TCOPE Race Report
CALLEVA 10 HOUR ADVENTURE RACE
The Summary
The GOOD news is that I finished and felt pretty damn good. I didn’t get hurt, my equipment worked, and my training and preparation proved I was ready………
The BAD news is that during the race I lost my checkpoint card during the initial trekking leg and because of that did not get credit for 5 check points (a total of 2.5 hours of bonus time!!!) plus I got a penalty of 1 hour for losing it!!! Right there I took a hit to my time of 3.5 hours…….
Would of/Could of means that if I hadn’t lost that checkpoint card I would have finished 6th overall. That would have made my day. Oh well….
Here’s my time breakdown
Total Time: 8hrs and 51minutes
Bonus Time: 5hrs and 55minutes
Adjusted Time: 2hrs: 56 minutes
Penalty Time: 1 hour
Gross Time = 3hrs and 56 minutes
Checkpoint Forfeitures: 2hrs and 30 minutes
Adjusted Gross Time: 6hrs and 26 minutes
So on to the race report but first a bit on adventure racing.
This past Sunday was the Calleva 10 hour Adventure Race. For those not familiar with adventure racing the format is a multi-discipline race format featuring running/trekking, kayaking and mountain biking.
Before the start of the race you have no idea
1. What order the disciplines will come
2. The total distance of each discipline
3. The course itself (meaning the course is not marked)
The progression is entirely by land navigation using maps provided and your land nav skills and compass to checkpoints along the way to gain bonus time. The checkpoints are optional and you have to make tactical decisions on how long it will take you get to the checkpoint and the bonus involved. When you get to the checkpoint there is a special marker that you stamp your checkpoint card with to prove you got there and found the point. Sometimes they are hidden in trees or creeks.
Just a quick note here as well. I raced this course Solo and would have came in 6th place. The majority raced as teams of 2 which means you’ve double the set of eyes on the course, double the minds in calculating distances, someone to hold the maps and navigate and someone to punch the CP cards, ect……. Believe me being out there solo can be a lonely experience. Especially when doubt starts setting in……… “hmmm, maybe I should have taken that trail a half mile back……. Should I turn around???” You get the picture.
Here's how the race transpired and the estimated distances
Leg 1: Canoe to Start
Canoe to start point across the Potomac river from Maryland to Virginia:
Distance: 1 mileLeg 2: Orienteering and Trekking
Orienteering/Trekking: 5 checkpoints worth 2.5 hours of time deductions. I got all 5 points but as I said up here lost my CP card and forfeited all the deductions. This was hell because you had to carry your pack, bike helmet, and floation device. Obviously the easiest way was to wear them and that was hot and uncomfortable.
Distance: 5 miles
Leg 3: Mt. bike Mountain Biking and Challenge Course: The bike course had one mandatory checkpoint and 5 others based on the course you selected. Total time bonus of 2.5 hours plus another 30 minutes if you completed the challenge course. I nailed all the points and was flying on the bike. The course varied from gnarly single track to asphalt country roads. I crashed on a flat section of the single trail (hit a root) and banged up my knee a bit but it didn’t slow me down. On the way back to the transition area I stopped at the Challenge course. To get 30 minutes bonus you had to cross this pond on this crazy rope bridge which made you stretch from rope to rope. I decided not to try this. One I thought it might take more than 30 minutes. Two, I thought if I fell in the pond I’d be miserable. Three, I thought my heart rate would go into zone 5 the entire time. I took a pass and settled for 2.5 hours reduction.
Distance: 10 miles
Leg 4: Trek
Back to trekking. From the transition area we were given new directions and maps to move back to the Potomac River. When I got to the mandatory check in point I was instructed to empty my pack and prove I had all the required gear. I did and then was told to cross the river by swimming and or wading where the water was low. The current wasn’t too bad so I elected to try and wade with my pack overhead. I got across the river and there was a kayak waiting for me.
Distance: 2 miles
Leg 5: Kayak
During my training I had trained on 14-16 foot kayaks. This was a little dinky 8 foot white water kayak and I could barely get into it!!
Luckily I had brought some straps cause I strapped my pack to the top and squeezed in and took off. The smaller kayaks did not track well and until I got the hang of it I was doing spins in the river! I finally got it under control and nailed 2 check points on these different islands. I then moved to Transition area where I dumped the kayak and PFD. My food valve had been dragging in the river the whole way and I was a bit scared of giardia so dug in my pack for some hard food to keep my energy. On that note I should say that I planned my nutrition as follows:
On my pack:
1 insulated bottle with 3 hours of Perpetuem inside mixed with water
One 3litre water pack filled with water and Enduralytes
Extra perpetuem
Some granola bars
3 gel flasks
On my bike
1 water bottle with 3 hours of Perpetuem
1 gel flask
One 24 ounce water bottle with frozen Gatorade
Distance: 5 Miles
Leg 6: Trekking and Finish
After leaving the kayak transition area I made a decision to go for all 5 checkpoints. I needed more time desparately to counter the lost CP card and time. If I do say so myself I nailed the navigation and picked up the points in rapid succession. I navigated mostly through drainage streams and was in the water a majority of the time. I was watching the time as well cause I needed to make sure I had enough time to get back to the finish before the 10 hour cut off. I was fine and after hitting the final check point I was at a little over 7 hours..
After feeling cocky about my navigation prowness I made a major route planning blunder. After hitting the last CP my plan was to get down to the canal and follow the tow path back to the finish. Easy Peasy Chicken Weasy…… Well, I got to the canal and I forgot one key thing: You can’t cross a canal unless there’s a fucking BRIDGE!!!
So quick change of plans. I decided to parallel the canal and see what happens. I did that and to the south of the canal there appeared a small path. I started following it. It soon became clogged with deadfall and I had to continue to climb higher on the cliffs to get around it. I made a decision to swim the canal but when I tried to wade out as far as I could the mud sucked my shoes almost off and I didn’t want my obituary stating TCOPE drowns in 8 feet of water with shoes stuck to the bottom. I came out and decided to climb the cliffs. It took forever and I got up and finally found a trail system to get me heading west and back to the finish.
Distance: 6 miles
All in all a great day. I’m looking for a partner now for a 24 hour race. Any takers???????
