Index
Section One: Upcoming ATB Events
Section Two: Notable News
Section Three: Training Tips/Gear Review, 151 Ways to Prevent Blisters by John Vonhof (continued)
Section Four: Swap Shop
Section Five: Side Notes

Section One: Upcoming ATB Events
October
Oct 19-20: 24 Hours of Adrenaline Georgia International Horse Park, Conyers, GA
Oct 26: Altamaha Wilderness Adventure Race Hazlehurst, GA
Oct 26-27: The Jeep Kentucky Adventure Race Weekend Carter Caves State Park, near Ashland, KY
November
Nov 2: ATB Climbing Certification Wieuca Road Baptist Church. Only $50 for members! Nonmembers=$65.
Nov 2: Pickett State Park Adventure Race Falls Creek Falls State Park. Jamestown, TN
Nov 7-9: USARA National Championship Sapphire Valley, NC
Nov 10: Sapphire Sprint Adventure Race Sapphire Valley, NC
Nov 16: Gear Swap, Training, and Cookout at the 'Hooch. More info coming soon!
Check out www.trailblazerar.com to confirm event time and location or for more information.

Section Two: Notable News
SPECIAL CLINIC FOR ATB MEMBERS
Marc Heileman, one of the top climbers in the United States, will be
conducting a climbing skills certification clinic for ATB members on 2
November at 9a.m. at the Wieuca Road Baptist Church.
The program meets the certification requirements of most adventure races,
including Odyssey Adventure Racing. Instruction will focus on terminology
for and knowledge of equipment and knots, ascending, rappelling, belaying,
and safety. To be certified participants must be able to satisfactorily tie
knots, belay, rappel, ascend, and demonstrate safety measures with full pack
(standard mandatory gear). Harnesses and other gear will be provided for
those who don't bring their own. The cost for ATB members is $50;
non-members fee is $65.
ATB members who are interested can contact Zachary Doppel at
zdoppel@mindspring.com.

RACE REPORT: THE ATLANTA URBAN CHALLENGE
www.urbanchallenge.com
by Bryan Goble
On Saturday, September 7th, Team TrailBlazers (Eva Shen-First-time racer &
MVP, myself, and support member Chris Hanglin) participated in the inaugural
Atlanta Urban Challenge, an event best described as a riddle-ridden urban
scavenger hunt. At the 16th stop of the 2002 Urban Challenge Tour, sixty
other pairs of competitors, all anxious to be put to the test mentally and
physically, accompanied us. The goal? To place in the top 10 and earn a bid
to compete in the $50,000 winner-take-all Finals in Las Vegas on November 1st.

The event began at Champion Sport Bar & Grill in the Marriott Marquis Hotel
downtown with a pre-race trivia challenge that consisted of 30 of some of
the most obscure questions unknown to man. Easy? You think you're so smart?
Well tell me the answer to this one, smarty pants:
In 30 minutes, how many cold baked beans did Karen Stevenson eat one by one
with a cocktail stick by to set a world record?:
2780,
12,780,
27,800 or
127,800
(Want more? http://www.urbanchallenge.com/atlanta/2002/trivia.shtml)

The trivia challenge wasn't just a confidence-destroying exercise; it
was used to determine the teams' starting order. Based on the number of
questions answered correctly, teams were released in groups of 8 and
staggered in five-minute increments. After our less-than-stellar score was
tabulated, we were placed in the fifth release, which effectively meant that
the first group of teams had a 25-minute advantage on us. Undaunted, we
collected our things and the race provided digital camera and headed to the
starting line where we were given some last minute instructions and our
"clue books". The books contained riddles whose answers were supposed to
lead us to each of 12 checkpoints scattered throughout the Atlanta area.
Once we solved the riddles, we had to visit the checkpoint and take a
picture of ourselves in front of it with a race provided digital camera. The
camera was our only passport; so teams had to be certain that they were
taking a photo at the correct location otherwise risk disqualification.
Teams were allowed to employ outside assistance in solving the clues so
many used phones to call support people to relay the clues. Support members
can do research using whatever resources were available to them. Ours spent
the morning surfing the Internet, piecing together answers for teams out on
the course and finding the best routes to get them there. Instead of reading
clues over the phone, we opted to fax our clue sheet to our only support
member as our first order of business (see, we are smart after all).

With the dirty work out of the way, we finally headed out to conquer the
course. As part of the race's rules, teams are allowed to travel by foot or
MARTA (if you knew the routes and were lucky enough to ever see a bus) to
make their way to each of the checkpoints and complete the course before the
five-hour cutoff. We swiftly made our way through the first three
checkpoints and knew we had leapfrogged many teams. At the third checkpoint,
the Skip Man (Woman) greeted us. The Skip Man is a little roving person that
is kind of a wild card that allows a team to skip any one of the
checkpoints. Psyched, we headed towards CP4, which we believed to be at or
near Turner Field. Upon arriving at Turner Field, we spent about 40 minutes
unable to find anything that fit our clue. A few minutes later, our cell
phone rang with news from the race director that the clue book had been
misprinted and that we should have headed North of the Capital. Doubly
unfortunate for us, they had begun turning around teams at the previous CP,
just after we had left heading in the wrong direction.
Having run an extra two miles in the midsummer sun, Eva began to tire a
bit and our steady jog turned into a moderate walk. The good news was that
we were back on track and were in for a short break in the form of a MARTA
train ride from downtown to Inman Park.

We conserved energy and navigated through the rest of the course at a
moderate pace, traveling from Inman Park to Little Five Points and then
through the Virginia Highlands area. From there, we headed to CP's at
Piedmont Park, decided to use our Skip Man pass to forego a stop at the
Botanical Gardens and eventually headed back downtown.
We returned to race HQ as the 17th team to correctly identify all of the
checkpoints, but after race officials considered our passport woes we were
given a 30-minute time credit that bumped us up to fifth place and earned us
a free race entry in the Vegas finals. Satisfied with our accomplishment, we
made ourselves comfortable at Champions and enjoyed an extended lunch while
sharing war stories with other teams as they came in.

Top honors went to local adventure racers Jeff Plank and Tim Montz of
Team Horny Goat Weed who received the first place prize of free
airfare/lodging/race entry to Las Vegas for the finals in November. It's
nice to see adventure racers keeping everyone else in check! Good luck to
Horny Goat Weed in their quest for the $50,000 grand prize... just don't
spend it all before you get back.

All in all, it was a well-organized event and just a nice change of pace
from the typical adventure race. We can't wait for next year!

If you want to see how you'd fare on the CP clues, here you go. Answers are
below and pictures can be found at
http://www.urbanchallenge.com/atlanta/2002/checkpoints/index.shtml Enjoy!
CP1) Look ma, no hands ... or arms!! CP 1 is truly a red head found in Folk
Art Park north of race headquarters.
CP2) Atlanta Math!! Compute the number suggested below to find CP 2: Trey
Hodges plus Jason Marquis minus Chipper Jones minus Vinny Castilla plus
Rafael Furcal equals CP 2 etched in stone in Centennial Olympic Park.
CP3) Huh?! CP 3 is a restaurant in downtown Atlanta whose two-word name is
epitomized by the following extract from the Internal Revenue Code:
...an individual who is a duly ordained, commissioned, or licensed minister
of a church or a member of a religious order shall compute his net earnings
from self-employment derived from the performance of service described in
subsection (c)(4) without regard to 107 (relating to rental value of
parsonages), 119 (relating to meals and lodging furnished for the
convenience of the employer), and 911 (relating to citizens or residents of
the United States living abroad), but shall not include in such net earnings
from self -employment the rental value of any parsonage or any parsonage
allowance (whether or not excludable under 107) provided after the
individual retires, or any other retirement benefit received by such
individual from a church plan (as defined in 414(e)) after the individual
retires;
CP4) No cracks about this one! Within 200 yards of the capitol grows a tree
dedicated to peace and a dude named Sri Chinmoy. Don't bother with a Google
search on this one. You are on your own. The plaque in front of the tree is
CP 4.
CP5) Brought to you by the letter M! CP 5 is a statue depicting Babs and a
blueprint north of CP 4
CP6) Need an oil change? CP 6 shares its name with the first three letters
of the early 20th-century art movement, whose members sought to ridicule the
culture of their time through deliberately absurd performances, poetry, and
visual art. Find it in the Inman Park area.
CP7) Take two and call me ... Do you know where the home of the painkiller
is? Get a photo at the cafÈ, east of CP 6 that claims this honor.
CP8) Who hit black-eyed Susan? Locate the land Augie Hurt used to call home
and then find the flying flag of the 7th state to join the Union. The flag
is CP 8. Make sure you are pointing at the flag!
CP9) It sounds kinda dirty! CP 9 is an establishment in the Virginia
Highlands area that fits the following wacky equation. Find it for CP 9:
20/200 visual acuity plus second word of the title of first cartoon with
music equals CP 9.
CP10) Who are those guys? Located in the grove that serves as memory for
Ezzard, Ulsey, Hartsfield, and Butt. It's brown, it's round, it's hollow,
it's metal, it's art, it's CP 10. BTW, you will find CP 10 in a park that
shares its name with a type of glacier.
CP11) What's a Malval? Malval-Julia is a silver sculpture near the Atlanta
Botanical garden created by Sidney Guberman in memory of Ms. Julia Orme
Martin. Find it cuz it's CP 11.
CP12) Rest on a nearby bench! CP 12 is a waterfall in a park that shares its
name with what you hope to do today. Get your photo in the Ansley Park
neighborhood for CP 12.
CP1 Answer) Red Head in Folk Art Park
CP2 Answer) 55 in Centennial Park
CP3 Answer) Mumbo Jumbo Restaurant
CP4 Answer) Sri Chinmoy Peace Tree
CP5 Answer) Barbara Miller Asher statue
CP6 Answer) Dad's Garage Theater
CP7 Answer) Brewhouse Cafe
CP8 Answer) Maryland State Flag
CP9 Answer) Blind Willie's
CP10 Answer) Abstract Sculpture in Mayors Memory Grove
CP11 Answer) Malval Sculpture in ATL Botanical Garden
CP12 Answer) Waterfall in Winn Park

Section Three: Training Tips/Gear Review
151 Ways to Prevent Blisters
by John Vonhof
(continued excerpt taken from John Vonhof's book Fixing Your Feet:
Prevention and Treatment for Athletes. Final two sections of chapter 14)

Things You Do in Combinations
Some blister prevention ideas work best in combination with other ideas.
Vaseline and wicking socks. Tincture of benzoin to hold tape on the feet.
Skin tougheners and double-layer socks. The list goes on and on, everything
from using an antiperspirant to using motor oil!
1. Vaseline on your feet, then pull on ankle length nylons, followed by
socks and then shoes. -- Geraldine Wales
2. Use Ultimax socks and a thin coat of Vaseline. -- Jim Stroup
3. Apply medicated A and D ointment to your feet the night before a race,
then the socks you will run in the next day. Reapply the ointment in the
morning and use the same socks. - Scott Snyder
4. Wear shoes that fit a little big and double-layer socks, and stay well
hydrated. - Jay Hodde
5. Apply tincture of benzoin to the bottom and sides of the foot. Then with
the foot in a relaxed position, layer strips of athletic tape from the back
of the heel to the ront of the foot, with each piece slightly overlapping
the previous piece. - Charles Steele
6. Try to keep your feet dry, air them out at breaks, and change from wet
socks to dry ones. - Cynthia Taylor-Miller
7. Spray your feet with Cramer's TufSkin, followed by Hydropel Silicone
Protective Ointment. -Dr. Billy Tolan
8. Use a combination of thin CoolMax socks, frequent sock changes,
re-lubricating with bag balm every 25 miles, and continuous fluid and salt
intake. - Bill Ramsey
9. Spray your feet with New-Skin Liquid Bandage, wear nylon hose, then
double-layer socks, all this inside of extra-long and extra-wide shoes. -
Nikki Robinson
10. Use Tom Crawford's Lipton Tea and Betadine soak as a skin toughener.
11. Spray the soles of your feet with Cramer's Tuf-Skin or an equivalent.
Two coats is better, allowing the first to dry a minute. Let it dry a minute
or so until tacky, then roll on a pair of two-layer CoolMax socks. The tacky
spray causes the inner layer of the sock to bond to your foot. All the
slippage, and friction, thus occurs between the layers of the sock, or
between the sock and the shoe. - Pierre Redmond
12. Clean your feet thoroughly. Cpat your heels, toes, and soles with
tincture of benzoine. After it dries, apply a layer of Avon Silicone Glove,
followed by double-layer socks. Reapply every four to six hours and change
socks at the same time. - Marin Skagerberg
13. Wear good shoes and socks that fit properly. -Dennis Halpin
14. Wear Duraspun acrylic socks with lots of foot powder.
15. Use duct tape, foot powder, and synthetic socks. - David Burroughs
16. I use antiperspirant (Ban Roll-On) every morning of the event before I
put on my socks. - George Cole
17. Wear CoolMax socks, with duct tape on the socks over the areas where the
hot spots are or will be, and a second pair of socks over this combination.
You must remove the duct tape from the sock and soak in hot soapy water as
soon as possible to remove the glue. - Rick
18. I pre-tape my feet in areas where I know from past experience I have had
blisters and use shoes that on non-taped feet have not caused blisters on
shorter runs. - Doug McKeever
19. Shave the hair off your feet and duct tape them before you leave the
house.
20. I recommend new motor oil, basic cheap oil works great. No special
weight, but I try to stay away from oils with additives. Then cheap men's
50/50 cotton polyester socks from any discount department store. The 100%
synthetic seem to work also, but I'm too cheap to buy them. Remember though,
the oil must be new since used oil is a carcinogenic. - Ray Krolewicz
21. The night before a run apply Cramer Tuf-Skin. In the morning rub on
Vaseline and coat with baby powder, followed by nylon socks, more powder,
and then thick socks. -Scott Rafferty
22. Use two CoolMax socks that allow motion between the two layers and not
with the feet. - Paul Alsop
23. Wear nylons under wool socks (for hiking). -Mary Gorski
24. Dry feet and good clean socks are the best prevention for blisters.
25. I first spray the bottom, sides and blister-prone parts of my feet with
tincture of benzoin and let it dry. At first I used to cut strips of duct
tape but now use 3M Microfoam tape. Stretch it slightly as you put it in and
smooth out any bumps. - G. Velasco
26. I use women's nylon ankle stockings on my feet first, followed by a
doubl- or single-layer CoolMax sock. - Ray Zirblis
27. I wear a CoolMax liner sock with either a Thorlo CoolMax blend light
hiking socks (summer) or Smartwool hiking socks (winter). - George Cole
28. I learned to wash my feet as seldom as possible and wear the same socks
most of the time. My feet developed a protective layer of dead skin and dirt
that made them nearly bulletproof. Blisters and abrasions never developed. -
Andrew Perdas
29. Change the liner and sock for a second pair about once every two hours
(or less if it's really warm) and let the original pair dry out. - George
Cole
30. Wash off your feet at night and coat with Vaseline. - Walt and Pat

Things You Do in General
In addition to doing things to your feet, applying things to your feet,
being careful to what you put around your feet, there are other ideas that
are helpful in preventing blisters. The ideas here run the gamut from lacing
techniques, hydration, proper shoe and boot fit, and regular changes of
socks.
1. Drink a lot of water to stay hydrated. - John H
2. Stay properly hydrated with electrolytes to maintain good sodium levels.
- Karl King
3. Learn different lacing techniques to prevent your feet from slipping
inside the shoes.
4. The key is prevention, think of boot, socks, epidermis, and lower skin
levels as a "system" and treat the whole system. - Tom McGinnis
5. Some insoles are better than others at helping to prevent blisters.
6. Re-lace your shoelaces in a different lace configuration to take the
pressure off a hot spot. - Pat and Walt Radney
7. Above all else, make sure the shoes fit. - Buzz Burrell
8. Wear new boots around the house to break them in before hitting the
trail.
9. Elevate your feet during breaks and at night to keep swelling down.
10. Run without socks to keep your feet from sliding around in your shoes
and get a better grip on the soles of your shoes. - Matt Mahoney
11. Two months before a race do lots of running sessions with bare feet on
sand. - Mike Snow
12. Stop and check out hot spots before they turn into blisters. - Rob
Langsdorf
13. Slow down if you feel your feet start to overheat. Often this allows
feet to cool enough to keep them from blistering. - Rob Langsdorf
14. Rotate between several pairs of shoes. - Jon Drury
15. Use Superfeet insoles. - Walt and Pat
16. For extreme heat, I cut up a space blanket on all the white parts of my
shoes and under the insole. - Clive Saffery
17. I wore the boots that were slightly too large so that during the course
of a hike, as my feet naturally swelled, they wouldn't become too tight and
rub.
18. I started hiking with a pack on every weekend. After initial blisters,
calluses finally developed which helped toughen my feet.
19. Don't sleep in damp socks. - Karen Borski
20. Change your socks regularly.
21. Don't hike ultra-long days in wet boots. - Karen Borski
22. Wet feet are less a problem than is dust, dirt, and tiny pebbles that
work their way through your shoes. The mesh upper allows the grit in, and
the sweat from your feet turns it into a mucky ooze that invites trouble.
Take a break at the aid stations and remove your shoes and socks, wipe your
feet, pound out the dirt in the socks, and put everything back on. - Jay
Hodde
23. If you are hiking in wet boots and socks, slow your pace a bit to reduce
pressure on the skin of your feet. - Karen Borski
24. Allow your feet to dry out as often as possible; including taking
shoes-off breaks when out for a long hike. - Karen Borski
25. If blisters persist, get new shoes. - Karen Borski
26. Take your boots and socks off once an hour, religiously, to air your
feet. - Jeffrey Olson
27. I trace the outline of my feet on an 8x11 paper after doing a 100-miler
and sketch in the blisters, noting any anti-blister techniques I used. This
helps me remember what I've tried and what worked or didn't. - Ray Zirblis
28. The guy at the outfitters who helped me fit my boots correctly saved my
feet.
29. The best way I've found to prevent blisters is to get blisters. I don't
do anything to avoid blisters on training runs and actually welcome it when
I do get a blister because I know my feet are getting tougher. On race day
It's different, then I go for the double socks, gaiters, comfortable shoes,
etc. - Scott Diamond
And finally, ending on a humorous note, one more way to prevent blisters.
30. I have discovered a 100% foolproof way of avoiding blisters. Its beauty
lies in its simplicity, its effectiveness is unparalleled by any remedy to
which I've been exposed, and it works just as well in the
marathon/ultra-marathon world as it does in adventure racing. Here it is: at
the start of the race, as everyone takes off, you elevate both feet (on a
log, an ottoman, a slavish support crew member, or whatever) and if you can
stay there until the race is over, blisters are guaranteed not to get you. -
David Schmitt

Section Four: Swap Shop
If you have some adventure racing gear to sell, swap or that you need,
e-mail ATB at atbweb@eyeprojector.com, and we'll post it here. Send us the
item, price, description, photo (if possible), and contact information.
(Likewise, if you have an item posted and it sells, please let us know so we
can remove it from the list!)

For Sale: 17 inch Schwinn Moab 2000. This bike is almost three years old. It
originally cost about $900. It was only used for a year. It's been in
storage for a year and a half. Would like to get $450. Contact Marjorie
Perry, adventuremom@mindspring.com, 770.934.2483(home and fax),
404.822.7674(cell).

For Sale: Cassin Eolo Racing Harness (medium size). This is great racing
harness. It's very lightweight and it meets all necessary regulations. It's
only been used two or three times. I'm selling it because it's too big. You
can get a full description at www.argear.com/gear/grcassineolo.html. It
retails for$69 plus tax and shipping. I would like to get $49. Contact
Marjorie Perry, adventuremom@ mindspring.com, 770.934.2483(home and fax),
404.822.7674(cell).

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.

For Sale: Ocean Kaya Cabo, sit on top tandem kayak: I am relocating to
Germany in a few months and regrettably need to get rid of this kayak. It
has been an awesome training tool. It is PERFECT for training and working on
your open water stroke techniques, cadence/pace and paddle-muscle
development. Once you master this thing, you will FLY in performance kayaks.
It is the same, exact model Sandy, Todd, Bill, Dean and I used for the
Expedition BVI race. We even rigged cool sails on it for the race. (In fact,
I bought it solely for the purpose of preparing for that race.) The
following is the site, www.oceankayaks.com/ products/cabo.html, which has
the dimensions and features listed. I am in NC, so there will be additional
shipping charges, but I am asking $500. Contact Chris "Robie" Robishaw,
910.867.7184, IMRobie@aol.com.

Section Five: Side Notes
Please send in your race results, articles and stories to Cathi Cannon,
atbweb@eyeprojector.com, to be included on the web page.

Also if you read something interesting about gear, training, etc. that would be helpful to
the rest of the membership let Jackie Williams know by e-mailing the article
or where it can be found to jswilliams21@hotmail.com, by the 25th of each
month and she will include the information in the next month's newsletter.

If you're new to the sport and not sure about racing, volunteer for ATB.
It's the best way to learn about adventure racing from the inside out. On
that note, ATB is putting out a call for volunteers to help organize ATB
events. Please contact us at atbweb@eyeprojector.com or Bryan Goble
(goble1@hotmail.com) if you are interested in participating in any way.