Team Midwest Mountaineering

Prepping for Raid the North Extreme

2011-07-13T20:08:00.000-05:00

The days seem shorter as Raid the North Extreme is rapidly approaching. About all the training hours have been banked, it is now time for banking sleep and final packing. The team is hoping that you take a moment each day to check our progress and give us a shout out. The long days and nights will start to run together, it will give us a needed boost as we transition from one discipline to another to know that our friends are out there, willing to give us a virtual pat on the back for what we have accomplished and kick in the butt to keep us moving down the trail.

Team Midwest Mountaineering Training in CO

You may be asking.... What is Raid the North Extreme? Here is a link to the event website. Read as much or as little as you would like. We are going up against some of the best teams in the world. Our goal.... to complete the event, have fun, maybe learn a little about ourselves and each other.

One item we are really excited about! British Columbia's West Kootenay! The are will have spectacular vistas, some of the best mountain biking in the world, epic paddling opportunities, and plenty of opportunity to suffer.

The teams will be equipped with SPOT tracking. This will enable you to follow our progress and see where we are with respect to other teams. It is unclear at this point where you will be able to do this, but I recommend visiting Checkpoint Tracker and the Raid the North Extreme sites. One of them will have a link to the tracking page.

A Day on the Moon

2010-11-15T21:09:00.010-06:00

Castle Valley

October signaled the end of the Adventure Race Season for Midwest Mountaineering and we went out in style at the CheckPoint Tracker National Adventure Race Championships in Moab, Utah, aka The Moon. Paula Waite and Pete Wentzel made the trip to Moab with super recruits Cathy Diamond and Nick Rogne. We were really happy to have two experienced adventure racers join us as we battled wind, diesel fuel spray and icy mountain passes to reach the race start. The trip was relatively uneventful as we bonded as a team and ate some good food on the journey. We arrived in Moab a full 30+ hours in advance to stretch our legs, scout the area, and finalize race prep. What a great race location; rugged, beautiful and surreal.

TMMAR with Ian Adamson

One benefit to our early arrival was that we were fully packed and prepared and able to attend the presentation by Ian Adamson, Seven time World Adventure Race Champion and three time endurance Including current) record holder for the most distance in 24 hours in a kayak.

The race, attended by all the top teams in the nation, started at 8 AM on a cool, crisp, sunny day on 29 October. The first discipline would cover all the water activities for the race; riverboarding and kayaking. The start tunnel was a comical site with over 150 racers in bike helmets, flippers, wetsuits, all with riverboard in tow. The countdown ended and we all "flipper ran" to the dock for the plop in to the water. The team assembled and all jumped at once. Pete started kicking to catch his "large flippered" teammates and noticed an issue right away, his flipper straps had fallen off. He fumbled getting them back over his heals, turned, and the teammates were gone. A few more kicks and a strap broke. This is going to be a long two miles. The team negotiated the rapids and had a lot of fun in this section that ended way too quickly. Pete managed to keep his flippers on by curling his toes and kicking constantly, which pushed the flippers further on his feet. However, when he stood, the flipper came off and was lost in the mud. $45 worth of AR gear gone... love this sport.

CP Tracker Nationals -- Water Section at EveryTrail

The team transitioned to paddle, Paula and Nick putting down a pace that Cathy and Pete had a hard time maintaining. Both boats managed the rapids without tipping, pretty good for mid-westerners with infrequent exposure to the trickier situations brought on by the moving water. As the rapids passed, we settled in for the long 25 mile paddle. The rapids sections were behind us, the uncomfortable seating and long effort were muted by the incredible scenery. Paula and Nick got a few breaks as they waited for Pete and Cathy and the entire team took the opportunity to fuel for the long day in front of them.

Corona Arch

The team reached the end of the paddle, stripped off the water gear and prepared for the first trek section. Pete plotted the 7 controls as Paula read the coordinates and we set off for Poison Spider Mesa. The team was debating whether there was enough time to get all the controls before the mandatory stop at the tyrolean traverse when they walked through the corona Arch and to the Via Ferrata that took them to the top of the Mesa. All that changed when they saw the Queue at the via ferrata. The team ended up waiting nearly an hour at this section and quickly surmised that controls 5 and 6 were probably not within reach. The maps provided were pretty sketchy and it would take a full on team effort to make sense of them. The terrain was surreal, the maps were crap, and the footing was iffy, but all the teams had to deal with these items. Reaching the top of the mesa, we headed north west toward control #4, an easy start to get our bearings, or so we thought.

TMMAR Route on Poison Spider Mesa

The rules stated that we had to stay on the rock or trails, but the rock was at a 45 degree slope, and there weren't any trails. 15 minutes later we are at a standstill as Cathy plays spiderwoman with 2nd thoughts about her chosen profession. She wasn't going up, down, or sideways without help. Nick took it upon himself to help, but quickly realized that the only support he could give was morale. He talked Cathy down and we decide on more conservative, less direct routes. The trek was a combination of undulating smooth rock and big slabs piled up on top of each other like remnants from an earthquake. This team wouldn't be going anywhere at a running pace. A fast trek was the order for the day. In the end, the team was a bit disappointed in this section. With three good orienteers, the first two controls were located, but the team came upon them with other teams leaving, not quite a follow, but not a find. Control #8 was not to be located. The organizers placed the control within 50 meters of the map edge, frustrating as half the map was left empty (cut off in the pic). With little to go by on the maps, no control descriptions, and nothing to reorient from (off the map) the team wasted 30 minutes walking around, not realizing they had wandered off the map. We abandoned in order to get to the Tyrolean before the cut off and recognized our catching feature from across the valley, too late to go and get the control we had searched so long to locate.

Reaching the Tyrolean, we queued up for another 40 minute wait. Teams were taking a long time to cross, and even though there were three routes, this bottleneck took time. Teams were starting to abandon hope of crossing as we made our way across. This was one skill the team was familiar with and we quickly made our way to the other side of the 350' wide valley with the floor 200' below. The team quickly headed further to the southwest and checked in at the rappel, 14 minutes before the cutoff. Phew. Following the instructions, we removed our shoes and socks and got ready to cross a waist deep pool of cool water to the rappel site. We were next in line when the clock struck 6:30 and we were told the site was closed.... but we were here in time... no, the rules state you have to be on the rope... no they don't... In the end, we made sure the log showed we were there in time, that we had punched well prior to the 6:30 cut off, and we headed backwards, up the valley in search of a way out, in the dark. The alternate way out was a 20 minute detour that eventually linked up with the exit from the rappel and we enjoyed the fun scrambling route off of the Mesa. Hard to believe we spent over two hours waiting or having to backtrack on a section that lasted 5 hours.

Back at the TA, the team donned their cycling gear, stowed their totes and headed off on the bike to the top of the mesa directly east of Moab. It was good to be moving and have a sustainable pace. We quickly settled in to a pace line and started passing teams, not knowing whether they had more or less controls than our team. It was a nice night out, not too cold, not too hot, clear, so we were able to see the stars. As we got to the edge of the Mesa, we started the steep, 400' climb. Put it in low gear and spin. Another team or two were passed in this section. We didn't know if there would be a queue at the end of the climb, but better to get there first.

We pulled in to the Slickrock TA and got our map and CP information. We are given the option of biking, trekking, or both. We quickly decided to try and bike as much as possible. It is the famous Slickrock trail.... We plot the points and plan on doing them in reverse order 21 down to 15. 21 and 20 are on the beginner loop, so we will be able to get familiar with the terrain while we bike this moonscape at night. Three of us are sporting AYUP Lights, so the night is almost day anyway. We head out, looking for turns in the trail and estimating distance. We come to the first point where we feel we need to dismount, drop our bikes and take the short jaunt to the control. Lights everywhere but near the control. We found it easy and trotted back to the bikes.

TMMAR's route on SlickRock

On the way to CP21, Pete found out what the white lines are for... to follow. The tendency is to follow your teammate, but when your teammate takes a turn, you end up cutting the corner. Pete hit a ledge at the bottom of a hill and went straight over the bars on to his head. Lucky it and his helmet are hard... Ten minutes later and Nick cuts a corner, a corner around a big pit in the rock with steep sides and a large pool of water. A skid, a slide, and a few chuckles and we all focus on the white lines instead of our teammates. CP20 came as easy as 21 and we are setting out again.

The cliff at CP 17

Things got a little confusing here. We went from an area of only singletrack, to single track and jeep trails. We figured the jeep trails would be easily identifiable, so we counted turns and jogs and tried to estimate distance. All of a sudden we are at Shrimp Rock, almost all the way to 17. What to do? The decision was made to pick up CP17, then return for 18 and 19. We measured carefully, but we didn't see the intersection where the path split on the way to 17... this is confusing. Luckily, the sharp turn past 17 was recognizable. We used it to confirm that we were in the correct spot. A quick backtrack and CP17 was found. Again, there were a lot of teams milling about, some on the south side of the trail? On the way to 17, we chose to go north then follow the depressions. Going past the easterly depression, Nick and Pete topped a knoll and were met with a black wall... The lights would not penetrate the blackness. Two more steps and you get a quick trip down 450'.

We took the now familiar route back to CP18, found the intersection and had a "Eureka" moment. Single track is dashes, jeep/alternate routes are dots... They are more spread out than the dashes, but locate-able. CP 18 was an easy find and we are off to drop our bikes at the next intersection. We dropped at the prominent intersection in our route, and set off on foot for 19. A longer trek, so we changed shoes for this one. The route was either widely spaced dots, or sand, so dropping the bikes was probably a good decision. We reached the area and went south west from the trail, not realizing that the trail map on our satellite photo was offset from the actual trail. We spent 25 minutes locating this control. An quick hike back to our bikes and we set out on the alternate/jeep path towards CP14.

Well, we found out why this is an alternate path. Rock so steep you have to rest your butt on your back tire on the downhills and have to zigzag your bike (on foot) up the uphills, if you can keep track of the dots. This was slow go, our mistake on the initial route which caused us to back track from 17 was taking it's toll. After a lot of effort, we see stripes and confused teams, proof that we are at the western intersection. A small bobble (wrong trail), and the team reorients and hits CP14. By comparison, the ride to CP 15 was easy, as was finding the control. We wanted to take the alternate route back, but couldn't find it and rode the single track back in to the start point.

CP Tracker Nationals -- Bike Section Home at EveryTrail

The cutoff for the bike/trek was 7 AM and we roll in at 5:30. It is a little cooler now, and we are all a little hungry. Hard to eat when you are holding on for dear life. But, we only have one control left!!! Hard to go up from here right? Apparently not. We set off to the east on a long climb... A 34 mile slog that involves 4000 feet of climb and a fun 4500 foot descent to the finish. Tuck the maps in and ride... right? Not true... there were two turns that were pretty crucial to making it back efficiently. The first was easy to find, the second, where you turn on to the Kokopelli trail, was a little tougher to find, miss it and you start down with nowhere to go but back up. We debated the 2nd, could we make it to the final CP on an alternate route? In the end, we chose correctly and beat some other teams back by 30 minutes. Teams that were riding by us on the hill to the peak. Along the way we saw teams sitting in the middle of the road eating, a team sleeping, and a whole lot of incoherent nonsense. The super-elite teams don't get to see the babbling gaggle at the back. I think they are missing out. The peak was awesome, and so was the ride to the finish where we ate a little too much and went down for a nap.

I think that the experience of this event, in this terrain, made the trip worthwhile. There has been a lot of debate about the format, opaque rules, etc., but if you step back and just ask if you had fun, it is pretty easy to smile about the event. Frustrating... all good events are. Hard... I would feel cheated if it wasn't. A lot of AR is about teamwork and bonding, this race provided plenty of opportunity to build that bank up. Thanks CP Tracker, see you next year. Hopefully, a little closer to the top of the finisher list. :-)

Thanks for the great photo Jason!

2010-11-05T11:36:00.000-05:00

Midwest Mountaineering at the high point of the CP Tracker AR Champs!

Jason Perreria, Wild Adventure Race Owner and Adventure Race enthusiast, ran across Midwest Mountaineering at the summit, 8419' above sea level, about an hour from the finish at the Checkpoint Tracker AR Championships. Thanks for the great picture Jason.

Blog post to come soon.

William Rocks the Madison Ironman

2010-09-13T08:26:00.000-05:00

Although a series of injuries scuttled a lot of his training regimen, William still toed up to the start line and did a killer job at the Ford Ironman Wisconsin. There were a total of 322 in his division and 2912 competitors overall. Here are the numbers:

William Eddy

BIB	AGE	STATE/COUNTRY	PROFESSION
453	30	COLUMBIA HEIGHTS MN USA	Student

SWIM	BIKE	RUN	OVERALL	RANK	DIV.POS.
1:35:32	5:38:44	4:33:42	12:07:31	647	111

LEG	DISTANCE	PACE	RANK	DIV.POS.
TOTAL SWIM	2.4 mi. (1:35:32)	2:30/100m	2161	269

BIKE SPLIT 1	40 mi. (1:58:14)	20.30 mph
BIKE SPLIT 2	43 mi. (2:07:34)	20.22 mph
BIKE SPLIT 3	29 mi. (1:32:56)	18.72 mph
TOTAL BIKE	112 mi. (5:38:44)	19.84 mph	667	113

RUN SPLIT 1	6.35 mi. (1:04:15)	10:07/mile
RUN SPLIT 2	6.65 mi. (1:09:41)	10:28/mile
RUN SPLIT 3	6.23 mi. (1:00:20)	9:41/mile
RUN SPLIT 4	6.97 mi. (1:19:26)	11:23/mile
TOTAL RUN	26.2 mi. (4:33:42)	10:26/mile	647	111

TRANSITION				TIME
T1: SWIM-TO-BIKE				12:21
T2: BIKE-TO-RUN				7:12

Thunder Rolls 24 Hour Adventure Race

2010-09-07T15:21:00.001-05:00

It has been too long since we created a new race report... too much time racing and not enough time blogging. We need to keep up with these items or we will forget how much fun we had with the Fat Otter 72 hour Raid, Planet Adventure 36 hour Old School AR, or Paula's first race as the Director of 180 Adventure's Stubborn Mule. Wow, that is a lot of racing. So, let's start it up again with the Thunder Rolls 24 Hour Adventure.

We raced down in Illinois at Thunder Rolls two years ago and had a great time. We put this race on the "to do" list early in the year. After all, we were all out of Boetje's Mustard. A free jar per member makes the trip down to this event worth the hours and dollars. It doesn't hurt that the race is top quality with a lot of twists. One not so fond memory of the race two years ago was the pack rafting. We had three racers in a raft built for two, meaning a small adult and a child... Rafts were on the gear list again. Surely it would be easier if we only have two people in the raft. A new entry on the gear list... walkie talkies. How are they going to be incorporated???

Paula, ready to unveil the magic bike!

Wow, this race is big. 38 teams representing some of the best the midwest has to put forward. A team is even present from Georgia. 38 teams.... wow. Our biggest race since the USARA National Champs in 2008.

Clark and Pete met Paula at the parking lot. The place was filling up fast, but the buzz was all about Paula's sweet new ride. No, she didn't get a new car. I still have to stare at the awful dent I put in it when I dropped a canoe on the front fender. Nope, Paula had a new rocket, a 2009 Trek Elite 9.9. I think the 9.9 must represent the weight of the bike. Pure sweetness. How are Clark and Pete going to keep up?

The race meeting over, we plot our control points (CP's) and formulate a plan for the race. Order of events:

Pete and Paula plot CP

Run
Portage
Canoe
Bike
Radi-O
Bike
Pack Raft
Orienteer
Ropes
Orienteer
Pizza!!!

Following a stirring National Anthem, we counted down to the midnight start and took off on a run with PFD's and paddles at the ready. Two miles later, we enter the parking lot where the boats are stored and start our assessment. Seats present and working (check), handles present and attached (check), no body damage (check), and we set off on the one mile portage. Paula with the map and paddles, Pete and Clark with the nice heavy canoe. Paula isn't the biggest fan of running. She is even more adamant that races aren't won in the first five minutes. She has been subjected too our jack rabbit starts in the past. So, out of the 38 teams in the 24 hour event, we were about 25 back coming in to the canoe selection. As other teams fumbled, we left the staging area passing about 15 teams with no plan. Paula may not run much, but she can march fast enough to make you jog. Into the woods we go with Paula shouting "on your left" and Pete and Clark straining to keep the canoe from ripping their arms off as they struggle to keep up. As we reached the 2nd control, we had picked off another five teams, but they weren't far back. We readied our gear, and headed straight through the woods to the water. Open river in front of us. A firefly family gathering of headlamps to our right.

Thunder Rolls AR 2010 Paddle

We now find ourselves on a swollen river, heading upstream, no idea of our race position, but in the element of Paula Waite. We head upstream, hugging the left bank, and making progress. We spot chemlights a distance upstream. Paula says we have to pass them by the next control, so we dig deep. We pass them with about a quarter of a mile to spare and punch the control. We had only seen three boats headed back downstream, but there were a lot of islands, we must have missed a couple. How could we be in 4th place? What followed was a fast 14 mile downstream paddle. Water smooth as glass, fast flow, full moon, shooting stars and good chit chat. Clark only asked "how much further a couple times." Things were going well. We arrived at the TA (transition area) ready to bike, four hours and thirty minutes after the start.

All smiles on the first bike leg

We focused on a fast transition and things were proceeding well until Pete took off his PFD. That extra insulation was all that was keeping him warm. Pete was in the front seat of the canoe and caught all the water coming off of Paula and Clarks paddles. The canoe was tight enough that Paula's paddle was often riding down Pete's shoulders. Pete was shaking so badly that everything became both difficult and comical. A little time wasted, but the team eventually started off on a 25 mile bike leg that had some good rolling hills, some gravel, four CP's and the John Deere Historic Site. The bike ended at the Nachusa grasslands. This site is a prairie restoration project with all types of native prairie grasses.

Thunder Rolls AR 2010 Bike Leg #1

Pete in the grasslands

We transitioned to our orienteering clothes as quickly as possible and apprehensively pulled out the radios. We had agreed that Paula would provide the directions while Pete and Clark ran the course. We were all picturing the ornamental grasses that have become so popular in landscapes. What we got was thick tall grass with all sorts of ankle grabbers and raspberry bushes thrown in. We started out a little rough. We couldn't have been more than 20 yards away from the control at one point, but were quickly well away from the target area. Paula asked, "Can you see the barn?" Our reply was we can barely see each other... Every step was in to a cloud of pollen as the heads of the grass were perched at eye level. Eventually, Pete and Paula decided to reset by going to a nearby hill. Pete ran in to the control on the way. Bingo. More luck than skill. Paula called out the next distance and direction as Clark and Pete agreed on the direction of travel and picked out a valley between two knolls, one of which had to be the feature. Off we slogged, with Paula asking if we were there yet about 25% of the way to the control. This was going to be a long exercise. Every control, all 12 of them, got a little easier as we worked out a system. This was going to be havoc on teams without a lot of navigation experience. In to the maze in 4th, out of the maze in 3rd!!! We had made a pass mid course!

Thunder Rolls AR 2010 Radi-O and 2nd Bike Leg

Back to the bikes. We head out and go a couple of miles when Clark begins to cramp. It was hot out in the grass, we kept up with water and electrolytes, but must have skimped a little. Pete put Clark on tow as he tried to slowly peddle through the pain. There were a few larger hills in this section, but for the most part, just rollers and a new wind to deal with. After 24.5 miles, Clark was recouped, we had visited Chief Blackhawks statue overlooking the Rock River, and were ready to transition to the packraft.

Packrafting..... no fun. The last time we did this it was three to a raft in a slow moving slough off of the Mississippi. This year is was the swollen Rock, with it's full on current. We had three pumps, so raft inflation went fast. We hiked the boats to the river, taking one minor detour. Oops, and set the boats in the water. Clark and Pete took the large raft, Paula took the smaller. We tied them up tight, Paula in back, bow to stern. A long boat is faster than a short boat, we were hoping that Paula's boat would get the equivalent of a draft off of our tail. We headed out and moved as quickly as possible to the other side of the river. Now for some upstream effort. Stroke, stroke, stroke.... have we gone anywhere? This is twice the work of the canoe and we aren't moving. Let's try the other side of the river... no better. Maybe the middle.... no better.

Thunder Rolls AR 2010 Pack Raft

On top of the sandstone cliffs

The fisherman off to the side think we are idiots. Not far off. maybe the two boat arrangement is hindering vs. helping? Lets unhook... I don't know that anything we tried made a difference. It was just slow hard work. An easy spot was 200 meters in five minutes. A tough spot was 20 meters in 5 minutes. It seemed like the river was full of the tough spots. Sixty five minutes for 1.2 miles.... dry ground. We punched the control on the bank and ran to the top of the sandstone cliffs and punched the next control. Back to the rafts to return from where we came. We were spent. No more paddle in our bones, thankfully, the return trip took 20 minutes with just some steering and a little effort. ** We later learned that some teams didn't make it past the initial put in. they got in the rafts, were swept backwards, and couldn't make enough headway to return to the put in. They ended up dragging their boats along the shore and skipped the section. **

O section with spotty GPS track

Now for the fun stuff, a long O section through the woods with a zipline and ascent at the mid-point. The packraft cost us a position, back in 4th, but we saw the team to catch as we came back in to the transition area. A quick transition and we are off on a YYY control O section. We had a map depicting the control locations with contours, and another that depicted the trail locations with no features whatsoever. Different scales requiring a lot of interpretation. We chose a bushwhack route to the first control, and bushwhack we did. A lot of thorns later we dumped out on to one of the trails. Pete stated, "We are..." as Clark called out, "There it is." A little more clarity on the maps revealed, we know where the current trail is with respect to the control. We head out in the direction of the second control with Pete checking off control features. The path crossed the stream we were using as a handrail. It was either bushwhack a long way, or follow the trail to a point where we felt comfortable jumping off of it. A few hundred meters and Pete says, "If we are where I think we are, control 35 should be off to our right in the next reentrant." And there it was, but we were looking for 34. Nice direct straight north route from here. Up the hill, skirt the field, into the reentrant, and there is the control. We backtrack to 35 and follow the same map-trail correlation through the next three controls and found ourselves at the zip line.

Trail Map for the O Section

We gear up and jump out off of the 100' cliff for a 50 yard ride. Unclip, back to the cliff and use ascenders to get back to our start point. Clark did really well on the ascent. Super fast and it was his first time. Really well considering he touched the rope on the zip line and got a nice burn on a couple of his fingers. We take a conservative route back to the start and refill water, do a nature break, dump off the climbing gear and head back out for the longer half of the O section. The first control was a bit tricky, but we found it without too many issues. We hit a trail and are about half way tot he next control when Clark states he isn't feeling well. Time for "Pete the Motivational Speaker"... "well Clark, atleast you only have two more hours to not feel well." Paula smirks and we walk on, until Clark starts his Monty Python imitation of Mr. Creosote. Hmmmm.. this doesn't bode well. Paula goes about 50 meters down path to collect herself. Pete stands back a safe distance. After 5-10 minutes Clark gives the "game on" signal and we are on our way. We spot the next control and Pete takes the punch from Clark and runs a bit ahead as Paula and Clark continue to walk up. Pete comes back with the card, hands it to Clark who declares Pete incompetent and runs to the control to punch it in the correct location. Ok, the game really is on.

Paula and Pete contemplate the route to the last CP

The rest of the course went really well. The controls were easy to spot, something we attributed to the lighting as the sun was starting to set. We made one parallel error, but the rest was dead on. Just for fun, and much to Paula's chagrin, we finished the event off with a 2.5 mile jog. Finish the way you start!! We arrived back with just a little bit of sunlight remaining. 19 hours and 56 minutes after we started. A solid race with a 4th place finish. Two hours and 30 minutes separated us from the winners with fair margins between the top 4 teams. Fifth place went to the last team to sweep the course with a time of twenty three hours and thirty minutes.

What a great event; new memories to smile about, new skills to work on, a piece of pizza (or ten) and a jar of mustard!

MNOC Adventure-O 2010

2010-07-14T10:43:00.000-05:00

Sometimes, getting to the race with an intact team is half the battle. At least you see it that way from a "before the race" perspective. The 2010 Adventure-O, hosted by the Minnesota Orienteering Club (MNOC) seemed to be one of those races. Coordinating training, getting crushed by rain when you do get a chance to train, and personnel swaps add to the excitement. From an "after the race" perspective, that was all trivial.

MNOC puts on excellent events. The group, composed of map geeks with a penchant for going deep in the woods, places a premium on navigation vs. outright physical prowess. They don't mind getting dirty, and certainly don't mind it when you get dirty. This years event was held at Savannah Portage State Park, near McGregor, MN. The course was set and vetted by two members with a lot of Adventure Race and Orienteering experience, Jerritt Johnston and Ian Harding. Special thanks to Pete Curtis for the photos he took and provided for our blog.

The TMMAR team was composed of Will Eddy, Clark Flowers, Suzanne Pfeifer, and Peter Wentzel. The format: short O-course, transition to bike for a medium length Bike-O, transition to kayak for four controls on big Sandy Lake, transition to bike for a longer Bike-O, and a final O section on foot. The race was given a 7.5 hour time limit. The weather was warmer than expected, highs in the mid 80's and a nice strong wind was expected to kick up.

We started out with a sprint for controls 1-4, right at 9:30 AM. Clark and Pete sharing the nav, with Will and Suzanne following close behind. Suzanne volunteered to be towed during the runs, admitting that running wasn't her strongest suit. PROPS to Suzanne. While the MNOC regulars sprinted the course with TMMAR practicing a fast follow, Suzanne volunteered to hook herself to a bungie cord while Will attempted to pull her over logs, rocks, stumps, holes and pits, so the team could get in front of traffic on the bike section. Not for the faint of heart. All went well until Will caught a root and twisted his ankle. This caused a minor change in pace, but we pressed on and finished the first O section, a little over a mile, in good position.

We transitioned well to bike and headed down the trail, looking for control 5 and 6. You knew it was going to be fun when there were already teams doing some head scratching as we left the first road and entered the XC trail system. Jerritt had warned us all, "Take it easy on the trails, especially the downhills, as there are a lot of hidden obstacles." So, we didn't bomb the first downhill, or the second, or the third, but that was getting a bit old.... We followed a group bobble (control confusion, map error, group think) and dismounted to find the first bike control in an area I thought was way too early. But, we did it non-the-less. Remounting and recalibrating, we cruised through a rutty section where Pete almost bit it, and secured the first bike control. We navigated the maze of trails, growing increasingly frustrated with having to dismount to cross trees and go slow through thick grass because, "you just don't know" what lies beneath. Pressing on, we witness a fellow racer find what lurked beneath. A quick stop to critique the triple flip (and ensure all his parts still worked) and we left with a new appreciation for "the junk below the weeds..."

We emerged from the woods, unscathed and did a quick road ride to the paddle put in. A quick transition and we are floating... and eating. Most of us had not been keeping up with our fuel and took a quick break to shove food in our mouth before pointing down course and trying to catch the five teams in front of us while seeking controls 7-10. Pete and Will in one boat, Clark and Suzanne in the other. Luckily, the forecast wind had not picked up yet and we followed a mild chop south to a sheltered bay where the controls were located. Pete, not being the smoothest motivator, responded to the other boats reminder that Will and he couldn't get too far in front, with a reminder to the other boat that they can't get too far behind. They didn't. You would have to go back nearly two years for TMMAR to have such a good paddle leg. We were setting a good pace coming off the first control when we ran into a bay full of grass. It looked to us that the whole bay was grass (we missed the channel) so we picked a thin spot, pointed in the right direction and let her rip. We looked like a cross between the Swedish Chef and the Tasmanian Devil tossing a salad. Grass, moss, fish, frogs, and unknown entities went flying in the air as we attempted to maintain pace through the obstacle. Coming out the far side, we saw that we made some serious time on the other teams. We hit the next control and did a U-turn, this time, it was more of a slap chop scenario. Equally effective. We passed a couple teams! Dig deep team. We quickly grabbed the last two controls and headed back to the transition point. The wind on the main lake had really picked up. Teams were struggling to get to the sheltered bay as we surfed the downwind waves back to dry land. We returned as the 2nd team to exit the water, passing 4 teams on the leg.

Off we go on the bike, in search of controls 11-16, catching up on food and arriving back at the XC trails with two other teams who pushed hard to catch us. Pete did a quick map swap and the other teams went ahead. Will put forth a huge effort int his next section. We tow when we run, we tow when we bike, and we tow when we paddle, only when necessary, but such is AR. Suzanne, an accomplished racer, came out of retirement for this event and admitted that she would need help on occasion. Towing is a team exercise. You rotate, you collaborate, you communicate and you get it done. Unless you forget to bring your towing equipment.... So the team had one tow rig, and will agreed to be the tow on the bicycle. Again, Suzanne gets props. Most people don't like to tow or be towed on anything but asphalt. Suzanne, held on through thick and thin.

We progressed down the trail, watching for key intersections and more obstacles. There were plenty of the later, and just enough of the former. The first half of this bike O saw plenty of logs, one tricky intersection, a crazy bridge, and a chest deep beaver lake that we carried our bikes across. Jerritt and Ian at their best. The second half made the race. Coming in to an intersection, it was clear that a lot of traffic went right, which was actually straight ahead. There was a hidden trail entrance that require a turn of approximately 135 degrees, which TMMAR took. A smile crossed our faces once we confirmed we were on the right path, some others were not.... Making the turn was half the battle. What followed was multiple dismounts, some voluntarily, others... not quite as graceful. Nobody got hurt, a few got laughed at, but the course was competed with TMMAR in 3rd place.

Final transition to the run went well. On to controls 17-24. We knew Orion was less than 10 minutes in front of us. A bobble on their part and maybe we could capture 2nd. We set off at a jog and found the first control with no issues. Getting in and out of the next control was problematic. Not from a navigation point of view, but the terrain between the controls was thick. A lot of trees down, then bog hopping, and then more trees. The flies were horrible. We got out of the thick stuff, grabbed the next control and moved east, deciding that trails may be a quicker route after all. We jumped on the continental divide trail (who knew?) and gained the next two controls in short order. A quick look at the watch showed we had to change strategy. Jogging the flats and downhills while walking the uphills was not going to get us back in time. Switch to jog the uphills and make your heart pound on everything else. Luckily, the controls and map were dead accurate and the next three controls came quickly. The last involving wading through a river...twice.... all of us. I am sure some other teams opted for a drier approach, but we didn't have the luxury of looking for that route. One final bushwhack through the woods and we are on the road home. A good pace to the finish led to a third place overall. The last team to sweep the course. Congrats to WEDALI and Orion for first in the 4 person and two person coed divisions. TMMAR took 2nd in the 4 person.

Good race, good times with the friends, new and old, from MNOC.

Water Training

2010-07-05T19:56:00.000-05:00

Clark called for a team training session for July 5th. 16 miles of road riding, followed by 8 miles of single track, followed by a run, then 16 miles of road riding back to the start. Of course, he called the training session in June, when the weather was an unknown. He also modified our route, since he knew that the river bottoms were nothing but sand. So, off we went at 10 AM this morning. Cloudy muggy weather. As we crossed the Minnesota River, we looked back at the river bottoms and commented that they might even be flooded. Looking ahead, we saw an elderly gentleman enter a puddle across the paved trail. The puddle seemed to go for quite a distance.... We ended up going through close to half a mile of water, some of it over the wheels, but with a gentle flow, some of it less deep, but moving quickly. All rideable and fun. There was a section that was over knee deep and too swift to ride, so we shouldered the bikes and waded through, holding each other for stability. On the far side we resumed a steady pace and finished our "road" ride to Murphy Hanrahan. Some fun single track and a sticky humid run later, we set out on our ride home to a nice clap of thunder. Three miles in and a steady rain was falling. Thirty seconds later and the sky was falling. We were all trying to negotiate traffic, spraying water, road grit, puddles, lakes, etc., but all we were thinking of was how to get back to the river bridge. Alternate routes??? 15-20 extra miles..... I think I hit a new high on my heart rate monitor on the first section. It had the fastest flowing water. The next section was the deepest, and still moved at a swift pace. After those sections of fun, the third was a cake walk, gentle water just below the top of the wheel. All are safe and sound and water logged back at Casa Flowers.

2010-06-20T16:38:00.001-05:00

Paula and Pete compete with Team MAAR in the Planet Adventure Old School 36 hour AR, one of four teams to sweep the course.

Coming Soon

2010-06-16T21:49:00.000-05:00

The Blogging has become way too infrequent, especially when we have results, races, and adventures to talk about.

Coming soon:

Three days, one shirt! A tale of our exceptional adventure at the Fat Otter RAID.

and

Paula and Pete's account of the Planet Adventure Old School 36 Hour AR.

Shout Out for the Shockspital

2010-06-16T21:45:00.000-05:00

I found myself in a world of hurt/panic this past Sunday. I was prepping for the upcoming Planet Adventure Old School 36 hour event. Paddles on the bike, all the gear organized.... this race requires you to carry 100% of the discipline gear (minus the canoe and bike) for all 36 hours. A lot of weight. I wanted to check the air pressure in my shock. I go to attach my pump, and the fitting breaks off of the pump. Sunday night... can't do anything but fret and pump my neighbors for information on a speedy repair. "Call bike shops.... and I think there might be a guy behind Alt.." Monday, 9 AM and the local shops start opening, I make a few calls and are greeted with doubtful commits. The Alt opens at 10, and I get the name of "the man" in town for suspensions. I checkout the Shockspital website and place a request. "HELP" By the time I get Brian on the phone, he has hung up with the SRAM folks and the part is on its way. Three day turn around, no problem. Today, I get the bad news that my part didn't arrive... but Brian had a solution. He pulled an old part, made sure it was fully functional, and told me to come back post race for the real deal. Thank you much!

Paula and I will be assisting Team MAAR at this event. Follow us and give us a shout out of your own!

fat otter raid

2010-05-20T08:00:00.002-05:00

72 hour adventure race starts in 4.5 hours. Wish Pete, Paula W, Chris and me (Will) safety and good luck. You might be able to follow us on the checkpoint tracker website

Badger ROGAINE Update

2010-04-07T16:43:00.000-05:00

ROGAINEing is a lot of fun. A small team orienteering event that places a premium on strategy, fitness, and of course orienteering. Chris, Clark and Pete from TMMAR went with Andrei Karpov, aka Mad Russian, to the Black River State Forest for a ROGAINE hosted by the Badger Orienteering Club. The location, central to three orienteering clubs, proved popular for orienteers from Minnesota, Chicago, and of course Wisconsin. The Minnesota contingent, besides the two Midwest Mountaineering Teams, included Darryn Kozak, Todd Petersen, and Erin Binder. Darryn and Todd teamed up and Erin ran with her new ROGAINE partner, XXXX, from Chicago's CAOC.

The event was billed as a 30k optimal run. We were to find that straight line, aka optimal, runs were not easy to do. Lakes, bogs, steep hills, and cliffs spread out over the course. If you add 10-15% for routing around the obstacles, you still have a sweepable event!! or ?? The map, a 1:24k USGS standard, didn't have the trail updates of your standard orienteering map. It also didn't have the color delineation of an orienteering map showing what areas are easy to travel through, and which will involve a little blood letting. We knew all this going in, so no surprises there, but all this plays in your mind as you are selecting your routes.

Maps were distributed at 9:15, instructions at 9:45, and at 10:00, we were off for 6 hours of fun running.

Chris and I took off to the West and control #3 with 4-5 other groups. We were the 2nd group to the control and took off north west to the trail. The trail wasn't the direct route to the control, but I find they are the safe route if you haven't explored the woods yet. We would have plenty of time for that. We skirted the north side of the hill and found 23. Three or four groups chose #23 as their second control, but we were the only group to choose 19 as the third control. The woods was open in this section, but the trails created a nice direct route to 19 and 21, which we found with ease. Relative ease... The climb to the top of Wildcat Mound really got the heart going. The decent involved some route choice and we found a nice unmapped trail that took us down the north side of the spur and out towards Shale Road. 22, another easy find and we jumped out to Kling Road. A quick check of the watch, 45 minutes for the first 5 controls. 30 controls with time to spare at this pace.

We went east towards control #24 and found a nice trail headed in the correct direction. As we approached, we saw fellow MNOC members Darryn and Todd gazelling it out of the area. A quick shout out and back to hunting. A lucky flash of the control, noticed by Pete and Chris drew short straw for the slog through the bog to get the punch. The path we were on was clear and fast, so we chose to follow it further north, keeping an eye out for the small east/west path on the map. Hmmm no path. We bailed and headed east for the road. Oops, we must have gone a little too far north. Not wanting to get knee deep this early, we jaunted to the south and pushed for the road. The road was as flat as flat gets, except for the nice knoll off to the North, which we could spot from a mile away. We crested the knoll and could spot the trail from a good distance away.

The area around 30 was our first interaction with the remnants of logging activity. Slow go. From our vantage point we couldn't tell that the levee on Tanner flowage was the new road. The railroad grade was overgrown and covered in downed trees. We spied the control and noticed the path at the top of the levee. The distance to gain one punch at 30 must have been daunting for a lot of teams. The path from 30 to 25 made it worth the gamble. It was true to the map and we were able to check off landmarks as we traveled southwest. 25-29-28 came fast as we ran through open woods with a few obstacles, following terrain features as we went.

Chris chose the route to 27 and we crossed the stream before heading east. A wise choice as the stream at the road was larger than any of the other waterways we had seen. Exiting 27, Chris caught me making an error. 24k maps don't have north arrows. You have to keep North straight in your mind. I set my compass and headed west, recognizing the small knoll to my right (north) as one that should have been to my right (west). Good catch and we are on our way. We ran in to a group at 26, the first we had seen since 24. We punched and ran, they punched and walked.

I knew 20 was going to be tricky, so we took a measured approach. We headed south from the large hill, across the reentrant, and aimed for the saddle to the east of the three mounds. Looking at the GPS track, we barely missed the control, skirting it to the west, but I was also looking west for our knolls. We bailed, found the road, reoriented and approached cautiously again, spiking it this time. I believe this is where our 23-19-21-22 route paid dividends. We climbed Wildcat when we were fresh, the other groups visiting that control were hours in to the event. Additionally, we bailed from 20 to the road and had a nice run, while others had either trails or bushwhacking.

We dumped from 20 to the road and headed for the southern map. We decided to leave the road and head due south when we found a logged and well cleaned patch to route through. We aimed for the spur and followed it to 13. The woods really got thick in this area. Chris and I debated whether to head back to the road, for the attack on 14. I convinced him to try for 14, aiming off to the east, to use the road as a bailout if we felt uneasy or the going got too thick. We were able to contour well and hit our mark dead center, but couldn't locate the control. A quick jump to the road confirmed our location and we reattacked and found the control right away. We continued our slog through the thick stuff and located 12 with no issues. Another quick jump to the road and we were off to the races. We broke 9 minutes per mile in our sprint (relative) to control #4, which was found in a nice open woods.

We jumped at #1 too soon. We went for the trail entrance vs. confirming we were past the swampy area. So, we ended up in the swampy area, but we found the old trail (abandoned) and followed in on the north side of the flowage. We followed the spit out to its end and located control #2. The wind was howling...

Leaving #1, we headed off towards #2 with a decision to make; attack across the swamp, or take the trail. As you can see, we took the trail, what you don't see, is there is no trail depicted where our route is on the map. The trail was "roughly located" by hand. I believe we would have made a different choice if the trail was depicted as our path shows. Monday morning quarterbacking this, but we would have probably headed to control #5, leaving #2 for more ambitious teams. At this point in the race, we knew a sweep of all controls was not in the cards, but we still pushed hard. We found 2 with no real issues, gaining confidence once we visually located the hill to the west of the trail.

2-6-7-8 went by painfully, but quick. It took us 1 hour to get the first 6 controls and an hour and 10 minutes to get from control 1 to 7 (3 controls). The speed was a little slower, but the distance between the points was much greater, partly due to route choice. We headed west from point 8 with a good plan to use the trails to try for three more controls, until the trail disappeared in the middle of a jumble of cut wood. Not confident with our position on the trail we headed west to the road, slowly, to attack 10 from the east, another distance adder. We left 10, now with only the realistic option of one more control, number 16. The trails diverged from the mapped route, but we were able to keep track of our location by reading the contours and ran right up to 16. We continued on the trails, headed north until they took a westerly turn. We jumped north to the saddle between the two hills and ran a nice open woods to the road and back home.

In all, our efforts were good for second place. 24 controls in 5 hours and 50 minutes. Clark came in four minutes later, following his trusty guide Andrei with 25 controls to beat us out for the victory. Fellow MNOC members did very well. Todd and Darryn took 4th place and Erin got 21 controls, but took a time penalty of 7 minutes. We were all happy to be done.

TMMAR members take first and second at the Badger ROGAINE

2010-04-04T13:41:00.000-05:00

Clark Flowers, running with MNOC member Andrei Karpov, took first place at the Badger ROGAINE. They got 25 controls in 5 hours and 55 minutes. Pete and Chris finished 2nd with 24 controls in 5 hours and 50 minutes. Pete and Chris did 25.5 miles of running, climbing, bush whacking. MNOC did well. Darryn and Todd finished 4th, Erin got 21 controls, but missed the time cut off. More to come when we return.

MNOC Valentines Day Orienteering Meet

2010-02-24T12:12:00.000-06:00

After Clark and I competed in the Lake Elmo meet, I was asked if I would set the next meet for the club. I took the class on setting/vetting last spring, but the opportunity to exercise those skills hadn't materialized. This small venue with only one course would be the perfect opportunity to gain the insight that was the motivation for going to the course in the first place. While orienteering during an event, I find that I am taking in as much information as possible to assist my navigating to a control. This is probably about 25% of the information digested by the elites and I am searching for methods to increase my awareness. Having the opportunity to analyze each control at a snails pace provides unique insights into both the map details and terrain features. Finding the exact location on the ground that you placed a control circle on a map is a lot different than running to the approximate area, sighting the control and never taking in the exact features of the area. Unless the control was poorly placed, the orienteer is mentally moving out of the area as soon as they arrive. I was determined not to get feedback on poor control placement. What did I notice? Seasonal conditions can change your control location. The north side of a boulder doesn't work well if the boulder is covered in snow... A better appreciation for white, light green and dark green forests.

I was happy that the team chose to come out and participate. Chris, Clark and Will ran the full 90 minute Score-O. Paula and Chris' wife Emily assisted with registration and organization. They even got on the map for 30 minutes and collected 5 controls while the rest of the club huffed and puffed through the 18" of snow. Chris' take on the event follows:

On Valentine’s Day I ran in my first score-O. Prior to this race, my experience with orienteering has been from adventure races and non-competitive activities. I went into the race with low expectations and appreciated the opportunity to work on my fast-pace navigation skills.

The race was 90 minutes and set at Tamarack Nature Center in White Bear Lake. I actually grew up in WBL and went to elementary school across the street from Tamarack. I don’t think that being familiar with Tamarack gave me any sort of advantage but I’m sure it made me a little more comfortable going into the race. Between the location and the fact that Pete set the course, I had a comfortable entry into MNOC events.

The snow on the course was fairly deep and made for a drastic difference between speed on trail and speed off trail. We were given two maps of the course. Each map had a different set of CPs but were similar in number of CPs and the area they covered; we could start on either map and switch them out whenever we wanted during the race. I didn’t put too much thought into which map I used first.

I really don’t have too much to say about the race itself. I felt good about my navigation; I always knew where I was and never had to spend extra time looking for a CP. I was able to run most of the time except some of the times I was off-trail. This course was pretty manageable with just the map but I did use my compass a few times to attack distant points or confirm my location. The only thing I question is the route I choose. I managed to get 22 CPs while 5 or 6 others found up to 27 CPs. I doubt that the difference has much to do with running speed but rather, the route taken. In talking with other racers (who each got 27) I noticed that they ran a much more direct loop than my zig-zag pattern.

Finally, a few quick notes about my gear. My Icebreaker gear rocked, of course. I got to use my new Moscow thumb compass and I loved it. The needle is fast when turning and stable even when running. I ran the race in my snowshoes and was one of the few who did. They were really helpful off-trail but may have slowed me down overall. If I hadn’t been wearing them I probably would have changed my route a bit.

Overall, I had a great day and got some great experience.

POCAR 2010

2010-01-27T07:39:00.005-06:00

Team Midwest Mountaineering Adventure Racing traveled to Southern Indiana for the 2nd year in a row to participate in the Purdue Outing Club's Annual Adventure Race, POCAR. Held in the Hoosier National Forest, the same rugged terrain as the previous year, we knew we were in for a good, hard race. We were excited for our first event of 2010 and also to have our new Icebreaker clothing to keep us warm. Icebreaker makes the best, in my opinion, merino wool athletic wear on the market. The best looking also. With unpredictable weather, we were thrilled to be prepared for any condition.

For the purpose of this narrative, we have relabeled the control points, CP's, numerically in the order we visited them. Teams were given the option of visiting the controls on their current leg in any order. The controls were named, b-28, u4, etc. It seems easier for you to follow if we just label them numerically. We had some GPS data logger issue early in the event, which sorted itself out on the way to CP2. The random path around the start and CP1 doesn't depict our course, the rest is accurate though.

The competition starts with a portion of the teams gaining entry to the race HQ to begin plotting the control locations. Teams are assigned one of three start times and given 25 minutes to get their work done. Then it is off to the races. We decided to take a safe attack point to the first control CP1, getting our feet wet, and headed up the main road. We found our attack point and dove in to the woods. We came in to the spur a little too far west, subjecting us to a climb that wasn't necessary. So much for taking a safe attack point.

CP2 was in a location that we had difficulty with the prior year. An area with multiple reentrants, we jumped too soon and ended up too far east this time. Deja' vu? We hoped, because we got things on track after this area in 2009.

Mass starts to an adventure race always create a train of teams. Why search for a control when you can follow a team? Although we didn't exactly put on a stellar navigation display to the first two controls, we are an experienced team with some competence. We don't like to follow, because the team you are following is often more likely to get you lost than to the control you are looking for. This is especially true early on, before the lead teams distance themselves. As we meandered towards CP3, we picked up the pace, hoping to shed a few teams in the area.

We reached CP3 with no issues and quickly left the area. Navigating to the south, we realized we were a little overdressed. The Icebreaker layering system really works well, and makes it easy to remedy. We started stripping down, some of us to one layer, and pushed on. The next three controls came quickly with some discussion on route choice, but no bobbles once a decision was made. Paula and Pete were making decisions on the go, slowing slightly to read the maps, then catching up to the others who had moved ahead.

CP6 cost us some time. Considering the maps that were available to the organizers, I would have moved the control outside of the shaded area. All I could see on my map was a mass of black. No discernible contours to read, so we had to rely on features outside of the shaded area as our guide. We aimed for a small pond to the south, but made our course deviation too quickly and ended up in a nasty thorn and brush filled reentrant too far south. Of course, we thought we were in the correct location, so a search ensued. We spent 25 minutes, a loooooonnng time, searching this area. Typically one would reference the map and determine a likely gaf, but this was like looking at pudding. We decided to go high and see if we could spot the large lake to our north, get a bearing and attack using that information. We crested the ridge to the north, found our small pond, and attacked in to the CP, locating it in 2-3 minutes. As Will, punched our control card, our fellow Minnesotans, the Rainbow Unicorns, arrived at the control. Their assigned start time was 60 minutes later than ours.... crap. Well, now we have a side by side race. The only difference being we had been on the terrain before, and they had not. Pete, Will and Paula raced here the prior year. This was Paula's third time in this location. The RU's headed low, as we headed high. We jogged to CP 8, nailing it, then ran in to the RU's as we headed to nine, which started with a slog over creeks and overgrown marsh.

We reached the road to our east, and followed a path to the top of the ridge, which we followed to the control. This path is what we anticipated the entire event would have for footing. A sloppy, horse churned, snow melt trail that was similar to running down a slip and slide on a cross hill... Fun! We punched and did a 180, seeing the RU's again as we headed out. On to CP10 and the TA.

CP10 and the route to the TA went very smooth. Dead on nav, distance estimation, and directional control through relatively flat open woods. We talked about our gafs and what we could do better. The cobwebs from six months absence of racing teamwork were going away.

We were the first team in to the TA, at a little over four hours. Surprising as we had fumbled so many controls. RU's arrived about 5 minutes behind us. All we had to do at this TA was a quick load of additional supplies, food/water, and plot 5 CPs. We did this efficiently and headed out North East along the road, still in first, but we knew that the RU's would be close behind. We crossed the bridge at Maumee and went north down the road about 200 meters when we heard a car horn. We turned and saw the RU's spread out on the hood of a truck. We headed back (gave up our slim lead) and found out that one of the controls had the wrong coordinates at the transition area. The change took some distance off the course, but was a foreshadow of events to come. Paula took issue with the RU's leap frogging us and let them know what she thought.

We headed out of TA 1.1 in 2nd place and moved efficiently to CP11. We found this with no issue and donned headlamps as it was getting dark. CP12..... We had a solid plan for reaching CP12, but executed too early. We went north on a spur to the east of the desired spur. Remember the comments on following? The team on our tail, either made the same mistake, or trusted us too much. We entered the reentrant to the east and headed south, not too sure of where we were, but knowing that we had to find a reference point. As Pete tried to find a recognizable feature, Paula cracked the cipher. This was confirmed when we ran into the RU's coming from the direction of CP12. They informed us that CP12 was not where we had plotted it, that they could not find it. Given the talent on this team, we had to trust that they were correct, but went to investigate and give it our due diligence. Map and terrain now matched and we found our attack point and the mapped control location in short order. Each team was provided with two maps, we plot separate, then compare to verify location. RU's, Paula, and Pete's control location matched. The control was nowhere to be found. We followed the pipeline to the north and verified the map did match the location, then abandoned and set off for CP13. We chose a nice hilltop trail and traveled to CP13 in short order, only to find RU's looking for this control. We briefly discussed search techniques when Will located the control. It was plotted at the foot of a spur, and in the correct location with respect to the map, but 20' in the air, on a greasy cliff. Both teams were happy to find this control and the RU's shared that another team had found CP12, way off the plotted location, and had shared the location with them. Pete informed them of his route to the control, which he thought was more efficient than a direct bushwhack, and both teams headed off together; a Minnesota (and one Wisconsinite) train.

We reached the location for CP12 and a quick search revealed the control in a well hidden location, behind a tree in a steep reentrant to the north east of the pond. Well off the plotted mark. With a little discussion, RU's decided to move the control to make it easier on the following teams. Not something you do lightly. Leaving the control, the RU's jogged ahead. We followed the now familiar path, actually bobbled the route, but quickly adjusted and reached TA2, only to find the RU's sitting on their butts. There were three CP's to plot at this location, and a mystery event, but the CPs were in the pocket of the race staff, who had left to confirm the location of CP12.... They looked comfy as they ate while we went to do the mystery event.

Why didn't we get a picture of this fun? The POCAR staff had set up two slack lines (link) in a V. Each team member had to reach the buckles at the end of the lines. They started approximately 12" apart and ended at least 5' apart. Pete and Paula W. went first, holding arms, then wrists, hands and fingertips as they slid successfully down the lines. Paula M and Will went next, unsuccessfully. Paula M. looked for another way to skin the cat and laid down horizontally on top of the two lines. She shimmied towards the buckles, not easy as the shortest of the crew, hooking her ankles and elbows until she reached the end. Clark and Will did a quick assessment and decided that the easy route had just been identified. We left the staff looking a little puzzled at our quick mastery of this event.

Back to the TA tent. The CP locations had arrived, but a late coming team had jumped in front of RU's and TMMAR. We were patient, the RU's let them have it with both guns!! Nice! Three quick plots and we left the chaos. Alone again.

Third leg, first point; it was CP13, now titled CP13/14. Deja Vu for us. We headed down our well traveled highway and arrived to see the RU's doing the one step forward, two steps back routine on the now super greasy cliff to the control. Paula and I had been pondering route choice on the way, but as the RU's set off to the north for a ridge run, we chose that option also. It is OK to follow a team you trust! As we negotiated the slip and slide, punched the control and set out, the RU's distanced themselves as we slowed to a "feeding" pace.

The terrain in this portion of the map was awesome. Big features, clear streams, rocks, mud, open woods...... perfect. We looked for rails and hit them. We measured distance and ended dead on. The next two points we nailed. We had to search for CP15, but it was hidden under our noses. We inadvertently identified the control for another team, so now we had another issue. Two teams on the same pace, going the same direction. (The RU's were an hour ahead of us, so we posed no immediate threat to them, and an hour make up time was unrealistic at this point) We noticed that this team, though intent to stay in the lead, kept looking back to see what we were doing. That is a fixable issue. We reached our route deviation and quietly went west as the lead team continued south, unaware they had missed the turn. Over the ridge, we stopped to adjust some gear, tape blisters, and feed. Sure enough, 5 minutes later our friends are back. They looked a little sheepish, but drove on again. Now, at every intersection they seemed to gaggle at their maps to wait and see what we were going to do. We reached the intersection below Wilkerson hill, a major road, and the other team took off. We couldn't have asked for a better situation as we saw them crest the rise to our front. We weren't looking to go down the road, just use it briefly to gain access to the next ridge to the south.

We quietly jumped in to the woods, staying to the east of the ridge line as we ascended so that we couldn't be seen, and were alone again. CP16, in the middle of nowhere, was about as easy a control as they get. We picked it up like we had placed it ourselves, and headed west to the water control point. A little ridge walk, being careful not to head north down a trail, and we got to a nice little 500' drop. Easy enough in dry weather, but tired legs, minds, feet and slippery shoes/footing, made for an entertaining walk/slide/ stagger down the slope. Did we mention it was covered in jagged boulders? Hard to believe nobody got hurt.

We danced across a swamp and headed down the road to the water stop. We hit the bridge, oops, too far. We headed back... oops too far. What the..... Hmmm what is that big white blob? Pete went to investigate and found some snoozing staffers in a tent under a tarp. "We are here to check in." "Not here, over there." "Uh, where is there?" "At the flashing light." "What flashing light?" no answer.... except a muffled "go away" We notice a headlight off to the south and head in that direction. We meet another staffer in the woods. He comes over and turns on the flashing light. "Ohhh, that light....."

Another mystery challenge!!!!! We felt like we were in the Cash Cab!!! Flashing lights and mystery challenges. Again, no pics, but it probably wasn't safe to take pics. The description..... A rope was strung horizontally (use that word a lot...) between two trees. It had a double pulley hanging from it. A rope was strung from the first pulley through a series of pulleys to an ascender. As three of the TMMAR members pulled on this rope, the pulley arrangement went out over a valley. Attached to the pulley cluster was Paula W., in a harness and attached to a rope that terminated at the high attach point through a belay device, controlled by Pete. The point was to let out rope up top so that Paula could move across the gap, but not so much that she wouldn't be able to punch on the far side. Wait a minute, there isn't a punch up there. Staffer, "yeah, can you hang it for us?" Sure. Some side notes. This is about the craziest rig you can imagine. Now imagine doing it on grease. Pete did the 1 step/2 step up the hill and promptly fell at the base of the tree, kissing the staffers boot. The haul team of Paula M., Clark and Will did the skip and slide while trying to hoist Paula across the gap. In the end, we didn't miss the target, Paula hung the control, and we were on our way.

The afore mentioned team was leaving this station as we arrived. Having not seen them since eluding them, we wondered how they got the intermediary control and beat us to this location. They headed west as we started our mystery challenge. Pete wanted to head up the greasy hill to nav to the next control, Paula W. wanted to skirt the river. The decision was to try and skirt the river until it became untenable and then hit the ridge. A win win. Walking side hill on grease isn't fun, especially on tired legs, but the team gutted it out and got through the steep side hills to the peninsula, where they climbed atop the much lower ridge line. Hey, look who we ran in to! The RU's met us several hundred meters from the control. They shared that the team we had been dancing with were on the wrong side of the river. With no way to cross, they had to back track. They also shared that the team had skipped CP16, meaning that we had a sizable buffer. No call for getting comfortable, but good news. We shared some high five's as they headed to the last two controls and we navigated to our third from last. CP17 was simple enough. A little hunting on location, a slip and a lost compass by Pete, the primary navigator, a found compass by Paula M., and the team was on it's way. Backtracking up and up and up to the top of the ridge we skipped on the way in. Glad we did that.

As you can see from our route on the way to the 19th and 20th CP's, we were doing OK on the map. A couple of tricky spots to get through, but the CPs came easy. We gained the road and began to ponder when the sun would come up. Paula and Pete did a quick glance at their maps and stowed them away, confident of the route back. We reflected on how we looked at this point the year prior. Stumbling and mumbling on the same road from Maumee back to camp. This year, everyone was alert, in pain, but moving briskly.

We reached the end at 7:28 AM. 50 minutes faster than the year prior for a similar distance. We finished 23 minutes behind the Rainbow Unicorns, a mix of two of Minnesota's finer racing teams, losing just those 23 minutes over the last 14 controls. Pats and hugs to all and we settled in for the most dangerous ride of our lives. Five people fighting to stay alert enough to find the closest coffee stand.

TMMAR finishes 2nd in POCAR

2010-01-20T11:32:00.004-06:00

Friends and followers, we will have a real blog post coming in the near future that details our POCAR experience. For now, I will leave you with some rough stats and a video, produced by the Purdue student newspaper, with TMMAR featured in two separate spots.

Stats:

MN 1-2 Finish (Good friends and fellow AR Junkies joined us at POCAR this year. Congrats to the Rainbow Unicorns!!)
Approximately 40 miles of trekking/orienteering
7500' of elevation gain
50 Teams
TMMAR earns the unofficial "Best Dressed" category for their new Icebreaker kit.

MNOC Lake Elmo Score-O

2010-01-15T15:52:00.006-06:00

The mind numbing exercise that occurs on trainers and treadmills takes it’s toll on us all during the winter. It’s always great to pry yourself from the warm confines of your home to get back outside and enjoy Mother Nature. So Pete and I participated in the MNOC Score-O at Lake Elmo. Pete and I needed some time to work together as a team to prepare for POCAR.

It was a cold day with a temp of 10.0 °F at the start of the race. Pete and I both navigated the course together. We bounced ideas off each other very well thru out the race. We ran the whole course, most of the time thru shin deep snow.

Our nav was good for the whole course to hit each point. We could have made a few better route choices. For example early in the race we choose to take a short cut by running across a lake. It was a great choice. The wind had blown much of the snow off the lake making it a very easy run and saved a lot of energy and time. Later in the race we made the same choice to run across a lake but this time the lake was in a much deeper valley and so was the snow. The wind didn’t blow any snow off the lake. It was almost knee deep in spots. It cost us at least 5 minutes.

We came in with 8 minutes to spare. With the extra five (making 13 minutes) we might have been able to eek out another point. Shoulda woulda coulda. Can’t hang your hat on that! Pete and I came fourth with 20 points in 1:22. It felt great to get out and see some great vistas, exercise, and share good times with friends.

-- Clark

Team Midwest Mountaineering: Now appearing in Icebreaker GT!

2010-01-11T14:56:00.000-06:00

Those of you that know me well, know that I am obsessive about my Icebreaker apparel. I was introduced to the clothing while in New Zealand, getting my first exposure to Adventure Racing almost three years ago. Seagate Technology sent me there as part of a corporate team building exercise. I left New Zealand with a new passion for life, a higher level of commitment and respect for my employer and co-workers, a new sport, and a handful of awesome wool shirts from Icebreaker, courtesy of Seagate. My unfortunate travelling companion Darsi had to listen to me prattle on about AR and Icebreaker for two weeks as we toured the incredible landscape that is New Zealand.

Since I returned, I have continued to grow my collection of Merino Wool Icebreakers to include a coat, hats, socks, baselayers and of course more shirts. It really is cool in the heat and warm in the cold. I exercise, lounge, and even sleep in Icebreaker clothing. I have friends making special stops on their New Zealand vacations to take pictures with me in mind. Thanks Tara!

A chance meeting in the Icebreaker section at Midwest Mountaineering, while shopping for a new team jersey leads us to this announcement. Team Midwest Mountaineering Adventure Racing will now be wearing Icebreaker GT clothing. We are very excited for our new kit and the chance to give Icebreaker some feedback as we run, bike, kayak, rappel, bushwhack and scramble our way through the 2010 season.

TMMAR Commits to the Fat Otter Raid!

2010-01-09T20:11:00.003-06:00

Team Fat Otter is putting on a Raid this spring and Team Midwest Mountaineering Adventure Race is going to attend. Forms are sent in, check is cut, just need to train and prep. What is a RAID? Good question. My research didn't reveal anything definitive, but my intuition tells me it is the international term for an expedition length adventure race. Although not used much here, it is pervasive enough that equipment manufacturers place the Raid word in some of their product names, such as the Salomon Raid Revo.

We visited Wisconsin for another event last summer, the Sweaty Otter, also put on by Fat Otter racing. This event is as close as an event this length has ever been to home, Black River Falls Wisconsin.

The details:
20-23 May, 2010
4 Person (Pete, Will, Chris and Paula W.)
Teams are allowed 2 totes for gear, all other items must be carried. No support crew is allowed.

We have always wanted to do a race longer than 24 hours. They are difficult just to get to the starting line. Logistics, team commits, expense and travel all create issues. Thank you Team Fat Otter, for putting on an expedition style race so close to home. We are pumped!

POCAR Prep

2010-01-06T22:55:00.001-06:00

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!

TMMAR Welcomes Chris Mehus!

2010-01-01T16:00:00.005-06:00

For the first post of 2010, we would like to welcome Chris Mehus to the team. Chris has actually been a member of the squad for six months, we are just tardy in getting him some recognition.

Chris competed as part of the Midwest Mountaineering team in both the Wild Summer Sprint and the Sweaty Otter, performing admirably in both.

Chris brings a great attitude and a strong cycling background in to the team.

Check out Chris' bio!

POCAR Training -- 12/20/2009

2009-12-21T15:56:00.001-06:00

Clark set a course and navigated us through a POCAR training session on 20 December. Here are his thoughts:

I’ve seen the pictures of the torn up feet from last years POCAR. I am determined not to let my feet look the same. The team is completing long group runs once a week. The main purpose is to make sure everyone has a good level of fitness, but I am hoping it toughens my feet up. We started running for two hours and are now up to two hours forty minutes. I am hoping we are up to three thirty before we take off.

Yesterdays run was great. The weather was nice in a Minnesota sort of way. Couple of fresh inches of snow, temp in the mid twenty’s, overcast. What more can you ask for? Pete says the terrain at POCAR is pretty hilly, so I tried to set up a run that would hit as many hills in Bloomington as I could. The two inches of Mother Nature’s natural slurpy on the ground made the old ankles work hard. There were some great views of Bush Lake and the downtown Skyline on the route. The feet started to get some hot spots on the arches toward the end of the run. I think the sloppy uneven snow was the culprit. I am sure there will be plenty of that at the race.

<a href="http://www.mapmyrun.com/run/united-states/mn/bloomington/861126108279532807">Hills from Home</a> <a href="http://www.mapmyrun.com/find-run/united-states/mn/bloomington">Find more Runs in Bloomington, Minnesota</a>

TMMAR Spotlight: New member in 2009, Paula Meyers

2009-12-21T10:11:00.001-06:00

Paula Meyers joined Team Midwest Mountaineering Adventure Race in 2009, starting off at the MNOC Adventure-O, then diving straight in to a 24 hour event, taking first place at Sweaty Otter. Paula is a very capable athlete and brings some welcome levity to the team.

Possum Trot at Knob Noster State Park

2009-12-17T11:51:00.004-06:00

The 13th Annual Possum Trot was held at Knob Noster State Park in Missouri on 13 December, 2009. I (Pete) went down with 11 other MNOC members to compete in this goat style orienteering event. It was my first event of this type, which reminded me of Adventure Racing with the mass start, following, and sadistic course setters. The course measured 15.1 km and included 600 meters of climb. Contestants were allowed to skip any two controls on the course, which adds a little strategy in to the mix.

The weather was overcast, but relatively warm in the low 40's. This was great for running, but the warmth melted the layer of snow, making for a muddy, slick track. The 9AM start featured contestants from Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, Minnesota, Texas, Colorado and England. 36 in total including several Possum Trot champs, medalists from the US Champs, and one World Champion.

We got the maps two minutes early and I discussed potential skips with fellow MNOC racers. Good potential double skips from 7-10 and 15-18. Nice one control skips at 5,7,9,17,19,21,25 and 29. My strategy was to be a follower for as long as I could hold on to the lead bunch. The race started and we flew. Andrei, followed by 4-5 MNOC racers all in blue and white. By the 4th control, after 5 climbs, we were pretty strung out, at least I was... I navigated to the 5th control by watching the leaders leave the reentrant. I knew I had to get back on the map. I followed a racer toward the 6th control, but didn't understand his route choice and set out on my own. Six and seven came easy and I decided to skip early and go straight to 10. I could then grab the leaders as they came through a few controls down the road. Well the leaders skipped also and I boomed the control. (wasted a lot of time). The cue sheet listed a man made object, which I anticipated being somewhat larger than a 3/4 buried, rusty 55 gallon drum. Anyway, I eventually found the control and went on to 11, bobbling it slightly and found Andrei and Ian coming up. I tagged along on their run, contributing on a few control finds, but mostly observing Andrei's 20+ years of experience. Andrei started pulling away after control 15 and was a ghost by the time we left 17. I followed Ian and Jason until 18, where they decided to take their first skip.

I navigated the rest of the race solo. Moving steadily, but not as quickly as I was during the collaborative effort. A few lessons I am tucking away for future events: not all slow go woods is slow go, all clear woods aren't clear, paths aren't always the easiest route (especially those churned up by horses that have since frozen). I was still feeling pretty good coming into the last 5 controls, tired, but not tanked. Coming in to 27 I started noticing more competitors and set my mind on catching them. I didn't know if they were on the long or short course, but I could tell they were hunting the same controls. I bobbled/boomed 28 and 29, which also caused positional changes among the top 6 finishers, and found my self in a sprint between myself and two others whose combined age is probably 10 years below mine. Route choice helped me pass one and longer legs got me past the other.

I ended up 12th in a competitive field. All those ahead of me have done multiple events of this type, except for one fleet footed female who proved to be a very adept follower. I am looking forward to travelling down towards Kansas City again.

Sweaty Otter Video

2009-12-16T15:17:00.003-06:00

This video was taken while navigating to the last control in Sweaty Otter. Clearly, some of us are a little tired / slap happy.

MidWest Mountaineering Adventure Race Team -- 2009 -- Looking Backward

2009-12-08T15:24:00.001-06:00

It has been a long time since we posted an event result on our blog. The season got underway and team priorities changed as time passed. The team had a great deal of success and fun in 2009 and we are looking forward to 2010 to build on our efforts.

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.

Highland Park Training Run!

2009-12-07T15:48:00.001-06:00

Will, Chris, Clark, Paula M., and Pete met for a 10 mile run at Highland Park. Cool weather and new snow on the ski slopes made for an interesting run. Pretty soon we will be dodging XC skiers.

Welcome Paula

2009-04-22T22:19:00.001-05:00

TMMAR welcomes the newest member to the team. Paula officially joined the team this year but has raced with TMMAR members in the past. Paula brings over 8 years of AR with nearly 50 adventure based events under her belt.

We are definitely looking forward to her contributions and leadership. Welcome aboard.

MNOC AR TUNE UP

2009-04-18T17:02:00.001-05:00

MNOC AR Tune up

Not an official race but it is structure and operated like an AR Sprint. This week Pete and I again as two person. The race was up north of Elk River in the Sand Dunes State Park. This race is structured to be 4-6 hours with Orienteering, Running, Cycling and some Kayaking.

We started at 9:15 and based on experience we jumped out in a quick lead to make sure we stayed ahead of the CP1 pile up. After grabbing the next five CP’s we transitioned to our bikes for about 12 miles and a few CP’s. Back on foot for some more orienteering using nothing but a satellite map of the area. Back on the bike for another CP before we transitioned to the Kayaks. This leg was on a marshy lake. Lots of weeds and cattails. Three CP’s hidden the weeds and back to the bikes for a few more miles and the last three CP’s. These ended up being in an area where “hiking the bike” was necessary as the sand was so loose and tons of downed debris.

Pete did a great job at navigating this race as we spent less than five total minutes looking for all 19 CP’s. For the most part, they were right where we expected. Even though we finished in three hours even this race kicked my ass. Not sure if it is the lack of sleep, poor nutrition, out of shape or just……a tough sprint.

Bike, Hike (, Ass-Slide) and BBQ

2009-04-13T16:17:00.001-05:00

Team,
David and Pete took an unofficial first place at the Bike Hike BBQ this past weekend. We beat Justin and Molly from WEDALI who were riding with Tom Puzak from 24-7 by 1-2 minutes. Tom rode the whole event with a broken finger....one hand on the handlebars. We were neck and neck, then Molly had a flat. We got to the orienteering section, and searched for CP10 for about 10 minutes. It wasn't out yet (Dan Williams strikes again.....).

David showed me how to properly descend a cliff.... at least how to properly descend the first 10%. The rest was an excerpt from Will'e Coyote. Complete with the poof at the bottom of the cliff. I made it down 25% before I did my imitation.

No bragging rights for this event. It was fun and a great day.

2009 Season Update

2009-03-22T20:56:00.000-05:00

The 2009 season is just around the corner. Between training, practices and races we have quite a few opportunities to race this year. Our team suffered a major loss with a fractured collar bone by "Cheeks".

April 11 (Training) Bike Hike & BBQ
April 18 MNOC AR-Tune up (Zimmerman, MN)
April 25 TMMAR Presentation at Midwest Mountaineering
April 26 MN Ironman Ride (100 Miles)
May 2 (Training) Boat your Butt Off
May 9 12 Hour Race Redwing
June 13 6 Hour (TBD)
July 11 MNOC Adventure-O (TBD)
August 8 8 hour Night Race
September 5 24 Hour The Thunder Rolls (Oquawka, Illinois)
September 18-19 24hr (Duluth, MN)
October 22-24, USARA Nationals (Pilot Point, TX)

Check back for updates and results

Back in Action

2009-03-08T19:12:00.000-05:00

It has been a long a winter and with daylight savings kicking in we decided to finally get back on the road as team. This morning we ventured out at 7am (still dark) for a the Grand Round bike Tour starting in S. MPLS. We took a good leisurely pace since there was enough ice to cause one spill and few 'near' spills.

Jessica, Pete, Clark and some new guy "Chris".....Chris whatever you name welcome to group.

The weather held off and so there was no snow (as expected). And the ride ended with a stop at a local doughnut shop. Great Ride.

Getting Lazy

2008-12-30T14:52:00.000-06:00

I realize that I am not just getting lazy at posting on the tmmar blog but I am also getting lazy at the training which inspires my postings.

I am not one for new year resolutions. Instead, I just need to sign up for an event to get motivated. Luckily, the training is still there...just not as aggressive as it should be. This is about the same time that we (Peter, Clark and I) started discussing the options for what started out as Team Aleing Loons and ended with Team Midwest Mountaineering.

As for sponsorships in 2009.....we'll have to wait and see. Midwest is and has been very good to us and we are happy to wear their names across our chests. Hopefully they feel the same.

I think it is about time to find our first event for 2009 so I can kick my training in to a higher gear.

For now, it is back to work.

SoundBody

2008-11-24T17:05:00.001-06:00

I told my……I guess I use to call him my chiropractor but now he has become more of my body mechanic…..that I would post a message on the incredible work he does at maintaining my body from a health, physical, alignment, flexibility and well……soundness. His name is Dr. Harrison and he is the owner/founder of SoundBody. Now SoundBody has only been up and running for a month but he has been treating me with all the elements of this new clinic for the last few years.

SoundBody is more than a chiropractic office and he is more than a ‘neck cracker’. In fact he specifically moved away from the term chiropractic because the services he provide are much more holistic. Being an outdoor junkie, adventure racer, fire fighter and anything else that involves physical or active work his services have helped keep me in the game. From simple weekly visits that help keep the lower back and neck in alignment to the more acute trigger point massages (that can literally bring tears to my eyes but feel oh so good after the fact) help keep my body ready for the next adventure.

Now that his practice has opened up and expanded to multiple treatment rooms and two massage therapists I can honestly say I have never felt better. For anyone regularly runs, rides, swims, races, climbs, ski’s or anything else active I would highly recommend finding a clinic that offer this level of service.

Stretching
Alignment
Acupuncture
Trigger Point Massage
Full body Massage

Race Overview

2008-11-07T22:31:00.001-06:00

Okay....I lied below. I have no idea if TMMAR is 'still going strong' but I am going to assume they are still going strong. I know they made it through CP 8. Here is a recap of the race (still going on) as provided by USARA:

Course Description Friday 11:07 PM
As requested by a race follower in Philadelphia (some may know him as Dr. Evil), here is a brief overview of the race:
The teams began with a quick two-mile prologue before setting off on the water for a 15-mile paddle leg. All teams were in canoes; third seats were expressly prohibited (including beach balls).

Following the paddle, teams trekked from checkpoint 3 to 4, where they picked up their bikes and headed on an extended mountain bike leg, grabbing checkpoints 5, 6, and 7 before reaching checkpoint 8 and the first major orienteering section.

Racers dropped their bikes at checkpoint 8 and embarked on a seven-mile foot loop, where they could get checkpoints 9, 10, 11, and 12 in any order. Checkpoint 13 was located mere feet from checkpoint 8, and after they punched in there, they picked up their bikes again for a short ride to checkpoint 14.

Teams followed another orienteering loop, estimated at 8 miles, to checkpoints 15-17 (again, in whatever order they chose). At 18, they picked up their bikes and headed off on their final leg, a bike-o section whereby teams could get 19-23 in any order, then 24, then 25-28 in any order, and finally 29 before coasting into the finish at the Blue Ridge Mountain Arts Center on Main Street in downtown Blue Ridge.

Because the race was a ROGAINE format, several checkpoints were optional and a number of teams elected to short-course themselves after checkpoint 13, biking directly back to the finish. It's unclear to us at race central whether this will result in a DNF or an official finish with fewer points.

USARA Nationals

2008-11-07T21:38:00.000-06:00

Okay.....I am feeling a bit like a couch a potato this evening.....primarily because I am sitting on my couch watching a movie with my kids while my team is out competing at Nationals. Don't get me wrong....I am enjoying hanging with my kids but not racing in nearly two months is wearing thin.
Here is a video from this morning's race start.....more to come

MNOC Rogain (August)....by Peter Wentzel

2008-11-03T20:51:00.000-06:00

One of the items I continually struggle with as an orienteer/navigator for AR is route selection. It varies between; am I picking an efficient route, is this a route that has a higher probability of success, why did other competitors make those choices…surely I must be doing this wrong. I think that is the main reason I enjoy AR and orienteering, it is a live chess board where you make a move, think, check, move, and finally get a measureable result. The game lives on in your head for days.

August is a slow month for Minnesota AR, the perfect time for MNOC to hold its annual ROGAINE. A free for all point grab with no route…which means more decisions. This year’s ROGAINE was held at Jay Cooke State Park, just south of Duluth, a rugged tract bisected by the St. Louis River. My teammate, William Eddy, and I departed the Twin Cities early. Plenty of time to get organized, packed and fitted out for the trail. Two coffee stops and a restroom break later, and we are pushing it to get there by the start. We arrive with time to register, change, hastily throw our gear together and take two breaths before it’s time to go. A glance at the map gives me reason to pause. The start is in the center of the map, just like my first ROGAINE in 2007, but the river, with only two approved crossing points, splits the course into 6 points to the North, and 15 to the South. Additionally, there are three northern and four southern points that are placed at the very eastern periphery, a long distance from the start which is collocated with the eastern most river crossing. Looking closer at the eastern points, the contour lines look like a thumb print. Big hills and valleys in that direction. It was a distance runners course, or nightmare, depending on how you were feeling that morning. Do you go long and save some close points for picking up at the end if time allows, or do you grab the close points and see if you have enough in the tank to make a decision mid course. William and I decide on the latter.

The countdown to start begins and we concur that we should start north, work in a loop to the West, cross the river at the western bridge and work our way back east, zigzagging between points. I’ve got the map, William has the passport and clue sheet. I am not a big fan of following competitors to points, so we push out hard to get in front of the others who made the same decision to pursue CP3 first. We head east via the trail and find our attack point. I give William a direction; he heads in to the ferns with me close on his tail. Fifteen feet in I take a log to the shin and let loose with a colorful announcement of our location. We are ahead of the pack, but I think I will be limping/bleeding the remainder of the event. We find our first three CPs with no real problems. The park has some great terrain and elevation changes that make things a little easier to orient. We hit the road and head off to the bridge. It is still fairly early in the morning, 9:30 or so, and the heat is already pouring on. Running on the asphalt is not enjoyable. We cross the river, find our trail, and are back on the hunt. Nice distinctive ridges make great handrails and we quickly find our next point. We head to the nearby railroad track and start enjoying a snack. Two minutes later and I realize that I didn’t give William a distance to pace, and I didn’t start counting. Like I said, lots of terrain features to guide from…. Hmmm that ridge looks like it could be this one, or this one, or maybe this one. A quick jog 200 meters in each direction and I think I know where we are at. The next CP has a nice catching feature, so we should be OK. Turns out that we were correct and we quickly grab our 5th point about 90 minutes in to the course. Leaving the point behind us, we travel 150 yards and William stops me. He doesn’t have the passport! How do you backtrack through a field of ferns? We try, but it is impossible. So, we vet the course. We found point 21 three times. I can confidently state that it is in the correct location! However, we still have no passport. Today’s packs are really nice. They are light, comfortable, and have a lot of features like sleeves for water bladders, and lots of pockets…. Now we both feel a little sheepish. William for placing the passport in a “different” pocket, and me for not asking him if he was sure he put it in the correct pocket. Oh well, 15 minutes out of the 6 hour event isn’t too bad….

We push through another two points when I make my next small blunder. I broke Rule #1, don’t be a follower. We come to a ridge, I want to go North, where my gut tells me the point is located, but another team is coming from the South. There are no other points further south than this, but these are good orienteer’s. I head south and waste 5 minutes looking for a non-existent point. So we go North, quickly find the point and continue our journey until it is decision time. (The good orienteers admitted later they were a bit off course…) There are 4 points far to the east, and 5 in the direction of the start point. Looking at the terrain, we aren’t sure we can get out that far and back, plus we are low on water. Problem solved. We head North with me again questioning our initial route selection. We head for point 16, a stream intersection. As we near our attack point, the trail turns to water, then back to trail, then back to water. Odd. We reach our attack point and head in. Chin high ferns and brush…..and water, everywhere. Nothing that resembles a field with two small streams is anywhere in sight. More like a marsh sprinkled with hidden holes and a few gaps in the brush. We slog through our pace count, taking several baths and continually announcing our location with colorful language. I am lost, everything looks the same, and the brush is high enough that I can’t get a bearing on the surrounding features. Then someone colorfully announces their location, and we catch a glimpse of orange in there direction. Now we have the control, but are faced with the same problems getting out. Who chose this place for a park anyway… We emerge on our trail and find ourselves among competitors for the first time since the start. I don’t like that so we take off up the nearest hill and knock off the next three points before meandering to the water drop. We have 90 minutes remaining, one more close point, and then back to the start. We find the control, then back track, pick up the trash at the watering station and head to the bridge. What are we going to do? 65 minutes to go and nothing reasonably close. We stop on the bridge to enjoy the view. This is why they located the park here…. We head back to the start to check in. 15 out of 21 points, I guess that will have to do. It doesn’t seem right.

Jerritt confirms that it isn’t right…. We should try a little harder. I take some measurements and see that the closest control is a 4.5 mile loop with a lot of hills. We can do an 8k with some bushwhacking and control hunting in sixty minutes, can’t we??? We both know we are a bit goofy to try, but head out anyway. Long story short, we spent about 5 minutes longer than we should have looking for the control, but found it and stumbled back down the scorching asphalt, making it back with 90 seconds to spare. Sixteen controls and first place in the 2-person open category, a first time occurrence for us both. My legs are still bearing the bruises and scrapes, but it was well worth it.

Back to the issue of route selection; did we make the correct choices? It is really difficult to say. I think for our fitness level and ability, we made an initial choice that turned out to be correct. We maximized the number of points that we could collect and left everything out on the course. I don’t think that we could have collected an additional control if you eliminated our mistakes. Was that a factor in our placement? That is the beauty of orienteering; you never know what sort of difficulties the other teams have, or just how lucky you are. The only way to get resolution on that question is to compete again.

My thanks to the organizers for putting on another great MNOC event.

Team MM BBQ

2008-10-29T16:26:00.000-05:00

Last night was the first time TMMAR got together in a non-training environment. In fact, it was the first time that many of the individuals who raced with TMMAR this year were able to meet one another.

Last night was a good get together and an opportunity to wish the team good luck at nationals next week. As busy as I am right now with work, consulting, fire training and family I really wish we had set up a second team. Oh well...it gives us something to look forward to next season. We did start talking about a few races next spring and summer....will we do a multi-day race?

I need to get profiles on the rest of the team and those who attended last night:
Pete, Clark and ?????????? (I am the worst at remembering names) Good Luck at Nationals.

And those of us who will be cheering from our computers:

Alan (who filled in for me at Wild AR 24)
Jessie (hope the leg gets better for next year)
William (Finish that drywall)
Jen (Happy early birthday)

Missing in action last night was:
Nicole (Tri)
Meghan....(where are you?)

Does the season ever end?

2008-10-19T21:52:00.000-05:00

Adventure racing is one sport that I believe is continuous year round. The amount of training and effort it takes to get in shape to be able to compete for 24 consecutive hours is a lot. At least if you want to be functional the day after a long race.

TMMAR started training last year in early January with some MNOC races. The team is going to Nationals in three weeks which marks the end of the season but that is when we need to start training for the next year. It does not make sense to take a couple of months off....

Good luck to Pete, Clark and our newest female racer (I don't even remember her name).

Mission Accomplished!

2008-09-30T18:51:00.001-05:00

TMMAR set out the first year with one goal in mind. To reach the USARA Nationals by invitation. And to have fun. Make some good friends. Have some great Adventures. Get better with each race. Okay, so we had a few goals and I am proud to say we accomplished all of them.

Thanks to a strong performance from Peter, Clark and Paula (Ya-Mule) and the last minute substitute Alan, TMMAR finished the Wild AR 24hr to qualify for Nationals.

Watch for more....

USARA Rankings

2008-09-27T16:16:00.000-05:00

TMMAR is ranked 18th in the USARA 2008 Overall Standings. Not bad for a first year team. The good news/bad news is we are definitely a team that has some great potential but in nearly every race we get hung up on one or two CP's that end up costing us valuable time and place.

Our other issue was maintaining a healthy consistent team. In each race this season we ran a different mix of individuals:
Wild Adventure 12HR included (Dave, Peter, Clark and Jessica)
Wild Adventure 6HR (Dave, Peter, Clark, Jessica) and (William, Nicole R)
MNOC 8 HR (Dave, William, Peter and Jessica)
Thunder Rolls 24HR (Peter, William and Nicole) and (Dave and Clark)
Wild Adventure 24HR (Peter, Clark, Paula) and (William and ??)

Between Injury's and schedules it was difficult to field a consistent team but the group of individuals are exceptionally strong.

Race Schedule Schedule and Results

2008-09-19T08:28:00.032-05:00

2010

Jan 16-18, Purdue Outing Club Adventure Race (POCAR): 48 hour: 2^nd place
May 8, Wild Spring Thaw 12 hour: 6^th place
May 20-23, Fat Otter Raid, Black River Falls, WI: 72 hour: 2^nd place 4 person elite
June 19-20, Planet Adventure Old School 36 hour, Paoli, IN (Team MAAR): 36 hour:   4^th place 4 person elite
July 10th, MNOC Adventure-O: 8 hour: 2^nd place 4 person elite
July 17th, Stubborn Mule, Wausau, WI: 30 hour:  1^st place 3 person coed
August 28th, Thunder Rolls, Oregon IL: 24 hour:  4^th place 4 person elite
October 29th, CP Tracker National Championships: 28 hour:  22^nd place 4 person elite
Year end CP Tracker Ranking: 14th

2009

Jan 17-19, Purdue Outing Club Adventure Race (POCAR): 48 hour: 1^st place

April 18, MNOC AR Tuneup, Sand Dunes State Forest, MN: 1^st Place

May 9, Wild Adventure Spring 12 hour, Red Wing, MN: 3^rd Place

June 13, Wild Summer Sprint 6 hour, William O'Brien State Park, MN: 3^rd Place

June 27, Race for the Booty (14 Hour) Sheboygan Falls, WI: 2^nd Place (Coed 2/Overall)

July 11, MNOC Adventure O, Mankato, MN (6 Hour): 4^th Place

Aug 8, Sweatty Otter (24 hour), New Fane, WI: 1^st Place (Coed 2) 1st Place (Coed 3)

2008
April 20 (Sunday): MNOC AR-Tune Up, Afton, MN (4-6 Hour) : 2nd Place Finish 3:46 Minutes
May 10 (Saturday): Wild Adventures, Red Wing, MN (12 Hour): 4th Place Finish 12:27
June 14 (Saturday): Wild Adventures, Hudson, WI (6 Hour) 2nd Place (2-person); 4th Place (4-person)
July 12 (Saturday): MNOC Adventure "O", TBD (6-8 Hour) 2nd Place 7:01
September 9-10, Thunder Rolls (24hr) Illinois City, IL 1st Place (2-man); 6th Place (3-person)
September 19,20 (Friday/Saturday): Wild Adventures, Biwabic, MN (24 Hour): 4th Place 4-person
November 5-6: USARA Championships, Blue Ridge, GA (30 Hour): 20th Place

Wild 24---Counting Down

2008-09-12T08:44:00.001-05:00

What a difference a few days can make. This week TMMAR has been recovering physically from last weeks 24hr race. All in all not too bad:

Sore Muscles
Intense tendinitis
Few Scrapes and bruises
Chaffing

Not bad considering the final tally came in and we traveled (about):

6 miles in a blow up raft
12+ miles in a canoe
24+ miles running/orienteering
45 miles on mountain bikes

Now we prepare for Biwabic. The Wild Adventure 24hr race. This races looks a like a combination of Ya-Mule joining TMMAR for the four person and an 'unknown' joining William for the 2-person mixed.

Should be a great race. Start time: 3pm on Friday. Finish....tbd.

Desmodium cuspidatum

2008-09-09T21:13:00.000-05:00

I think this is what the hell is attached to every article of clothing from this weekends race.

Desmodium cuspidatum

Stick-tights or beggar's-ticks (Desmodium cuspidatum) produces slender legume fruits that break into small, one-seeded joints covered with tiny barbed hairs. Technically, this special kind of legume fruit is called a loment. The individual joints are so flat that they are exceedingly difficult to remove from your socks. Like little flat ticks, you must individually pull off each one. This can be exasperating when your socks are covered with them. Several species of this remarkable hitchhiking herb are native to the midwestern and eastern United States.

How the hell to do you remove them?

23.29 46 0 5

2008-09-08T08:04:00.000-05:00

Those were the final numbers for the Thunder Rolls 24 Hour Race this past weekend. A Team of 5 us (3 person coed + 2 person open) captured 46 CP’s with no "0" misses (errors) in 23 hours and 29 minutes.

We don’t have final standings yet but we believe the 3 person team took 6th and the 2 person team won that division.

A huge “THANK YOU” to Megan C who graciously decided to join the team with a little less than a day’s notice. Not only did Megan join the team she was a rock star on the course (way to go “Cheeks Too”).

Buzz Kill phrase for the race “Take an Azimuth” which basically meant did not find the CP where we originally thought it should be so we needed to back track, reassess and attack from a different point. Effective but none the less it meant we wasted time.

The course was solid and well planned. Quick Summary:
· Midnight rolling start
· 5 mile downhill sprint to TA/CP1
· Inflate rafts and out for 3CP’s
· Back to TA and hit the woods orienteering
· Back to TA and on to Canoes
· Stop at remote TA and Orienteer
· Tyrolean Traverse
· Back to remote TA (awesome baked beans)
· Canoe for a few more CP’s than back to the base TA
· Pick up mountain bikes and head out for 40 miles of gravel road riding
· Remote drop for the last 3 CP’s. Hills, Downed Trees, Creek beds, TOUGH!
· Pick up Bikes for a 6 miles sprint/race to the finish.
· Pizza, Cold Fat Tire Beer and a chance to kick back

I’ll post more later. Time to get back to the day job!

48 hours and counting……

2008-09-03T15:32:00.000-05:00

Finally. The Thunder Rolls 24HR race begins at midnight on Friday. This is going to be a great race but we have one significant problem…..our female (Jess) ended up tearing a calf muscle last week and is out of commission. So this week has been spent calling, posting and basically begging female athletes across the Midwest to join our team……yeah you can imagine the luck we have been getting “excuse me, you have run a few marathons and/or tri’s right? What do you say about competing in this Adventure Race? Well, it starts at midnight (keep in mind we have to drive 6 hours to get there), you’ll be running with four strange (I do mean strange) guys for nearly 24 straight hours, you can expect mountain biking, running (through dense woods with poison ivy and other stinging stuff), canoeing, some Tyrolean traverses, and some swamp crossing/swimming. Oh yeah, we also want to finish in the top three.

Needless to say it looks like we are going with four pairs of X and Y chromosomes (no female).

Should be a great race.

Nocturnal Training

2008-08-28T22:50:00.000-05:00

I just tested my new bike light and headlamp on an night time ride……incredible. Riding at night brings a whole new perspective. From a tunnel vision like blackness only being broken by an intense hallow beam to the damp smells of the trails and frequent glowing eyes of deer off in a field. I am hooked. This is a great way to ride. No one else on the trail. Stars overhead. And oh yeah….don’t forget the clear glasses……millions of bugs seem to be attracted to the headlamp. And at 20MPH your eyes don’t stand a chance.

TMMAR Takes 1st at MNOC

2008-08-26T15:40:00.000-05:00

TMMAR takes first place at MNOC's ROGAINE (Rugged Outdoor Group Activity Involving Navigation and Endurance) event last weekend. Peter and William competed in the two person male division.

Training on the Road

2008-08-07T16:43:00.000-05:00

I am in Lake Forest California this week on business which makes it tough on training. If I am lucky i can get a one or two evening runs in during the week. I typically stay to the streets but this time I wanted to venture out and see if I could take advantage of the local hills/mountains. I was directed to a neighboring park where I ran into a ranger who blocked my access.....because there was a rumor of Mountain Lions being seen.

http://video.knbc.com/player/?id=283503

Check out this video of the dude who decided it might be fun to pet the 'kittens'. I don't think this is the same interview as I saw on the news last night but this guy thinks he is part "Cat" because he is a Leo. Something tells me he might have smoked a little too much herb in his life.

Anyway, thanks to "Ralph", a local runner who introduced me to another trail that provided some good, safe running.

Black Diamond Headlight

2008-07-31T15:34:00.000-05:00

Okay. This is the first of many future posts on product reviews. I recently purchased the Black Diamond Icon Headlamp.

A single 3-watt bulb and four 0.5-watt LEDs that runs on 3 AAA batteries. It also has a NRG
rechargeable battery kit, sold separately for $30.

I have not used it in a race but I did go chasing my Vizsla at 2am and this baby stopped him like a deer in headlights (literally). He had no idea I was behind that shining beacon. For the price (About $85 with the rechargeable kit) I think it will work fine. (BTW....I bought mine at Midwest Mountaineering....so should you!)

The only hassle about Black Diamond lights it their 'half button' technology which makes slightly push the button to switch levels. I would much prefer to just mash the button four times and cycle through each mode vs. trying to be soft and delicate.

What have you done this week?

2008-07-25T07:30:00.000-05:00

Simple question? Let's see, I have logged a few training runs, Clark been eating some bon bon's, Peter is pedaling his way across Iowa logging 500+ miles and William just summited Mt. Rainier.

MNOC 8HR Race July 12

2008-07-13T18:00:00.000-05:00

MNOC did another great job at setting up an extremely challenging and fun course. This 8 hour raced proved to be that and more with the majority of teams finishing at the 8hr mark. The setting was North of Bloomer WI in a very remote section of the Chippewa Falls National Forest. This course provided everything from deep woods with more deer flies then anyone expected, single track riding (that is being modest as there some sections that were just overgrown animal trails loaded with stumps, rocks and fallen trees), swimming to reach CP14
, equal parts of portaging and kayaking and some deep bog and swamp trekking. All of this combined with a beautiful day made this one of the best races!

This was the TMMAR first race without Cheeks (aka. Clark Flowers) but we had a solid replacement with William Eddy who backed up a nearly flawless orienteering by Peter.

The race had a few spills. I took header over the bars trying to bunny hop a log and Peter did a face plant after flipping over his handle bars. Jessica provided a little anxiety early in the race with a broken chain that proved to not have an significant impact in the race.
Another pitfall was the miscalculation of the race time and water. Once again most of us were running on a few ounces to get us through the last hour or so. Never again! At a minimum I will always carry two extra bottle so of Vitamin Water as insurance….calories and electrolytes!

Top spots went to Wedali (Congrats). TMMAR took second. And I think Speed Kills took third.

Results should be posted at MNOC soon

Welcome to TMMAR

2008-07-01T14:08:00.001-05:00

Meet our newest member of TMMAR: William Eddy

Minneapolis Tri-Loppet

2008-06-30T09:19:00.000-05:00

Okay, this was not part of TMMAR or even an adventure race but it was fun as hell. The Mpls Tri-Loppet is an 8K kayak, 5k rund and 11k mountain bike race in Mpls. Saturday's race was had 350+ competitors and turned out to be a mud-bath on the mountain bike part. I was very impressed with the level of competition in the race....some fast dudes (and dud-ets).
My one take-away....if you are going to compete solo you need a fast(er) kayak. the 75lb poly-plastic kayak was good but stroke for stroke was much slower then a narrower and lighter kayak.

Primal Quest 2008

2008-06-26T15:15:00.000-05:00

One of the biggest races of the year is over half-way done and the legendary Team Nike is out in front. Primal Quest
What an addicting sport. This year SPOT GPS allows you to track each team individually and provides real time updates on the race. How cool!

back to work.....

First and Third!----Great Race.

2008-06-15T11:30:00.000-05:00

Whoops. I mean second a fourth. Team Midwest Mountaineering and Team Midwest Mountaineering Too actually ran an great race. We competed together as a six person team and had a near flawless day on navigation. One minor intersection we copied the wrong sign down which resulted in a fifteen minute penalty that dropped us from the 1st (Two Person Coed) and 3rd Four Person Coed) to 2nd and 4th.

Enough of that......I am over it and unlike Red Wing it only took me a half day vs. a few weeks.

This was a great race. Excellent job to William and Nicole who joined the TMMAR group this week and Nicole’s first ever AR race!

Race Overview:
-Wet Start to Kayak
-Orienteer
-Kayak
-Orienteer
-Cycle
-Mystery Challenge (Azimuth & Pace Counting)

3 hours 47 mintues with adjust time of 4 hours and 2 minutes.

Oh yeah.....a great find by William: FAT Squirrel

Introducing TMMAR Too

2008-06-12T09:17:00.000-05:00

We have finally added a second team to the Team Midwest Mountaineering AR group. This two person team brings our core members up to six which is key for maintaining a healthy and competitive group.

This Saturday we'll be racing a two-person coed and four person coed teams. Our goal is to run as six but we'll have to see what the day brings. Weather forecast for Saturday should be interesting:

Race options

2008-06-03T15:09:00.000-05:00

Without having to fly/drive across the country the best option for an additional USARA Qualifying race is the Sep 6 - Sep 7 Thunder Rolls Adventure Race - 24hr Illinois City, IL

The 6th annual "Thunder Rolls", 24 hour adventure race will follow the trails, waterways, and migration routes of Chief Black Hawk and the Sauk and Fox Indians of the 1800's. This traditional style, unsupported, expedition style race will involve canoeing, trail running, bushwhacking, coasteering, mountain biking, navigation and ropes. Teams of 3 will travel 100 miles through two states. Expect a great North Face Fleece top, racer gifts, and after race pizza. The race is a USARA Regional Qualifier and in the CheckPointZero National Series. The cost is still only $450 / team for the 24 hour race.

Redwing 12 Hour

2008-05-14T14:37:00.000-05:00

What a few days can do for the mind (and body). Okay...I don't think anyone on the TMMAR would disagree that Saturday's race was a huge dissapointment with a 4th place finish. Each of us were pumped and ready to compete.

I won't go into the days details but we started off fairly strong and left the first TA in second place. Our major struggles took place on the second set of orienteering where spent three additional hours of CP hunting up and down the bluffs of RedWing. What should have taken 2 hours ended up taking nearly five. Those extra three hours depleted most of our water and food which led to a couple of us (yours truely) coming close to bonking.
After a quick pit-stop on the road to 'borrow' some water from a few hoses attached to the friendly residences of RW we were back on the path to finish.
Following a short single track, gear inspection we were off to the last leg of orienteering with a short traverse and 80 foot rapell and then back to HQ for the finish and post race BBQ.

Try It!

2008-05-01T14:06:00.000-05:00

Update

2008-04-29T07:48:00.000-05:00

Well the Aleing-Loons blog was turned off by the powers as it was labeled as a 'spam' or some potential threat. So as that is worked out I’ll post any updates to the TMMAR blog as they pretty much involve the same people right now.

100 Mile IRONMAN ride

Sunday was the Ironman bike ride. Five (Peter, Clark, Dave plus two others) of us road as a group which helped as we were able to switch off as the lead rider setting the pace while the others could draft behind. Bike time was about 5:50 minutes. We managed to stop at each rest way with mechanicals at the first the three stops.

This is the week we focus on Kayaking before the first race in 11 days.

Mn Ironman
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April 20 MNOC AR Tune-Up

2008-04-20T21:14:00.000-05:00

Solid first race for Team Midwest Mountaineering. Dave, Jessica, Peter and Clark ran a solid race with exceptional navigation. 75 individuals competed today.

MNOC AR TUNE UP
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MNOC AR Tune Up

2008-04-20T18:25:00.000-05:00

Introduction to Adventure Racing

2008-04-18T14:58:00.000-05:00

Join TMMAR on June 11 at 7:00pm

Introduction to Adventure Racing

Wednesday, June 11, 7:00pm
Have you ever watched Adventure Racing on TV and wanted to try it? Does the idea of mountain biking, kayaking, orienteering and climbing over 12, 24, 36 hours or even days sound interesting or insane....or both? Members of Team Midwest Mountaineering will explain the fundamentals of Adventure Racing. Learn the basics from what gear is required to training tips and where to find a team and/or race. Expedition Room, Midwest Mountaineering

Newest Sponsor

2008-04-14T13:56:00.001-05:00

Team Midwest Mountaineering would like to welcome our newest sponsor Vitaminwater® from glacéau®.

Team Sponsor

2008-03-25T14:00:00.000-05:00

Thanks to Midwest Mountaineering for taking the lead opportunity to sponsor our Adventure Racing team. Officially, Team Midwest Mountaineering - Adventure Racing will join the two other sponsored sports under Midwest Mountaineering including Team Whitewater and Team Kiting.
Midwest Mountaineering is located down near the University of MN campus’ West Bank at 303 Cedar Ave. They are known for offering the best possible advice, the best technical expertise and the best gear and clothing for outdoor adventurers. There “Ask us we’ve been there” is a fact.