http://www.checkpointtracker.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=app.showDashboard&eventID=157

111 – Nature Cure – A Big THANK YOU to Nature Cure

posted Sun Apr 19 @ 5:12 PM

Team #52 stopped by HQ and told us that Nature Cure deserves a big shout out!  When 52 capsized in the dark Thursday night, they were very wet and cold on the bank, trying desperately to start a fire.  They were so cold that they couldn’t function and Nature Cure pulled over to help them out.  They started a fire, made sure it stayed lit, and made sure the guys would be A-OKAY.  A big thanks, and great sportsmanship, Nature Cure!

Hey all, Brian here. The team kicked the season off with an Adventure Race Academy in Ohiopyle, PA. This has become sort of a home base for the team. It is the home of all our Academies and several of American Adventure Sports Races. The town is a great little town. There are maybe a 100 or so full-time residents and the town is driven on tourism as it is at the center of Ohiopyle State Park.

Doug started the weekend off with the students on Thursday night and Friday. They got in some riding up to the fire tower and had a wet and rainy trip back down the mountain to the hotel. Baker, Brian, and J.D. showed up on Friday night and caught up with all the team news.

This year’s team goals are to get Top 5 in both the USARA rankings and Checkpoint Tracker Series. Doug is working hard to promote the Veterans’ Challenge. This is to bring attention and support to the Wounded Warriors and Doug is working with a lot of people to make this event a success. Check out the website: http://www.vetchallenge.com/

On Saturday morning Maggie Hamill the team’s female climber showed up as well as Kristen Dieffenbach. Baker and I started Saturday off with a training run. We ran under some waterfalls and through some freezing cold rivers. We came back soaked and cold. Everyone then headed over to Yoga class across the street. Many of the racers and students found themselves sore the next day.

After Yoga everyone headed to the river for some paddling practice on the Casselman River. Doug started the lesson off with some safety lessons and tips. After some guidance on how to paddle down the river we jumped into the boats. We had some one person and two person kayaks and we tried to get everyone to try a couple. The water was nice but cold. When everyone got back everyone either headed out for a run or bike ride before the dark settled in.

Everyone then caught some grub at the bar across the river. This was a great chance for the racers to bond as well as talk with the students and talk to them about our experience and give them some advice and share our knowledge with them. I really think this is the best part of the academy and can’t be replaced.

Sunday morning started with another run for Baker and I. It was a beautiful day and there were tons of people in Ohiopyle. I would say the population easily tripled, probably more. Parking lots were full. We then all headed up to the rocks where the he Academy students got a chance to learn and hone their climbing, rappelling, and ascending skills. Maggie was a great resource here as this is her area of expertise. They also learned a lot about safety. One key thing I have learned in Adventure Racing is safety and risk evaluation is uber-important!!! This becomes harder and harder the farther into a race you get and the more sleep deprived you are. It is important to always keep these things in mind.

While we were on the rocks and “Duck” was able to get interviews to post on the team website. They are now up so check them out: http://www.americanadventuresports.com/aasraceteam.htm

That was pretty much it. We wrapped everything up in the parking lot and we all headed home from there. It was another successful academy and training weekend.

-Brian

EFIX: April 16-19 / Chris, JD, Suzi & Brian

Yough Xtreme: April 25 / Baker, Jenny, KD

Atomic AR: May 16 / JD, KD, Doug

Longest Day: June 6-7 / KD, Baker, JD

Equinox Traverse: June 12-14 / Jenny, JD, Brian

KG Memorial: Aug. 1 / Jenny, Baker, Brian

LIONHEART: Aug. 7-8 / KD, JD, Baker

SHAG: Sept. 26 / JD, KD, Brian

Black Beard: Sept. 26 / Jenny, Baker, Chris?

USARA Nationals: Oct 23-24/ Hopefully 2 teams TBD

Hey all,

Welcome to the Nature Cure Team Blog. My name is Brian. I’m on the Adventure Racing team. I am the one putting together this whole blog thing. We all have busy lives but thought it would be important to have a place for the whole team to update you on the team’s whereabouts, results, stories, and just tell you about anything we want to share in our lives.

We are going to try and all add some updates as the year goes on that way we get input from everybody. I would like to thank Nature Cure, American Adventure Sports, and Doug. Together they put on some great events and also allow us to spread the word about their companies and have a blast at the same time.

The first couple blogs are going to just catch you up on the team so far this year. It has been a busy year and a lot has already gone on so here we go.