Team Ragged Glory – Adventure Racing, Multi Sport, FriendsWe get by with a little help from our Friends - Team Ragged Glory

For the last two years, the first race of the Team Ragged Glory (TRG) season has been the Planet Adventure Sprint. Last year, Nancy Gawrys and I (Doug Theis) raced as a two-some because the other TRG members werenâ€™t available. This year, we had planned to race again as a two-some. But a few weeks before the event, one of our old adventure racing buddies, Eric Henricks, said he was looking for a team.

I first met Eric at the Planet Adventure 30 Hour Challenge in 2001. Eric and his crew often join TRG for training runs in the winter. Eric typically races with his group of buddies as team â€œFriends.â€ Team Friends is very similar to TRG; they are friends first, and they believe in the same casual have “fun/stay safe/finish” approach to racing. TRG and Friends also race at roughly the same pace, and we often see (and help) each other multiple times during a race. Nancy and I decided that racing with Eric would be fun and a nice team cross-pollination. So Team Ragged Glory Friends was born.

The 2010 PA Sprint was held on April 24th and consisted of two courses: a six-hour and a twelve-hour course. Eric had an evening commitment, so we decided to race the short course. The race was at the Mounds State Recreation Area, south of Richmond, Indiana on Brookville Lake. No Planet Adventure Race had ever been at Brookville Lake, so we were looking forward to the new venue.

To prepare, we traded a few emails about responsibilities. Eric would be primary navigator and sit in the back of the canoe. Nancy would carry the passport, and I would be responsible for the big picture of the course and any tie-breaking decisions. We did a little practicing with our bike towing system the day before the race. We felt ready to go.

The weather for the two weeks leading up to the race was unseasonably warm and dry. But the forecast for race day was rain and possible thunderstorms. As we drove to Brookville Lake, rain pelted Ericâ€™s van. I was a little worried about staying warm and being on the water with the risk of lightning. As we arrived, the rain slowed down to a sprinkle. Things were looking up.

We received maps 1.5 hours before the starting gun. Both courses would be scored first by cutoff times, then by the number of controls found. For every minute a team arrived late at the finish line, a one control penalty would be assessed — a costly mistake. On the six-hour course, we would start with a four-mile paddle, followed by a 13 miles on the roads with our mountain bikes. We would ride back to the start/finish line, and then set out on foot with a separate orienteering map. The number of controls found on foot would be critical to doing well in the race.

The staff held the pre-race meeting, we made final preparations, and the gun sounded. We started with a half-mile run to the canoe put-in. Although we werenâ€™t the first to the canoes, without saying a word, we grabbed a canoe, put the boat in, and were first in the water. We quickly settled in to a smooth pace and never looked back. The water was like glass, and we paddled in front of the pack all the way to the canoe take-out.

As we dropped our paddling gear and climbed on the bikes, we saw Citgo, one of the fast teams on the 12 hour course, paddling in to the checkpoint. That motivated us to get on the bikes and get going. The first part of the bike section was a steady uphill climb. We opted to take a slightly longer route to avoid a few climbs. Although we missed our first turn because the road was slightly different than on the map, we rode well. Eric got a flat about halfway through the bike course, and although we had a tough time getting his slicks off the rim, we worked well as a team and got back on track. We rode back to the start/finish line and arrived just a couple of minutes before Team Cris and Rach, more of our adventure racing friends. We knew the orienteering section would be where the race was won or lost.

We had about 3.5 hours to get as many of the 16 controls as we could. The orienteering course was large and full of brambles. We found the first control fairly quickly and opted to shoot bearings and go directly from control to control. This strategy is not Ericâ€™s favorite, but the maps were not very detailed and we decided that it would be a reasonable approach. It turned out to be a great decision. Even though the underbrush was thick and bramble-filled, Ericâ€™s bearings took us directly to ten controls, covering about eight miles in three hours. We spent about half an hour on our eleventh and last control, but could not find it on our way back.

We overestimated the time it would take us to get back to the finish line, and arrived 30 minutes before the cut off. All five short course teams got in on time. As the staff scored the passports, we learned that TRG Friends came in first place with our 10 controls on the orienteering course! Cristal Garrison and Rachel Noir came in second with four controls on the O-course. Congratulations to them on their fine finish.

The win was not only gratifying, but it seemed easy. Racing with Eric seemed as natural as it could be. I felt like we had raced with Eric for years. We worked well together and had a great time. And the weather was nearly perfect for the six hour course. Ericâ€™s van is also the perfect adventure racing vehicle — makes me want one.

Ericâ€™s comments: “I really liked our collaborative approach to the race with everyone engaged in decisions regarding primary areas of responsibility, canoe configuration, bike route choice, and resolution of uncertainties during the trek. I look forward to our next endeavor!”

Nancyâ€™s comments: “For me, it is always a little more mentally challenging preparing for a race with a teammate I have not raced with before. It brings another unknown element into the race. From the moment we all got together for the race, I knew that this was going to be a special team. I love our similar competitive drives, importance of friendship, and overall love of the sport. I just want to say thank you to both of you for a fun day in the woods.”

The twelve-hour folks had a good bit of rain and strong winds. Citgo won the twelve-hour course, and Dino came in second place. James Nichols of Tailwynd put on another great event. Paula Pearson did a fine job managing the volunteers, and Mike Garrisonâ€™s course design was top-notch. A big thanks to the race staff and volunteers for another great event; it could never happen without you.

Team Ragged Glory – Adventure Racing, Multi Sport, Friends

We get by with a little help from our Friends

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