As I sit here typing I feel incredibly sore, my legs look like a cat molested them, and I am still trying to re-hydrate. BUT -- I also sit here a 2nd place finisher in the 4-6 hour Natchez Trace Adventure Race!!! That's right! My buddy Luke Schlup and I completed a challenging race that included trail running, mountain biking, canoeing, and orienteering. We were SHOCKED to learn that we placed 2nd overall for the 4-6 hour race. Our finishing time was 5:55. Just 5 minutes short of the cut-off. The 1st place team -- 5:26. And we were among only three 2-man teams to finish the race within the 6hr time limit.
To say the race was tough is an understatement! For those who are wondering, "What's an adventure race??" -- allow me to walk you through our experience.
The race begins when we are given a packet of instructions by which we are to complete the race. Our first task was to tie ourselves together with a rope and proceed to a fire tower where we were given a map with 14 checkpoints. We were instructed to "capture" the first several checkpoints on foot, so we proceeded to follow county roads, fire roads, and trails as we tracked down the various checkpoints. However, not all the checkpoints are found in obvious, easy to access places, so to reach many of the checkpoints we had to bushwhack our way through the woods and dense brush.
Upon capturing the first set of checkpoints, we were instructed to hop on our bikes with the necessary gear for the canoeing section and capture the next set of checkpoints along a mountain bike trail. This is the section we both looked forward to the most because we know that biking is our strongest event. Unfortunately, we got off to a rough start as the trail was "single track" (meaning only wide enough for one bike at a time). This made it difficult to pass people. Plus the trail was covered in dried pine straw which made it extremely slick and difficult to maintain solid traction. However, we were able to pull away from the "pack" and get into our rhythm before too long.
The next section was paddling. There were 4 checkpoints we had to capture and were positioned at various points on the lake. We opted start out paddling into the wind with the hope that we'd have the help of the wind as we became more fatigued capturing the final paddling checkpoints. This strategy seemed to pay off.
**I do feel that I need to mention that it was at this point that we both ran out of water... This was NOT an exciting discovery for either of us. We had sucked our camelbacks dry, and would have to suffer on until the end.**
We had to make our toughest strategic decision during the paddling section. We struggled to find the final paddling checkpoint. We knew there was one more checkpoint we'd have to get as we biked back to the finish, but knew we didn't have time to get both. We opted to look a bit longer for the final paddling checkpoint since we were already in close proximity to it. This decision turned out to be the difference between finishing the race in under 6hrs and qualifying for the 2nd place award, and being disqualified for not finishing within the allotted time.
So we found the final paddling checkpoint and hustled back to our bikes for the final ride to the finish. This ride was MISERABLE! We both thought we were about to die. We were dehydrated, tired, and our legs were cramping, but we knew that we had to keep peddling. We were at that point where everything just seems to move slower and you start to kind of fade between coherency and stupor. All I could think about was the Gatorade waiting for me at the finish. All Luke could think about was the PB&J sandwich waiting for him at the finish.
But finish we did!! And as we sat, completely exhausted and totally spent waiting for everyone to finish and the results to be announced, we realized that we had actually done really well! And when we realized that we'd place 2nd overall -- we were pumped!! Our efforts were not in vain! Our blood was shed for a purpose! And our teamwork and determination had paid off!!
Here's some pics from the day:
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| Getting geared up and tied together as we started the race. |
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| This was a bonus challenge they added to keep us on our toes |
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| Plotting our course and strategizing |
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| About to embark on the bike/paddling section |
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| Here we are totally wiped out, coming up the final stretch to the finish |
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| We finished!! |
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| The carnage from all the bushwhacking |
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| Exhausted and trying to rehydrate and eat some food |
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| Our plaque and beach towels :-) |
Overall, it was a very difficult and challenging race!! But it was tons of fun!! We'll see if there's a next year... kinda thinking there will be :-)
But until later, we're just the Joneses trying to keep up.
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