The WAR - Race Day

Kristen and I arrived at the Kinzua Dam Visitors Center Parking Lot right on time at 635am. The weather was overcast, maybe a little threatening looking, but wasn't too cold. Our long spandex and high socks were a great decision. We checked in with Bethann, got a couple canoe maps, 3 clue sheets and instructions to pick up some PFD's and paddles. After examining the clue sheets, K and I knew for sure the bikes were going in the canoe. Luckily, we were mentally prepared for this so it wasn't a huge shock. We do believe that a majority of the others racers did not see this coming, regardless, they were still quicker then we were with the bike to canoe transition... but at least our bike soccer socks were cooler..??

At 715am, I left for the Warren YMCA parking lot. I was to park my car there, take the school bus back and meet Kristen at 815am at the pre-race meeting. Before I left, we made sure the bikes and hydration packs were ready to go. The school bus shuttle was right on time and I met up with K just in time to catch most of the pre-race instructions from Frank. He went over all three clue sheets, general rules and what we should do in case of an emergency. We felt confident standing there. We had the correct gear, K was taking great notes and there were some teams that look ill-prepared. Combine all those factors and the pre-race jitters were melting away.

At 830am exactly (we were very impressed with the punctuality) the race started. We ran down a steep decline with our PFD's on, jersey's over top and paddles in hand. We got to the river and made an executive decision to use a canoe at the top of a short hill because it wasn't crowded next to the other canoes jumbled at the bottom of the hill. Maybe not the best decision. We got the bikes in and bungeed down and then lifted. Ugh! The canoe didn't move. OK, time to take a bike out. Kristen ran hers down to the river, then ran back up, and we lifted again. Not as heavy, but still awkward to carry. We finally made it down, launched and we were the second last canoe in the river...we could only move up, right?

I was in charge of steering and I know I didn't induce confidence from Kristen when I asked her where the rudder was on the canoe, but despite that one comment, the canoe paddling didn't go so bad. We quickly found a comfortable rhythm and we're cruising down the river. We found both CP's with ease, Kristen maneuvered us through some shallow patches (thanks for being the one to get your feet wet! you're a great partner), and we even passed two teams! I was ready for the canoe to be over after the 6 miles because although we were passing teams, it felt like we were going in slow motion. I was just imaging other teams biking already...

Our goal was to paddle 6 miles in under 2 hours and we did it in 1 hour and 40 mins. Wohoo for beating our goal! With the canoe ashore, we got our bike maps and headed out. There were only 2 other teams around us and we lost them quickly... then we got lost and couldn't find where the trail started. It took about 15 mins and a little guidance from another lost team to get us where we needed to go.

The bike was tedious. A lot of steep hills, vague trail markings, crucial compass skills, and chains falling off. The good thing was we caught up with a bunch of teams that had made some wrong navigational decisions, which was easy to do on this course. Seeing other teams around really gave us a boost in spirit. We were still in it! The bike odometer really helped us, along with moral support fromTeam Rush (Gary and Tony) and the all of our training on the hills of Bedford. We didn't have much of a chance to show off our new technical biking prowess, but there's always the next race. We finished the 21+ mile bike course in 3 hours and 21 minutes. Not so bad when we anticipated it taking us 4 hours.

The run, oh the run... where to start. Well, we started off strong and finished strong. We refueled at TA (PB sandwich) and threw off our bike gear, happily. We found the first CP with ease and once we got into a great running rhythm, we had big smiles. CP2 was tough to find, we once again met up with lost Tony & Gary and a couple other teams, but even with all the brain power, it still took us forever to find it. It was during the search for CP2 that we had our fresh orange treat and that really lifted the spirits. The rest of the run was tough, a lot of walking/running and just walking, a lot of wandering until finding the check point, but we kept going. Although it may have stopped being fun when we were searching for CP3, we didn't quit. CP4 and CP5 were fairly easy to find and from CP5 to CP5, the shortest route back was due North. We were ready to use the compass. Kristen kept that compass pointed North and we bushwhacked our way to freedom (or where we had dropped the bikes but freedom sounds better), while eating PB M&M's and dodging spider webs. I believe it was one of the high points of the race.

Upon emerging from the deep woods, we ran to our bikes and found out we weren't the last team out!! The run took us 3 hours and 6 minutes. There was at least one other team behind us, so we needed to book it on the bikes. The final bike leg could have been anywhere from 6 miles to 8 miles long - we couldn't tell, well, I forgot to set the odometer... Luckily it was mainly downhill and pretty easy navigation. We passed one team on the final bike and we were passed by another team. 45 minutes later we rode into the finish to fellow racers clapping and cheering. It was one of our proudest moments!! Our overall goal was to finish in 9 hours and we crossed the finish line in 8 hours and 55 minutes! Bethann and Frank seemed very happy that they wouldn't have to search for us in the woods, but they were also happy for us because we didn't quit and we didn't come in dead last! All the frustration and fatigue from the race melted away and all that was left was a strong feeling of personal accomplishment. We placed second in the all female team division and we couldn't wait to tell our biggest supporters...our families and friends :)