Well into our 2010 racing season, the team heads east to VA to race against the best competition in the US to date this year at the 50 hour Endorphin Fix adventure race north of Roanoke, VA. Going up against great teams like Nuun, Bones, Sog, Berlin Bikes, ATP and more, this will be a true test of the teams fitness, and show us excatly where we stand as far as the year is going. With 3-3rd place finishes this year, the team is happy at our growth, but ready to move up the podium, and this race would be a thrill to do just that. Kyle, Mari, Leslie and the newest addition from Dirty Avocados, Brian Schmitz, we are ready to unveil the motor, and let er rip. Hang on race fans, its going to be fun. You can follow the haps on www.checkpointtracker.com , and be sure to send good kharma Tecnu Extreme/StaphAseptic's way as they test the boundary of human endurance pressing the pace.
cheers all! Stay safe and sane!
Earring Doug Judson-Tecnu Extreme/StaphAseptic adventure racing Team Captain
Friday, March 26, 2010
Monday, February 15, 2010
Tecnu Extreme/StaphAseptic battles hard finishes 3rd at the Swamp Stomp in Florida
Swamp Stomp 2010
Team Tecnu Extreme/StaphAseptic
Kyle Peter, Mari Chandler, Keith Bushaw, Leslie Reuter
The 2nd race of 2010 took team Tecnu Extreme/StaphAseptic to about one hour north of Tampa, FL to race in the Swamp Stomp. Plotting the course Friday night near the banks of the Homosassa River proved that the race would live up to its name. 30 miles of river-paddling in a maze of waterways cutting though the swamp and miles of swamp travel ton foot and even bike (yes…I said bike) though thick wet swamp ooze!
Saturday morning we started with a 14 mile paddle on the Homosassa River Trail that we finished in around 4th place, but we transitioned quickly at the ‘Chaz’ Campground and headed out onto Bike #1 in first place. Biking mostly on paved roads we grabbed a few CP’s and cruised into the transition to Trek 1 holding our lead.
Trek 1 was a relatively straightforward rogaine in Withlacoochee State Forest. After 5 hours of running we cleared the section. Most points were 100-300 meters from a trail or road, but with no features in flat Florida, the team relied heavily on pace counts to get the CPs.
Tecnu Extreme/StaphAseptic took off on Bike # 2 still leading the pack, but with a local team hot on our heels. We grabbed 3 CP’s or so on our way into the deep nasty swamp at the same the time the sun began to set. The first point we went to in the swamp requited us to leave our bikes at the end of a trail and stomp through the swamp for 100 meters to find the flag. It was cold, it was our first time moving in the swamp, and Leslie found a keeper spot that sucked her in deep. Needless to say, we slowed a bit. We started to bike back out the same trail we used to come in to the CP and saw the local FL team. I estimated we had about 15 minutes on them. We also saw Checkpoint Zero and some other teams on the out-and-back section. Next up on our plan was a group of 4 CP’s that didn’t have a clear connecting route to get them all. We tried to get them in a loop that appeared to be the most efficient according to the map. But it turned out that trails in the swamp can easily be covered in 3 feet of water and near impossible to find. We decided to bike an extra 15 kilometers on relatively fast trails to avoid a 750 meter swamp bushwack with our bikes over our shoulders. Seemed like the safest smartest thing to do, but turns out the race directors designed the course so everybody had to carry there bikes through the swamp. The marked trails on the map were really hunters’ bushwacking routes through the swamp than ride-able trails. Long and short of it we were passed out there by the local team as well as Checkpoint Zero with all three of us getting all points on Bike 2. We came into the start the Trek 2 30 minutes behind CP0 and 2 hours behind the local team. Game over! The intensity immediately dropped and my focus on the maps faded. We pushed on adjusted our plan for the trek, got what points we could with Leslie navigating us through a 1 kilometer, pitch black, below freezing, thick swamp.
We returned to the TA to pick up our bikes to find out Checkpoint Zero still in the TA but with 1 more CP than us (a point worth 2 points when most were worth only 1 point). We also discovered that our bikes cassettes had frozen solid. Hours of swamp biking, sandy road ridng, and 28 degree temperatures are not the best conditions for bikes. We put on our frozen solid bike shoes, and all of the clothes we had (none of it dry at this point) and set off on the final bike ride (Bike 3). I have probably been heard saying a half dozen times or so, “This is the coldest I have ever been.” I don’t think I said it this time because I was too cold to talk, but I truly believe this was the coldest I have been in my live. All four of us had completely numb feet and hands. At every CP, Keith would put his bare hands down his pants to warm his fingers, and Leslie would ride without her hands on the bars in order to put them up here shirt to keep them warm.
We pulled into the final TA and transitioned into our frozen solid paddling gear. When I took my bike shoes off there was a layer of ice between my wet sock and my shoe. I don’t think that has ever happened to me before. Not to mention in FL?
We started Paddle 2 early Sunday morning and preceded to get the mandatory CP’s They were all located up channels that were feed by springs. We usually had to wade the last few meters in 72 degree water from our boats up to the spring to reach the CP. What a welcome change from the frozen socks and PFD we wearing! Our final CP required one teammate to swim into a deep hole being fed by a spring. As the youngest on the team I won the chance to dive the 10 feet into the clear spring and get the CP!! I was cold, but the finish line was only 200 meters away, and as a special treat we were greated by a family of manetees swimming under our canoes as we left the spring.
The Swamp Stomp proved to be a very challenging race both physically and mentally. Florida doesn’t have hills, but it sure has swamps! All things considered we are happy with our third place finish, and impressed with Checkpoint Zero’s second place finish and the local teams win. I won’t speak for the rest of the team, but I will be back. I want another shot at those swamp ‘trails’ or lack-there-of.
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Tecnu Extreme/StaphAseptic battles hard at the NGAR and finishes 3rd against top competition
Tecnu Extreme/StaphAseptic adventure racing headed to Georgia this weekend to race at the NGAR(North Georgia Adventure race) in Fort Mt. State park. Battling 40-50 mile an hour winds, pouring rain the entire race, and cold temperatures, most teams are notorious for quitting this 87 mile race. This year was no different with 16 teams dropping out of the field of 35. Only four teams finished the entire course with local team Enduaventure winning over powerhouse NUUN by 50 minutes, and we blazed the last orienteering section bettering NUUNS time by 50 minutes and finished 3rd, 40 minutes back. A great showing against top teams from the east especially considering this was our first race together. Miserable, sloppy conditions, but that's why we signed up. A good start to our 2010 season. We have high hopes for this team. Stay tuned for more!
Friday, January 15, 2010
Tecnu Extreme/StaphAseptic prepares to try to win the NGAR!
Mari, Kyle, Keith and I flew into Atlanta last night with the hopes of getting atop the podium at the NGAR. (North Georgia Adventure race) It is the first race of the 2010 racing season for the team, and a chance to see where our fitness lies. We have some killer goals set for the 2010 season, and tommorrow morning at 9 am on Carters Lake when the gun goes off with a 1.2 mile running prologue, we will find out. Mari's going up against NUUN, the team she has raced much of her adventure racing career. Should be some fun comraderie as the two of us vie for the top spot. He, er she, er they who suffers the most wins. Weather has been brisk with snow and ice on the ground, but this week has been slowly warming up. Weather is forecast for 30 as the low, 50 as the high with rain coming in the early afternoon. race starts with a short run prologue and transitiosn to a long canoe with some portage options. We will then bike up and down all over Fort Mountain State followed by a long hike, another bike, then the race finishes off with a trek to the finish. Total race distance is 95 miles, rogaine style. He who finishes the course with the most checkpoints in the fastest time wins. Here's hoping that sunday at three, it will be us. Pictures to follow. Tune back in for updates as we prepare to take the first checkpoint tracker points of 2010. Travel safe and well to the 35 teams racing hard tommorrow. Go big or go home! If this race lives up to its cult following reputation, many of the teams will be going home.
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Monday, December 7, 2009
Race re-cap final stage 4 en route to the podium in Malaysia
Day 4 - Final Stage
Kyle and I knew what had to be done for the final day of racing. We were currently in 4th place and less than 3 minutes behind a spot on the podium which was held by Team Salomon TLDM from Malaysia. The day began with a long 48 mile bike leg which the majority would all be on paved roads and flat. The first 12 miles were pretty easy as everyone rode in a peloton as expected. The next 4 miles were insane as we had to loop around some rice paddy fields. We were forced into a single file line through wet tall grass with mud underneath. It was a struggle to remain with the lead group through the slippery conditions, but we hung on. At the edge of the paddy field was a bridge that led us back to the road, but we had to heave our bikes up onto it as it was 4 ft or so off the ground. Kyle and I were back on our bikes and on the road only to find ourselves a good 200 meters behind the peloton. We knew we had gotten off the bridge before the Malaysians and needed to get back with the lead riders. Kyle took off and I got on his wheel and we road as hard as we could and eventually caught the group. We settled back into the peloton and enjoyed the pull and recovered from our sprint. The pace had slowed again and the French team(Chiru Racing Bikes) and the Japanese team each tried to break away, but each time we caught back up with them. With all the goofing around with the pace, our Malaysian friends were able to rejoin the group as well. No one would take the lead and push the pace except us and the 2 teams from South Africa (Team McCain Adventure). I took the lead and Kyle got behind me and we picked up the pace. The next thing we knew, we were all alone and the peloton had dropped behind us. We expected them to catch us, but that was the last we would see of them for the next 24 miles. Kyle and I alternated leading, giving 1 min hard pulls while the other recovered all the while thinking at any moment the freight train of riders would run us over soon, but they never came. We held 24-28 mph on our mt. bikes as we were led by a police escort and camera crews all the way to the TA. It was pretty exciting to have gotten a break-a-way from such a strong group of riders and be in the lead.
We had a quick transition into our kayak gear and were off for a short paddle in the Indian Ocean to Pangkor Island. At this point we still had no idea exactly how far ahead we were and just wanted to keep our lead as long as possible. We expected to be caught on the kayak leg, as we are not the stongest paddlers, but no one came. We reached the sandy beach and now had to run up a hill to a 60 m repel down a steep rock face right back down to the beach. Because we had done the entire bike section while wearing our climbing harnesses, there was no need for the transition and gained more valuable time on the Malaysian team who we knew was not wearing theirs.
Now we were off for a 6k run along the edge of the island through the town of Pangkor. We were still feeling pretty good and settled into a comfortable pace but tried to keep pushing. Kyle had fallen back a bit so he we connected the tow line so that we could keep together. It seemed as though the entire town of Pangkor had come out and lined both sides of the street to cheer us on. They seemed confused to find Kyle and I by ourselves , most likely looking extremely tired , and why were we tied together?? We pushed on and reached the aid station at the base of "Killing Hill". In the race briefing the night before, the Race Director had told us that this hill was harder than the one we had done on Day 2 and had almost destroyed a few teams. We decided to take the time to load up on water before continuing up the trail. As we headed up the steep trail we still saw no one behind us. It wasn't too much time later when we heard the Swedish team coming up behind us and moving fast. Within a few moments they had caught us, passed us, and dropped us. We kept on trekking and a few moments later, Pacific Adventure made up of 2 Americans caught us, passed us, and dropped us. We decided that was enough, and in order for us to grab 3rd overall, we had to hold onto 3rd for the stage win. We never saw another team. We reached the base of "Killing Hill", which ended up being way easier than expected and had a short run back out to the main island road. Here we would get to choose from a group of "local" bikes and would be allowed to use one bike for the 2 of us to go the remaining 5k to the finish. Kyle immediately grabbed a bike that had the essentials...2 inflated tires, 2 pedals, at least 1 brake, and hopefully the ability to shift a gear or 2. I took off running and Kyle passed me on the bike. It was hilarious as the bikes were all for people a bit shorter than us and he looked like he was pedaling a kid's bike. For the next 5 k, we leap frogged each other with one of us riding a short distance ahead and dropping the bike on the side of the road and then the other of us running to it, picking up the bike and continuing. There was a lot of traffic on the road and I was sure at some point our bike would either get run over or fall apart. With the bike being so small it was very difficult to ride up the few hills we had along the way to the finish and I was having flashbacks of riding my little niece and nephew's little cruiser bikes and thinking that maybe that form of training was paying off at last. ha ha. I was just starting to feel pretty crappy and had told Kyle as he rode by me not to make me run to far when we could start to hear the sounds of the finish line. Kyle dropped the bike immediately after he passed me and was off and running hard to the finish. I barely caught him when we rounded the final turn and crossed the finish line together to finish the 4th and final stage in 3rd place. Immediately we started our watches and waited to see who would cross the finish line next. After 3 minutes we knew we had the last spot on the podium secured. As time ticked by and only the Japanese team finished, we thought we had a shot at 2nd place as Chiru Racing bikes had 6+ minute lead heading into this stage. At 4 1/2 minutes, Team Chiru crossed the finish line. It was official...
1st place: Team World of Multi-Sport from Sweden, 4 day race total of 15:30:07 (co-ed team)
2nd place: Team Chiru Racing Bikes from Australia & France, 15:50:36 (all male team)
3rd place: Kyle and I, Team Tecnu Extreme/Asolo, 15:51:55
Thanks to all of our sponsors Tecnu Extreme, and Asolo, and Leki and Rollerblade for getting us gear last minute, friends, and family for following our blog and supporting us through this fantastic adventure. We will definitely put this race on the calender for next year.
Thanks for hosting us Malaysia, it's been great but, we're heading home !
-Mari & Kyle
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