Wow, the 2011 Checkpoint Tracker Nationals adventure race was awesome! An excellent course, great management, stellar volunteers and a gathering of some of the best teams in the nation resulted in an unforgettable weekend. Jason Elsenraat from Bonk Hard Racing, in conjunction with Checkpoint Tracker, put together an event that set the standard for what a National Championship race should be.
Pre-race we knew the talent pool was deep. Wedali, the Technu/SOG “dream team”, Yoga Slackers, Checkpoint Zero, Bushwhacker, Alpine Shop, and GreenPaw represented some very fast, experienced, and competitive 4-person coed teams. Coming into the race, our goal was to stay 100% focused, 100% of the time. We went in with a great attitude, had a really good race and finished on the podium in third place.
Memorable quote? Post-race the guys from Kuat (2-person male team) asked, “What lights are you all using? It was like cars were coming up behind us on the single track!” We had fun ripping up some nighttime single track with these guys. Huge props for our Lupine Pikos! Click here to read Charlie’s review of the Lupine Piko.
Here is a breakdown of the course with some commentary from the team.
Prologue/paddle: We kicked off with the shortest paddle ever (150 meters?) as a mini-prologue. Only two teammates from each team were allowed for the prologue, so Andy and I jumped on board. I think it provided a great photo opportunity. As a racer, I thought it looked pretty cool to watch all these canoes paddle around a small swimming area.
Lake Brantley short O-section: Off trail with hilly terrain. I think it helped that Andy and I had warmed up in the canoe. We got into our groove and Charlie got dialed on the map and terrain quickly. After punching all the points, we were back on the beach in 7th overall.
Paddle: 8K across Lake Brantley to LBL, Energy Lake. It was a straightforward paddle section from one side of the lake to the other. It provided a great opportunity to eat and refuel for the next section.
Trek: HUGE! ~ 45K O-section. During the pre-race briefing the race director informed us that this would be the crux of the race. We spent a lot of time planning the evening before on how we would attack all the points. Since this was a rogaine section, the options were nearly limitless, and there was not an easily determined logical route.
Jen: … it seemed to me that the Charlie-Andy nav was flawless. It felt like there wasn’t a need to look for the CP because we fell on top of it. I was hoping to spot at least one!
Charlie: Taking extra time the night before to plan routes was worth it…we did great as a team!
Andy: This was an awesome section for so many reasons…Charlie was a rockstar on the maps, and Jen is one tough woman. She sprained her ankle badly early in the o-course, but shrugged it off and kept moving. Jen = tough.
Paddle: Energy Lake to the Boat Ramp takeout. This section was a nice change from all the time we had just pounded out on foot. It was a beautiful paddle and the sun was just setting as we did a quick portage over a sandbar at the previous CP. The temperature was dropping quickly as we paddled into the TA, and we made it in before getting too chilled.
Run: 4K to bikes. We quickly warmed up as we ran the few miles to our bikes and the next part of the course…but what exactly was next we didn’t know! We only had the points for the first half of the race. We could assume there was a lot of biking still to come but beyond that the remainder of the race was a mystery.
Andy: A run like that was good course design…because it warmed us up after freezing on the water.
Bike: Monster Bike section LOADED w/singletrack
With this section, the race director, Jason, knocked it out of the park. All that single track, linked together in a bike section was incredible!!! This was my favorite part of the race. We all enjoy riding, so this was right up our ally. We started with some road sections, which got us warmed up nicely. Soon, we were passing some awesome teams and flowing through the single track. Between all of us staying on our game, great bikes, and excellent Lupine Piko lights, we were really moving. Charlie, I don’t know how you can take the time to look down at the map at the speeds we were riding! When I felt my rear tire getting loose, I realized I had torn a sidewall on my Stan’s Raven tire. I pulled the wheel off, gave it a few good shakes, it spewed some Stan’s goo, and promptly sealed. A quick shot of compressed air and we were off. Kudos to Stan’s Notubes.com and their great products. As mentioned earlier, we spent a lot of time on the bike section going back and forth with the Kuat team. Great dudes and silly fast riders.
We rolled into CP41, the mystery point, in 4th place overall and 3rd in coed elite. The task, two of the team members, some pieces of PVC pipe, and 17 pool noodles had to make their way to a point on the other side of the lake. So, we built a raft and Jen and I paddled across. In hindsight, we may have been better off just grabbing the stuff and running around like the SOG/Technu Team did – as well as Wedali, after their raft came apart.
Jen: I had a great time! I think we worked extremely well as a team. As for CP 41, we built a damn nice cruise ship.
Paddle: 8K to finish. We hit the bike to paddle TA in full stride and in 3rd place overall. All we had to do was paddle the initial lake section back to the finish. Of course it is never that easy! The fog was so thick that I will never forget the eerie feeling of floating isolation we experienced. This was the type of fog that horror movies strive to replicate. The moon was barely even visible. With our headlights on, we could see objects 20-40 feet away. With them off, we could make out the outline of trees on the island shorelines 60-80 feet away. We kept our lights off, and Charlie kept us on a bearing. We ended up shooting our final bearing/attack point to the finish from the edge of an island. Since there was only one island on the map, this seemed to make sense at the time. Unfortunately, there were several unmapped islands on the lake. We quickly corrected and pushed on into the finish. As the sun was coming up, we beached our boats and completed the race in under 24 hours. The Kuat team had passed us in the fog, so we were 4th overall and on the podium (and in the $$) as the 3rd place coed elite team.
Jen: In the end, I feel as though our team had an amazing race against the best competition…The more we race together, the more efficient, smarter, and faster we’ll become. The team was so badass.
Charlie: I agree totally. I think the team dynamics were amazing at this race. This was one of my favorite races of the season, primarily because of how well the team worked together. I’m really excited about next season.
Andy: We raced hard the ENTIRE race and we never lost focus…which was our goal going in. We all contributed and helped each other when we needed it. Awesome experience! Can’t wait for next year!!
As always, a special thanks to our dedicated sponsors – Odyssey Adventure Racing, Spokes, Etc. bike shop, Stan’s Notubes.com (every one of us were on your Crest or Race wheels), Nuun electrolytes, Crank Brothers, WTB, and Numa Optics. We cannot race at this level without the support you provide. Thank you.
Jason, you are leaving the sport having raised the bar for a Nationals caliber event…just a great time. To every single volunteer a heartfelt thanks. I know you see some of the best and worst in all of us as we make our way across the course. Thanks for providing the assistance to make this possible.
Yak, keep it up man! We love the “flavor” of the events and the cool swag is definitely nice. Everyone seems to go home with something. We can’t wait for next year, when Odyssey Adventure Racing hosts Nationals.
What an incredible way to end the 2011 season! Truly one of my favorite races of all time: great course, stellar gear, excellent competition and phenomenal teammates.
See you outside,
Shane
