Team SOLE takes the win at C2C
Take a look at a map, the big one I have in my office is a poster of the USA. Look at Michigan and look for Traverse City on the Northwest of the peninsula, then look for Alpena on the Northeast side of the peninsula. It's easy to see on the map and it puts it all right out in front of you. This race started on Lake Michigan just South of Traverse City and ended up in Lake Huron at Alpena. It took us just over 62 hours.
The race began at Sleeping Bear National Park with a 10 mile run down the rocky, sandy coast of Lake Michigan. If you had enough energy in between breaths to look around there were incredible, towering sand dunes to our left and the massive, placid, Lake Michigan on our right. We packed light, with the minimal mandatory gear and plans to share 2 bottles of water. We quickly dropped the teams that opted for heavy packs and lots of unecessary gear.
Next was a fast bike ride, navigation was going to be tough moving at the speed we were going, mid way through there were 4 or 5 teams all searching for the same checkpoints. We pushed on with all these teams following our line until Paul says, "left here." We all went left and all the other teams stayed straight. Soon though our little shortcut ended and we're pushing our bikes through the bush till we pop out at a road. No teams in site :).
We come to the transition within minutes of team Eastern Mountain Sport, a team we'd get to know quite well as we battled for the lead. EMS with navigator Tom Zidec of Canada was navigating spot on.
Team SOLE on the otherhand, we were moving fast, making pretty good nav decisions, but we just couldn't drop them. Five minutes ahead, five minutes behind, 20 minutes behind and then back together again. Soon though, the sleepmonsters joined both teams and together we hiked a crooked line up a dirt road toward the next point. Aaron let Paul take a walking nap as he held onto a strap on his pack. Soon the two teams split again and headed to the cp. In our sleepiness we chose the wrong canyon and landed at the next cp 40 minutes behind, ouch! Awake now, Paul grabbed the reins and we shuffled cross country to the cp. Not 10 minutes later, we once again saw the lights of EMS fighting their own battle with the sleepmonsters and unable to find the point. Together we shuffled on, eventually separating and continuing to yo-yo our way through the course.
A 90 mile canoe through a dark winding river helped us to finally take the lead for good. We canoed for 13 hours on this dark, desolate river with no signs of life, human or otherwise, just us and the winding river avoiding trees and bushes that draped the river at nearly every turn.
A final bike, zip line over a sink hole, a rappel and ascent into and out of another sink hole then a short canoe to the finish. With a 2 minute nap somewhere in the middle of this story, it was tough on the final paddle to keep focused and remember we were still being chased. Paul pushed us though and nav'd through islands, dams and towns to arrive on the shores of Lake Huron. 62 hours. Nearly 3 hours ahead of EMS. A well earned victory always feels good. Thanks to the whole staff of infiterra, they did an excellent job and we certainly recommend attending their events, but try to find a time in Michigan when the kamikazi mosquitos aren't swarming...that's a whole other story.
PRIMAL QUEST - Here we come
June 25th - more than 90 teams will head out into the heat of Utah's deserts for the 2006 Primal Quest Expedition Race. Billed as a 7-10 day expedition, this race is going to test every team in these harsh desert conditions where temps can easily top the 100 degree mark and teams may go for days without support or signs of civilization.
We know the events, but not the order or the distances. We'll be River Boarding, Kayaking, Trekking, Mountain Biking and doing a huge ropes course that PQ touts as being EPIC with more than 12 miles of ropes.
Team SOLE has put together a strong team that is experienced, prepared, strong and ready for the high temps. Karen and Paul will be joined by Kris Clausen from Tasmania, Australia - one of Australia's top adventure athletes and Rafael Campos from Brazil, the only guy to beat Paul in the Costa Rica Solo Adventure race last March.
Watch Team SOLE on the Primal Quest web site, one of the coolest sites you'll find that offers nearly "real time" tracking of teams 24 hours a day. www.ecoprimalquest.com
Explore the WEST heads to Baja California
It's a shorter drive than you think and one of the best course layouts ever. Don't miss the Baja California stop of Explore the West. If you haven't been to Baja in a while and you haven't raced one of the Baja X-treme races, hosted by Antonio Rosquillas and the whole Rosquillas clan, you will be pleasantly surprised. They make it easy to get to Baja and experience the incredible terrain, people and food that Baja is famous for. Grab a couple of teammates and make a family trip to Baja. Volunteeers and spectators are welcomed with open arms to this family-style event. Teams of two and three coed and otherwise are welcome. For more information go to www.explorethewestar.com
E-CAMP Adventure Race Training
June 9-11, twenty athletes from various backgrounds and all with varying levels of AR experience and goals, gathered at Camp Whittle in Big Bear Lake to learn about adventure racing - sort of trial by fire. After an evening of clinics, teams of 4 and 5 accompanied by an experienced E-Camp racer/coach biked, hiked, paddled, rapelled and navigated their way through a more than 24 hour real deal adventure course.
"As anyone who has been reading SCARAB (Southern CA AR Buddies)
for a while already knows, E-Camps are a great way to take the leap to
multi-day racing, or to improve your skills in these events. Karen and
Paul are passionate about the sport and have gathered expert coaches who
share their enthusiasm. If you ever have a chance to do an E-Camp, you
won't be dissapointed."
John Turner, 2-Time E-Camp Participant and PQ Racer.
Join the fun, next E-Camp is September 29 - August 1, 2006, www.ecampinternational.com