Kenric.net

We entered our first Adventure Race… this was listed as a beginners race so we thought, why not? After all, it was only 1-3 miles of kayaking, 10-15 miles of mountain biking and 5-8 miles of trail running. Before we could change our minds, I had charged the $265 entry fee on my credit card so we couldn’t back out.

We arrived for check-in around 3pm at Stony Creek Metropark. That’s where we got our team bibs, bike numbers and found out the course specifics. We were Team 102 and Team 115. Rex, Mike and Mark went paddling in the kayaks while me, Vich andPaul stayed on shore and listened to the biking tips. We checked into the hotel around 6pm and had a large pasta meal for dinner to fuel up. We used our hotel rooms as the bike shop. Team 102 - Team Lost Boys & Team 115 - Team Rumblefish.

At 6:30am we arrived at the transition area and we began to stage our bikes and food. The race began at 8:00am. The start was staged, with Coed beginning at 8:00am, Male at 8:05am and Female, Corporate at 8:10am.

The race began with a 1.5 mile kayak around the lake. The kayak leg included a 300 ft. kayak portage across a small island and finished with the first special test. This test was to get your team over a 4 foot wall without touching it.

Next came the 11mile mountain biking portion, which began with a chest deep water crossing. As we were entering the small pond, the first place team was crossing also, but they were on their way back already!

The single track was fairly easy with no hard climbs or very technical areas. We had to dismount to cross a creek and a mud bog. At one point, the Lost Boys got lost (of course) and lost about 15 minutes deciding which way to go. We finished the biking portion in 90 minutes and began the next two special tests.

The first place team finished at this time. There was a railroad tie pull which cramped everyone on both teams and made the final 7.5 mile trail run (or walk) very tough. “Maybe if someone didn’t help pull/push 3 other teams, they wouldn’t have gotten cramped.” The trail run was uneventful. The trail consisted of roadside ditches and grass fields. The final tests included climbing a 12 foot wall, which was very easily for both teams. Then it was a quick jog to the finish! We had no idea what our results were until they were posted on the webpage the next day.

Here are the official results from the male division:

Right click (on the video link below and save target as) to see us in action! We were fortunate enough to get about 10 seconds of airtime on the Outdoor Life Network. We’d like to think it was due to our skill, but you’ll see it was not the case. You can see us on the wall helping another team. I think we were almost last at the time. Then you see the back of us as we’re just beginning the biking leg and the first place team is returning from it!