Members of TeamSOG traveled over the mountains and through the woods to get to Ohiopyle, PA this past weekend to come together as a team and get psyched for the upcoming season.

Of course, you can’t expect a group of athletes to come together to just talk about things like adventure racing, kayaking, climbing, running and playing outdoors. One of the greatest parts of being a member of such a diverse team is enjoying multiple sports throughout the day.

Team members rolled into town on Friday to find chilly weather around the Youghiogheny River in Ohiopyle.  No matter though.  TeamSOG finds ways to enjoy any type of weather.  Julie and Jennie ventured into the woods with Doug’s American Adventure Sports mountain biking clinic.  No doubt the girls were able to provide helpful insights into biking techniques for the clients, as well as serve as an obvious inspiration for the future adventure racers.  Susan grabbed her kayak and hit the loop section of the Yough with some old friends, enjoying familiar waves, eddies and rock slides

We woke to beautiful blue skies and a warm sun rising on Saturday, a true sign of a day packed with adventure.

Saturday morning the ladies headed out for a morning run before Team Media festivities began.  Julie, Jenny, Susan, Alisa and Ellen traversed the Great Gorge and Beech Trails through the Ohiopyle State Park.  Susan led the girls on these two trails, some of her personal favorites from days of living and guiding in this small river town.

The entire group then came together for an intense Yoga class with Katie.  Moving through sun salutations, balance and strengthening poses, the group gave some much needed oxygen to their muscles while sweating out toxins (most of which were received at the pub the night before).  Katie provided a challenging class while also reminding us about the key element of mental awareness we need for our races.  Thanks Katie!

Then the cameras arrived!

We all suited up in our awesome TeamSOG apparel, gathered our gear and had a great photo shoot by the truck and trailer.  Sitting in the back of that truck and smiling at the camera, I couldn’t help think about how amazing it was to be around such an amazing group of athletes.  Our diverse backgrounds all seem to overlap somehow, providing supportive connections for the participation in every sport.

The afternoon was spent maneuvering through the currents of the Youghiogheny River.  Susan, Julie and Doug provided key safety information for the AAS participants, as well as valuable information about paddling techniques.  The river gave us plenty of opportunities to practice paddling, as well as bask under the warm sunlight, breathe fresh air and smile with gratitude for the opportunity to be a member of TeamSOG.

With still several hours of daylight remaining, Brian and Maggie grabbed their bikes and headed out to the trails.  No reason to waste such precious sunlight!

That night our sponsors, SOG Knives & Specialty Tools, topped off the evening with food and drinks at the local Pub…a proper celebration for such an awesome day.  Busy times at the pub even forced Susan to relive her days as a server and serve the whole group as well as some other diners.  She was an excellent Waitress!

Sunday the group headed back out into the woods for work with ropes.  Doug again gave the Academy group some necessary instruction on safety and general rules around ropes and climbing while the team setup two rappels and a climb.  JD, Doug, and Brian led the rappels getting some academy participants over their fears and allowing others to build up valuable experience.

Next the group split between ascending and climbing.  Our expert climber Maggie led the climbing instruction teaching essential climbing knots as well as belaying and climbing techniques.  This also allowed for some climbing practice on the crag.  Back on the rappel lines Doug was teaching the very unique skill of ascending.  This is not typically a skill that most people learn but these lucky adventure racers got to learn from some of the best as Doug spent years in the military as a paratrooper and teaching rope work.

While out in the beautiful weather and scenery the team was also able to shoot some more video footage to help express what TeamSOG is all about, our Mission Statement.

After another successful day Doug wrapped the weekend up, we took some pictures, and everyone said there goodbyes and grabbed one last bite to eat in the park before heading out in our seperate ways.

These are some of the best weekends and we are lucky to have a sponsor that supports us and Doug who is able to bring us all together to share some great experiences in one of the greatest outdoor adventure areas in the region.  We are all looking forward to a great competition season, already underway.  Thanks again to our awesome sponsor, SOG Knives; our team manager Doug and everyone else who came out to make the weekend such a success.

Keep an eye out for TeamSOG this season!