Bonk Hard Chill 2008

 

By Any Pele

 

This race was so much fun that I’m really excited to do another one. “Doc” Miller and “B-Rad” Miller were awesome navigators, taking us straight through the dense brush to our checkpoints. They inspired me to learn more about trekking through the woods in search of “hidden” checkpoints so that I can be more responsible for the navigation in the next race I do. In fact, Nicole has wanted me to race with her in one for a couple years and now I feel that I’m ready. However, one of us will need to learn how to steer a canoe first, so that neither of us gets thrown overboard by the other. One of the awesome aspects of an adventure race is working as a team: letting each member’s talents shine, wondering how best to help each other, and considering how best to keep everybody motivated and feeling good. I think team our team, Columbia Multisport Club, functioned especially well in all these areas and that accounts for how well we did, especially given that 2 of us are brand new to the sport. Another fun part of adventure racing is learning more about your teammates. I always knew that Amy Livesay was tough but after witnessing her fall several times on the single track mountain biking segment, without so much as a four letter word, I gained a whole new respect for her. Another fun part of the race was not knowing what you would be up against until the night before the race, having to plan your course that night, and having to think and make decisions on the go. We didn’t even receive clues to the last half of the race until we got to that point.  We had a hard time finding one of the checkpoints after dark set in. But what an awesome feeling when we set a dead reckoning course through the brush in the dark, following the compass directly to the next point.  I didn’t grow up playing in the woods. There weren’t any in my suburbia. But when I got old enough I started to love the outdoors, knowing where I was in it, being self sufficient in it, playing in it. During this race, I got to climb to the top of a fifteen foot rock outcrop to find a checkpoint, run down the middle of a creek to get another one, watch the sunlight glimmer on the surface of the lake, traverse a steep hillside with no trail in sight and a cliff not far below me, bomb down a steep road on my mountain bike at speeds that would make me nervous in daytime, only exhilarated by the darkness surrounding me, the sky full of winter stars and the sliver of a moon.  Of course it wasn’t all roses, unless though thorn clad stems that raked my legs and face were roses. It wasn’t fun thinking we might not find the second to the last checkpoint, or that we wouldn’t get back to “race headquarters” to restock our food and fluids, or that my arms were going to fall off when our canoe was bucking a stiff headwind, and hence making little headway. I wasn’t happy waiting for feeling to come back into my feet after I had gotten them wet and then stopped using them as we paddled across The Lake of the Ozarks. But if it weren’t for these “hardships,” where would the adventure be? Our mindset going into this race was that we were going to have fun and finish. Because Amy and I didn’t have enough bike fitness this early in the season and Brad was testing his limits again  on a long endurance course (It took him 3 attempts to finish an Ironman after succumbing to severe stomach issues,) we chose not to focus on racing competitively. Because of that attitude we were able to enjoy each other and the race itself so much more. We didn’t have the added stress of blaming each other or feeling responsible for not performing as well as “expected.” If any of you choose to do an adventure race, make sure the whole team agrees on how you will approach the race. Any of us could have been very frustrated at the Bonk Hard Chill if we had brought our normal triathlon PR (personal record) seeking ultra-competitiveness to this event. There’s nothing wrong with bringing that to adventure racing, just make sure everyone on the team brings it. For more info on this race see their website at www.Bonkhardracing.com .