The Checkpoint "Official newsletter of the Atlanta TrailBlazers Adventure Racing Club" Volume One, Issue Three, June 2002 Editor: Jackie Williams Upcoming ATB Events, July Tues. 2nd WEEKLY TRAINING @Island Ford: Trail Running. Meet in the first parking lot on the left as you enter the park from Roberts Drive. Tues. 9th CLUB MEETING: Health South Sports Medicine Clinic 1150 Hammond Drive; Topic: Injury Prevention and Rehabilitation. Board Meeting 6pm; General Meeting 7pm. Tues. 16th WEEKLY TRAINING @Silver Comet: Biking, in-line skating, running. Meet at the Mavell Road Access point. Fri. 19th POST-HI-TEC CLINIC & PARTY: 6:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. -Presentation/discussion. So you completed your first adventure race? What's Next? 7:30 p.m. - till whenever- Post-Hi-Tec Party & Slide Show. Bring your photos! Location TBA. Tues. 23rd WEEKLY TRAINING @Sweet Water Creek: Paddling, trail running. Meet at parking lot near park office. Sat.-Sun. 28th - 29th OCOEE AREA TRAINING & CAMPING WEEKEND: Paddle, bike, hike & meet AR-ers from the Nashville and Chattanooga areas! Saturday: mountain bike & hike. Camp Sat. night at the Gee Creek camp, first-come, first-serve. Sunday: paddling; Ace Funyaks whitewater on Ocoee, or canoe/kayak on Hiawassee. Paddling reservations by July 11th. E-mail Patrick Bair, pbair@sdl-nash.com for questions and RSVP. Tues. 30th WEEKLY TRAINING @Yellow River: Biking, Trial Running. Meet at first parking lot. Check out www.trailblazerar.com to confirm event time and location or for more information. Notable News Vote Now for the fittest Adventure Racer in Atlanta! Atlanta Sports & Fitness Magazine is doing a survey to determine who are the fittest male and female athletes in Atlanta... All us Adventure Racers know that it MUST be one of us! Go to the ATB website, www.trailblazerar.com to vote. First All-Atlanta to Compete in Eco-Challenge Fiji Four of Atlanta's top adventure racers, Neal Radford, Marjorie Perry, Shannon Greenhill and Tim Abbott, have been selected to compete in the 2002 Eco-Challenge, set to take place in Fiji in October. Their team, Team Explorer, is the first all-Atlanta team to compete in the world's most popular adventure race.The Atlantans will compete against 70 of the top four-person coed teams, mountain biking, trekking and paddling through a 300 mile course in the Fijian Islands. Team Captain Neal Radford competed in last year's Eco-Challenge in New Zealand on a team of racers from different parts of the country. This year Radford wanted to assemble an all-Atlanta team that could train and prepare for the race together, as well as share the experience with other Atlantans following the race. Radford, an entrepreneur who has lived in Atlanta for 13 years, hopes his experience in a previous Eco-Challenge will help them better prepare for their upcoming adventure. "I have enjoyed being a part of other teams," said Radford. "But for me, the next challenge is to 'make it happen' and captain a successful team." Radford's teammates include friends he has raced or trained with over the past few years, who share the goal of competing in one of the most demanding athletic challenges in the world. The team's only native Atlantan, Marjorie Perry, has been adventure racing for almost three years, the longest of the team. Perry is co-owner of Atlanta Rocks! indoor climbing gyms, and enjoys teaching spin classes at Crunch Fitness. But she says she gets her real endurance training raising her two boys, ages 3 and 7. Having moved to the area when she was young, Shannon Greenhill grew up hiking and biking all around Atlanta with her parents. After college, Greenhill competed professionally as a road cyclist for two years, winning the Georgia state championship in 1997. She now is an adventure travel consultant with Lost World Adventures, a local travel agency specializing in Central and South America excursions. Since moving to Atlanta in 1989, consultant Tim Abbott has enjoyed a wide variety of adventure sports in the North Georgia Mountains. He was an avid mountain biker, whitewater kayaker, climber and runner when he discovered adventure racing two years ago. Radford is looking forward to being a part of the first team to represent Atlanta at adventure racing's highest level. "Team Explorer has the ability, drive, talent and personalities to be extremely successful." Radford continued, "Since we received confirmation that we would be in the race, our friends and families have been so supportive. We will be proud to represent Atlanta at Eco-Challenge Fiji." Team Water Turkey-The View from the edge By Christopher O'Connell The Beast of the East is a 230-mile race that is considered one of the toughest races in the US. Susan Mike and I signed up for it as a good "training" race to help us prepare for Primal Quest. However, as it got closer, I think we started to get more and more intimidated, and began thinking of Primal Quest as the "cool down" race after the Beast... As usual, Susans Father was maning the Water Turkey, and Lukas and Chad (Susans son & nephew) assisted. Eric also helped and also took tons of photos of the race. (He may put up a few at http://www.ericbeach.com... look under "Events.") A week before the race, we received an e-mail from Marjorie Perry asking to join our team. She comes from a team of very strong racers, who had to pull out of the Beast because of an injury to one of their teammates. (Actually, I think once they heard Team Water Turkey was racing; the level of competion intimidated them all! Just kidding...) Well, we promised her a fun race, but warned her we would probably be somewhere near last place throughout the race. I think we delivered on both promises. The race started at 8 p.m. on Wednesday with a quick "prologue" - a run up and back down a black diamond level ski slope. I am not a skier, but I do know that black diamond means "almost vertical." From there we "biked" for the next 12 hours on these trails that were barely possible to hike on. By the end of this section we were wide-eyed in fear of what misery the rest of the race would bring. We followed it with a 10 hr. canoe section on the Shenandoah River, which consisted of 70% paddling and 30% dragging the canoe through shallow sections... Afterwards we were exhausted. We ate hotdogs and pizza that the support crew had waiting for us, and then napped for about two hours, getting back up in the middle of the night for the next 12-hour hike section. I basically slept for most of this section. Mike took over navigation, and I just walked, following the rest of the group. We laid down for another one hour on the trail. Everyone else was in good spirits, and they all carried me through this section with humor, and care. Eventually I "woke up" sometime around sunrise, and was very energized by the time we did a short rappel and fixed rope section. The final section included a bushwhack along a stream in which I accidentally stabbed a frog with my trekking pole. I was very disturbed by this, and yelled out that I had just stabbed a frog. Susan thought I said I had stabbed a dog, and guessed I was hallucinating. Only later, when I was relating the story to the support crew did she realize I was serious. We were back on the bikes for the 4th section, and we were all scared that it would be more hiking with bikes, but we were rewarded with mostly nice fun trails and a few roads. The highlight of this section was our stop in Edinburg, Virginia at Larkins Family Grocery, were we had a feast of cokes, lasagna, garlic bread, pizza, fries and fried chicken. We laughed at ourselves, and pretty much everything. Forty-some hours into the race, and we were pretty loopy! By the end of this section we were ready for another sleep. The support team cooked hamburgers and had set up an awesome camp, and we rested for four hours. We woke up and left at 4 a.m. on Saturday for what was to be the longest section of the race - a 37-mile hike that included a traverse/rappel and a huge bushwacking section. We arrived at the ropes section at sunrise, which made for very beautify scenery if you were not too scared to look around. My mom will probably freak out to know I was hanging upside-down for part of this section, but the ropes are very safe, and the team that sets them up are experts and very safe. They told us they had something like eight backup ropes securing one of the points. So we hiked, and hiked, and hiked, and hiked... The whole time carrying this stupid climbing gear. Which gave Mike an idea... Shortly before one of the checkpoints on the side of a lake in the middle of the hike, we put on our climbing gear and came up to the CP fully decked out in helmets and harnesses. For extra saftey, we were also teathered together. The CP volunteers were dumbfounded when we asked, "Is this the rappel?" This provided us with some good laughs afterwards, so to follow up, at the next CP, I took all the packs, and the rest of the team ran up to the CP carrying nothing at all. They started yelling back, "Chris, get up here! We found the Checkpoint! Hurry up!" I slowly came up the hill, staggering back and forth under the weight. Finally we finished the hike at 2 a.m. on Sunday morning -- a little over 22 hours later. I was exhausted, hungry, cold, and thirsty, but still in good spirits. The rest of the team ranged from totally energized, to somewhat tired. At this point, we had eight hours to finish before the cutoff time of noon. All we had was a long bike section, mostly on roads, and a short but steep hike up a mountain and back down to the resort. We all had mixed emotions about not being able to finish -- would they pull us off the course and disqualify us despite our hard work? Would they re-route us to skip some points to finish faster? Was it even worth all of this if we could not officially finish? Rumor was that the rest of the course would take us six hours to complete (four hours biking, two hours hiking). After some sleep (a lot by me, less by everyone else who prepped our gear before sleeping -- man, am I lazy!) we got up hoping to leave around 5 a.m. to give us an hour cushion. We raced to prepare, but missed our goal, and were rolling out by 5:30. Then the bike problems started before we even got out of the ACP! ("Stupid Bike!") We raced to fix the problems, and, though by no means perfect, we finally rolled out at 6 a.m. We were going to cut this thing short... The next leg we were promised was all flat -- oh, except for a crapload of uphills that I guess they forgot to mention! Forty miles, and we were pushing it pretty hard by our standards. The section was long and stressful, as we had no idea of what to expect when we arrived at the next ACP. It took us six hours to complete - two hours longer than anticipated. It was shortly after noon, and we fully expected to be DQ'd, or rerouted directly to the finish. Instead, the Odyssey Race folks stuck it out for another three hours to give us a chance to complete the course! We were so happy to be able to complete the Beast! To repay them for their patience, we came up with a little ditty that we sort of sang at the finish (although I forgot a few words... and verses...). Here are the lyrics (sung military chant style...) Water Turkey did the BEAST Now its time to have a FEAST Water Turkey came in LAST That's okay we had a BLAST! Took us almost 20 YEARS Now were ready for 20 BEERS! Sound off GOBBLE GOBBLE!!! Thanks to our support crew, Dick, Eric, Lukas and Chad. Thanks to Odyssey for an awesome race. Thanks to Neal Radford for helping us with our feet at the last ACP, and for being there at the finish with beers! Thanks to my teammates for making this the most fun I have ever had in a race. I seemed to hit some long low points where I was practically sleep walking, and my teammates were there to carry me through. Our team's motivation for finishing this race was simple -- the race was the toughest thing any of us have ever done, and all of us wanted to complete it so we would NEVER EVER have to do it again. And WE WON'T. Well... okay... maybe. Atlanta Hi-Tec Adventure Race memorable for all LOS ANGELES (June 25, 2002)- More than 300 teams competed in the Hi-Tec Adventure Race held at Fort Yargo State Park in Atlanta, GA this past weekend. This is the fourth year the Hi-Tec Adventure Race has traveled to Atlanta with this year being the first sell out event. The amount of spectators out at the event, cheering on family and friends, matched competitors in intensity and spirit. Teams Hi-Tec, BALANCE BAR, Red Bull and Timex were in close competition throughout the race with Team Hi-Tec pulling away and holding on to the lead during the running section of the event. Team Hi-Tec finished in 2:38:17, Team Red Bull was second with a time of 2:44:07, Team Timex finished in 2:47:22, Team Balance Bar finished in 2:50:01, and Team Guinness grasped the last podium spot with a time of 2:53:17. Team Hi-Tec will continue to wear the signature Paul Mitchell leader jersey and will compete in the Hi-Tec Adventure Race in Dallas, Saturday, July 13, 2002 displaying their leader status. Teams lined up at the start anticipating the mountain bike for the first section. At the start line, Team captains were handed a package they were not allowed to open until the blow of the cannon signaling the start of the event. Before the smoke had even cleared from the cannon, competitors could be seen scattering in all different direction for the 1st special test: Orienteering. Competitors had to locate control points that were placed throughout the terrain by utilizing a map they were given. To minimize the temptation for teams to follow other teams to control points, teams were given different maps requiring different control points. Once teams returned from retrieving their control points they were sent on the 6-mile Mountain Bike. Just as competitors got into a comfortable rhythm, they were forced to dismount their bikes and do a hike a bike section. Competitors had to hoist their bikes above their head and trek up the steep terrain. Once teams returned to the main site with their bikes they were asked to complete Special test #2: Under, Over, Under. Teams had to first maneuver their bikes as well as themselves through only a 14-inch opening. Once though the opening teams had to maneuver their bikes through a cargo net hanging over the top of them. This quickly proved more difficult as pedals and racers helmets became tangled in the net. Racers had to then get their bikes through another 14 inch opening while getting themselves over a four-foot structure. After teams passed this tedious test, they headed directly into the transition area to prepared for the Kayak section of the race. Teams ran down the beach to the kayak section of the race collecting the PFD's, paddles, seats and kayak and were into the water for the 1.5-mile paddle of the kayak section. After returning from the kayak, teams were presented with Special test #3: the Mud Pit. Teams were asked to do a backwards crab like crawl through the mud pit. Once that was completed teams were sent on the six-mile trail run to dry off. Again, just when racers thought they could get into their pace the race director threw Special Test #4 at them: the 4 X 4 Human Sacrifice. Teams were given a plank of wood and instructed that all three team members must get through this test with one of the team members not touching both the ground and the two other team mates. Team members opted to hang like monkeys from the plank of wood while the other two-team members hoisted the beam on their shoulders. The special test was a difficult one with many team opting to work together with other teams to complete it. Once teams successfully completed that special test, they were then sent on the remaining portion of the trail run. Competitors returning from the run were faced with Special Test #5: The Hi-Tec cube. The structure, much like a Rubix cube, had to be negotiated so that all Hi-Tec logos were facing one direction with each member of the team having to have turned one of the logos to fit into place. After this mental puzzle, teams were sent on a second six-mile Mountain Bike excursion following the same course from the start of the race. Once returning to the main site teams were faced with Special Test #6: Over the line. Teams had to navigate one of their team members over a suspended rope six feet up in the air by holding wooden planks with small wooden steps that competitors could use to navigate their way from one side of the rope to the other side. Again many teams found it beneficial to work with other teams to complete the special test. Then competitors were faced with the last obstacle Special Test #7: The Wall. A signature piece of the Hi-Tec Adventure Racing Series, The Wall is notoriously known by competitors as the last hurdle teams need to get over before crossing the finish line. One team in particular sparked elation in getting over the 12 Wall not only for themselves, but also for other teams and spectators alike. Team Big T comprised of Tiger Mann, captain of Team Timex, Windy Spillane, member of Team Timex and Tyson McClanahan, affectionately known as Big T moved many in their display of courage and determination throughout the race. Tyson had a stroke some years ago that left him dependant on a walker. Although he has tremendous upper body strength, he still lacks independence with walking. One rule in adventure racing is that you can only receive help from your teammates and other teams. Team Timex, after coming in third in the elite division, left the finish line to return to the course to help Team T get through the remainder of the course. Team Timex switched off being on either side of Tyson, letting him make his own small steps toward acquiring his dream of finishing the Hi-Tec Adventure Race. Crowds gathered to encourage Team Big T through the last obstacle. Team Big T approached the 12 ft wall and all spectators realized this obstacle, although ferocious to them, was much greater for Tyson. Again Team Timex worked together, strategizing how to get Tyson up the structure. Once they hoisted him up Tyson was strong enough to pull most of his body weight towards the top to Bill Ronalter of Team Timex, who locked arms with Tyson and pulled him over the top. The crowd cheered and chanted Tyson's name acknowledging his amazing spirit and undying perseverance. Images from the event as well as results with team names are posted on the web site at www.hitec-ars.com. Please tune in to see the Atlanta Hi-Tec Adventure Race scheduled to air on the Outdoor Life Network Wednesday, August 7th, 10:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. TrailBlazer Team Spotlight Team ATB-Running With Scissors 2002 Atlanta Hi-Tec Adventure Race by Christopher O'Connell One of the toughest obstacles to being competitive in the Hi-Tec Adventure Racing Series is the sheer number of teams competing. One thousand racers on the twenty mile course inevitably lead to frustrating backups at the special tests and standing in a line on the mountain biking single track. To avoid this, the Elite Teams are allowed to stand at the front of the pack at the start line. Everyone else, including Atlanta TrailBlazer's Team ATB-Running With Scissors, must jockey for position even before the start-gun goes off. To succeed in this type of race, a team must have strength, solid teamwork skills, and a little bit of luck. The 2002 Atlanta Hi-Tec was Running With Scissors' 4th race, and teammate Jason Gretch had a feeling the team had a shot at a top 20 spot if they could avoid the hang-ups that catch slower-starting teams. Having trained and raced together since the beginning of the year, he and teammates Paul Cox and Collene Pitts have had great team dynamics, and have shown strength early in previous races. Jason and Paul originally met at the December ATB training at Island Ford, and found Colleee through the ATB message board. Jason had been racing for about a year, and Paul a bit longer, but Collene, a former triathlete, had only recently heard of adventure racing, and had hardly ever mountain biked when the team first joined forces. The team trains regularly at Yellow River and Stone Mountain, and like to head up to Bear Creek trail whenever they get the chance. So far, they have completed two 12-hour races together, and attempted the 36-hour E-Fix in May. In June, the team was just one wrong-turn away from a strong finish at the Mountain Sports Festival Adventure Race in North Carolina. Undaunted, the team stuck together, and were able to pull off a 15th place finish in the Hi-Tec by getting ahead of the crowd early, and maintaining a strong position through the rest of the race. As Jason suspected, six months of training and teamwork are starting to payoff. The Hi-Tec proved that Team Running With Scissors is starting to gel. Bolstered by the strong finish, Jason, Paul and Collene are now contemplating the Oddessy One-Day race, and, of course, have their eyes set on returning to conquer the E-Fix. Down the road, the team would like to work up to a multi-day expedition length race, such as the Eco-Challenge or the Raid Gauloise. But one question lingers - does the team actually run with scissors? Jason assured me they do not. But then again, there might be a pair in the team first aid kit. Atlanta TrailBlazers congratulates Team ATB-Running With Scissors on their 15th place finish in the 2002 Atlanta Hi-Tec Adventure Race, and wishes them the best of luck in the future. Swap Shop If you have some adventure racing gear to sell, swap or want, Jackie Williams, jswilliams21@hotmail.com, and we'll post it here. Send us the item, price, description, photo (if possible), and contact information. For Sale: Draft Master Bike Rack Draft Master bike rack for sale for 2" receiver hitch. Fits four bikes. $100.00. Contact Becky Rentz at brentz3@hotmail.com or 404.325.8072. For Sale: Thule Roof Rack with Fairing Thule Roof Rack, fits two bikes and most vehicles. A short car adaptor for hatchbacks is also available. Excellent condition. Asking $200. Contact William Key at uacatz@mac.com. Werner Paddles 2 Paddles - Werner Point Paddles, a quality beginner/entry level paddle for whitewater or boats with a smaller girth. Fiberglass shafts and composite blades. One is 202 cm with a right hand control grip, the other is 204 cm with no grip. Yellow shaft and white blades. Excellent condition. $100 new, asking $49 each. Contact robbstanek@hotmail.com, or 770.745.5752. Side Notes Photos of the 2002 Atlanta Hi-Tec event are available at www.ericbeach.com/events/hitec2. If you would like to contribute articles on gear, training, or just have something "interesting" that happened to you or a team during a race, let Jackie Williams know by e-mailing the article to jswilliams21@hotmail.com, by the 25th of each month and she will include your article in the next month's newsletter. If you're new to the sport and not sure about racing, volunteer. It's the best way to learn about a race from the inside out. On that note, ATB is putting out a call for volunteers. We need people to volunteer to help organize ATB events. Please contact Chris O'Connell, oconnell1973@hotmail.com, if you are interested in participating in any way. www.trailblazerar.com