See the SPOTAdventure Map, pictures, and report that shows the first 24 hours of our race at:

SPOT Adventures

TeamSOG (Brian Mayer, Steven Baker, Julia Pollock, and Joe Moershbaecher) set out on an extremely daunting “24 hour” adventure race course.

We arrived Friday night and crashed to get some rest before the race. Saturday morning we woke up got some gear together and headed over to registration. Brian took a quick detour to do a radio interview for Lionheart on the Doug Pike Show. We got our maps and started plotting. The race was interesting with a neutral start scheduled for Sunday morning when people would be allowed to start the paddle with only a short bike afterward and an orienteering course. This was going to make the last 6 hours very intense.

We started the race in the intense heat from the Wilderness Adventures camp in New Castle, VA at noon on Saturday. After a short prologue we got out of the camp in first place and right away were thrown onto a steep 700′ MTB climb. It really took a toll on Baker. Combo the heat and the effort and he was really feeling it. We spread out his gear between us to lighten his load and continued on.

At the top of the mountain we entered a forest road and began to see some teams catching up. We were soon able to pull away again and made our way down the ridge to the town of New Castle where we were glad to fill up on water while enjoying some AC at the Dollar Mart. We then remounted for a 2700′ of climbing. Again this took a toll on Baker and once we summitted Baker emptied his stomach 100 yards from the CP. We now had to make sure to rehydrate and refuel him appropriately. Dark was approaching and we had a very technical 1800′ descent. This allowed Baker to begin to recover as well as some relief from the heat as night came upon us. On our descent we saw IMONPoint/Odyssey about 15 mins behind. We rushed through the Bike-Run TA and began the trek to the paddle put in with several checkpoints along the way. Baker was slowly feeling better but we spend a signifcant amount of the time fast walking to help him. The course was also fairly thick not allowing much of a chance to run. We also were beginning to feel some real fatigue.

We were bushwhacking along a ridge for what seemed like forever and finally caught up to IMONPoint/Odyssey who had passed us by taking a slightly different route. It was nice to see some companions in our same situation but we soon split up again. They chose to drop down off the ridge too early as we continued on to attack from further along the ridge. At the time we didn’t know if they meant to do what they did or not. Either way we raced our race and got the CP. We then chose to get the first optional CP which included a gruesome bushwhack descent because we couldn’t find the trail that went down from the ridge. This took a lot of time. Upon returning to the top of the ridge we came across IMONPoint/Odyssey again to find out they did get lost and did not get the optional CP. We were now in first place and had an advantage on them with the extra CP.

We continued on to the next optional CP. Daylight was now approaching and I was realizing we still had a long way until; the boat put in. I was beginning to think the optional CP may have been a bad idea. Either way it was done and we had to keep moving. We got to a section where we were supposed to follow a “trail” from one CP to the next. The catch was it started in the middle of nowhere and was not on the map. We had trouble finding the plotted trailhead and when we started traveling down it we were getting frustrated because we didn’t know where we were and where the trail was supposed to be going exactly. Eventually we decided to drop down to the river and attack the point from there. We ended up finiding part of the “trail” again shortly before we approached the CP. We now, due to some Nav troubles and a trail that didn’t really exist, were already past the cutoff for the paddle meaning we would not complete the entire course. Upon arriving to the put in  at 1030am we found out that IMONPoint/Odyssey had already arrived and skipped the paddle to the final bike to finish the course. We would have 100 minutes to complete the final bike in order to finish officially and win the race. If we didn’t we would finish unofficially. We were told the bike would take approximately 2 hours and that was on par with our estimates.

We decided that even though we were unlikely to finish we had to give our best efforts and try to finish officially for the win. We were transported to our bikes and then took off. We were on a mission and REALLY wanted to get the win. Unfortuantely we were unable to make the cutoff. We finished about 15 minutes over the time which was still faster than what the estimated time was for that section of the course and about 40 minutes faster than IMONPoint/Odyssey completed the course.

We had completed more of the course than any other team and were very proud of our accomplishment on such a tough course in such harsh conditions. We were certainly winners in our book. Most teams had to turn around earlier than us and didn’t get the optional CP we got. In retrospect that optional CP cost us some valuable time but at the time we decided to get it we felt that we did need that point to win the race and thought we would have enough time to finish. A long tough course prevented us from doing so.

We are getting ready for Lionheart in 2 weeks. We are sending two teams and looking for a first and second place!!!

Again this year I volunteered to vet the Calleva course for Dima. We have developed a good relationship and he knows what to expect from my racing. I enjoy very much the opportunity to race a course with less stress and importance on winning. It is also an amazing training opportunity.

This year it fell a week before the Odyssey One Day. This was perfect timing for a long day of training. I vetted the course with a neighbor of mine. Monika Sattler is usually racing for the competition (Team Trakkers) but this was a good chance to get to race with each other. Also we will be racing against each other at Odyssey so maybe we will pick up some pre race secrets…

There was some great orienteering on the course this year. Much more terrain involved which made things easier. On the other hand the navigation on the water gave us some problems because maps were not true to the islands actually there. We took some time to make the right decisions which cost us some time but overall was the best approach.  We were able to gather the points really fast. CP’s go by much faster in a 10 hour race than a 48 hour race (Equinox Traverse was my last race). After the O-course we decided to cross the canal twice. Basically I read the map worng and we didn’t have to cross it.

There was much less Stinging Nettle than last year when Baker and I did this course. That was very much appreciated. It was very hot and we had to stay really hydrated. We kept our pace fast and killed some of the sections. This lead to us being able to finish the course over 1 hour faster than Dima had expected. This got us home earlier which was great.

The biggest addition to the course was a river swim. I was excited going into this but my opinion changed as we got into the water. The river was low which meant lots of bumping knees. Also my injured toe was exposed and every time it even touched a rock I was in MAJOR pain. The river swim took longer than expected and we spent most of it on slow moving water or trying to kick up stream, not fun!

Either way it was a lot of fun and I had a blast as usual. I look forward to what adventures Dima has in store for next year’s course!

Photos compliments of Oleg Litivenko and Vladimir Bukalo

Susan Hollingsworth dropping the first waterfall on the Lower Wind River

Discovery Channel Canada wondered the same thing.

Femme 45 is a group of ladies in the Pacific Northwest with kayaking always on the brain. Sharing waterfalls, big rapids and whitewater joy with other girls is the goal and having fun every time is the outcome.

Discovery Channel Canada Documenting the Femme 45 Ladies

On Sunday, a group of Femmes (Christie Glissmeyer, Kate Wagner, Melissa DeCarlo, Monica Gokey and TeamSOG member Susan Hollingsworth) took a camera crew to the waterfalls of the Lower Wind River, as well as the infamous Big Brother on the Green Truss. The idea was to explain how we can have so much fun doing something that seems so dangerous.

The answer, well that’s tricky…

Susan hanging out while cameras get some interviews

Partly its the rush of facing a challenge. Every drop, every rapid is like a problem that must be solved using personal judgement and confidence in skills.

Partly its the act of carrying out a specific plan. We see a line, and we go for it.

Partly its the feeling off a horizon line. Free-fall…whoa.

Mostly, its our connection to the river’s power and the people we are with that keep us asking for more. Working with such a powerful force of nature along with an incredible group of friends makes for some incredible experiences.

Monica on the second waterfall on the Lower Wind River

To demonstrate this, we decided to hike into the Lower Wind River and run the 4 waterfalls a couple of times. Afterwards, Christie, Melissa and I took the film crew into the Green Truss where we ran a more difficult drop called Big Brother. The drop was a first for me and due to the support of my friends and the confidence in my ability, it went perfectly.

With all the fun, I can’t help but think what we might do next.

Check out Susan’s Blog for more of her adventures.

I have been testing it during some training runs and rides this week. You can see my “tracks” and follow us during the Odyssey Race and Lionheart at the website below. No promises as it seems to have trouble picking up a signal unless it is outside my pack and not in the woods. Hopefully it will at least be a somewhat better update of us on the course though.

TeamSOG SPOT Tracker

-Brian

As it turns out Brian had also overslept as well, although not nearly as bad. I had been up late the night before packing, cleaning my bike and doing some much needed cable maintenance. I think I went to bed sometime around 2AM. My alarm was set for 4:30AM, for whatever reason my body rejected the notion that two and a half hours of sleep would be adequate for a 12-hour mountain bike race and must have unconsciously hit the OFF button, doh!

After scrambling to finish packing the car and get dressed I was out the door and on my way to the race. The race start was at 8AM and here I was leaving Richmond to drive to Quantico at 7:30AM. I arrived at the Quantico Marine base at 8:50 and had scrambled to get body marking and my jersey on just in time for Brian to come rolling through off his first lap. I was still putting my gloves on as I ran over to meet Brian at the timing tent. With only a 3-5 minute hitch in our giddy up I was on my way and we were still in the race, only a few minutes off the overall leader.

Brian and his fiancée Katie had decided to sleep in their living room as it is much cooler in the summer than their bedroom. In doing so they had gotten up to turn the alarm off in the bedroom and gone back to sleep. They ended up oversleeping by 30 minutes and luckily had gotten to the race in time to sign us in and setup camp. Brian ran the Le Mans start by default since I was still in my car. He ended up the first one back off the run about 10 yards in front of the mass of people and was on the bike and the course in first.

Brian finished his first lap in 58:10 including his Le Mans start run. I was surprised to see him so soon, when we pre-rode the course a few weeks prior to the race I was convinced we would be pulling 80 minuet laps. The course was dry, super rutted, sandy, manky, single track horse trail, so I go on? You are probably asking yourself where are these trails I’d love to ride some blown out mank! Anyways when I took the baton from Brian I noticed he was really dirty but didn’t say anything, he quickly informed me that he had crashed on the downhill that was bumpy and had sand at the bottom (I was cautious of this the whole first lap and then I realized this description could have been any of the downhill’s). I rode my first lap in a 56:51 which included my minor delay of having to get my gloves on, not bad after showing up 2 hours late. I tried to spin as much as I could the first lap knowing the following laps would take a toll in the heat. Especially since I hadn’t eaten a proper breakfast or hydrated at all. Brian cranked out an impressive 57:45 on his second lap and came in dirtier than the first lap; I guess he had crashed on one of the other bumpy/sandy downhills. I felt super strong the second lap and was taking more speed through the turns, I didn’t feel it but I guess I was beginning my downward spiral into terminal dehydration; lap split was 57:32. Brian spun a 57:25 on his third lap holding steady, he had some chain trouble however managed to crank out an impressive lap split nonetheless. 1:13:14 – That’s all she wrote, about halfway through the next lap (4.5 miles) I blew up, the muscle cramps in my legs from being dehydrated forced me to walk every uphill and struggle to stay on the bike on the downhills. Brian had been waiting anxiously and took off as soon as I got back. I drank as much as possible while waiting for Brian but felt drained. Brian finished the next lap slightly slower, 59:47, anticipating I’d feel like crap and when we met at the timing tent he could see the look on my face and knew he was going back for a double pull. After loading him up with some gels and full water bottles he was back on the course. Meanwhile I was downing all the drugs the medical tent would give me for dehydration. I managed to get some food down and rest and stretch a little before Brian came rolling back into the timing tent 64:39 minutes later (impressive). Knowing the condition of my legs I decided to spin super easy to avoid cramping at all costs. I ended up walking most of the climbs in anticipation of massive cramping, I managed to finish my 4^th lap in 67:51. Brian did his 6^th lap in 62:06 and I finished my 5^th and our final lap in 67:26 still cramping.

Overall I think we had a successful race. I was still tired from a 40-mile trail run I had crushed the weekend before and combined with the heat, dehydration, over-sleeping(really under sleeping) and being late to the race I think we could not have expected much more. Brian did a great job of stepping up and helping the team out when I was beat down. We finished second in our division, Duo Male, and were 34:12 behind the first place team. Third place finished 27:36 behind us.

A special thanks Katie, our race support! Katie did a great job of getting us setup, filling water bottles, feeding and stretching us, it’s always a pleasure to have great support! Dan, a former roommate of ours, and his girlfriend Kelsey came late in the race and helped breakdown our camp and carry our gear to the car as well as take some pictures. They also gave Brian a ride home. Thanks again! In addition we were both able to leave with a couple of free pizza pies leftover from the race, a good finish.

-Baker

Steep, Technical and Fast: Miracle Mile near Eugene, Oregon

With only one week left in the Eddyflower Total Vertical Challenge, Susan continues to push to keep her top 10 position. In addition to reaching more than 20,000 vertical feet of challengeing Class III-V whitewater throughout the Pacific Northwest, this TeamSOG member has also managed to raise over $700 for First Descents.

Check out the Standings throughout the next few days to see how she finishes out!  Don’t forget to show your support and make a tax-deductible contribution to her team as well!

6th Lap on the Miracle Mile outside Eugene, OR

For 32 days kayakers all over the country will try to descend as many vertical feet of whitewater as possible.  The steeper and harder, the better.  Competitors can only run a stretch of river 5 times, making logistics and strategic planning essential to a good showing.

It means lapping class V rivers in one day only to get as much sleep, drive, and do the same thing on another river the next.

It means putting on river gear at the end of a long day at work to squeeze in a few hundred feet.

It means finding people to drive you back to the top before the sun sets so that you can run the river a second time.

However…thats not really why we are out there.

The competition also raises money to support First Descents, an organization that sponsors cancer survivors in a week long kayak/climbing/biking camp.  Overcoming one of the toughest times by experiencing one of the most exhilarating.  Competitors are sponsored by friends and family, raising money to sponsor more participants.

Now paddling has a purpose.

TeamSOG member Susan Hollingsworth is holding strong with her all-female team, Femme 45.  Currently at over 15,000 feet and 7th place overall (out of 176 people) mid-way through the competition.  Check out the standings.

Help her raise more funds for this amazing cause as she continues to paddle for a purpose.

I was down in Blacksburg on the anniversary of the April 16th shootings. They now hold an annual 3.2 mile run/walk in honor of the 32 live lost that day. I was able to participate in this event with my fiance Katie. We didn’t race but enjoyed the event and the camaraderie of all the other people participating.

We Are Virginia Tech!

-Brian

Chris recently gave a SOG AR class at the Goochland YMCA.  This was a great chance for him to teach a lot of new racers about the sport and also spread the word about Adventure Racing and SOG’s commitment to the sport and it’s racers.

Chris is an extremely knowledgeable racer and I am sure anyone who attended, young or old, experienced or beginner, learned a lot.