No Ticks on Team Mighty Dog 2
(1st Place Midnight Rush AR 2004)

Ticks didn’t have time to latch onto Team Mighty Dog 2 during the 2004 Midnight Rush Adventure Race held by Trailblazers Adventure Racing Club on August 14th in Dawson Forest, Dawsonville, Georgia (north of Atlanta).  Racing for Team Mighty Dog 2 were Ardie Olson, Patricia Williams Smith and Allen McAdams. 

The race began at high noon deep in woods.  Racers were warned about the hazards: horses, ticks, and briars.  Maps were given out at the start and the teams had to plot 15 checkpoints (CPs) to map their course through Dawson Forest.  The stage was set: hiking, paddling, more hiking then biking.  The first leg of the race was a rogaine hiking course with teams choosing their routes to the first 5 CPs in any order (route choice was key).  Teams left in all directions.  Team Mighty Dog 2 decided to take off across the Etowah River and pick up CP3 first.  The river was chest deep and all racers were required to wear their life jackets to cross the rivers, streams and creeks.

The Team hoofed their way through thickets, yellow jacket nests (Allen was stung twice within sight of the start) and blackberry brairs to see the smiling face of Tony Berwald at CP3 arriving at 12:58 PM and off to a good start.  They could hear Team Snickers Marathon in the distance which kept the pressure on. Next, they waded across Shoal Creek and headed cross-country to CP4.  Leaving CP4 on an abandoned forest service road, Team Mighty Dog 2 crossed paths with several other teams.  After less than a mile on the main road, Team Mighty Dog 2 was back in the woods, shedding blood to many briars along the way to CP1 along Amicalola Creek and crossing paths with Team Marathon Snickers in the woods. 

Following the compass, the team hit CP1 right on the mark.  The next challenge was – how to get to CP2 – which was about 3 miles away with no trails shown on the map. Luckily, Team Mighty Dog 2 picked up the scent of a faint hunter’s trail along Amicalola Creek (It wasn’t long before we discovered that a lot of teams has also found this trail and were coming straight at us from the opposite direction, including Team Snickers Marathon, which we knew were going to be tough competition). Team Mighty Dog 2 followed the faint trail to a forest service road leading to the Etowah River.  Next, they ran down a road along Etowah River then crossed the River, which was also chest high.  Another road on the opposite side of the River led them to the CP2.  The Team had to share water to the next CP. 

Allen McAdams, Patricia Williams Smith
and Ardie Olson;
Picture by www.checkpointzero.com

Now, with the next leg within a few miles, it was an all out run to CP5 to pick up the boat.  Popsicles and smiling faces greeted Team Mighty Dog 2 at CP5. The first hiking section took about 4 hours and Team Mighty Dog 2 picked up their boat around 4PM.  Allen wanted to run all the way to the put-in, but Ardie’s legs were cramping and they decided to walk.  Patricia started feeding Ardie salt tablets every hour to help with the cramping.  It worked and they kept increasing their lead on the 2nd place team.  After a short ½ mile portage to the Etowah River CP6, Team Mighty Dog 2 gave their legs a rest during the 4-5 mile paddle. 

Greeted by two Lovely Lady Volunteers at the Boat take-out CP7, Team Mighty Dog 2 was back in the woods bushwhacking along the river to CP8 (by now their legs look like shredded meat).  Growing so fond of bushwhacking, they continued through the thickets to ½ mile of CP9 before returning to the road (the bike transition).  Now, still holding onto first place, Team Mighty Dog 2 started the final leg – mountain biking for 15 miles.  After downing a hand full of salt tablets and pain killers, they were off.  Transitions were quick (only 8 minutes, on the last transition to the Bikes).  Within ½ mile, Team Mighty Dog 2 was again crossing the Etowah River, but this time, they had to carry their mountain bikes. 

Most of the Bike CPs were on or near designated trails/roads.  The hardest part now was matching the USGS maps with the DNR bike trail maps as they were very different scales.  Looking at the USGS map, CP10 appeared in the middle of the woods, but it was actually right on the bike trail.  CP11 & CP 13 required a little more imagination to find while CP12 & CP14 were along roads/trails.  Headed to the Finish/CP15, on a downhill blur, there was no stopping Team Mighty Dog 2. 

The accuracy and challenges of the MRAR Course showed all of the effort that Kevin Fordham, Zach Doppel, Cathi Cannon, and others had put into the race. Great race and a big paw shake to you.