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Life is an Adventure
Race, July 2002
By Jim Farmer
Due to my recent foray into the world of race directing I missed a
couple of early adventure races this season, most notably the Blue
Ridge Mountains Adventure Race (www.blueridgemountains.com/adventure_race/adventure_race.htm). This
is a great race that takes place every April in Blue Ridge, GA, just
below Ducktown. The winners typically complete the course in
around six hours with the mere mortals, like my teams, taking around
eight hours to finish. The main disciplines are white-water paddling
on the Toccoa River, trail running and mountain biking on the Aska
Trails. They throw in some orienteering (basically finding your
way along unmarked trails) as well as some team-building exercises
like wall climbs, carrying railroad ties over obstacles, etc. The
one drawback to this race is that it requires a co-ed team of three
along with a support person that has to haul the team’s gear all
over the place. Boy, I hate asking somebody to be the “support” person. However,
it is necessary given the fact that it’s a linear course rather
than a loop.
If you’re just getting started in adventure racing then check
out the Riverbend Challenge next year (www.riverbendfestival.com/events/riverchallenge.asp). It
takes place during the Riverbend Festival in early June in downtown
Chattanooga. This is more of an urban adventure race that includes
road running, flat-water paddling on the Tennessee River and road biking
in North Chattanooga. This year’s race was outstanding. There
were several obstacles thrown in during both the run and the bike legs
and, as usual, the race is culminated by a rock climb up the Walnut
Wall in Coolidge Park. None of the obstacles were overly difficult
but, as you probably know, any physical obstacle that has to be overcome
while your legs are shaking like a leaf is tricky to say the least. Another
cool thing about this race is that individuals, as well as teams, can
participate. I love dealing with the team dynamics of adventure
racing but I’ve raced as an individual in the last two Riverbend
Challenges and enjoyed every minute of it. Most individuals complete
the course in under two hours and the teams typically do it in two
to two and a half hours. It’s a true “sprint” adventure
race.
Both of the races I’ve mentioned so far get good participation
and are growing each year. However, they pale in comparison to
the Hi-Tec Adventure Racing Series (www.hitec-ars.com). The series
takes place each year in several cities around the country and a half-hour
summary of each race is shown on the Outdoor Life cable network (OLN). This
year’s race in Fort Yargo, Georgia (halfway between Atlanta and
Athens) had OVER A THOUSAND participants. Our three-person team
was in the coed division along with one hundred and forty other teams. There’s
also all male, all female, corporate, masters and elite divisions. The
latter division consists of hardcore, sponsored teams that travel around
the country for each Hi-Tec race and try to win the points series. The
disciplines are mountain biking, trail running and paddling around
the lake in funyaks supplied by Hi-Tec. Why, in god’s name,
they’re called FUNyaks is beyond me. Trying to keep those
things straight is like pulling teeth. My inflatable seat developed
a leak within the first few minutes and I spent the rest of the paddling
leg trying to get comfortable while trying not to smack my teammate
on the head with the paddle. I think I only hit her two or three
times.
The best part of Hi-Tec is the mystery events, the details of which
are not revealed to the teams until the race starts. Any structures,
such as walls or obstacle courses, are covered with tarps until right
before race time. It’s fun to watch people standing around
the tarps taking stabs at what could be under them. It’s
kind of like looking at the boxes under the Christmas tree when you
were a kid and trying to figure out what’s inside. Actually,
I still do that. Very seldom are peopleright. Hi-Tec prides
itself on surprising the racers and they never fail. This year’s
race started off with the first mystery event where each team was given
a map and told to find three items along the course. There were
several combinations of items for teams to retrieve so you couldn’t
just follow another team around. Needless to say, a thousand
people on single-track trails running around like headless chickens
was a sight to behold. The other tests included a mud pit that
you had to crawl through (I loved that one), a four-sided Rubix cube
puzzle that gave many teams fits and a pole-carry where you had to
lug a 4x4x8 piece of lumber up and down a steep hill. Oh yeah,
I forgot to mention the fact that your third teammate had to be on
the pole the whole time. There were several other mystery events
along the way that were so torturous that I’ve removed them from
my memory banks, but I think my favorite obstacle was the mud wall
that they made you climb up with your bike on your back. It wasn’t
so bad the first time around, but on the second bike leg the combination
of rain and the two thousand bike shoes from the first leg made it
an absolute mess. As always, the race ended with the twelve-foot
wall climb and the dash to the finish line, followed by the obligatory
headfirst dive into the lake to wash off all of the Georgia clay that
covered our bodies and bikes. The elite teams complete this race
in under three hours, but the hackers, like us, complete it in the
four to five hour range. You can check out this year’s Hi-Tec
Fort Yargo race on OLN on August 7th at 10:30pm.
Enough about past races. Let’s talk about upcoming adventure
races in the area.
·
August 17th - Fall Creek Falls Adventure Race at Fall Creek Falls State
Park. Eight to ten hour race involving trail running, mountain
biking, flat-water paddling, rappelling and orienteering along with
some mystery events thrown in. Yummy! [www.riversportsadventures.com/fcfEvents.html]
·
September 21st, 22nd - Big South Fork Adventure Challenge – 70-mile
course. [Phone: 1-865-482-7375]
·
October 5th - Raging Russell Adventure Race at Lake Russell Wildlife
Management Area, approximately 80 miles north of Atlanta. Seven
to ten hours of mountain biking, running/trekking, paddling and orienteering
along with some special tests. Support person required. [Email: lutchel@ethus.jnj.com]
·
October 6th – Muddy Buddy at the Georgia International Horse Park
in Atlanta. Okay, this isn’t really an adventure race but
it sounds like an absolute blast. Take two people, one bike and
a bunch of mud and you’ve got fun in my opinion. [www.muddybuddy.com]
·
November 2nd – Pickett State Park Adventure Race at Pickett State
Park near the Kentucky border. Run by the same guys that do the
Fall Creek Falls Adventure Race with similar disciplines. [www.riversportsadventures.com/pktEvents.html]
·
November 10th - Sapphire Sprint Adventure Race in Sapphire, North Carolina. You
can do it solo or as part of a two-person team. It’s four
to six hours of trekking, mountain biking, orienteering, climbing and
paddling. It’s part of the Odyssey Adventure Racing Series
so it’s got to be good. [www.oarevents.com/event.asp?id=36&catID=1]
If you want more information on adventure racing in general, check
out some of these websites:
·
Active.com (www.active.com) - It has every sport you can think of and
you can register for events online.
·
WorldAR (www.worldar.com) - Good info along with a thorough calendar.
·
ARExtreme (www.arextreme.com) - Everything adventure racing.
·
Atlanta TrailBlazers (www.trailblazerar.com) - Adventure racing club
with good info and a calendar.
·
Carolina Adventure Racers (www.carolinaadventureracer.com) - Adventure
racing club with a great calendar of events concentrating on the Southeast.
You can contact me via email at farmerjp@bellsouth.net. See you
on race day.
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