Sylamore Hardcore

August 27, 2005
By Carrie Sona

The drive to Mountain Home, AR seemed short compared to our last race commute of 9 hours. We arrived at the Ramada Inn with lots of time to spare. We received all but 5 of our 29 plots after dinner and the race meeting. There is a small field but plenty of quality teams and not a newbie in the group. Race start was to be a prologue on foot at 0600. We went back to our room and started plotting. 1st CP, race start, ends up in the middle of the lake. We are mildly concerned but keep doing the rest of the controls and will go find Wes, the race director, after we are done to clarify. The rest of the controls seem okay so I go ask Wes about the start and he says it is the same as the finish and to ignore the plot.

It looks like we will paddle about 29 miles with 2 orienteering sections where we dock the boats. At CP 5 one person gets out to do an ascent while the others paddle about a mile to pick up our teammate. After the paddle a 6.5-7 mile run with our paddles back to TA onto bikes for 30 miles of biking and then to the finish line. We don't see how we can be out all night but are prepared for anything. We sleep pretty well and go to the start line in the am.

David looks around at the start and is perplexed that the start/finish plot is not consistent with our position on the shore. No one else seems to notice. He asks Wes who replies there used to be a gazebo that we were going to start at that was no longer there. We get a little more nervous. Race start is a short run to an out building where we receive a plot that we must mark and then find on foot and then return to the boats for a long day of paddling. One of the other prologue points is cancelled. We head out in good position and start to the control. We struggle to find the control and go down a steep cliff to the waters edge and realize it must be on top. We find it and head to the canoes in 5th. Not the start we had hoped for.

We have 2 gallons of water and a food bag in the canoe which turns out to be a great idea. However, we still had to purify plenty- HOT day. Into the water in 4th and with my first paddle stroke perched nicely on top of a milk crate with a PFD on top we nearly tip the boat. I get rid of the PFD and just sit on the crate. The controls on the water come pretty easy but they have a nice strategy of teams having the 1st 2 in different order to prevent blindly following other teams. At CP 3 we get into 3rd followed by CP4 and 5- no problem. We get to CP5/ascent, minutes behind Lab Rats. We all run to the control to avoid the long around the island paddle and then back in the boats to pick up Jeff. They sent their girl and David and I paddle to the pickup slightly ahead of them. When we get there Jeff is just arriving and we are now in 2nd at CP 6.

Long paddle to CP7, short to CP 8- out of the water for orienteering to 2 spots where we receive the plot to 9 in an envelope at the manned CP and then directions to CP 10 at CP 9. At CP 9 we see the lead team heading out. We see them in the woods and at the control. We leave the woods at the same time and they beat us to CP 10 and back in the water they were paddling minutes ahead of us. Short paddle to 11 for 3 more orienteering points which we hit cleanly but we don't see them again until we are back in the boats about 10 minutes up on us.

To CP 15 for a portage that they dared you to do based on CP 16 being placed at the top of the hill. I shove the trash in our packs before we get to shore and carry the paddles and milk crate while Jeff and David hoist the canoe. I try to guide them to avoid impenetrable trees they keep ramming but I am laughing so hard I can't speak. I feel like Steve Martin in The Jerk. I don't need anything, except this milk crate, and these paddles, and I need this PFD... You get the idea. Back in the water to 17 and we can see the 1st place team, Bike Seller on the shore. They seem to be picking a difficult route over the steep bank and then woods and we are delighted as we plan to run the road. We take out, REALLY DONE WITH PADDLING, 15 minutes back. Running the road for a while we finally spot them not far ahead. They don't see us for a while but when they do they really kick it up. We are both running the flats and downs and walking the ups. We don't get sucked into their speed and keep telling ourselves to run our own race. If they can keep that pace we will shake their hands and say well done. It was a long, hot road run and we are all out of water by the time we get to the TA. They arrive 6 minutes ahead of us and we head out of the TA on bikes 4 minutes behind them.

We take a route to CP 20 that took us past the control on Hwy 101 on good road that is longer but better road and then back the same road. We never see Bike Seller so we are in the lead. On to 21 and then 22 we are still in the lead. It was good while it lasted as we take a wrong turn. David notices our mistake and we fix it but it puts us back in 2nd. CP 23 and 24 are out and back and we exchange pleasantries with Bike Seller as we pass back and forth. We become resigned to the fact that we may be racing for 2nd but still plan to race hard and see what happens. The route that takes us out of the tough biking and onto better roads for the last of it is a long climb up a gravel road. We are almost to the top and we get to some cabins where some nice people are yelling at us to see if we want to get a drink from the hose or want a coke. We fill up our bladders, hose off in water that is so cold it takes our breath away but hurts so good. Back on the bikes and start back up. We go not 20 yards from our haven, turn a corner and there they are changing a flat. We can't believe we have been wasting time when they have been right there. We tell them sorry about the flat, make sure they don't need anything and head out with new energy. CP 25- no problem and onto RP 1 which is a get off the bike and hike into the woods for a control and then back to bikes. We see them as we get close to RP 1 and they are walking their bikes down the hill, leading us to believe they have another flat. We pedal for our lives to RP1. Head out through 3-4 thicket walls leaving us all scratched but David takes us straight to the control through fields, a couple of creeks and then back to the bikes. We see Bike Seller going in as we are coming out. We again tell them sorry about their flats and they are nice and say, "It's part of racing." One of their guys says he is hurting. We aren't sure if we believe them or not. Taking no chances we run the field and get back to the bikes. Heading out of the woods we see the 3rd place team, Dynamic Earth heading into RP1. The target on our back is feeling very large.

About 12 miles of good road back to the finish. CP 27 is at a bridge which is kind of hard to see but Jeff spots it and we are on our way. Shortly thereafter the road is paved and it feels good. CP 28 is at the top of a hill- not tricky and we keep turning back to see if anyone is coming. David tells us to quit worrying. One more CP and then the finish. We are heading past the turn into the campground for the finish as the control appears to be after the turn but I spot it hanging from a sign before the turn and yell out to Jeff and David to STOP. We get it and pedal to the finish. The road to the campground is the same one we rode in the car to the start so we know the way but it sure seems longer on the bike. We cross the line in 1st. Our support crew (Leonard and Joyce) are jumping up and down. Team Dynamic Earth takes 2nd about 30 minutes later and Bike Seller gets 3rd. We find out after they cross that one of their guys was cramping and struggling. We pushed hard all day and are happy to have won.