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ECO-CHALLENGE: THE FINAL FRONTIER ... FINALLY!

(Mountain Bike racer teammate Chris Brown decided to try his hand' at multi-day, multi-sport, multi-pain Eco-Challenge racing. The following is his report on his first year at this endurance sport.)
From Chris Brown
Why do people mountain bike race? Because we can, or is it because we enjoy the pain endured over a two and one half-hour event. I can remember many races where during the first thirty minutes all I could hear in my head was "why do I do this again?" It is the mental and physical challenge to overcome the impossible that drives me to the finish line.
1999 was the year I decided that mountain bike racing was not enough pain, therefore I decided to try something different. I have always admired the Eco-Challenge races on TV and thought 'wow, that's pretty cool!", I could do that. So after surfing the web, I came up with a couple of two-day, nonstop Eco-Challenge races. Competitors are required to hike/run; paddle; rappel/climb; horseback ride; or any combination of the aforementioned while navigating a 100- 135 mile course.
My first race was The Endorphin Fix hosted by Odyssey Adventure Racing of New River Gorge, West Virginia. The 'E-Fix' is an unsupported race lasting two days and covering 125 miles. The competitors have to carry all of their equipment except for bike, canoe and paddle. I raced in the four-person coed division. The E-Fix began on Friday night, July 30 at 7:00 p.m. with gear check-in and pre-race briefing. After reviewing the maps and clue book, we plotted our course and waited for the race to begin at midnight.
The first leg was a 47 mile mountain bike ride on extremely rough and hilly forest service roads and single-track trails. My team arrived at the paddling transition at around 7:00 a.m. The next leg was a 2l mile white water canoe paddle down the New River Gorge through class 11 and class III rapids. We got to the run/hike transition area at 12:00 noon on Saturday just 12 hours into the race to begin a 25 mile hike/run over rough ground in the heat. The 95 degree temperature made unsupported water planning crucial to survival.
After seven hours of hiking the climbs and jogging the descents we reached the ropes transition. I had been looking forward to the 100 foot rope ascent but realized that the previous 19 hours had depleted my arm strength. I struggled to the top but not at top speed. What awaited us was a short one mile jog to the mountain bike transition. I thought surely my specialty event would be a welcomed relief. Wrong! The saddle sores I suffered the first night were excruciatingly painful with the added weight of my pack.
We straggled into the bushwhack transition area to begin bushwhacking the two miles into New River Gorge through heavy forest undergrowth carrying our mountain bikes. Once in the gorge, a full 32 hours into the race, we headed towards the finish line 15 to 20 miles uphill, finishing at 11:15 a.m. Sunday morning. We finished second place in our division and fourth overall with a time of 35 hours and 15 minutes. 13 teams out of 50 finished.
Since that first race I have competed in the E-Fix in late September and the Four Winds Mountain Range at Page/Lake Powell, Arizona on November 6-7. Both of these races were successful and I gained valuable experience. I would like to thank my sponsors BCA/ KeyTrak and Blue Water Ropes and Equipment for a great racing season.


NOC TSALI CHALLENGE TRIATHLON -MAY 22-23
The recent unusual multi-sport races got their start from multisport events such as the seventeen-year-old NOC Tsali Challenge near Bryson City, North Carolina. Staged by Nantahala Outdoor Center, this two-day triathlon on May 22 & 23, combines a four mile boat race on Fontana Lake, a five mile trail run on the right loop of Tsali and mountain biking on the twelve mile left loop of Tsali. The Saturday races featured open class men in the morning and Masters men and open women in the afternoon. Sunday featured team competition. There is no differentiation between professional and amateur categories so you race against the best in an unsanctioned event. There is a lot of fouling so I wouldn't recommend this race to the less than cavalier.
Robin Tanner and Tom Morris brought sea kayaks, mountain bikes and dogs to camp and race the events. There are accommodations near NOC on the Nantahala River but they don't accept pets therefore camping at Tsali was the only option.
The boat races are handicapped according to type of boats. The boats ranged from canoes to kayaks to a single rowing scull. Robin and Tom were in the 15-18 foot sea kayak category with a 9 minute 15 second handicap. Tom emerged from the paddle in twelfth place.
The 5 mile run portion was on hilly single track transitioning from the lake. The run enabled slow paddlers the opportunity to reel in slow runners. Tom used the opportunity to reel in four places for eighth.
The bike portion is what makes or breaks the race. He who rides well, places well. The Cane Creek Team fielded a dozen professional riders who won overall and placed well. Tom gave up two spots to finish tenth masters men out of 50 for a first effort.
Robin Tanner raced coed on Sunday on the running leg finishing fifth, just two slots out of the money. Her two male teammates were no match for Olympic paddlers, collegiate runners and professional mountain bike racers.

ACE BASIN TRIATHLON - Nov. 6, Green Pond, S.C.
Paddling triathlons are a lot of fun if you like multiple levels of strategy. Of all tri's, the extra added element of a boat in a river current subject to coastal tide changes and navigating by landmarks is more than just racing from point A to point B.
Limited to 250 racers, the ACE Basin Triathlon is staged on the banks of the Ashepoo river near Walterboro, South Carolina. The ACE Basin refers to the coastal drainage basin formed by the Ashepoo, Combehee and Edisto rivers. The races are broken down into individual open class kayak; individual open class canoe; male and female team canoe and coed canoe. Teams require three individuals to contest a six mile paddle, a four mile cross country run and a twelve mile road bike time trial. Robin Tanner and Tom Morris opted fort he individual open class sea kayak division.
The start of the paddle was at the rear of Airy Hall Ante-bellum Plantation. The plantation cultivated rice which came to be known as Carolina Gold during the 18th and 19th century. The paddle was downstream toward the ocean in what should be a following sea but turned out to be an incoming fast tide. Paddling times compared to last year were much slower.
The transition to running was past a bridge and across the highway to a cross country course through pastures and forest and around the backyard of the airy Hall plantation house. The run was all flat.
The bike leg was the most fun. It was a flat and fast twelve miles of reeling in paddlers and runners.
Robin finished second woman overall and Tom finished fourth male overall and first in masters 45-49.

Georgia State Road Championships - Oct. 26

Dion Condrey- 3rd- Cat 4 road race
Lee Redfern -7th - Cat 4 road race


Three Ring Circus Mountain Bike Race - Nov. 21

Sponsored by BCA and directed by Andy Johnston

Mike Murphey -1st - Open Expert Senior 19-34 - 3 laps
Brian Shirk - 1st - Expert Junior 14-18 - 3 laps
Rich Tillotson - 2nd - Expert Junior 14-1 8 - 3 laps
Brady Rogers - 1st - Sport Senior 19-34 - 2 laps
Andrew Mullen - 1st - Sport Junior 13-18 - 2 laps