nine of us resigned ourselves to socializing, knowing full well that the sprint to the finish was not far off.

Looking at my map as we exited the gorge up the trail from the base of Fall Creek Falls to the Fall Creek Falls Overlook, I cringed at the thought of going full out on the road to the ropes section that would end the race. Litespeed II beat us up the steep trail to the overlook and Litespeed I was right on our heels. A bobble by Litespeed II and a shortcut by Litespeed I had them swap their positions, but the strong runners on Litespeed II pulled themselves back into the lead and we soon passed Litespeed I to reestablish the original order. Although I was confident in my plotting for this last checkpoint, the instructions said to proceed to the “Buzzard’s Roost” for the rappel and ascent that would finish the race. The map had no designation for such an area, but I figured that a sign along the road would mark the spot.

Sprinting for a couple of miles with a full pack of gear on a hot summer afternoon after a full day of racing is not my idea of fun. But I’ve committed myself to racing competitively this year and when the race is on the line I just have to suck it up and get it done. Being the navigator though, I have to save a little bit of oxygen for my brain cells. This was difficult on the last push to the finish, but I was able to keep tabs on our position on the map and had Patricia quickly investigate the pull-off areas along the road as we got close to our destination. As we approached a fairly large overlook, Patricia zoomed over and asked the people standing there if it was the Buzzard’s Roost. “No, this is Millikan’s Overlook,” they replied. Although its locale was painfully close to our destination, we didn’t want to waste too much time investigating since Litespeed I was gaining on us and we still had a shot at pipping Litespeed II at the finish. It took me another minute or so to come to the conclusion that we had gone too far on the road. After turning around, we realized that Litespeed I was nowhere in sight. Getting back to the overlook we discovered the sign at the edge of the bluff that read “Millikan’s Overlook and Buzzard’s Roost.” The horror…the horror.

With only one rope down the 200-foot rappel and three ropes up the ascent covering less than half that distance, the race was over once we hit the ropes section. We congratulated Ardie and the Simrils as they began their descent down the sheer cliff wall looking out on the incredible gorge that surrounded us. Although it was a disappointment to be so close to a victory and not be able to snatch it, we raced well and gave the two Litespeeds a run for their money. The adventure racing gods just weren’t on our side that day. Team Explorer came out of the summer with a win, a second and a top five though. Not bad considering the stiff competition and incredibly tough race courses. Fall is on its way, so it’s time to get out of sprint mode and back into the grind of the multi-day races with their hour-long bike climbs and calf-busting treks. Yep, that’s home sweet home for me.

P.S. If you think adventure racing is for you then check out our club website at www.TrailBlazerAR.com.