This is my site on my experiences with adventure racing. You may see many of these articles published elsewhere as I write for a number of navigation, outdoor, and adventure magazines (normally in condensed and edited versions). This blog contains the full unedited versions of these stories.
This was a day made for racing, and the Pangea Lighterknot was just the race to make it all fun. It was early morning meeting team-mate Dave Brault at 4 AM to drive up to Princess Place for the race. We got the maps about 6:15 and settled into my truck to plan our route. We expected the race would begin with a prolog and it did; 3 bike orienteering points and 3 foot orienteering points. Each of these took roughly 20 minutes and we were the 3rd team off the prolog and headed for the paddle.
Once we hit the water we headed south towards the saltwater marsh and maze of canals that had CP2, 3 and 4. We stayed on the east bank to get CP2, which was a good strategy. Continuing south to look for a cut across channel to get across the marsh turned out to be a bit more paddling than if we had simply doubled back and used the channel to the north of CP2 (see aerial map). We also overshot the best channel and had to double back a bit just to get to a channel that would take us west towards CP3. We arrived at CP3 just behind Primal Instinct (Jim and Carolyn). We snagged CP4 and were quickly back out to the main channel for the open water paddling. Once we hit the open water it was simply a sprint (really not much navigation required) to get CP6 (out and around the northern peninsula), CP5 - across the mouth of Pellicer Creek in a small creek, and the farthest control CP7 (in a small shallow ox-bow). We hammered the paddle back and were the second team out of the water just behind Primal Instinct.
At the TA we simply dropped our paddle gear. I had pulled off my extra clothes (it was chilly at the start) while running from the paddle to the TA, and all we had to do was drop our extra gear and get the next passport for the trek. We chose to trek second to use the cooler morning weather to help our run, and also to prevent having to change from run to bike shoes. I believe we left just after 11 AM. We had pre-planned our trek to do CP11, 13, 12, 10, 9, 14, 15, and 16 in that order. This appeared to be the best route and though it was a little less conservative than the reverse route - I felt confident we would be able to navigate the terrain without issue. We settled into a low jog, we were a couple of minutes behind Primal Instinct out of the TA. We had about 3-4 teams (including Florida Xtreme) that were also just minutes behind us. The Google Map attached to this blog has the route we took and some thoughts on the navigation.
All of the controls were relatively easy, the only challenging terrain was the creek crossing approaching CP14 from the east, and a short bushwack east of the power lines as we headed to the N-S trail we would use to get to CP16. CP16 was the most challenging of the CP's - requiring the use of the 2 spurs to center yourself in the re-entrant before plunging into the palmettos. We made the jog back to the TA and were the first team to arrive. We wasted no time switching into bike shoes and yelled bye to Greg who was giving the pre-race to the Sport teams.
I figured we probably had a 2-3 minute lead on Primal Instinct at this point as they had not arrived at the TA - though I knew that Jim would easily navigate the foot section and our difference in times would simply be the difference in pace and a few course routes being optimized. We started off the bike heading for CP19. This was a logistics error - since CP18 was a simple out and back on hard packed surface we should have hit it first and then headed for CP19 - though it was a close choice and if the trail from CP17 to CP18 was a good surface, that would have been a better route (it was NOT a good surface). The first part of the bike CP19 - CP20 - CP21 went very fast as the controls were close and the riding good. It was a long route from CP21 ro CP22, but the riding was also good along the loop road. From CP22 we headed to the pavement of Old Kings Road and the entrance to the Florida Agricultural Museum - still good riding, and picked up CP23 easily. After crossing the land bridge our trails turned into sand. We dropped into a low gear and chunked through the sand - using the edges of the horse trails to try to get solid traction under our tires. This held a risk as there were lots of cacti and sand-spurs on the sides - so you always have the risk of a flat tire. CP24 to CP17 was pure punishment for our earlier pace. We did ride most of it - but not much faster than we could have run it. I was hoping that as we left CP17 and took the trail towards CP18 we would get some solid ground. This was the Hominy Branch trail and it had been thoroughly chopped up by all the horse traffic. We could still ride, but not very fast. I did stop to help a lost team just before we hit CP18, they were thoroughly lost and it was the right thing to do.
From CP18 we pushed at 100% towards the finish line just seconds after Primal Instinct came in from the other direction. They had gotten CP18 first and even though the route from CP17 to the finish was also sandy - it was much shorter. They had reached CP17 seconds behind us and had made up the time finish from that last control finish line.
The thrill of the competition made the entire race worthwhile, not to mention the awesome course and terrain. This was the second (sprint) race in a row with a finish that was less than a minute gap. I was quite happy and that was made better by the good food that we had at the finish also (salad and pasta tastes pretty good after a race). I also felt that I was fully recovered from the Coast to Coast that was just 2 weeks earlier (58+ hours of continuous racing). Next up is the Ragnar Relay and the Turkey Burn - both exciting races. See you out there! Here are some video scenes from the race, and a map of the course (I'll also scan my race map and post it).
Saturday was about orienteering and a great challenging blue course at Moss Park. I flipped positions with Chris Johnson a few times on this - which also makes it a fun run with a little friendly competition.
CP2 - There was no obvious attack so I pace counted from the intersection and cut in. The forest had a lot of downed trees. I over shot and had to double back using the trail to the west as a secondary attack - finally finding it. note: Chris Johnson used the subtle trail bend in the N-S trail, an excellent attack and maximizing trail running. A really good approach.
CP3 - due east to trails, up to mound ridge and along west side of ridge - easy find.
CP4 - South of mound and across rough open to E-W trail. Trick was finding subtle trail entrance to use as attack point. Trail did not go far - but due east bearing led to control.
CP5 - Easy run, though placement was a bit south of where I thought it should be, too close to lake. Ran into Chris here approaching as I was leaving control.
CP6 - Real long run from CP5 to CP6. Chris passed me on trail. Attacked by taking subtle northern trail off main trail and heading due north with wetland as backstop. Area was quite thick near control and placement seemed too far east. Took extra 5-10 minutes to find. (note the well hidden location too)
CP7 - Chris passed me again on way to CP7. Rootstock gave easy attack into open mixed palmetto scrub. Easy find.
CP8 - Stayed on trail until Distinct Tree (Split Oak) was visible and atacked from due west - easy find, open (Orange) areas were distinct.
CP9 - Tried direct route - woods were a lot thicker than mapped so bailed to trail, found bend and took easy route from south.
CP10 - Long run across berm to other side, CP10 was not there so headed in with Chris and one ROTC runner.
All in all an extremely challenging course, good distance with a lot of tough control locations.
SUNDAY
After a great bike I took the family to Scott's Corn maze. http://www.longandscottfarms.com/fall_maze.html It was a bit hot - but it turned out to be a blast working our way through the complex maze looking for all the checkpoints.
It had been nearly 2 1/2 years since the last Florida Coast to Coast. When Julie Ardoin (partner in last C2C and Primal Quest 2008) called I knew it was time to get moving. We were joined by Mitch and Joe (also alias Jim, John, and a whole host of other names I called him by during the race) who were both newcomers to long course racing, and crew Johnny, Jamie, and Ellie Sheriff.
We arrived Wednesday with enough time for dinner and then the 8 PM pre-race and notification that the race would start the next morning at 4 AM. Since I was fully expecting to spend a long night plotting and then up early - this was no surprise. Good news is that the first leg (a 7 mile run) would be in darkness and more important cool weather. After map-marking the team was able to get to sleep around midnight, I packed and had everything ready to go so that I could simply get up and head outside for the race in the morning. Good thing, too since I woke up at 3:35 and the team were all still completely asleep. We still made it outside in time for the pre-race and after the pre-race we were off and running.
Leg 1 -
This was the most uneventful leg. I am still amazed at how many teams really rush the first leg. We decided we would run this leg (as did most of the other teams). The cool weather, easy terrain (road), and easy pace made this a very enjoyable morning run. In just about one hour we covered the 7 miles and arrived at the TA where our crew had the boats ready by the water. This was going to be a long paddle. We had done this one in a past C2C - needless to say Lake Rousseau was not my favorite paddle - mostly because the last time I paddled it I ended up swimming twice due to the abundance of submerged trees and logs. We took the prescribed route down the canal, south on the Withlacoochee, and into Lake Rousseau. The paddle actually went quite well (still a couple of bumps). The weather was good and we saw and chatted with a few teams along the route. After passing Dunnelon - we headed north up the Rainbow River, one I had not paddled before. Beautiful clear water - nice breeze, simply great paddling. At the Rainbow Spring springhead - Mitch got to go for a little swim, and retrieved a punch that was underwater in the spring. We would paddle downstream about 1 mile and then start the next section - the tubing section.
The tubing section was going to be fun. We had about 4 teams that all had about a 15 minute lead on us at the boat to tube TA. We figured out a way to link the tubes together to make it a "kinda boat" - and sure enough before we got the bike TA, we had caught up. This section was a ton of fun - and we were really happy with the way the race had been going.
Once the next leg started - it was going to get interesting; coming up next, the first bike leg, we estimated the time to complete 6-7 hours, the actual time would be much closer to 12. It started out quite well, we got into a good bike line and headed for Pruitt Trailhead. An easy right turn and and a left we were on the trail. Pruitt Trail is a nicely packed limestone road that goes nearly all the way to Santos. The first control was at the same location as the 2008 C2C. It only took a short while in that race, and we were in and out of the control in minutes. We were back onto the trail and heading for the next CP (OP USARA). I had measured the distance my attack point at 2.2 km so when my odometer hit the distance we stopped and took a quick look around. Based om the map the control should have been on the north side of the trail and visible. Nothing. We moved on about 100 meters, searched, no control. We kept this up for about 30 minutes and soon other teams started to show up. We saw Green Paw (who we had passed at the last control go by - they had found it). We kept at it for another 30 minutes, still no CP. At this point I knew we would need a different approach, looking at the (vague) contours on the map. Using this we searched south of the trail and soon found the control and were on the way to the next one.
The next CP (OP Adventurous Concepts) also looked challenging and it was. We met up with Super Frogs who had been looking for it, and led them back to the location. It was also challenging and we were soon joined in the search by Scurvy Knaves and Pangea. We did find it, and I also convinced Greg (Pangea) and Jim (Scurvy Knaves) to go back to the previous control that they had not found. We moved on and headed to the Quarry (picking up another CP on the way) where Elias told us we could move on to the next CP. We headed that way - it was in the tangle of trails that is Santos - the clue was the sinkhole near the corner of Dr. Ruth and Cow Bone. Since the provided map was useless we simply headed that direction (generally) and asked riders we passed if they knew those trails (most of which did).
Now here is something about Santos and Ocala. Even though it is a small community (compared to Orlando). This is probably because it has an awesome mountain bike area. Moral of that story - we need more mountain bike parks in Orlando. OK now on to our story...
OP Howl at the Moon was supposedly near the intersection, and the description (in Sinkhole) seemed obvious since there was an awesome and obvious sinkhole near the intersection. We searched. More teams arrived, and we searched. After 90 minutes it started to get dark and I realized that searching the sinkhole would be impossible in the dark. We moved on going north on Dr. Ruth - we were bailing. As we moved north we crossed a second intersection of Dr. Ruth and Cow Bone, and Sinkhole trail was also near this intersection - so we spent another 30 minutes searching Sinkhole trail and that intersection. Eventually we bailed on that control too. We headed for the ropes - where we ran into all the other teams we had been searching with. They had taken Cowbone north and told us the CP was literally on the trail.
We did the climb (which I always enjoy). Since I had rigged a Froggy Style ascent I moved quickly up the rope. Since I was frustrated by the control searches - I was determined to "corner the ledge" without help. This is making it up the last 4-5 yards of the ascent without assistance - which are always challenging. I made it and was back in pretty good spirits after the rappel back down. The ropes were on a massive (40-50 ft) bridge abutment that was going to be part of the barge canal that never happened. It was a really cool place for a ropes course.
About the ropes course
Just south of Santos are several bridge stanchions, built in 1936 for a never completed bridge over the never completed cross Florida barge canal.
Teams ascended up 45' on one of six ropes we had setup in the middle of the ledge, then moved to one of two rappelling ropes on each end of the ledge to get back down. The first team came through about 5pm on Thursday and the last about 7am on Friday. Between 9pm and 11:30PM Thursday we were very busy, having at times, six racers ascending concurrently.
We went back to get the missed CP - and sure enough it was right on Cow Bone trail. As we headed back out there was a trail stopped on the tracks. We ended up going around, and getting back on the course. At this point I'll make a long story short. The next 2 controls were sheeer disasters. We never found either one - even though one should have been incredibly easy. Some other teams came by - but they decided to not even try to get these. After 2+ hours searching for OP Mighty Dog with Manny and Lori from Nature Calls, we finally decided to head straight to the TA and even skip the 2 bikewhack controls. This was a low point for the team, but I figured some food and rest in the TA would help us out - and it did. From here we portaged to the Silver River, flew through the paddle, exiting and portaging the 3+ miles back to the TA. We were in such good spirits that we asked if we could go back on the bike and pick up the 4 controls we had skipped. Elias said we could, but they would not count - so instead we prepared for the the next leg - a really LONG trek.
Things would get more interesting - We would be the 4th team out the TA, shortly after Pangea, Green Paw, and the Dominican team all of which which had so far cleared the course.
Here is a map of the Silver River area, TA, Bikewhack, and paddle.
It was about 9:15 when we headed out on the trek. Since the approximate distance was 25 miles we were calculating about 7-8 hours to complete the trek which would put us in around 5-6 PM within the daylight hours. It started off well, the first part of the trek was all road and there was no significant navigation. we easily found the turn leading to Lake George. Here I could tell our pace slowed significantly slowed on the trails. It also turns out that the trails it was on were not on the map, though the trail leading towards it were not.
We ran into Pangea (who had been searching for a while here) - while we were searching a few more teams arrived including Scurvy Knaves. This one just required deduction from the clue (Intersection of Forest Roads) - we narrowed in on it by staying right on the trail network - which worked fine. Leaving the control and heading north we had a major water crossing - so our feet were going to be wet. About the point the socks and feet dried out, we had another water crossing. This is also where Pangea (who we had passed) caught up to us. They were having some team issues at the time (it happens) - but they obviously resolved them as they took off at a fast pace heading out towards forest road 86 (Hopkins Prairie Road). As we approached the road from the trail we had to cross a large dirt mound to get to the road. My team asked me why the large mound. They had just seen a TV special on the pythons in Florida so I said "It keeps the pythons off the Florida Trail - maybe we'll see some on the road". I had them believing this for a while, but eventually they figured out I was joking,
This road (just follow it on the map) went on forever. About half-way through the trek we did have a water drop. This was good for 2 reasons (1) we were out of water, and (2) it gave us a mental break from the long endless trek. By the time we reached the water, both my feet and Mitch's feet were in bad shape - his worse than mine. We had been reduced to hobbling along at about 2 mph. I had already abandoned the idea of going for the next control and we were simply focused on getting to the TA. About 1/2 mile east of the water - a truck pulled up to us. It was the medical crew for the race (THANKS ROY !!). They had ice for our water - really - ice ! and they also patched up our feet. I now knew that we would make it to the TA and even going for the second CP was again an option.
As we approached the turn for the second CP I polled the team. We had been out on the course more than 9 hours (approaching 10). Pangea and 2 other teams had passed us and had disappeared into the distance. We were still moving incredibly slow, the feet were really hurting and I know I was feeling serious leg fatigue. We decided to head straight to the TA. We walked and walked and walked and it seemed like the road went on forever. We finally arrived around 8:30 PM - almost 12 hours of trekking. The team was beat and there was no way we would be able to keep everyone solid without some sleep.
We ate, got rehydrated, and took about 90 minutes of sleep in the TA. When I woke up I felt like I had gotten a solid 8 hours - really! I was eager to get on the bikes, and we were soon off. Mitch was still sleepy so we put him on the front of the bike line - and he took off. We hit SR19 and were doing 21-23 mph. We flew to SR 40, took the left and headed east - still flying along. The turn into Lake George WMA was easy to find, and we soon caught up with team Nature Calls. We both had agreement as to the location of the next CP (OP Hammer Nutrition). We both agreed that the control was somewhere Northwest of the intersection of 2 easily identified forest roads - as it plotted obviously on that corner. So we searched. I found trails - so I searched them. We searched the field. We searched the forest behind the field. We searched the culvert and ditch. I finally had enough and called Dennis on the phone. He reminded me that he had said it would be on the northeast (northEAST) corner near the intersection. After that it took a few minutes (and a reminder from Manny what northeast means) to find the control. This was a major "Argh!" - but we had found the control and headed out. Manny was feeling bad - so we headed on and out to US 17.
Now Mitch was falling asleep on the bike. If I could find him some coffee he knew he would be OK until daylight. I had just finished my last caffeine from my pack, so our only option was to find this on US 17. We checked out every store, but did not find one open until the corner of 17 and 92, which I knew would have something open at 4:30 AM on a Saturday.
The next control was a breeze, on a kiosk and easy to find. We nailed it and moved northeast on US 92 to the entrance to Rima Ridge. As a team we were starting to fatigue, Mitch was fighting sleepmonsters, and I was frustrated with the team for no particular reason other than just feeling grumpy. At one point heading for OP CFAR - Julie and I sat staring off the road.
Ron: "That is our trail".
Julie: "Ron, that is not a trail".
Ron: "Julie, really that is our trail, we need to go that way".
Julie: "Ron, there is nothing there."
We looked at the non-trail for about 10 minutes, when I decided to bike on it - and yes it was a trail. It just did not look like one.
We easily nailed OP CFAR and moved on with a group of teams towards the TA. The sun was coming up and being a very regular guy (if you know what I mean) - I needed to use a bathroom. About the same time I thought this we came upon a port-o-let. How lucky is that?
Another couple of miles we were in the TA where we heard that Green Paw was out and Pangea was in the lead. No explanation, just that a team member had bonked about 3 miles from the TA and they were out. I knew them and knew it had to be serious for them to be dropped at this point in the race. We could not worry about this - it was time to bike the final 5 miles to the Tomoka River and the next to last leg of the race, the Tomoka Paddle from SR 40 to High Bridge.
This was a beautiful morning paddle and I wanted to do it in less than 3 hours. The river was very calm and beautiful and I had done this paddle a few times before. To keep the boats together Mitch and I hitched a rope onto Julie and Joe and they were able to get a little bit of tow - which also allowed Julie some sleep. As we approached the intracoastal we had to disconnect the boats. Here you often get large boats flying up and down the river - the Pamlico has about 5-6 inches of water clearance. This is great for comfort and speed = but it means that if you have waves (and no spray skirt) you need to be able to maneuver the boat quickly to prevent a capsize. A xouple of boats gave us a challenge, but none of them pushed enough of a wake to prevent us from simply rolling with the waves. - We paddled hard and finished in 2:57.
It was a simple trek - 7.2 miles right down the beach. Running was really out of the question with Mitch's feet. We settled into a nice little walk. Along the route people asked what was going on and i would stop and explain the race. I would then run/jog to catch up. As it turns out running (for me) was much less painful than walking. I got into the habit of running up to the team, chatting with folks on the beach - running and catching back up, repeat. The 7 miles took us right around 2 1/2 hours to complete. Pizza and beer and sleep awaited us. We congratulated Pangea who had a well deserved win, never giving up and making the extra effort to clear the course.
It was a great race and a great time., My team was wonderful - Mitch was an awesome paddle buddy. Julie and I work great together, she keeps me from going loopy on the nav (even though it may look like I'm irritated, I still appreciate her making sure I am not doing something stupid). She and Joe made a great race pair. And our crew (Johnnie, Jamie, and Ellie) were the picture of awesomeness. When we hit the TA they were ready and anticipated everything we could need or want. I know that have 4 racers simultaneously wanting things - where are my batteries? do you have an apple? how about a pepsi? etc.... and we always had what we wanted.
See you next race !
P.S. Great post-race quote from Mitch. "Normally I don't like finisher medals for races - but holy shit I'm keeping this one!"
