POCAR Prep

Team Midwest Mountaineering has been busy training in this harsh Minnesota winter.  Cold weather and snow has made training difficult, but we have still managed some 3 hour outdoor runs, weight training, yoga, XC skiing and other cross training activities.  Why?  POCAR.  The Purdue Outing Club has been organizing an Adventure Race for a number of years.  They host a collegiate and an open division with team sizes between four and six members.  Not wanting to go small on the only event they host, they go for multi-day, allowing 48 hours for teams to complete the course.  Your prize, a patch for finishing.  It doesn't seem like much, but not many earn the patch.

48 hours is enough time to see large temperature and weather swings.  You have to be prepared for anything that can happen.  Last year, the Midwest Mountaineering finished in twenty hours.  Trekking up and down hills, for 40 miles, most of it in the dark.  We can't plan on 20 hours this year.  You don't know what the combination of course and weather will bring.  Train for the worse case scenario.  Pack for the worse case scenario.  Mentally prep for the worse case scenario.

Last year was not without issues.  Forty miles on frozen ground is hard on the feet.  William went with borrowed shoes and still bemoans that decision.  We opted not to carry trekking poles, but will probably carry them this year.  Paula opted not to whine, even though the bottom of her feet earned her the right too.  The right to whine, not to quit.  Last year was a victory for Team Midwest Mountaineering.  Not because we were the fastest or best prepared, but because we were persistent.  We kept going when the front runners bailed.

More to come when we return.  Wish us luck.  Post a comment!