Andy Bacon began adventure racing in 2006 and thrilled to be apart of the Odyssey Adventure Racing Team! Andy is an avid mountain biker, hiker, trail runner, and aspiring mountaineer. Here’s a little about me…
I was introduced to adventure racing back in 2006 when a friend asked me to do the Odyssey One Day Adventure Race near Front Royal, VA. I had been competing in Xterra off-road triathlons and lots of running races for several years and was really excited for a new challenge. I remember being so intrigued by the thought of racing at night. I was familiar with Odyssey from completing in their dreaded Xterra triathlon at Sherando Lake and the 1/2 iron off-road triathlon at Douthat State Park, but adventure racing was completely new.
After surviving my first AR experience (and not doing too bad actually), I was hooked. It must have been the pond swim at 3am that made it so memorable. In 2007, I hooked up with team stray dogs and we ended up winning the Odyssey National College Sprint AR Series. That was the same year I started orienteering at the local QOC meets. I’ll never forget my first meet – I got terribly lost and it took me over 97 minutes to complete a yellow course…oh, I missed a point so I DNFd anyway. Boy did I have some work to do! But I stuck with it, and learned a lot very quickly.
Around the holidays in 2007, I got a call from a friend Miguel who asked if I was interested in doing a little race called Primal Quest. I knew I didn’t have a ton of experience and probably had no right to try a race that long, but I was confident I could pull it off physically and mentally so I signed up. I couldn’t pass up the adventure. So, team Pura Vida was born, and Victor, Michelle, Miguel, and I trained and raced all year to prepare for PQ Montana. Along with way we completed the 3-day Endorphin Fix, a bunch of 24-hour races, and an awesome skills certifications weekend. Competing and finishing Primal Quest Montana was definitely a highlight in my life without a doubt. I wouldn’t trade the experience for the world.
After PQ, I continued to race and on some random Tuesday at Wakefield Park, my teammate Michelle introduced me to Shane who had recently started an AR team called Teamhalfwaythere.com. Over the next several months, I got to know many members of the team and throughout 2009 I raced as a part of the Teamhalfwaythere team. We had a great year and our “rotten cheeseburgers” team finished ranked in the top 10 in the USARA standings. The highlight for me was Untamed New England – what a great race!
In 2010, I continued to race with Teamhalfwaythere.com and also had the opportunity to race with the Odyssey-ImONPoint.org. The highlights of 2010 were winning the Odyssey One Day AR with Shane, Charlie, and Sara, and competing in two solo 24 hour events where I finished 1st in one and 2nd in the other.
Over the past 5 years, the sport of adventure racing has given me so much. I’ve met some of the most amazing people and pushed myself mentally and physically to places I didn’t think existed. I love adventure racing.
Select Race Results and Other Adventures
2011
- Odyssey Endorphin Fix – 1st Place (2-person male)
- LBL Challenge – 6th Place
- Equinox Traverse – 2nd Place
- Shenendoah 100 Mountain Bike Race (10:45)
- Florida Sunshine AR – 1st Place
- Rev3 24-hour AR – 3rd Place
- Calleva AR – 1st Place (2-person co-ed)
- Sproute AR – 1st Place
- Tidwater Traverse – 2nd Place
- Lionheart AR – 2nd Place
- NCARS #2 – 1st Place
- ECARS Championship – 2nd Place
2010
- Odyssey Endorphin Fix – Unofficial Finisher (sick teammate)
- 9-Hours of Cranky Monkey – 3rd place solo
- Equinox Traverse – Unofficial Finisher (sick teammate)
- 12-Hours of Cranky Monkey – 1st in division (2 person male)
- Odyssey One Day Adventure Race – 1st in division / 1st overall
- Rocky Gap Adventure Race with my lovely fiancee (3rd in division / 22nd overall)
- Shenendoah 100 Mountain Bike Race (?)
- Odyssey Fall Finale 24-Hour Adventure Race (1st division / 2nd overall)
- Odyssey 24-hour ARogaine (2nd overall)
- Lots of trail races with a few podiums
2009
- Odyssey One-Day Extreme (the really cold one)
- Odyssey Endorphin Fix
- Untamed New England 60-hour adventure race (8th)
- Shenendoah 100 Mountain Bike Race (?)
- Lionheart 24-hour AR
- 12-Hours of Cranky Monkey – 4th in division
- Lots of trail races
2008
- Odyssey Wild and Wonderful AR
- Odyssey Endorphin Fix AR
- Primal Quest Montana
- Untamed Virginia AR
- Lots of trail races
2007
- Odyssey College Series Sprint Adventure Race (1st in division / 1st overall / series champions)
- EX2Adventures Venture Quest Adventure Race (4th in division / 16th overall)
- Odyssey 1/2 Iron Off-Road Triathlon (5th in division)
- Charlottesville Off-Road Triathlon (5th in division / 34th overall)
- Odyssey College Series Sprint Adventure Race (1st in division / 2nd overall)
2006
- Odyssey One-Day Adventure Race (1st in division / 4th overall)
- Reston Triathlon September 18, 2006 (4th in division / 106th overall)
- Nissan Xterra East Coast Championship (10th in division / 134 overall)
- Odyssey Off-Road Triathlon (2nd in division / 18th overall)
