Waterlogged Dogwoods

Adventure Racing is.........

2011-11-27T17:13:00.001-05:00

The Bushwhack Adventures asked folks to put together a video of what Adventure Racing meant to them.

Check out our new promotional video for the Waterlogged Dogwoods and for the awesome sport of adventure racing! Special huge, giant, enormous thanks to Kevin Rader-Rhodenbaugh of Rimshot Drum Studios for the original music.

http://www.endurogirl.com/waterlogged-dogwoods-promotional-video

2011 Checkpoint Tracker Championship

2011-10-27T23:12:00.009-04:00

Checkpoint Tracker Adventure Racing Championship
Cadiz, KY
October 21, 2011

Race Report
Team #62 – Waterlogged Dogwoods

From Waterlogged Dogwoods Photo Album

The 2011 Season started off, not racing, but Marcey and I race directing the Gleneagles Challenge Sprint Adventure Race in April. It wasn’t until late April that we toed the line for the first time at the Bushwhack AR produced Yuki-BAR. After 4 races under the Waterlogged Dogwoods Moniker and many teammate combinations, we found ourselves at the Checkpoint Tracker Championship for 2011 at the beautiful Land Between the Lakes in southwest Unbridled Kentucky. After a last minute injury (hope you are healing Jeff), the team was finalized with Bob, Marcey, Dave (TIMEFIN), and Marcilynn representing the Dogwoods.

The drive was long, 9.5 hours, but the location was awesome. Lake Barkley Lodge was one of the best venues I’ve seen to host a race at. Plus we were able to share time and space with the Schmidt Family Reunion……a great wholesome family from Western Kentucky. After checking into the lodge and unloading a gear bomb in our hotel room, we checked in with the race staff – great swag by the way….fleece jacket, hat, swiftwick socks. We posed for some M&M pics with the girls and a nice sorority sisters lean-in, hands on the knees, pouty lips shots with the guys. (MR - Bob was way too familiar with the pouty lips sorority girl pose) There was even a ‘Significant Other +1’ representational ribbon capture that provided some laughs for everybody - sorry Rob. After a nice buffet dinner we went to the race brief. Yak was on his game for the brief and Jason, from Bonk Hard Racing, did a great job presenting the race instructions. Ian Adamson, AR Legend, was on-hand to assist with the race and add some flair to make it truly memorable.

We were handed a few maps with the first half of the UTMs. Plotting began on a ping-pong table in the game room of the lodge. The course looked like an Orienteering Prologue, Paddle, 10 Hour O’Course, then Paddle to a Bike TA where more UTMs would be handed out. We plotted enough detail to get the race started and did a small amount of planning on how to attack the first O’Course section. We strolled back to the room to do some last minute gear checks. This is where I realized I had probably not packed enough nutrition – that’s what you get for throwing stuff together the night before, my J-O-B is taking too much time right now. Luckily, Dave had a big supply of pizza and sausage biscuits and my other teamies could hook a brother up as well. My goal was to not Rat F my gear too much and hunker down for some decent sleep – already being a bit deprived. (MR - it doesn’t matter how many times one can make a list and check it, there is always to much Rat F with the gear)

From Waterlogged Dogwoods Photo Album

The race start was at a remote location near a beach. We dropped off our bikes and funion sacks of gear to be hauled to the Bike TA and checked out our yellow plastic canoes. Except for the Solos, all the boats were the same. Our Nation was honored in a singing of the Star Spangled Banner and then we learned of a twist to the start. There was one start to grab all our paddling gear and another to have Dave and I run to a canoe to paddle a small loop in a mass mess. It was fun except watching a Soloist in an unstable kayak fall in the chilly water. Back on shore, we were off on the short O’Log. CPs 1-3 retrieved with no issue and we were in the lead group heading out on the water at TA4. (MR - On the way back to the paddle, Bob almost got ran over by a deer running through the woods. I think it was his cousin.) And speaking of Deer - the joke is that Marcey has been slow while Bushwhacking and I told her she needs to go live with a family of Deer and watch them run through the woods. Well, not any more - she is a bona fide Bushwhacker now. Great improvement shown by Endurogirl

It was decided we would have a boys and girls boat and we tried towing the girls first. The tether was cut due to the boys being too slow and not being able to paddle straight. The 5 miles of paddling was ducks in a row, not having to pull the map out once. At first I thought there was a bit of a lemming effect until I realized the off-course route was due to a sand bar that popped up out of nowhere – great lakes, but not a fan of the foot shallowness hundreds of meters from shore. We reached TA5, made a quick transition to foot, and were on our way to check into the O’Course. (MR - David and I didn’t dress properly for the paddle. Thankfully it was short since we were both shivering messes by the time we hit the shore). It was nice to be running alongside fellow Triangle friends from Northern Lights – Bruce, Brent, Dale, and Mark. We attacked CPs 7-8 together, separated a bit, and came back together for CP 10. We then found CPs 15, 14, 9, 11, 20, and 21 walking right up to the points so far. We stopped for a water fill up at a shallow pool of water. I always add both sets of tablets in together and then never wait the recommended time. David followed the instructions. (MR - thankfully, we did not need emergency Imodium due to Bob’s bravery). Then CP 22 cramped my style, by not finding it, and also not knowing where we ended up except for a general box to work with. After some searching and trying to reorient, we shot an azimuth to come out on the unimproved road to the southeast. Already feeling bad, matters were made worse by taking a decent tumble while looking at the map too much. (MR - I have never seen Bob do anything awkward so I was surprised to see him fall and slide down the hill. Up until that point, we had been jogging most of the fire road sections and walking the bushwhacking portions. He fell in the woods again after that so twice in one night was hard on his knee) My knee was now injured and the icing on the cake was another not found point at CP23 – a series of north-south spurs / draws. Some advice during Ian’s presentation Post-Race would have been handy at this point, Pull Back and Re-Attack.

CP18 re-saddled me on the horse and we headed back to the Paddle TA. We decided that due to the cold weather and Marcey’s previous experience with hypothermia at Mandatory Gear, it would be best to get started on the paddle during daylight hours. My knee was hurting and I was concentrating too hard on the map. Marcilynn reminding me of my nutrition and water intake helped, but I was starting to get Map Fatigued. Dave had the map for a bit and had us headed to CP19 which we had no problems finding. CP13 is where I stopped for a Chef Boyardee Ravioli break. The metal lid folded over makes a great spoon. CP30 was the last point we retrieved and also where Dave and I enjoyed a swig of a volunteers Miller High Life and we all had some Snickers bars….YUM-O. Our Bushwhack Adventures Friends are asking AR Teams to put together some videos of what Adventure Racing means to them, so Marcey was using this race as an opportunity for us to tell the world what AR means to us. For me, it is Chef Boyardee and Miller High Life at random spots on the course, later it would be swig of Kentucky Bourbon.

Back on the water, we started north toward the Bike TA. It was still light for CP32, but the light was leaving quickly, with the cold coming in behind it. Cool sunset on the lake. (DP - after the sun set, we were the only boats on the water and there was no ambient light. We were able to see the whole milky-way and Bob showed me how to ID the North Star. Not only that – but Bob NAILED the boat cp’s. pitch ass black and we paddled right up on both boat cp. Bob’s a hell of a Navigator!!!) We portaged the canoes across the sand barge at CP34 and left the boats. The fire lured us in slightly and we were off on foot. Being in the boat for about 7 miles, my knee was locking up a bit and sore from the fall. I zoned out for a bit, so we took a detour to get to the Bike TA at CP35. It felt good to be on the saddle finally, but only for a bit. My knee was starting to hurt progressively worse. We started biking south to CP13 and then west to Sugar Bay where we linked up to the first section of real great single track. It is always great to ride single track on a race and I was excited about exploring it as much as possible. (MR - FINALLY! Bob lets me ride single track at a race!) At CP38, we evaluated our progress. My knee was not doing well and Dave said his leg was at an 8 on the pain scale due to an injury as well. We decided to head east back to the Bike TA 49 at Energy Lake. This was frustrating because there seemed to be some great terrain in the northern single track and we all are MTB enthusiasts. Hindsight, I think this was the right call – the risk of jeopardizing our future outweighs placing a few teams higher. If we needed additional mandatory points to get a ranked finish we would have pressed. With the Waterlogged Dogwoods, it’s always more about the adventure, the fun, and the course. Although, it still isn’t easy to have to make a call like that when other teammates who are relying on you are ready and able to push. (MR - I didn’t realize how bad Bob’s knee was until this point. Bob never complains so I knew that if he was pulling out, it was because he was really hurt. I let him make the call. AR isn’t our job and we aren’t saving anyone’s lives by doing it so it’s important to pull out when we have to.)

At the TA we decided to hang by the fire until we could bike to the paddle TA and be on the water when it was starting to get light. The fire was nice and warm and luring. Dave and I enjoyed the Bourbon and it was fun to hang with the great volunteers and some other like-minded teams. (DP - I want to give a huge shout our to Derrick Boos (pronounced ‘booze’ – appropriate, huh?) for sharing the brownest of the Brown Bourbon) It did feel a bit pathetic to have some top teams make speedy shivering transitions and be on their ways. (DP- it sucked being hurt and watching the teams roll in and out – I vowed to myself I’d never be unprepared for a race – I was mad at myself for not listening to my P.A. and love of my life for not stretching more- bad move on my part) We got back on the bikes and had an agonizing short ride back to the boats. The fog had rolled in and the navigation was becoming a bit of a challenge - very thick fog. We turned too soon to steer clear of the lemming dune, and then started getting turned around trying to stay east across the Barkley Lake. I would check the compass, paddle a bit, check the compass, and be drifting right toward the south…..right into a sand formation. After de-layering and getting my compass situated where I could have it on the bottom of the boat and just stare at it while paddling we were off again. The compass does not lie, but in this case my brain was playing very weird tricks, even with the occasional sun peeping through to confirm the eastern direction. I knew we were staying east, but it felt like we were circling to the left and too far north. This is why when we reached the other side we started south instead of searching north for the Little River entrance toward the Lake Barkley Resort Park. The sun was starting to burn off the fog now and we had a nice straight paddle to the finish. What should have been a 1.5 – 2 hour paddle turned into 3 hours. (MR - I am sooooo glad my watch was under my glove and I couldn’t see how long we were taking. On the other hand, I had some nice conversations with Marcilynn on all three of our paddles.) Our boats reached the sandy shore followed by our wake and we were finished…whew.

We gathered our gear, took a team picture - I bet I look cool and like a BAD A-Double S holding a bilge pump (MR - I literally choked on my tea from intimidation when I saw you with that bilge pump!) After getting all the gear to the Suburban, we sat down for a nice bowl of chili and cheese with a hot potato. (MR - I am sure we will be on the Vogue December cover. Erin, you would be proud, Bob made sure we always had the right lighting and pouted when we needed to.) It was nice to talk with Ian for awhile as he described the “Noodle Affair” at CP43 – something we didn’t partake in, but heard many stories about. We drove back to the hotel and were lucky to be able to get a room early. Thanks Marcey and Dave for letting Marcilynn and I get cleaned up and rack out a bit before driving home that day. The Post-Race Banquet and Awards was a lot of fun and it was nice to be with Northern Lights again to share the experience. The buffet dinner was “Kentucky Chic” – whatever that means, great food. No raffle wins for our table, boo. It was great to watch all the top teams do well. Northern Lights finished first in the 4-Person Male…….amazing work, and our Elite 4-Person Coed Division had WEDALI first, TeamSOG/Tecnu Extreme second, and Odyssey Adventure Racing-ImONPoint.org third. Ian Adamson had a great presentation with some clips from the New Zealand Eco Challenge where Team Eco Internet beat out the Kiwis using some late race sleep strategy. He also had some great advice about race prep, foot care, route planning, and race nutrition. The quorum was closed with an announcement of the 2012 Championship being held in West Virginia New River Gorge / Gauley area and the course designed by Odyssey…..familiar venue and closer. The ride back through the night was not fun, but we made it back safely in time for Marcilynn and I to turn right around and go to work…..blah!!!!!

(MS - The race was laid out well. Appreciated the split paddle although the length wasn't bad overall. Controls were where they were supposed to be which is #1 importance to me. Enjoyed the O course as well as small single track we rode. Nice decision tree for Jason to give racers to use roads vs single track. Long O and bike courses were a good challenge for teams to overcome, especially at O'dark 30. Lodging was great, Highly recommended to visit. Rooms were clean and affordable. Venue was primo for pre and post race festivities. Plus start location not far away and convenient for all. Appreciated "new" challenge of rolling terrain vs large mountains. Different type of challenge for Navigators - overall excellent race.)

Congratulations to all the racers who toed the line, to those that finished, and especially to those teams that rise above and inspire us all. Checkpoint Tracker did a great job organizing this world class event and Bonk Hard Racing put together a phenomenal and challenging course – I wish we saw more of it. (DP - Jason at bonk hard put on a top notch race, a new standard was set!) I also think the sponsor support from Swiftwick and Photographers - Chris Radcliffe of Mad Race Media and Vladimir Bukalo was exceptional. I bought a few digitals from each and Marcey raves on Swiftwick Socks and Arm Warmers. The volunteers were all amazing and we truly appreciate your time and effort to make the experience enjoyable. RDs cannot put on a race and racers cannot race without your selflessness. Great news was received – Dave was selected with the Raleigh Fire Department’s Training Program – YAY!!!! And to the family, thanks for allowing me this. My hope is that I can share these adventures with my little Buddy-B and Vivi-V someday as future Waterlogged Dogwoods.

Odyssey Sprint AR

2011-07-31T19:41:00.016-04:00

Odyssey Sprint Adventure Race
New Castle, VA
July 23, 2011

Bob and Drew's Race Report
Team #35 - Waterlogged Dogwoods

The first race that the Waterlogged Dogwoods had participated in was a winter Odyssey Sprint AR and that year we did a whole bunch of Odyssey events, finishing 2nd in the Sprint Series. It's been awhile since the Waterlogged Dogwoods participated in an Odyssey Event - the last time was the 3.5 Day EFIX in 2009. This year, Drew and I turned the car north to drive to Virginia for the Odyssey Sprint AR in New Castle, VA.

This part of Virginia was in Drew's old stomping grounds and a beautiful part of the state. We sang duet on some country songs on the way up and took in the majestic views the Blue Ridge Mountains have to offer. Race headquarters was at a great wilderness adventure lodge called Eagle's Landing. The 24 Hour racers were checking in and had already received their maps - it kinda made us wish we signed up for the 24 as well. Also bumped into some AR friends that I had not seen in awhile. After checking into the lodge we got our gear ready for the next day and then walked around the pond, checked out the bass swimming in the weed beds, and shared a six pack of Sam Adams pre-race brew. A sitting room in the lodge had a huge topo map of the George Washington and Jefferson Forest areas on Virginy and it's neighbor By Golly for wall paper - we studied the maps for awhile. It makes you wonder who lived here in years gone by......with the names of some places - Three Sisters Knobs, the Creamery, Lick Run.

The next day, I woke up early to watch the 24 Hour racers start their adventure. A another hour of sleep and we both got up, checked in, and received the maps, passport, and directions. We dropped our paddle stuff at the river TA and planned our route on the preplotted maps - seemed straight forward except that there was a topo map and a map with trails that didn't exactly match up. My opinion for RDs is that if there is a marked trail network, it's better to just GPS the trails and place them on the Topo map. The day was going to be in the mid-90s and mostly sunny, so we were trying to stay hydrated.

Start time was 1000 and we started trekking toward the first CP at the Bluff Outlook. There were a couple trails that went up hill and we decided on the White Trail, the first of three times we would go up it. We were the second team to CP1 and then made the big mistake of the day. The trail map made it look like a trail we needed to get to was close to the water. We decided we would drop a couple hundred feet to Craig Creek and walk around it to pick back up with the trail. The problem was the vegetation got fairly dense and the trail ended up being on the high ground above the creek......so we had to scamper back up the hill wasting alot of energy and time. We also hit up with the trail too far south and didn't realize because the trail stopped on the trail map but kept going outside of the WAEL park boundary. We had to back track slightly and then used pure terrain association to find CP2. All in all, we lost about 30-40 minutes on our ill thought out creek tour. A quick trek to CP3 and we headed down to the start finish to get CP4, also saw that we were somewhere near the 20th team to head to the the paddle TA at CP5.

In the boat, we started paddling down Craig Creek in shallow water. It actually was better than I initially thought it would be. We still had to get out and drag the boat a bunch, but passed a bunch of teams along the way. The water felt great and I wished we had tubes instead of a canoe and were floating down the river next to a beer ball. That would also be a good way to spend a hot weekend day. Reaching Eagle's Landing we carried the canoe to CP6. Two minutes later we were on the bikes heading up the White Trail again.

It felt great to be on the saddle and making good time along the jeep trail. AT CP7 we started down the single track to the hard ball. This was a nice stretch of trail with some tight switchbacks. The route we took was to continue along the single track to RTE 615 and around the fire road to retrieve CP8. This probably wasn't as fast as taking the hardball to Fenwick Mines. The climb up the fire road was also challenging with the mid day heat blistering down on us. We had to take a break to get some electrolyte tablets. We then rode back to RTE 615 to 606 to 614. CP9 was at a ford on Craig Creek and since we approached it from the opposite side, we had to carry the bikes across. The cool water felt really good and Drew layed down in the water to cool off - I should have as well. A quick ride brought us to CP10 and the start of the O-Course.

We had about 90 minutes left to get three points. Back up the White Trail and we took the jeep trail around to the hill top, which we used as an attack point to drop down into the reentrant to get CP11. It was really getting hot now and we were slowing down. The intersection of the Yellow and Orange trail was our next attack point. We went down the wrong finger and had to go down into the reentrant and back up to the next finger to find CP13. There wasn't enough time to try for CP12 so we decided to head back, finishing with 10 minutes remaining.

The post race BBQ was great, but we didn't have time to stick around for anything else. For Results, we got all but one CP finishing 2nd in the 2-Person Military and 2nd overall - not too shabby for making such an early mistake. Odyssey put on a great challenging Sprint race at an absolutely amazing venue. I'll be back for a race in 2012. Racing with Drew is always a great time because we have lots of fun and don't worry about being super competitive. To me, that's what Adventure Racing is all about.

9-1-1

2011-06-10T00:42:00.017-04:00

9-1-1 Challenge AR, Bushwhack Adventures
Umstead and Crabtree Parks, NC
June 5, 2011

Bob, Drew, and Marcey’s Race Report
Team #79 - Waterlogged Dogwoods

Marcey's comments are bolded.

Bob, Marcey, and Drew were back together for another go at an Adventure Race, the 9-1-1 Challenge, 8 hour AR. It was a bit of a week for all of us leading to the race. I took a terrible tumble on my mountain bike and my whole left side was bruised from knee to shoulder, with my hip taking the worst of it. Drew was getting over a crazy sinus infection and feeling like poo and Marcey had recently returned from a rim to rim to rim hike at the Grand Canyon. You should check out her Endurogirl blog to look at her report from the hike(s) - it will make you tired just reading it. Drew and I joked about making Marcey carry a 50lb sandbag to slow her down so we wouldn't be anchors.

The race start / finish was at Rally Point Sport Grill, a great tiki-bar area. After the race brief we were given the passport at the start of the race and had to plot all the CPs before heading out. We started out biking Sludge Trails to Crabtree Lake getting CP1 at a cool wooden bike playground that is being built. Marcey – I hadn’t ridden Sludge since the last 9-1-1 and they have done great work on the trails! Challenging technically with a few small hills. A quick ride down the Black Creek Greenway and we found CP1 in the water tunnel under Harrison Road. Turning north, we started our way back to Crabtree Park. The single track brought us to CPs 3 and 4, but we had a couple small breaks in contact trying to get to Umstead Park. CPs 5-9 were all straight forward except for deciding how to go for CP 7 or 8 from CP6. We decided to go clockwise and get CP8 first. These were all bridle trails with some nice downhills followed by some steady climbs, that's what I love about Umstead Park.

We then went to the TA at Schenck Memorial Forest and the start of the Trek Orienteering portion. At first we went to the ropes course, but the line was too long, which was not what we were expecting....I guess most teams took a more direct route to the TA and decided to get the bike points in Umstead and Crabtree on the way back. We then decided to come back to the ropes and attack the O Course in a clockwise fashion getting the CPs in the following order, 13, 14, 19, 16, 17, 18, 29, 28, 27, 26, 30, 20, 21, 25, 22, 23, 24. We pretty much walked right onto all the points except for CP30. It was part of the permanent course and having no white letter designator card threw us off on the first time we came to it....after scouting around a bit, we came back and figured out it was the right one. Marcey – actually, it just threw me off. Drew and Bob thought it was right but I didn’t.

I was not able to run much due to my hip hurting and Drew was still sucking a bit from the last bike portion. To conserve the boys energy for the ride back, Marcey ended up being the Punch Monkey for the O Course. Drew and I would nav to the point (liked having two maps) and we would deploy Marcey to grab the point. Early we had a conversation about her value added....which was already super high because she is the female that makes us Co-Ed and she is a very solid strong Adventure Racer. It did feel weird not running to punch points, watching somebody else do it, and getting small breaks at every CP. She's the Duracell Battery, the Energizer Bunny. Marcey – Yes, I am always concerned that I am not adding value to the team because I can only nav my way to pizza afterwards….but this race felt great because not only did I find a few points first, but I had a lot of energy all day and was more than happy to run ahead and punch the CPs. If we would have had a good towing system, I would have added even more value by towing Drew on the bike and Drew is not too macho that he wouldn’t have taken it. Now had we been kiteboarding, Drew would have kicked our butts.

Back at the CP24 Ropes Course, there was still a small wait, but not as bad. We donned our harness and waited for our turn on the ropes. This was also a good break to get some food, refill the camel backs, and watch how everybody else was tackling the three high obstacles. Drew did a commando crawl on one of them that the Ropes Crew thought was impressive.

Marcey – I don’t have a fear of heights but I do have a fear of falling so this was the hardest part of the course for me. I just took deep breaths the entire time. I was disappointed that I had my back to Drew who was completing the rope across from me because I would have loved to see his stealthiness (is that a word?). He was up the pole, across the ropes and being lowered down before I was even finished! I would have also liked to see Rambo (ET) do the ropes since Patrick said he was so good I presume he will replace Tobey McGuire in the next Spiderman. It took about 50 minutes to get through the course and onto the TA to turn in the O Course passport and get the bike passport back. This was decision time.....we had 90 minutes left and 3 CPs. The decision was either to get CP11 or skip it and go right to CP10 on the way back through Umstead to the Sludge Trail. I was thinking we should push to try to clear the course and lay it out on the line. 90 minutes left in three 30 minute segments....Hubcab, Umstead, Sludge.

At the entrance to Umstead, we left the decision up to Drew, and he said OK to the attempt to clear it. We got CP11 along Hubcap and CP10 near the creek, but didn't get out of Umstead with the 30 minutes we wanted left for Sludge. CP31 was the last one and we were getting really close on time. With about 7 minutes left, we bikewhacked to the Embassy Suites instead of riding Sludge out, finishing with two minutes to spare. Marcey – Massive kudos to Drew for going ahead with this decision. He is not a single-track rider (or really a rider at all) and he was going to have to push himself really hard. I really wanted to clear the course but since I was not having any energy issues, it wasn’t my call.

The after race was awesome with good food, Marcey (REAL FOOD!), and it's not that often that you can relax with a beer in your hand right after a finish. We ended clearing the course, tops in the 3-Person Co-Ed Division and 4th overall. The Bushwhack Crew put on another great course with a great venue. Thanks to them and all the volunteers. Marcey – The finish at Rally Point made it nice because people wanted to stick around longer after the race. I loved that there was a hose out back to clean off prior to our eating, real food requiring utensils and lots of places to sit. It was great to meet the next generation of Scheidt adventure racers as well!

Yuki-BAR 24 Hour Adventure Race

2011-05-08T20:27:00.016-04:00

Yuki - BAR, Bushwhack Adventures
Hang Rock State Park and Pilot Mountain Area, NC
April 29, 2011

Bob, Dave, and Marcey’s Race Report
Team #19 - Waterlogged Dogwoods

Marcey's comments are bolded

The 2011 AR Season is in full swing, but the Yuki-BAR is my first race.....Course designing and Race Directing the Gleneagles Challenge took up most of the first few months of the new year, along with training up and running the American Tobacco Trail Marathon. I ran a ton of miles in Jan - Mar, but probably should have put some more miles training on the mountain bike - more to follow on that subject. Dave was a new member to the Waterlogged Dogwoods, so we decided to get a canoe and bike ride in prior to the race. We had talked about trying to get to the check-in early so we wouldn't be rushed, which always seems to happen. After stopping at the Durham REI to pick up the canoe, I started the drive toward Camp Hanes near Hanging Rock State Park and Pilot Mountain area of NC. Dave was there so we started getting our stuff ready and I thought Marcey was going to be pulling in soon after. Turns out they took a wrong turn and showed up later than they planned - the crunch time we were trying to avoid ended up happening any way. Marcey - Google Maps and local folks are not always to be relied on. The funny part was that during the Race Brief, I noticed I still wasn't in race garb so I snuck into the cabin to change and also listen outside to the last part of the brief. Totally buff, a female Camp Hanes worker walked in on me. I had just enough time to put a pillow over the family jewels, smile at her, say hi, and look completely ridiculous.

After the 1900 race start, we started up the Sauratown MTN to get CPs 2 and 3. This was a bit over a 1100' climb so the blood was flowing. We then turned south and started heading toward CP 4. We searched for about 45 minutes and decided to move on - I guess there was something wrong with the placement or UTMs and many teams had trouble with it. Marcey - During the first part of the trek, David and Bob had a serious conversation about the Royal Wedding, which had happened earlier that day. I thought they were joking until they both started talking excitedly about a 'second kiss'. I was ready for them to start talking Guiding Light or All My Children. After poking some fun at them for this, David told me 2/3 of the planet watched this wedding so I was the oddball. I don't watch television and had not heard much about the wedding. I only knew that half of my company was off that day. Regardless, I felt like I was at a slumber party. Concerned with time we also ditched CP5 and went to the high ropes course at CP1. Donning harnesses we scampered up the cargo net to the platform. There were some smaller platforms scattered on several cables we had to cross - not sure if Marcey was too fond. Marcey - Not too fond at first. Very high up, in the dark and not able to see below. The platforms moved and my short legs couldn't reach all the way so Bob had to go first, I had to semi-jump to Bob and then David came over. At one point, with all three of us sandwiched on the platform and my face at armpit level, I thought of my friend who doesn't adventure race. She has said she could never race overnight with other men nor would she want her husband to. I laughed to myself thinking there was nothing sexy about three smelly, sweaty people back to front to back on a moving platform high above the ground at midnight. The last part of the course was a zip line over the lake, forgot to mention, it was now really dark with no moon illum. We continued on to get CPs 6,7, and 8. Marcey - I got a 'gomarceygo!' from Sosa and Thompson who were driving by which put a smile on my face and gave me a burst of energy.

A quick transition and we were off on our bikes toward the Moores Springs MTB Single Tracks. Marcey - I must mention that during the transition while we were getting on our bikes, I looked up and thought the moon was full. Alas, it was David's bare butt that my headlamp was illuminating. We stopped to pick CP 9 and 10 on the way which we had to take digital pictures of a feature and also capturing a team-mate holding our team number. This was a good idea for an RD to limit the number of CPs that have to be put out or retrieved. Marcey - not to Race Directors - excellent idea!!! At TA1, we got the MTB single track trail map. These are great trails and a gem in the area. We attacked the points by riding the trails to CP 13, 12, bushwhacking to CP14, and then pushing through the dense rhododendron to the road. We re-entered the trails to get CP15 and then continued up the reentrant to get CP17. On the way back to the bikes, I realized I was moving much faster than Dave and Marcey because I had trek shoes on and they had slippery bike shoes.....at one point I remember looking back up the creek and seeing Marcey and Dave fall into the creek. They were there and then just disappeared. Marcey - Bob didn't forget, he just likes to torture me. Especially since I was so excited to ride these fun trails. I also pulled Dave into the creek although he is nice enough to say someone from Trailblazers Charlotte did it. We rode to CP 16 and then headed back to the road to enter the trail network at the start. Riding to the blue trails, we ditched the bikes and started up the hill to get CP19. The first attempt was no good so we continued on to retrieve CP18. We then looked for CP 19 again on the way back down to the bikes. It was only by chance that we found it and headed to TA1 - Marcey lost a shoe. Marcey - my trek shoes were bungeed to my bike rack and I noticed as we were heading out that one of them was gone! Dave and I turned back around and searched for about five minutes but Bob had no sympathy and said we had to get moving. All I could think of was 18 miles trekking in bike shoes. Who knows where it landed with all that bikewhacking? Jeff Eichman was at the TA and said I might as well throw that one away since it was just weight. I couldn't and didn't do it. Don't know why. We started plotting more points while I grabbed my signature Chef Boyardee Beefaroni and wolfed it down along with some Pringles. Then started the long bike journey to TA2 - already pretty far behind schedule.

We then rode to Moores Springs Camp to get CP20 at the top of the hill and then to Camp Sertoma for CP23 near the Waterwheel at the dam. Marcey - Jeff from TrailMonkeys ROCKS!!!! Not only did he pick up my shoe that he found but he carried it with him with the off-chance that he might find the owner. I gave him a hug and told him where the CP was (ok, I also told them about another one with a picture). CP22 was at a stone house and CP23 was at a waterfall (both digital pictures). After CP23, we got back on another single track section to get CP 24 and 25. This was a great trail along a cool little creek. We rode about 1/3 of the trail and pushed the bikes about 2/3. CP24 was on a hilltop and CP25 was up a steep reentrant. Exiting the single track, was another steep climb to take a picture of CP26 at the curve. It was close to morning now and this was the time were my legs were giving out on the bike up the hills - should have spent more time riding then running. Marcey had a suprise at first light with disposable toothbrushes and toothpaste - Ahhhh, freshness!!!

This was also the time in the race were we gave up on trying to make it to CP36 prior to sunrise to get 200 points. Our race strategy was now slow and steady, continuing on the planned course until we got to a point that we need to make it back to the start / finish before time expired. Heading south, we passed through Pinnacle on the way to TA2. If it wasn't for Marcey's eagle eyes, we would have passed CP27 at the church - which was at a map crease that I hadn't unfolded yet and would likely have just passed the CP. My absolute favorite part of the race was the decision to stop for a hot breakfast at EJ's Restaurant - Dave and I didn't even have to twist Marcey's arm all that much. Eggs, sausage, toast, coffee....Yum-OOO. Marcey - Dave and Bob ate like they were at the race finish. I had one egg, toast and a hot cocoa. At this point, my agreeing was a compromise because I could later hold this against Bob to not fjord the river that was up to my chin while trying to hold my bike above my head. It was cold in the morning and I didn't want to get cold and wet just for the sake of getting cold and wet. A bit further south, there was a cool little shed with a whole bunch of signs and knick-knacks that I took a picture of during one of the "pee" "im sick of biking" breaks. Marcey - we are a very hydrated team :o)

One final push and we made it to TA2 for a bit of an extended rest before pressing. This section had CPs on the north and south side of the Yadkin River with a fording location to carry bikes across. We needed to stretch the legs a bit so ran somewhat to pick up CP29 in the log cabin and CP31 along the trail to the ford site. The other CPs in this section would be targeted if we had time on the way back through during the paddle. It was then one more long bike trip to TA3 and the paddle put-in. This was absolutely the worst part.....my legs were toast and I was walking up most of the large hills - feeling pretty pathetic and sorry for myself. Marcey - during one of our group pee breaks, I went across the road and wondered what all those file cabinets were doing in the field. After counting about 50 while I was squatting, I realized they were not file cabinets but BEE HIVES!! Needless to say, it was a fast pee break. At the Rockville General Store we had some awesome biscuits and filled up our packs with cold water. Marcey - this was the first biscuit I have had since the Impossible Panther race a year ago. Must be something about Bushwhack races....We dropped the bikes off and prepped for the 20 mile paddle. A short portage across a field brought us to the Yadkin River where we were happy to see the river moving swiftly along.

The miles on the water went quick and we found CP38 with no problems. I was keeping our progress slightly under wraps, so the crew was happy to hear that the CP39 (12 HR put in) was 2/3 of the way down the river. We learned that Marcey's husband Kevin, who was volunteering, had spent his entire morning manning this CP and never did get to the awesome Moores Spring MTB trails. Marcey - I am so sorry Kevin. You have not volunteered at one race that you have gotten what I have promised. I owe you HUGE! We were all excited about getting out of the boat for a second to stretch out a bit. Back in the boat we were now just focused on getting to the take out and making it to the finish - time was starting to be a bit of a factor. We did stop to punch CP32 but passed on by CPs 33, 34, 35, and 30 which would have taken longer to get. The water level made it possible to not have to get out of the boat and slide it across rocks, but we did get stuck on one boulder, which almost had us floating down the river with all our race junk scattered. A couple scooches freed us and we paddled on. Marcey - The quote of the race came at this point from David, which is X-rated and I cannot repeat. I had the giggles off and on the entire rest of the race and the next day just thinking about it. I think Dave was getting sick of paddling, because he flipped and turned into the General Patton of the Sea - shouting out command after command and navigating us through the class I-II rapids with some unique flair. I must say, it was inspiring and kept us moving with a smile on our faces. The last island signaled that the take out bridge was close - YEA!!!!! The paddle was done a TA4.

Another portage brought us to our bikes and not so quickly cleaned up a bit and prepped for the last leg. Marcey - I saw Two Pieces of Scheidt and practically fought Mule Scheidt to put on more sunblock. I would have taken him down but I think he ended up putting it on or at least pretended to since he is probably afraid of me. There was no chance to go to TA5 and attempt any CPs at Pilot Mountain, so it was a straight shot to Camp Hanes. My legs were not looking forward to biking more hills, my arse was not excited about the bike seat, and I was generally feeling a bit overheated and brain fried at this point - don't get to that point too often. I was motivated to push on by my great team-mates and the thought of finishing. The strategy of towing me was discussed but with the time we had left, I would rather get home on my own will power. I was feeling bad about slowing Marcey and Dave down, who were both exceptional endurance mountain bikers. The last few miles along YMCA Camp Road were excruciating and we brought it home with a little less than 30 minutes remaining - about 86 miles of biking, 20 miles of paddling, and 8-10 miles of trekking. Finishing 3rd in the category and 5th overall - not too bad considering. Marcey - If we had the time to get to Pilot Mountain, I probably would have pushed Bob to take the tow but it wouldn't have mattered so I let him go at his pace. He stopped eating and finally had a GU after awhile. Looking back, I should have been more diligent about his nutrition as he had clearly bonked. I consider this my fault. Surprisingly, I was never really upset about the situation as I had been in a similar one on vacation and being upset wouldn't have gotten us any more CPs.

The post race spaghetti dinner really hit the spot, but I don't remember much else.....I was out and slept hard until the next morning. Marcey - The dinner, showers and campground were perfect for this event!! Bushwhack Adventures always do such a great job with race course / support, and this race was no different. Great job to Dave, Don, Pat, Jeff, and all the volunteers who selflessly volunteer their time and efforts to ensure the race goes off without a hitch - well, this is adventure racing, so minimal hitches. Thanks to Erin for putting up with this passion to do ARs.

Qualified for Checkpoint Tracker National Championships

2010-08-23T22:44:00.005-04:00

The Waterlogged Dogwoods have qualified for the 2010 Checkpoint Tracker Series National Championship in Moab, Utah on October 29, 2010.......but after a bit of wishful thinking and wrangling with the idea, we have decided it would be a bridge too far :o(

This was one of our goals for the season, but we never realistically thought we would receive the offer due to our limited race schedule. There is always next year!!!!!

9-1-1 Challenge is Back...with a Bushwhack Bumper Sticker

2010-08-20T23:49:00.015-04:00

Bushwhack Adventures – 2010 9-1-1 Challenge
Umstead / Crabtree Park Area, North Kackalacki
August 7, 2010

Bob and Marcey’s Race Report
Team #231 - Waterlogged Dogwoods

Marcey's comments are bolded.

I was excited to see the 9-1-1 Challenge (for emergency response not 9/11) back on the local AR Calendar after a two year sabbatical and this time hosted by Bushwhack AR. The last time Bruce had Race Directed this exceptional event, I was new to the RDU area, raced solo, and ended up tops in overall placement. This year, the Waterlogged Dogwoods have had a difficult task trying to have the core group of Marcey, Drew, and myself able to race 3-Person Co-ed and this go round was no different. We ended up signing up as a 2-Person Co-ed, but a few days out we received a bit of a curve ball. Don C, the man at Bushwhack AR, sent us an email saying a great racer from the FT Bragg area was looking for a strong team to link up with and Don thought the Dogs would be a good choice. I immediately knew who it was and Marcey and I had to re-adjust our game plan to step up to “Mike Westerns” expectations. “Cowboy Mike” is a strong and competitive individual, another previous solo winner of the 9-1-1, and we were excited (and just a bit hesitant due to expectation management) to team up with him. In the end we ended up racing as a 2x2 Co-ed Team with “Roy Rogers” teaming up with Mila as WDII. Mila is a former body-builder turned marathon runner, turned triathelete, now turned adventure racer – just not a great deal of single track MTB experience. We were excited to have a new face to the sport on our paired teams, especially somebody with an extremely strong background. Marcey - I was looking forward to the race all year since it is pretty much in my backyard and I train in Umstead and Crabtree almost daily. My plan was to learn some navigational skills since I knew the area well but when we teamed up with Cowboy Mike I knew that the plan would be to kick some arse and try to win and teacher/student would have to wait for another day.

This was going to be a crazy weekend, as my wife was spending the weekend in Carolina Beach with my daughter doing a photog vacay / workshop, and I had my son. Just a short snapshot – I took Nathan to his uncle in Charlotte on Friday, raced in the 9-1-1 Challenge on Saturday, Race Directed the NCNG MinuteMan 5K / 10K Road Race on Sunday, and then met my brother-in-law in Southern Greensboro on Sunday afternoon to pick up Nathan. I needed a weekend from the weekend and started work Monday as a bit of a zombie.

It’s always good to roll out of your own bed knowing you only have a 15 minute trip to the Race Start. Upon arrival, all the cars were corralled outside the Umstead gates awaiting the Park Ranger with his magical key to unceremoniously christen the start of race prep. We all proceeded to the Whispering Pines base camp and started hauling gear, gear boxes, chairs, and tables out of the vehicles to make the AR Shanty Town. Things moved quickly, we had check-in (again Bushwhack makes these very pain-free), a quick team meeting, the race-brief, and we were off. I am not sure which format I prefer; getting the maps and grids the night prior forcing me to stay up way too late plotting, routing, and strategizing different courses of action or being handed maps and locations under the gun – guess they both provide unique challenges.

The race started with a prologue to retrieve three A or B controls in a small radius around Whispering Pines and then we were given the passport and UTMs for the main course. The 2x2 Team format was fun during plotting and route selection, because we were able to have two strong navigators looking at two maps and planning routes that made sense based on points and local knowledge. We decided on an overall clock-wise route starting in the Northeast Portion of Umstead and ending in the Northwest part of Umstead.

The first leg of the course was a bike through Umstead Park to retrieve CPs 5,4,3, and 1. We then took the Greenway to Schenck Forest to go after CP2 (which was moved to the right spot by Brian T, right prior to our arrival, after he called the Bushwhack Crew). I thought biking was only disallowed on the hiking trails, but I guess it was also forbade on the gravel road – which makes no sense. The plan was to then to head toward the Sludge trails on the south-side of RTE 40. The fastest route would be to take the fireroads to the Harrison entrance of Umstead Park, but I decided the Hubcap trails along 40 would be more fun – again, this is an ADVENTURE RACE peeps (Marcey – How can we do an AR without singletrack? I hadn’t ridden on Hubcap before since it is an unsanctioned trail so I was grateful to ride a new trail and see how to get to it so I could add it to my routes for the weekends). For Mila, this was the first time she had even ridden single track on a mountain bike and I would have to say she did fairly decent. To my surprise, as we were making our way down to Reedy Creek, I saw a control that was not on the passport UTMs…..YEA!!!!!.....the bonus point and completely unexpected. The Sludge trails were next and we found CP11. A quick bikewhack along the southern fence of the Sewage Treatment Facility (where we had a break in contact for a bit) and then we went for CP12. Marcey – also another new trail for me as I am not one to ride unsanctioned trails alone so I was psyched to find out how to get to this one too!

We went through the condo complex to the Black Creek Greenway, bypassing CP13 so we could attack it from higher ground. We made our way to CP14 and found other teams who had been searching for awhile. It plotted just north of a pipeline, near a cul-de-sac, in a residential neighborhood. The hint was – retaining wall. Well, there were several very small walls, but no control. We attacked it from two points, replotted, and continued searching. About 20 minutes in, we debated moving on, but this was worth 50 points, so we pressed…..probably should have called Bruce, Don, or Pat – but the Bushwhack folks are known for their correctly placed points near multiple attack points. We spent 45-50 searching. I have a bad habit of making this same mistake over and over……a lesson learned is not learned until you apply it, so my hardhead needs a bit of work. The UTMs ended up being switched on the passport, so we received credit, but the time wasted was the real aftermath. Haphazardly finding the Bonus Point on Hubcap was a true hand-out because CP14 had the UTMs for the bonus. Marcey – when we got there, Two Pieces of Scheidt, the ‘greatest brother duo team’ to have ever bushwhacked, said they had been there an hour looking for it. Should have been our first clue. I also saw Innis Wright and his teammate who had also been looking – 2nd clue. We spent 45-60 minutes looking for the 50 pointer before giving up and pressing on. I believe I said four times (maybe five but who is counting) ‘Maybe we should call Don and Patrick (race directors)’. But alas, I am just a peon compared to the Best Rangers on the Planet and my comments were ignored.

Moving on, we headed up Evans Road to Thorp and then took the single track trail down to CP13. Past North Cary Park and back on the Greenways for CPs 16 and 15. Instead of hiking the Crabtree Lake Trail, we went to the backside of the warehouses on Aviation Parkway for CP17. Then CP19 and attacking CP20 via a quick run from the road…..the Crabtree Trails could have been better utilized on the course, but that’s the problem with curvy, connecting single track trails…..it’s hard to place just a couple CPs that would force racers to stay on the trails.

Our arrival at the Crabtree Boat Ramp brought us to the staple of 9-1-1 Challenges, CP21 and the ~500m swim across the lake. Marcey and I used fins and “Billy the Kid” and Mila used hand paddles. The water was refreshing (even though its probably highly polluted - we don’t want to know what is in there) and we all made it across to CP23 at about the same pace (Marcey – it was funny to see the looks on casual hikers and dogwalkers faces when four people came busting out of the trees with lifejackets on and take off running into the woods). A quick run around the lake to CP21 and it was back on the bike. I was out of water at this point and luckily there was cold Gatorade and water provided. This is where the quote of the day occurred, but Marcey can fill us in on that. Marcey – "Wile E Coyote" asked me if I was going to refill my bottle and I told him ‘no’ at which point he threw me a bottle of Gatorade. Gatorade is probably my least favorite sports drink but after several hours, it was cold and cold was good. I filled up my bottle and we took off. Right before we got into the singletrack Wile E stuffed a bottle in Mila’s hydration pack and then looked to me with the rest of a bottle he was drinking from and said ‘Here, take this.’ I said ‘I don’t have anywhere to put it.’ Wile E responds ‘In your mouth’. Maybe it was the heat and the pace we were going but I found that to be extremely funny and the rest of the day, in my head, I was silently saying ‘in your mouth’ to everything the team was saying.

Back on our bikes and we were off to CP10. We attacked it from the single track along Crabtree Creek and had to cross the water, also very refreshing. Back into Umstead Park for the final bike CPs, we went for CP9 first. This is where our passport and map stopped adding up. We discovered CP21 was not punched and CP6 was not on the Map. After some mental gymnastics, we found out we punched the wrong spot for CP21 and never plotted CP6. This was a good catch and we're relieved that CP6 was just a small divergence from our planned route back to Whispering Pines. After finding CP 7,8, and 9 it was to be three big hills next. I’ll be honest, I was dehydrated, drained, and ended up being the anchor for these last hills. At least we retrieved or least received credit for all the CPs on the big bike leg.

We arrived at the AR Shanty Town with less than 40 minutes remaining to attempt the O’Course. The Team decision was to take it easy, retrieve one point, and call it a day….probably a wise decision since it was a hot and humid August day and I be tuckered. The leisurely walk to the CP24 and back was a nice change in pace since we were really pushing for 7 hours. Marcey – this was leisurely for Bob, Mila and "The Lone Ranger" but I was several steps behind and must have stepped on some sort of nest because I got stung three times by SOMETHING. The front and back of my left leg near my butt felt like someone had shot it and I ran/walked applying pressure because it seemed to make it feel better. When we got back to the finish I showed the race directors and Patrick said one of the stingers was actually still in me and pulled it right out. The medic put some bite stuff on it and gave me a Benadryl. I’m allergic enough that it took a full 1.5 weeks to stop itching and be able to sleep without ice packs. My leg swelled up so big that when sitting I felt lopsided.

We finished with about 10 minutes to spare, 25 out of 30 controls found, and 690 out of 800 points, giving our 2x2 Waterlogged Dogwoods and WDII a tie for 2nd overall and 1st in the 2-Person Co-ed Division. The 2x2 collaboration was pretty cool, allowing two folks to be looking at maps along the course, and having flexibility in case one team faltered for some reason. Marcey and I, being strong on single track, could gain some ground and then “Buffalo Bill” and Mila could catch up on the fireroads / greenways, where they were really fast.

Once again, the Bushwhack AR Crew and volunteers have put on an exceptional race. Great job to all the racers, especially to TBD for there great performance and 1st place finish. It was great teaming up with “Wyatt Earp” and Mila to share this great experience with. The whole AR community (racers, directors, volunteers, support crews) are great folk to be around and its always great seeing new faces at these races. And finally a big heart-felt thanks to the fam for being somewhat understanding of the desire to run / bike around aimlessly like I was 10 again. Marcey – it was a great way to end the season with Bob. I will be missing out on the 24hour Bushwhack race due to a work trip to Asia but had a great time racing as a Waterlogged Dogwood in 2010!!!!

Thanks Marcey - for a great season and getting the Dogs back on the scene as a Co-Ed Team. If you want these great shirts....check out our awesome sponsor - Dare2Live

Results

Pics from the Event

Bob and Marcey
Waterlogged Dogwoods

Better Late than Never......Trailblazers / IsoSeries Yuki Joy Race Report

2010-06-17T20:48:00.021-04:00

The Waterlogged Dogwoods recently participated in the 2010 Trailblazers / IsoSeries Yuki Joy 15 HR Adventure Race in the Hanging Rock State Park area of North Carolina. Bob, Marcey, and Jeff E represented the team this go round. I was really excited to race with Jeff for the first time as we had worked together several times for Trailblazer AR Club - RDU Chapter and Bushwhack Adventure hosted events the last couple years. Overall it was a great, fun event and the Waterlogged Dogwoods placed 4th Overall and 2nd in the Co-ED Category. Trying to find time to participate in an Isotopes Racing event had been elusive, and hearing all the previous rave reviews on their ARs, it was awesome it finally worked out - word on the street is that these big-brained individuals are all graduating with PHDs and will be moving onto their next great adventures.

Marcey's comments are bolded.

After all showing up at the Moore's Spring Campground, checking in, and setting up our base camp, we all piled into Jeff's car to drop off the paddling leg equipment at TA B (Tom Mix Road Bridge over the Dan River). Marcey's big joke has been that if I go to a race, it will eventually rain at some point (hence the team name) and this race was no different. Marcey – and in 16 years that I have been camping, it has rained every single time. The looming clouds came in fast and opened up - making the car ride and dropping off the equipment in a torrential massive storm interesting. There were several downed trees and debris in the road on the way back. I thought I scouted a great place for my tent, on a sizeable palteau, but the physics of water in the liquid state proved me wrong. My tent was in a small lake with a river flowing through it. The next adventure was assisting the race staff and other racers in pushing the biggest U-Haul Truck I have ever seen out of a precarious position as it was stuck in a muddy field. After some final equipment prep, making my foil cooking meal, and enjoying some pre-race "cold ones" we hit the rack - Me sleeping in my car, Marcey in Jeff's car, and Jeff in his US banned Euro springloaded tent (neatest tent ever!!!!) Marcey – Jeff needs to keep his garage locked up or the ‘neatest tent ever’ might get legs.

Race Day started early, getting up at about 4:15am for a 4:45 race brief. When Todd finished the brief there was a couple minutes left prior to the start and I hurried back to our base camp to round up the troops. When we finally headed off on the course, the race had already started and we were back in the pack. About 10 minutes in, I realized we never grabbed the passport so had to turn around. I guess while I was running to round up Jeff and Marcey, the passports were distributed. Not a huge deal for a 15 hour race, but the 20 minutes we lost would have been nice to have back during the Hanging Rock trek leg at the very end.

It has been noted by a few that I write too long of race reports, so I will try to be succint - I just enjoy remembering the experience and think the greatest adventures and things I would like to share actually occur outside the purview of the actual racing. We first rode to TA A at Camp Sertoma, and trekked to retrieve CP 1-3. The only issue we had other than confusing CP 1 for 2 was at CP 3. We hit the exact location from two separate attack points and it was on the second time, where we finally opened our eyes and saw the control. Marcey – Actually, we missed it because it was next to a flying trapeze and Bob and Jeff don’t want to admit that they were very distracted by it and were wishing they could try it out. A larger bike leg on paved roads brought us to TA B after retrieving CP 4-5. CP 5 was right on the NC-VA border where we figured out that I like to pee in my backyard and Marcey would rather pee in Virginia's backyard.

At TA B, we transitioned to a paddle down the Dan River. Even though the weather on Race Day was picture perfect, the rains the night before really swelled the river - which was a good thing. The Dan is notorious for being a fickle river with many shallow points, rocks, and walking outside the boats. Not this time, the river was moving nicely. Racing with three folks, we first opted for Marcey and Jeff in canoe and me in the recreational river kayak. The water navigation was simple enough and we easily found CP 6-7. At CP 7 we decided to stop at the bridge over the Dan and walk to the bridge over Big Creek because we would have had to paddle up the creek a ways and I thought the water flow would make it difficult. Probably could have attacked it either way in the same amount of time. We continued down the Dan to TA C, where we could have trekked to get CP 8-10 which was close to base camp, but decided to continue on our way and get the paddle portion done in one segment. CP 11 was a little tricky, we got to the right area but I plotted the control on the west side of the spur instead of in the draw (rentrant) - east of the spur. A short paddle brought us to TA D,

Back on the bikes we headed up hill toward CP 12. I took one wrong turn toward the Hanging Rock State Park, which was ok because we stopped to take some cool pictures of the Park ridges and rocky faces. CP 12 was on a very old and unused trail that made us pay attention on the terrain to find where the trail began. We then rode to the first true gem of the course at TA E, where StokesCORE just recently completed about 5 miles of really great single track trails. We received another passport and had to ride the whole length of the 5-mile trail system to find small controls along the route. The trails were very winding, had built berms on some quick turns, cool rock gardens and creek crossings / log bridges thrown in, and decent ascents and decents which made the experience truly enjoyable. My favorite control was at the very top of the hill with an open field adjacent to the trail. There was a great view of Hanging Rock and a sign on the control said "Yes, you are climbing that". A nice long decent brough us back to the TA, but we found out we missed one control and had to back track a small ways to find it. Marcey – these trails were awesome!!! StokesCORE did an amazing job. Too bad it is only five miles at this point. Short story…right when we got to the start of the trails I went through a spiderweb. I could see the web and the spider swinging around off my helmet. I am used to being covered in webs being an early morning rider but I had to stop and remove it when after about 30 minutes on the trail, the web caught a fly and I could actually see the spider climbing up to get the fly! I was not going to be a part of that murder so I let them go by the side of the trail and caught back up to Jeff and Bob. Bye Bye little fly.

We then rode to the start / finish to collect CPs 8-9 which were both on elevated terrain that was challenging to trek to the top. I plotted CP 9 on the steep bank of the Dan River but was it was really on the high ground so took too long to find. Back at base camp, we refitted and took a small break to eat some food and to get ready for the last push to Hanging Rock State Park. Along the way, we stopped to get CP 10. The rest of the ride was pretty much all up hill. We stopped to get CP 21 at the falls near Tory's Den and then one last bike uphill to the last TA E. This is where we saw Check Point Zero, the eventual winner's, headed to the finish, while we still had lots of work ahead of us. Marcey – there is nothing like seeing the winners off to the finish when you still have two hours to go! I changed into dry socks at the campground so I was in happy spirits. Looking back, I may have mentioned ‘dry socks’ one too many times to Jeff who forgot a spare pair. Sorry Jeff.

This part of the course was the truest gem, trekking the Hanging Rock Park's awesome trails packed with big boulders and other unique terrain. We first went to CP 17 and had to scamper over some big boulders. Then we tried to find the old climber's trail leading to the firetower where CP 13's home was. Not finding it, we continued along the rock face trail in a NE direction until we found another access to get to the fire tower. This route also included some hands and feet maneuvering up the steep slope, but we finally hit the Moore's Wall Loop Trail and CP 14 at the tippy top. Marcey – the most beautiful part of the day but also the saddest to see all of the trash people threw in the firetower. Spent way too long here as well, taking in the scenary, capturing some cool pics, and making some decisions on how much time we had left and what remaining CPs we should grab. Option #1 - Take the Loop Trail east to get CPs 15, 18, 19, and 22. Option #2 - Take the Loop Trail west to just retrieve 13, 19, 22. CPs 20 and 16 were out of the question with how much time we had left. We ended up playing it safe and going with Option #2. Finding the climber's trail from the top was easier and we scampered down to find CP 13 (might I say one of the best scenery, hard to find CPs ever - in my experience). Marcey – Jeff and Bob scamper. I tentatively ‘bushwhack’ my way at a snail’s pace. I promise I’ll get better guys! We then headed back, picking up CPs 19 and 22, and running most of the way back to the TA. At one point we thought about bushwhacking from CP 22 to the TA, but the low ground probably had too much vegetation and we ended up sticking to the trail toward Tory's Den and back up the hill. Marcey – i.e. Marcey sucks at bushwhacking.

A quick transition and it was a very fun, fast cruise, all down hill, back to the start / finish. This was awesome, I don't think we peddled hard once, traveling about 4Km in a couple minutes. We finished with a bit of time to spare and partook in the weenie roast and story telling. Marcey – No weenies for me since there were no veggie dogs. Thanks to Madame GPS who found a pizza place after a few curse words were thrown her way.

We were extremely happy with our performance - a good mix of enjoying the adventure, taking time to appreciate the sceneray and experience, while pushing ourselves when needed. The whole Isotopes Race Staff and volunteers put on an amazing race with an awesome course and great support. I now know why these races have such glowing reports about them. A special thanks to the volunteers who manned the TAs and helped with moving our bikes around the course - the efforts and support is greatly appreciated by the racers and I hope you all had fun as well. It was also great to race with Jeff for the first time and I look forward to the possibility of racing together in the future. And as always...thanks to the family for allowing me to be a kid once again.

More Pictures, Results, Course Map

2010 Best Ranger Competition

2010-06-02T21:59:00.027-04:00

The 27th Annual David E. Grange Jr. Best Ranger Competition (BRC) was conducted at Fort Benning, GA from 7-9 MAY 2010. Forty 2-person buddy teams representing mostly the US Army Ranger, Special Operations, and Infantry Division community ended up competing in this year’s competition. 1SG Kevin Dylus and CPT Bob May (from the Waterlogged Dogwoods) were Team 41 representing the North Carolina National Guard and finished 10th overall. Along with the Rhode Island Team that finished 14th, its the first time a National Guard Team even finished the event.

The BRC was one of the most professionally run, well organized, community / sponsor supported, and camaraderie laden event I have ever been associated with. It was not just two Ranger Buddy Teams doing really hard things for three days straight, it was a highlight of what this highly trained and motivated community does and has done in support of freedom from tyranny around the world.

As Guardsmen, we stand alongside our AC brethren in contingency missions around the world……it's good to know that we can now stand alongside them in a rigorous competition such as the Best Ranger Competition. All those who competed should feel proud and my hat off to those that persevered fought on to the Ranger Objective and completed the mission, though we be the lone survivors.

Read the Full Report.

Erin's Blog and Pics from DAY 1, DAY 2, DAY 3.

Additional Pics from Fort Benning PAO.

Bushwhack Adventures - Falls Lake Challenge 2010

2010-06-01T21:13:00.012-04:00

This race report is from Marcey. Drew and Marcey competed in the 2-Person Co-Ed Division.

The Falls Lake Challenge 8-hr Sprint Adventure Race was a great learning experience for Drew and I. After arriving at the park, we learned that Bob, who is Master Navigator and the most experienced by far, needed to stay home to take care of his little boy, who was very sick. Bob just completed the Best Ranger Competion so was probably in the best shape of his life so this race would have been a cakewalk for him. Needless to say, I wasn't nervous being in the capable hands of Drew who said "I think I can plot UTMs". Drew explained to me that he was used to plotting military style but that it should be similar.

We spent about 30 minutes plotting the course and decided to hit the paddle and run section first due to a call for thunderstorms later in the day. Biking is Drew's 3rd favorite discipline so there was no argument from him. This turned out not to be a good tactic since we didn't pay attention to the assigned points and missed out on a couple of checkpoints that were 30+ on the bike. I was a little worried about my titanium upgrade (clavicle 2009) since I hadn't paddled for about 11 months but I had no problem thanks to Dr. Jones at Impact Orthopedics who definitely fixed me up right! We got messed up on the very first checkpoint and went to the wrong inlet. After spending probably 15-20 minutes there we gave up and paddled again only to realize that we had went in too early so this time we were able to find it pretty easily.

After a few checkpoints we docked the boat and started on the run portion. We spent about 20 minutes looking for the first one and Drew realized he had plotted incorrectly. We also made the decision to spend no more than 10-15 minutes looking for a checkpoint. Once, when we were looking for a checkpoint that wasn't there, I asked Drew, "Are you sure you plotted correctly on the right line?" and followed up with "And I say that lovingly". He kept apologizing and I kept saying I would do no better and I was having fun so I didn't really care. I also decided that we needed a bracelet that said WWBD or What Would Bob Do?

After this minor screw up, we were able to find all of the checkpoints after taking a quick peek at the park map near the campgrounds where Drew realized that there were roads at the campground that were not on our map. This made more sense and we became successful! We were getting close to time so hurried back to the boat and made the decision to finish out the paddle points. Drew was out of water and so was I but thought we would be okay. We grossly miscalculated how long it would take us to finish out the paddle points since at this time, we thought we would at least be able to hop on the bike and get a few points. After getting the last paddle checkpoint we paddled a steady pace to the finish, which took about 45 minutes. I had a massive blister on my hand from paddling and we were both a little dehydrated. The phone rang with about 20 minutes to go and I said it was probably my mom, who was volunteering and I am sure was wondering why we had not come back to get our bikes. Then a sheriff's boat came by and asked if there were any boats behind us (there was one kayak). I said that my mom probably sent the Sheriff out to make sure we were okay.

We saw the first beach and thought we were home but it was the second beach so we had to paddle a little faster in order to make it under the eight hours. We did, with only four minutes to spare! We never even made it to the bike but got all but one of the paddle and trek points so I was happy with the volume we were able to get. The after race pizza proved to be the hardest workout of the day for my jaws. The prizes were great and the organization stellar considering all the rain we had.

Lessons learned from FLC:

Check the number of points assigned to each checkpoint.
Don't spend too much time on a point. If I can't find it in 15 minutes, move on.
Never forget paddling gloves.
Always wear knee socks.
Check for ticks...many, many times.
Keep an extra water bottle in the boat.

Great job by the Waterlogged Dogwoods!!!!!

Uwharrie Rumble - Queen of the Mountain

2010-05-19T22:30:00.004-04:00

This Race Report is from Marcey, the 2010 Uwharrie Rumble Queen of the Mountain.

The Uwharrie Rumble was held on May 15-16. Saturday was a 6hr MTB race and Sunday was a trail half-marathon. Both races used the Supertree and Keyauwee trails. My goal was to win the Queen of the Mountain award which was given to the person with the best combined times for the ride and run. I didn't realize until I got to the race how easy this would be. At registration I learned I was the only female signed up to do the race solo and all I needed to do was ride one lap and run the race on Sunday in order to be Queen of the Mountain. Some people would be happy but I don't like to win anything 'by default'. So, I decided I was just going to race it just like I had planned but also have a goal to beat some of the men. I had a great ride and completed five laps, finishing in 5:29:32. All of my laps were within nine minutes of each other and my last lap was my third fastest. I carried all of my nutrition on me and only stopped once during the 5.5 hours to take a quick bio break. I never crashed and was really happy with the way I rode. Since there wasn't a big field, I sometimes had the trails to myself and could just ride and ride. LOVED IT! I ended up beating 40% of the men's field so that was a plus! My prize for winning the solo race was a $125 gift certificate to Middle Ring Cycles in Albemarle. If you ever have a chance to go there, stop by and say hi. The store is very nice and the owner is even nicer. I bought a new helmet and some lights. They have a new logo at the store and a new website www.powered-byyou.com. Check 'em out!

We camped all weekend and Saturday night was like every other time in 16 years that my husband and I camped which means that it rained and ended up flooding our borrowed tent because the rain flap became stuck and water poured in all over our sleeping bag. Needless to say, we got very little sleep. I also have a bad habit of 'riding' in my sleep the night after a race so I spent the night jerking around while I was riding over rocks, around switchbacks and over logs in my dreams.

Sunday was race day for the half-marathon and thankfully there was a much bigger field. I decided not to have a time goal since I knew I was winning QoM and I didn't want to toast myself prior to my race the following weekend - Falls Lake Challenge. After the second mile, I realized I was feeling pretty good and tried to keep my standing goal of no one passing me that I didn't pass back. I am happy to say, my record still stands and I passed everyone that passed me, including 7 people in the last two miles alone! I felt really good and surprisingly, won my age group with a time of 2:04:37 which I was happy with on such a hard trail and the day after a 6hr race. I finished 8th overall female out of 31and 32 out of 81 male/female. My prize was a stainless steel water bottle with the race logo which is MUCH better than a medal because I am a 'function' kind of girl.

My prize for the QoM was a fleece vest with Queen of the Mountain and Uwharrie Rumble embroidered on it. The race promoter, On the Mark, was nice enough to keep the small vest that was already made and special order an xs for me!

I hope they do the race again and that more people come out next year. Great race, great promoter, great trails and great food.

-Marcey

Gleneagles Challenge 2010

2010-03-15T23:20:00.004-04:00

Yes, the 1st and 2nd runnings of the Gleneagles Challenge did start and finish from my garage in the Gleneagles Subdivision of Cary, NC. Last year I expanded it to a Bond Park pavilion and this year graduated to the big leagues with the Gleneagles Challenge 2010 being a Bushwhack Adventures production and part of the Checkpoint Tracker Series. For locals who have done a GEC in the past, you'll still find some things you've seen in the past (climbing up trees and going into tunnels).

Marcey and I recently completed the initial coursework and Pat and Don will vet the course soon. The course will almost be completely Rogaine allowing many options for fun, fast single track mountain biking, paddling in the clear blue waters of Harris Lake with a Nuclear Plant looking down at you, and trekking through some dense pine groves. The GEC 2010 will be a great race for beginners and will challenge experienced racers to clear the course.

And since copyright laws proclude us from using the old GEC logo, I "borrowed" from the 5-Star Gleneagles Luxury Hotel and Country Club in Scotland, we are introducing the new GEC logo for 2010. Register soon and we will see you at Harris Lake.

BOK Orienteering "A" Event - Sycamore Scramble

2010-03-03T21:54:00.005-05:00

Bob competed in the Backwood Orienteering Klub's "A" Event, the Sycamore Scramble on Feb the 2nd. I only participated in the Classic Red 35+ Course on Sunday, but wish I could have done the Sprint and Middle courses on Saturday as well. The weather was picture perfect, clear blue skies, and a very slight nip in the air. This was my first O'Meet at this level, so didn't really know what to expect, and arriving about 15 minutes prior to my 10:35 start time did not help getting fully read in and prepped. After registration and receiving my Finger Stick, I was put in a series of chutes to control the start. On the starting whistle, I was able to see the map for the first time and headed on my way - at a slight gallup through the woods. Things were going great until Control 8, where I completely missed it by a country mile and ended up out of the Umstead Boundary near the RDU 286 Rogue MTB Trails. I'll blame it on using a different compass than my old standby military issue compass and not paying attention to terrain, second guessing myself, and not listening to the little voice in my head saying "You are all jacked up". Anyhow, I first decided to ditch the point, but after seeing Kevin and Marcey riding their bikes on the Reedy Creek Trail and cheering me on....I decided to stop feeling sorry for myself and took a second stab at it. This time using pure terrain association and following the spur down to CP 8. Total time from CP 7 to CP 8 - 83 minutes, ARGHH!!! The rest of the course was fine except the support crew was picking up CP 11 before I got there and I had to punch it while he was holding it - making me think that CP 12-14 were already being picked up as well. Not the case, so the easiest CPs around the Sycamore Lake Cabins also took me way to long to track down.

Overall, it was fairly confusing, as it was my first attempt at a higher caliper O'Meet and is set up very different from BOK's normal events. The race was extremely well put together and the support was phenomenal. I ended up taking just under 3 hours for a 14 Control, 7.5km Course, finishing 6th in the Red 35+ Category.

Mandatory Gear 15 HR Adventure Race

2010-02-02T20:25:00.005-05:00

Drew, Marcey, and Bob of the Waterlogged Dogwoods competed in the very wet and cold Mandatory Gear 15 HR Adventure Race in Conway, SC. The race was well run, had great volunteers, and the course was an interesting melody of what to find in the coastal flats of SC. The weather just didn't cooperate with her 35 degrees, cold rain, and pestering winds. We ended up with an unranked finish.....you win this time Mother Nature!!!!! A full race report and additional pictures can be found on our Results Page.

Best Ranger Competition Tryouts

2010-01-16T21:30:00.004-05:00

Bob and Drew recently drove down to Fort Benning, GA to compete in the Army National Guard's Tryouts for the Best Ranger Competition. The Tryouts consisted of a 5 hour night land nav course with a 50lb ruck, Ranger PT Test, Obstacle Course, 12 Mile Road March, Combat Water Swim, and an unknown distance run (total of an 18 hour event). Bob ended up finishing 4th and was selected to one of the two primary teams the Army National Guard is going to field for the 7-9 MAY 2010 competition. A more detailed report and additional pics can be found at the Results Page.

Checkpoint Tracker Series - 2010

2009-11-19T22:51:00.002-05:00

After a small hiatus from Co-Ed participation, the Waterlogged Dogwoods are planning on participating in the Checkpoint Tracker Adventure Racing Series for 2010. It's also great news that Bushwhack Adventures will be hosting 5 events in North Carolina next year. We are not sure of how many series events we'll be able to squeeze in, but are excited about the future of Adventure Racing in the nation and the region. Wish us luck!!!

First Sponsor - Dare2Live Dog

2009-11-19T22:15:00.005-05:00

We are very enthused to announce that the Waterlogged Dogwoods has its first sponsor. Dare2Live Dog is allowing us to use their exceptional pictures in our logo and we will be happily sporting some of their fun adventure apparel. Adventure Racers can appreciate their mantra, "Live in the Moment. The Moment is Now" and will definitely relate to the Dare2Live Dog.

Upcoming Races

2009-11-18T13:54:00.013-05:00

The Waterlogged Dogwoods will refer to Rule #2 at this time - no racing in the cold, no racing till Spring of 2012.

28 April 2012 - Gleneagles Challenge, Harris Lake, NC. Marcey and Bob are Race Directing.

Results

2009-11-18T13:53:00.024-05:00

2011
21 October - Checkpoint Tracker Championship, Cadiz, KY, Bob, Marcey, Dave, and Marcilynn raced 4 Person Elite Co-ED, 17th in Division

24 September - Storm the Eastern Shore, Cape Charles, VA, Marcey and Brent raced 2 Person Co-ED

23 July - Odyssey Sprint AR, New Castle, VA, Drew and Bob raced 2 Person Military, 2nd in Division, 2nd Overall

05 June - 9-1-1 Challenge AR by Bushwhack AR, Umstead and Crabtree Parks near Raleigh, NC. Bob, Marcey, and Drew raced 3 Person Co-ED, 1st in Division, 4th Overall

29 April - Yuki-BAR 24 HR by Bushwhack AR, Hanging Rock and Pilot MTN area of NC - Bob, Marcey, and Dave raced 3 Person Co-ED, 3rd in Division, 5th Overall

02 April - Gleneagles Challenge Sprint AR by Bushwhack AR, Harris Lake, NC - Drew, Lee Anne, and Tom raced 3 Person Co-ED, 5th in Division, 27th Overall

2010
07 August - 9-1-1 Challenge by Bushwhack AR, Umstead and Crabtree Park Area, NC, Bob and Marcey raced 2x2 with "Wild Bill" and Mila from WDII, 1st in Division, 2nd Overall, Race Report

29 May - Trailblazers / IsoSeries Yuki Joy 15 HR Adventure Race, Danbury and Hanging Rock State Park, NC, Bob, Marcey, and Jeff, 2nd in Co-ED Division, 4th Overall, Race Report, Pictures, Course Map

22 May - Falls Lake Challenge, Falls Lake, NC, Drew and Marcey raced in the 2-Person Co-Ed Division (Bob was planning on racing, but his son got sickee poo), placed 5th in the division and 31st overall, Race Report

09 May - 2010 Best Ranger Competition, Fort Benning, GA, Bob competed with 1SG Kevin Dylus on Team 41 - North Carolina National Guard, placing 10th overall, Race Report and Pictures.

Jan 13 - Best Ranger Competition Tryouts for the Army National Guard, Fort Benning, GA - Bob finished 4th and was selected to compete in a primary team. The actual competition is 7-9 MAY 2010. Pictures, Report.

Jan 30 - Mandatory Gear 15 HR Adventure Race, Conway, SC. Drew, Marcey, and Bob raced in the 3 person Co-Ed Division and placed 3rd in the unranked finisher category, Race Report, Pictures

2009
Sep 25 - Bushwhack 24 HR Adventure Race, Harris Lake SW of Raleigh, 2nd in Open Division, 5th Overall, Pictures, Race Report, Bob and Drew raced in the 2-Person Open Division

Apr 16 - Endorphin Fix 3.5 Day Adventure Race, Pipestem, 4th in Division, 13th Overall, Pictures, Race Report, Bob and Mike raced in the 2-Person Division

2008
Oct 4 - Gold Nugget 12 HR Adventure Race, Uwharrie Forest, 3rd in Co-Ed Division, 6th Overall, Picture, Bob raced with Rob and Marcilynn on Team Yourmamaween

Sep 13 - Untamed VA 30 HR Adveture Race, West of Richmond, Unranked Finish, Pictures, Bob raced with Brian and Marcilynn on Team GoofyAss

Apr 24 - Endorphin Fix 3 Day Adventure Race, Pipestem, DNF, Race Report, Bob and Mike raced in the 2-Person Male Category

2007
Oct 13 - Odyssey Sprint Adventure Race, Claytor Lake, 2nd in Premeir Co-Ed Division, 2nd Overall, The Waterlogged Dogwoods ended up finishing second in the Odyssey Sprint Series for 2007

Sep 30 - EX2 Venture Quest Sprint Adventure Race, Fountainhead, 2nd in Co-Ed Division, 14th Overall, The Team consisted of Mike, Bob, and Kat

Sep 22 - 9-1-1 Challenge, Umstead and Crabtree Park, 1st in Division, 1st Overall, Bob raced Solo

Jul 21 - Odyssey Sprint Adventure Race, Roanoke, 2nd in Premeir Co-Ed Division, 5th Overall

Jun 30 - Lionheart 24 HR Adventure Race, Ohiopyle, 3rd in Division, 9th Overall, Bob raced Solo

26 May - Odyssey Sprint Adventure Race, New River, 1st in Premeir Co-Ed Division, 5th Overall

15 Apr - EX2 Greenhorn Sprint Adventure Race, Prince William Forest, 4th in Male Division, 5th Overall - Raced in a deluge and the "Waterlogged" name was now official

13 Jan - Odyssey Sprint Adventure Race, Natural Bridge, Unranked Finisher - This was Amanda and Bob's first attempt at an Adventure Race

The Team

2009-11-18T13:52:00.025-05:00

Bob
Bob, the team founder and usually the lead navigator, is a native of Rochester, NY and currently lives in Cary, NC. Bob is an Army Infantry Officer and works full-time with the North Carolina Army National Guard. He is an assistant organizer for the Trailblazers Adventure Racing Club - RDU Chapter and has organized some practice Adventure Races. Bob enjoys Adventure Racing for the unique challenges and sharing the experience as part of a team.

Marcey
Marcey is an Indiana native and currently resides in Raleigh, NC. She works as a Training Specialist with a Contract Research Organization in order to pay for all of the gear and race fees. Marcey has competed in several marathons, triathlons (sprint to iron-distance) and endurance mountain bike races. Marcey has been sponsored by Gu Sports since 2006 as an amateur triathlete and mountain biker. Her favorite flavor is Mint Chocolate and she will try to work the word Roctane into her race vocabulary as often as possible!!!

Drew
Drew is a native of NC, currently living in Creedmor. He works for the North Carolina National Guard at the Camp Butner training site. New to the world of Adventure Racing, Drew is looking forward to pushing the limits with the Waterlogged Dogwoods

Dave

David’s a Raleigh native like all other Raleigh natives, being born and spending the first few years overseas moving to Raleigh in 5th grade. David has recently been hired by the City of Raleigh Fire Department and begins Recruit training in December 2011. He enjoys riding my mountain bikes and paddling around the ocean and lakes on my paddleboard. I’ve raced numerous xc and xxc mountain bike races and done well with them. I enjoy Adventure Racing the most because it requires such a strong team focus and it requires you to think and always be aware of how your teammates are doing. His favorite race food is sausage pizza and blue Gatorade. He looks forward to pushing his limits in many many more AR’s with Waterlogged Dogwoods.

Mike
Bob's generated bio for Mike: "I think Mike was originally from NC and is a UNC Grad - GO TARHEELS. He is currently living in Northern VA and works as a defense contractor. Mike has the most Adventure Racing experience of the group, also participating in ironman length triathlons and other endurance style challenges."