2009 started with a big win at POCAR in southern Indiana. This January event hosted by the Purdue Outing Club is a three discipline event involving orienteering, trekking, and mystery events. We kept up a steady effort and crossed the finish line in a fraction over 20 hours. The final team came in as we were headed home, 27 hours after our finish. We completed 40+ miles of hilly trekking and tricky nav. Great job Paula W., William and Pete. Interesting note: The temperature when we left Minneapolis was 24 below zero. The temperature at the start of the race was about 20 degrees. Balmy!In February, Clark was in an automobile accident that sidelined him for all but one race of the 2009 season. He is truly chomping at the bit for the 2010 season.
Spring saw Pete and David team up for some local fun runs. They finished first in both the AR Tuneup hosted by MNOC, and the annual bike-hike-BBQ put on by local enthusiasts. While these are fun events, the competition is stiff, a fun way to work out the kinks of a long winter.
The first race of the year was the Wild 12 Hour in Redwing, MN. Paula W., William and Pete competed with super sub Alan Eastland. A strong start on an 8 mile trek put us in third place as we entered the water.
Some minor difficulties on our poorest discipline dropped us one place to 4th. Leaving the water, we completed a word jumble to regain third place, only to lose it again at the transition to the bike. Still among the lead groups, we chose to complete the rappel section before setting out on the long leg of the bike section. A navigation error by one of the lead teams put us back in third place, where we stayed until the end. This race ended up a 7 hour sprint between the lead teams with only 35 minutes separating the top 4 finishers. We missed 2nd by three minutes.
The Wild 6 Hour took on a new format in 2009. A score-O format with random event order took the place of the traditional format. The event was held in William O'Brien State Park, just north of Stillwater, MN. Once again, TMMAR struggled to put together a full roster.
This event featured our first race with new team member Chris Mehus, and a last minute sub, Nicky. Chris is a proven performer, while Nicky was a willing participant, but had no idea what she signed up for. We chose to go bike, boat, followed by the O-section. The bike section was a convoluted score O on six overlapping maps with very small CP designations. We wasted a lot of time trying to figure the maps out and ended up skipping some easy points inadvertently. We finished strong, even though we had one minor mishap when Pete dumped Nicky on tow. Boating in MN this summer was not the best, with low water levels on most rivers, but we persevered and posted one of the better paddle times. Not bad for having one person with no boating experience. With only the trek section ahead of us, we set out on a blistering pace. A week of the flu, and the heat started catching up with Nicky and we had to stop for some personal maintenance. We did the best we could with teamwork and efficient navigation and came in just under the six hour bell. Again, 3rd place overall. Well done team.
The end of June saw Pete and Paula W. compete as a two person coed team for the first time. They chose to enter the Race for the Booty, in eastern Wisconsin near the Northern Kettle Moraine. 37 teams were lined up for the start at 0500 in the AM for this 14 hour event. The format for this event was similar to the Wild Summer Sprint, in that teams selected which leg they wanted to go on first when they signed in the day prior to the event. The choices were paddle, paddle, or bike/orienteer. Paula arrived early and secured one of the coveted bike leg slots. 5 minutes after the start, Paula and Pete found themselves the only ones left in the lodge, plotting their course and setting up a strategy. A 15 mile bike, found them caught up with several teams, and the only team at the first orienteering point. Most of the teams chose a different order for the first event, which puzzled us somewhat, because there were only two logical choices. We set out in to the mosquito infested woods on some really sketchy maps and ended up back at our bikes 5 minutes later, either the maps were really poor, or we weren't in the correct location. It was a combination of both. We readjusted and knocked out the first section and loaded up for the single track section. Some great single track riding, followed by two more orienteering sections, separated by road biking found us hunting for water and headed back to the transition point. No idea that we were the first to finish bike leg. We set out on the canoe, another sketchy map in hand, and played hike a boat down the river to collect two controls, turn around and hike a boat back. We checked in, got the final boat map and learned that an all male team was approx. 30 minutes in front of us, having completed one of the boat legs first. Alternating between paddling, hike a boat and cramping, we collected the last two points and were faced with a climbing challenge to complete the race. We finished 30 minutes out of first place. One of two teams to complete the entire course. The only coed finishers. In the end, only 15 of 37 teams were categorized as finishers, all the others.... DNF. I am sure this is due to the sketchy maps in very difficult terrain. Interesting note: This race is run by two people with no support. A big endeavor. They are in to in enough to get their Pirate Logo tattooed on to their arms....
In July, the team competed in the Minnesota Orienteering Club's annual Adventure O. This 7-8 hour event places a premium on navigation. A misplaced plot, and a stutter in the first O section through a damper on a great event. However, racing with Clark, and new teammate Paula Meyers, made the well designed event enjoyable. The order of the day was Orienteer, Creek Trek, bike on trails, kayak, bike on trails, single track, and bike on trails to the finish. The team ran well, but had some organizational troubles since we hadn't raced together in a long time, or ever for that matter. Highlights include a good paddle section, one of the best the team has completed, and some fun single track cycling. This event had some great variety in terrain that was remarkably unique compared to most MN events.
August saw the Midwest Mountaineering Adventure Race Team head to the Northern Kettle Morraine in WI for the second time in one year. This time the event was the Sweaty Otter, put on by Fat Otter racing. Both Paula's, Chris, William, and Pete went down to compete as both a 2 person and a 3 person coed team. The team stayed at the Long Lake campground and endured a nice thunderstorm the night prior to the race. Not the best way to get a good nights sleep. A cold wet breakfast greeted us in the AM, but the team loaded up and met Paula W. at the transition area with clearing skies on the horizon. The sun came out 15 minutes prior to the start and what was cool and wet quickly became hot and muggy. The start of the race featured a 3 mile single track run, extended leMans start to a road ride. The initial ride consisted of a que sheet map (turn right leaving the parking lot, left at first intersection, etc.) to the top of a local ski hill, about a 7 mile ride. Arriving at the top of the ski hill, we were given the race maps and headed off to the next section, a road ride to a horse barn where we had to haul 10 hay bales per person from a trailer, 50 yards to a loft. 
Back on the bikes, we traveled a few miles to a local lake for a swim. This was a new event for some of the team and not one we were overly proficient with. All members survived. At this point we were firmly bedded in the middle of the pack, hovering around the top 30% mark. A return to the start for a quick refuel and a mountain bike repeat of a portion of the run start with some extra trail thrown in. After safely completing the single track, all five of us set out for the first large O section, consisting of 9 points. A few easy points, a few hard points and some good teamwork later and we exited the O section in second place. Next up was a good road bike session with two micro O sections in the middle, 2 controls each. Next up, a midnight start to a paddle. The paddle consisted of a series of bearings which bounced you off the shore until you reached the first control. Paula W. and Pete each plotted the azimuths and came up with the same location for the first control. 45 minutes later we were off what turned out to be a frustrating water section for most teams. Back on the bikes, we found ourselves tied for first after one of the leading teams members had to drop. The coed male team we were chasing seemed to always be a few minutes ahead of us.
A medium ride put us back on foot for another 9 point O section. This one was wet, having to wade bogs several times. Some tricky nav that had controls hidden so well you would have to almost run in to them (I have never been on a night O section that had zero reflective tape) Another good section of team work had us catch the leaders, and leave about two minutes after they did (faster runners). Back on the bike and we are off to the start area for the last section, another large Orienteering section. This section combined both distance and difficulty to make sure we got our monies worth. A slight falter on the 2nd to last point had us backtrack, a loss of about 10 minutes. The leading team was nowhere to be found, so our assumption was they had completed. Coming around the bend to the last point, we find them punching the last control. They take off at a sprint while we punch and follow. That didn't last as we saw we could not stay in a group and catch them. All were smiling as we came in to the finish, 2nd and third overall, 1st place in both coed 2 and 3 person, and 2 of only 4 teams to complete the course.Sweatty Otter turned out to be our last event of the year. The economy caught up to our priorities outside of racing. We abandoned the idea of a visit to nationals, cleaned up our gear and enjoyed the fall, training and sweating together, dreaming of next year.
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