Adventure Race #2: 24 Hour Black Mountain Race

So this is an old race report but I decided I should post it for a couple reasons. 1. If anyone is ever interested in trying to retrace our steps and the real reason 2. To inspire me to get back training.

This race was another race put on by Equinox Racing Team. And their race report can be found here. If you look all the way at the bottom you'll see Team Kabooze and see we weren't the first to quit but we still only last a bit over 8 hours.

Well the real reason we only lasted 8 hours was because we were badly prepared and we kinda knew that we weren't going to make it the full 24 hours.(Maybe next time).
So we had some great luck and San Diego decided to use one of its 30 rain days of the year. It was fine as we started because it was only a mist but it picked up throughout the day and made everything much more difficult. They also had to cancel the kayak portion of the race due to the weather so we started out with a good jog by the beach. It started out well, meaning we weren't immediately in last place.
We got back to the start point which was near Torrey Pines State Beach and then we took off on our bikes toward Black Mountain. We followed the 56 all the way out. We got to the next transition point and started the trekking portion.
PJ needed to lighten his load and as a group we needed to live up to our team name. So out came the tallboy of refreshing nectar and some slimjims and bananas. What do you typically eat during an adventure race?
Almost immedietely after starting the trekking it started raining much harder. In my defense I imformed both of my teammates of the weather and the scope of the adventure race. Neither of them decided to bring anything waterproof and PJ was wearing Vans slip-ons (but they were camo-style). So PJ's solution to the waterproof jacket was a flannel and some garbage bags. And CJ had a windbreaker. Well as soon as it started raining they whipped out the garbage bags and realized they were for waste baskets.

So from this point on these guys were pretty sad and very wet. We kept trucking on and made our way up, down and around Black Mountain. We did stop at an Elementary school for a bit of lunch and to ensure we were in last place. It was a big emotional boost to get out of the rain for a bit.
We finally made it back to transition but we were done. Well not really we had to ride back to Torrey Pines where our car was. That was a fun, dark ride. The quote of the race came about then, PJ (6'4" - 260 lb rugby player) - "I am going to shivvvvvvver right off my bike".

All was good when we drove up the coast to have a few beers and burritos at Las Olas

Adventure Race #1 : Mission Trails Park

I have been into triathlons for the last couple of years and I love the outdoors so I have been searching for a way to combine the both. I have found the answer, "Adventure Racing". This is a loose term and can apply to any race that has multiple legs in the outdoors. Different stages consist of Trail Running, Mountain Biking, Swimming, Kayaking, Climbing, Rappelling, Orienteering....

Anyone that does triathlons or have looked into Adventure Racing knows that they are not cheap to compete in. In San Diego there is a great group of guys that put on Adventure races for FREE. The group is called Equinox Adventure Racing , Barrie is the main contact and replied to me within minutes. Actually he was so nice he lent me a bike for the first race. Check out there website as to that is where they post all the events for the upcoming year and full race reports (Race Report for this race).

So I was able to talk a good friend, Jordan, to go out and suffer with me for over 10 hours. We ended up covering close to 30 miles by the time we got back to our car. And climb some serious vertical footage.

 

The race started out with a quick lesson on plotting check points (Future Post - How to). We did not know exact location or distance of the race. Beforehand they told us it would take most people 10 hours. That sounded good to us.

We started out racing our mountain bikes through some pretty fun single track. Most of our first check points were on the trail. The course took me through parts of Mission Trails that I didn't know about and are now sadly a housing development. And we had a few surprises on our way (Reptile Rangler handled it)

After the mountain bikes we transition to trail running for 6 or 7 miles then another leg of biking down back into the valley. The last leg of the race is my favorite, its the "O" or Orienteering course. You must map the check points and then find small flags with reflectors in bushes or behind rocks. This part really tests your map reading and route choosing skills. Plus for us it started to hail/rain.

We ended just after dark and are now hooked on Adventure Racing. Look for us at future Equinox Racing events, we'll be in the rear. That day we earned our team name and will forever be known as

TEAM KABOOZE 

last to every transition zone plus we pack a beer for the finish line