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???
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| 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:
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| 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.
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