At 8:15 AM, (29) two & three person teams started the race in beautiful Brown County Indiana at the Valley Branch Retreat. We started off with a 2.5 mile land navigation through thick woods over pretty hilly terrain to CP-1 for the boat put in. Indy Rootstock (Michael Sapper, Deseri Garcia, and I) and CITGO/Gray Goat arrived at the same time.
Both of us immediately attempted to paddle the North branch of the Salt Creek River, but quickly found that running and pulling the boat through the water was much quicker and more effective. After a mile and a half of trudging through 6" to 3' of water, another branch of the river converged, and then we were finally able to actually begin paddling
We exchanged the lead several times through the paddle and portage - it was great fun pushing and being pushed by Van Hoosier and the guys. Eventually we were able to take a slight lead and were first out of the water. We all portaged the boats and transitioned onto our bikes that were staged ahead before the start.
A quick 8.5 mile ride over paved and gravel country roads led us back to Valley Branch Retreat. We caught up and passed a Greenwood Indiana cycling team on S.R. 46, that was out practicing that morning. It was pretty cool blowing by them. They caught us at the turn off of 46, because we had to wait on traffic. At that point, I think their egos kicked in, so they picked it up a bit, so we chose to take turns pulling along with them for about a mile before we turned off on to a gravel road.
We raced into the TA, and changed our wet socks from the paddle (and the stream crossings during the ride) and took out for a 4.5 mile orienteering loop. The CITGO/Gray Goat guys caught up and passed us on the way to the second orienteering point. But, because of what turned out to be a better route choice, we then passed them back in route to the third point. We did have a 5-10 minute gaff looking for the last point (o-1) and ended up taking a round about way to get to it, but it still worked out.
One of my favorite things about adventure racing is the creativity that is involved, and the thinking-on-your-feet and team work that is required. Dave, Doug, and Jerry, incorporated multiple choices throughout the race. Having those choices throughout the race helps make it that much more fun.
We had several traditional punch checkpoints to find on the O-course, but also had to answer a question about a small 5-person cemetery on top of a hill in the middle of the forest. We almost missed answering the question and had to back track a bit to get it. (The cemetery featured five members of the Pittman family that were original homesteaders of the area back in the late 1800's. Pretty cool, but pretty sad to see their ages when they passed. We're pretty lucky these days if you think about it.)
Racing in from orienteering, we had to complete some special challenges. Valley Branch Retreat is a multipurpose recreation resort. One of their main attractions is a paintball park. Each member of the racing teams had three shots from a paintball rifle, (The rifle, we came to find out - "works like any other firearm.") to hit a target set up at the range. All three of us hit our targets and then took off for a short sprint across a field and back. If any of us missed, we would have had an extended run.
After a second round of targets by our sharp shooter Michael, we had another challenge of toting 5-gallon buckets filled with water across a field, through a metal culvert, and back, we raced back to the TA and mounted our bikes for a 5 mile Bike-O through Valley Branch's multiple trail systems.
At that point, it felt like we had about a 20-minute lead going into the Bike-O. The Bike-O course was designed for beginners as well as experienced racers to enjoy and be challenged. Again, we had multiple choice to make during the Bike-O. We could choose to take an easier or less hilly course, but would have to go farther to reach the same point. We mixed it up and did a little of both. We struggled with the second point and lost a good five minutes getting our bearing and hunting it down. Once we got it, we got on track and then nailed the rest.
Upon completion of the last bike section, we checked into the TA for the last time and then raced up to a small lake, where a zip line across the lake awaited. Flying down the line we each splashed into the middle of the lake where we had to swim 100 yards or so, to the infamous large cargo net that was hung from another line across the lake. After climbing the net up about 15-20' and jumping off the other side, we swam to the other side and sprinted to the finish.
(Photo: Michelle Folz)
We crossed the line first, and were very excited.
We went up to watch some of the other teams come in and got to see an incredible battle for second place. After more than 5-hours of racing, Team Wales caught Citgo/Gray Goat on the cargo but were out sprinted at the end. Congratulations to those two teams for a very fun and competitive race.
Also, Team Rootstock/Unity had a very strong 5th place finish that included the best split time of any of the teams on the orienteering section. Great job - Mike, Steve, & !
And really, I would think every team that finished would have felt like a winner. It was a most entertaining race.
Great job Dave, Doug, Jerry, and Barb, and of course all of the volunteers. Looking forward to others.
Ryan Burke