In addition to having the largest group of participants at the Atlanta Hi-Tec this year, Atlanta TrailBlazers had a team finish in the Top 10 in EVERY CATEGORY!

Our team name was Dekalb Paramedics at Play. It consisted of Brian Brooks, Thomas Dyer and myself. Neither of my teammates have ever raced in anything. They basically got off the sofa and started "playing" in a variety of different activities to prepare for this event. The program was designed to motivate my employee's to "play", hoping that in the process they would receive similar benefits to e-x-e-r-c-i-s-i-n-g. I had numerous employee's to participate, however, only one team to race. I believe that it was a great success. On the comical side, during the race meeting, our team was called upon twice to render aid to fellow athletes. We just can't get away from work. While racing, I noticed a young lady with NOW printed on her butt. I continued to stare, at the word NOW, trying to figure out what it meant. (If you can believe that) Turns out her team mates had CALL and 911 on their butts. When it came time to clear the fence and the slide, Teams CALL 911 NOW and Dekalb Paramedics at Play worked together. Oh, and about that staring, shshshhshsh! ÖÖScott Anderson

Team Atlanta TrailBlazers: John Coheleach, Bob (from Vermont) and Sandy Geisel

We decided we liked the paddle so much, we decided to get back in and go again. We had the boats out and were running to the bikes when we realized that we didnít have all the letters! Bob separated from us in the boats and we assumed he got the third letter and we met him back just before the boat ramp. Once we got our boats in place and headed to the bikes we realized that we had to jump back in the boat and get our third letter to complete F. U. N., how ironic. It was no fun watching 50 teams pass us and seeing all the bikes heading out. We deserved that as all three of us have done many races and should have known much betterÖ never separate and never assume.

We still had a blast and sang almost the rest of the way! Our singing kind of sounded like fingernails on a chalk board so I hope not too many of you were within hearing distance.

My favorite part of the race was watching all the teams helping each other out. I was so impressed seeing how many teammates were pushing or pulling each other up hills and how many teams helped other teams in the special events. That is what adventure racing is all about!!! Ö..Sandy Geisel

Team #59 - Nello Teer, Tony and Christy Balding - Finished 7th in division and 21st overall at 2:55:23

Our weakest discipline was probably the kayaking. We decided to have Christy lean from the back kayak to the front in order to hold them together in a static way. This allowed Nello and I to paddle and Christy to control our direction. This worked out great, but we definitely wasted time while retrieving paddles and getting started. Not to mention that some of the teams split up during the paddle which would've been a big advantage.

The bad news is that during the "electric fence," Christy suffered a broken bone in her right hand. She has to see a orthopedist today to get it set and put in a cast. Depending on what they do, the bone may have to be pinned. What's "really" bad news is that we are leaving on a rock climbing trip to the Grand Tetons this week. Although we believe she will still be able to get up the Grand Teton, some of the more technical climbs we planned may have to be put off until a later visit.

The most amazing part of our race would have to be Christy's race after breaking her hand. She soared over the electric fence landing on her butt and hands, and laid there for about 10 seconds. Getting up she sort of whispered (she also had the wind knocked out of her) "I think I broke my hand, but I'll be able to finish the race." In fact she did. She came back around the wall so we could try again to all clear without touching. Next she cooked up the Crisco wall without any problems, then she rode the second 6 mile loop at about the same speed as the first lap, only using one hand through some of the really jarring spots because it hurt too bad to have the broken hand on the handlebars. Near the end she was the one that clipped the carabiner back on the high rope for us and finally she climbed up over the wall as the second person in our team. A truly painful finish. I guess now she'll have a good 4-6 weeks to relax. ÖÖTony Balding

Off-Road Scooter Event

Our team, Team ATB - Anhinga, was together for the second time. Margo, Greg and I had a great time, and are making excellent progress as a team. It was also great to see so many teams approaching the race in a variety of ways, and was a real learning experience. We had noticed that the top teams were tethering and pushing each other up the hills in the bike segment, so on the second leg of the bike, we decided to give it a try. I was just trying to get into the right gear to help push, when suddenly my chain broke! Greg asked if I had a chain tool, which I did, but first I asked Margo how much further we had until the end of the bike segment. Her bike computer indicated we had only 1.5 miles left... I quickly figured it would take at least 15 mins. to fix the chain, and I knew I could run 1.5 miles in 15 minutes, at the most. With a combination of me pushing and coasting scooter-style downhills, and my teammates pushing me up the hills, we quickly finished the segment, and still were passing people! I think it goes to show, you never know which of your teammates might need to get pushed or pulled. In addition, I think we also may have given Hi-Tec an idea for a new Off-Road Scooter event! Ö..Chris OíConnell

The HiTec was once again a Huge amount of FUN! I had the fortunate experience of running with a rookie and 50 year, very fit Vietnam Veteran, both in from St. Louis who needed a "third". The race was a wonderful trade-off, they had the opportunity to race with an experienced AR and I was provided a "Free" entry! This was achieved with the help of the Trailblazers web site putting people together for races! (Great Job you guys!!)

The St. Louis crew was excited and tense. When asked how they slept Saturday night, the response was: "I got about two hours!" We had many chuckles about the special events. Ray (the vet) had a smile on his face when he exclaimed, "I believe I fell on or off every wall we had to get over!" The truth is: He did! However, on the "electric fence" we actually throw him over the wall-he never had a chance!

HiTec was another great experience! Though not the longest or the toughest, MESP provides a nice setting to expose many people to the sport. It was big fun to transfer any knowledge on the sport of Adventure Racing to new participants. This is an idea all experienced AR's should consider. Sharing experiences and the excitement of the sport will definately return dividends! ÖÖTom Lilly (psÖ Tomís son came in 2^nd for the boys adventure competition and his daughter, Megan, won the little girls division! Theyíre growing up to be just like Daddy!)

We had a great race, especially compared to last year. We beat our last year time by over an hour and 20 minutes!! It was great to have the comaraderie on the course, Brett and Kristen's team was awesome. We helped each other over the electric fence and paired up again as a team of 6 to help over the greased wall. Ö.Carolyn Salvador

Team Arcandier

Marc Apple, Susan Walsh, & Mark Snyder

We had a blast! Our goal was to finish in under 4 hours and we did it - 3:48:03. After the race, the mesp photographer told us he needed us for a photo session. Little did we know he was going to have us run and climb on each other's backs again. They are looking to use the photos for next year's brochure. Of course we had ATB all over our legs and arms!

So, when's the next race? ÖÖ Marc Apple

Team x

Nancy, John, Erica and some blue face paint:-))

Great race for 900 people. Fun easy going bike trails and some of the nicest competitors I ever met. Folks were singing , laughing and playing the whole morning. Even the funyacks were fun once you got the hang of them. Bottom line: a fun way to spend the morning with super folks. ÖÖJohn Cuntz

It was great to see everyone at Hi Tec. While our team did not come close to the time we anticipated, at least we finished. We overcame an injury (one of the team members hurt her knee) & I really thought we were going to have to drop out, but she fought through the pain & we made it. The highlight had to be the Crisco wall, as we partnered with another team and basically climbed over each other to get over the wall. One of our team members grabbed onto the shorts of a member of the other team and he almost pulled them down. It made for quite a funny spectacle in front of our girlfriends and his mom. Overall, it was a great time. ÖÖPatrick, Team Look at Her Butt (how appropriate!)

I think it's noteworthy that this was our first race (for all 3 of us) and i think we did pretty decent. Steve Schneider ended getting sick after the first bike leg and stopping often along the way to take care of himself....people kept running by and offering him more power gel(which he says is what made him sick in the first place)....also, we seemed to be neck and neck with ATB team # 17 for awhile and one of the guys kept Steve going with his SINGING. He was appreciative of that. I think the Paddle leg probably went the best for us - which was a big surprise since Steve Young and I had no experience with paddling. It was just great - we loved it. oh, also on the last special test - it's kinda noteworthy that I fell my first try up the wall....i thought some of the guys below would catch me, but they didn't....kinda funny - but I landed on my feet, so that's good. ÖÖAngelina Funtanilla

Team Diva had a blast at the Hi-Tec race despite a couple of extra obstacles. Since the all women's teams started at the back of the pack, when we got to where the paddles were, they were out of paddles! At least 6 teams got no paddles. After all 3 of us dog paddled for awhile we finally got 1 paddle from a guy in a motorboat. He was going around collecting paddles that had apparently floated away from the race start. While one paddled in the back of the 1st kayak the others worked up some pretty good rasberries from hanging over the front of the kayaks to dog paddle.

Finally half way through the paddle, after we got our 1st letter, we got 2 more paddles from the paddle god in the motor boat. 2 more letters and we were finally on to the run!

One teammate was running on a broken toe from a nasty volleyball accident 2 weeks before the race. Despite her injury she hung in there and was actually running ahead of us at a couple of locations on the trail run.

What an example of perseverance!

On her 1st race, one team mate almost bonked on the trail run but after a double caffeine gel she was riding like the wind!

When we finished the race we had made our goal: We finished smiling, vertical and had fun along the way! I wonder how we would have done with 3 paddles and 30 unbroken toes! Watch out next year, we'll be on your heels. (I guess we'll be training more on kayaks without paddles.)

Becky Rentz Team Captain

AKA We Don't Need No Silly Paddles Rentz

Carol Butterworth

AKA Sonic with Broken Toe Butterworth

Jenni Lutz-Hull

AKA Newbie Double Caffeine Jenni

Team #268 - Naked Agnes' Jewels had a great time on Sunday. We had one team member who is new to the sport and Hi-Tec was her first adventure race, and she is hooked! Seems everyone I introduce to the sport just loves it and dives right in. We are looking to maybe do another race in the fall... do you know of any in the south east that allow all female teams? Anyway it was my 4th race and Jackie's 3rd.our team goal had been to finish in under 4 hrs... and we did it and placed to boot! 4th in the all women's. Jackie did not have a great day, and she is usually the calm collected cheerleader. while Laura and I are the hot headed stubborn ones, but as in adventure racing when the team needs something you fill the gap. Jackie needed the cheering on and Laura and I stepped up and kept Jackie going. On the final climb up the road hill Jackie was ready to get off the bike and walk but, I stayed by her sided and helped to motivate her up the hill and for that she was thankful. After we crossed the finish line another racer came up to me to thank me for helping to get her up that hill too! and how my words helped to motivate her also to make it to the top. That made me feel good. The 2nd, 3rd and 4th place all female teams were within 7 mins. of each other and we found ourselves second guessing where we could have picked up those extra minutes, but we realize you can't do that and we are setting our goals for our next race a little bit higher. We all had a great day only one crash, me over my handlebars and into the creek. At least it was a soft landing. The only other excitement was Jackie mooning the crowd at the crisco wall as I held on while Laura climbed up the two of us to get over the wall. I know I've got more to tell but I'll save them for Saturday at the beer mug. See you Saturday. Ö..Dawn Muscio