| NGAR FUN? - WHY WASN'T HE RACING? |
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| Written by Earring Doug Judson |
| Sunday, 07 February 2010 09:01 |
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The tortoise officially beat the hares that year, so not only is it an intellectual race where you must decide the risk versus the rewards, but you must also manage mandatory time cutoffs, deal with the elements, but also risk that it is a race of attrition and race smart. Will you cross the finish line? Many have asked that question, and the answer is: not many do. The 2010 race proved to be no different. Out of 35 teams that toed the line only 5 finished the entire course with 15 dropping out all-together.  Race day dawned with cloudy skies and temperatures in the 30's which was a big relief as the previous week the highs were in the low 20's with snow and ice on the ground. Teams looked anxious as the forecast called for pouring rain, and high winds later in the day. Powerhouse teams such as Nuun and Tecnu Extreme/StaphAseptic from the west coast were in attendance as were both CP Tracker teams and others. It was nice to see such talent show up for an early season winter race and looked to be both challenging and competitive. At 9:08 a.m Saturday January 15th Race Director Tony Berwald sent the teams scrambling for a short running prologue to break up the teams, and the race and the suffering was underway. Finishing the prologue teams then jumped into their 3-person canoes, and headed out onto Carter Lake for a 3-4 hour paddle in 40 degree water. Oddly enough, Carter Lake was the backdrop for the book and eventual movie " Deliverance". Tecnu Extreme/StaphAseptic was first into the boats and headed out onto the lake with Nuun/Feed the Machine, and Enduradventure hot on their heels. After 3 hours of paddling Nuun exited in the lead with Tecnu Extreme/StaphAseptic having fallen back after an error on a portage made them lose some time on the front-runners. This would prove crucial later on in the race. Both Checkpoint tracker teams had moved into the mix in the top 5, and teams headed out on the first bike ride with dark clouds brewing on the horizon. Teams were struggling to find good lines to ride in as the somewhat warmer weather had made the course incredibly sloppy as melting ice and snow tore up the course. As the race progressed, the weather turned nasty, and by mid-day, torrential rain, and dropping temperatures prevailed. Teams started dropping, and as the sun disapeared the fog rolled in and teams were forced to hit CP's through dead reckoning as visibility had plummeted making visibility horrific. Going out into the last orienteering section both Tecnu Extreme/StaphAseptic and Nuun had made a mistake that had cost them hours, and local team Enduraventure had assumed the lead. Nuun looked weary and cold as they headed out over an hour behind the leaders, where-as Tecnu Extreme/StaphAseptic blazed into transition cutting into the leaders time, plotted their o-points quickly, and proceeded to do the orienteering section 50 minutes faster than anyone. In the end, Enduraventure prevailed with a time of 26:31 with Nuun finishing 50 minutes back. Tecnu Extreme/StaphAseptic rounded out the top three finishing in 28:14. Only two other teams would finish the entire course, with many remaining teams cutting much of the last orienteering section. The teams that finished, and even the ones that dared the course to beat them could be proud. The course did beat all that day, but it is in the pursuit of testing the boundaries of human endurance that is the sole reason why we endure the pain. Lets just hope that the mind forgets quickly." "Earring Doug Judson-Team Captain of Tecnu Extreme/StaphAseptic Adventure Racing
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| Last Updated on Sunday, 07 February 2010 15:43 |
"NGAR....North...Georgia...Adventure...Race!.....For anyone that's done this race, these words conjure up memories of suffering, freezing, and dealing with extreme winter conditions when others are inside looking to stay warm. This race has intrigued many top adventure racing teams to show up, toe the line, to find out what all the hype was.
