Running leg – 6.8km in 54 mins
Canoeing leg – 10.7km in 1hr40mins
Running / bushwhacking leg – 14.7km in 2hrs58mins
MTB leg – 42.8km in 5hrs42mins
Approx 75 kms in 11hrs 14mins. Finished 4th of 37 teams.
Long Version
Pre-amble
The LBL Challenge (Land Between the Lakes) is held in that state park in Kentucky and is a Bonk Hard racing event – a quality event. This region was devastated by an ice storm a couple months back and they are still feeling the effects. While driving in, most of the treetops were sheared off and a lot of trees up rooted. Based on the pre-race briefing the Parks Service put clearing the single track for this race at the top of the priority list (and it definitely showed…) There are two races run at this event a 12 and 24 hour. We chose to do the 12-hr. We were team Wounded Warrior Project (here) and made up of Eric, ‘Stick’, Dave (his first adventure race (AR)), and me.
Pre-race
Dave was driving up from Florida on Thursday evening / Friday morning. Stick has his own plane so he and Eric flew down and picked me up. We crammed all of our AR gear (and Eric) in the back. What would have been a 5-ish hour drive became a one-hour flight. It was very cool and he even let me fly most of the way there.
Gear is already to go…
Eric jammed in…
A full plane…
Me, Eric, and Stick…
Me flying…
Met up with Dave, went for dinner, and back just in time for the pre-race meeting (really nice North Face technical tee – nicest race tee I own). No real big surprises. Back to the room, marked the map, plan the route, and in bed by 11pm.
Up at 5am, dressed, and in the van by 5:40. The start line was about 5 minutes from the hotel but we had to drive about 8km past the start to pre-position our bikes at the bike transition area (TA). We got the start line by about 6:30, quick washroom break, downed a Hammer gel, US national anthem, and the ‘go’ was given at 7am sharp…
Running Leg (6.8 km / 54 mins)
This leg was pretty short but did have some issues on CP 2. My original plan was to follow the trail we were on but I changed my mind midway and it cost us at least 20 minutes (note to self stick with the plan…) Once we picked up CP 2, it was a pretty easy run to the canoes at CP 3…
Canoeing Leg (10.7 km / 1hr 40 mins)
…Both Eric and I had our own paddles which we had to carry up to this point. We quickly put the paddles together and jumped in the canoes. Navigation was fairly simple on this leg – follow all the canoes in front of you… By this time of the morning it was getting quite warm and wish I could take my arm warmers off but just kept paddling. No major issues, but by the time we got to CP 6, it was good to get out of the canoes. My butt was sore and my legs were a bit stiff from sitting in the canoe…
Running / bushwhacking Leg (14.7 km / 2hrs 58 mins)
… a quick transition with a couple of washroom breaks, Eric and I dropped off our paddles and we were off. These next 9 CPs could be done in any order (and most of it bushwacking…). After looking at the map a lot Friday night we had a plan but were able to adjust depending on the terrain. In some places it was really hard going with all the downed trees but due to the time of the year there wasn’t a lot of under brush which was a life saver. There was a gravel road that split the CPs during this leg but it wasn’t any easier going on the road with the downed trees. One slight navigation issue on what should have been the easiest CP (CP 14). I wasn’t paying close enough attention to the map and went down the wrong spur. Not a major time loss but frustrating nonetheless. After this CP, it was a nice road run in to jump onto our bikes…
MTBing Leg (42.8km / 5hrs42min)
… at the TA, they checked our gear to make sure we had everything. We took a bit more time at this CP (12 – 15 mins) to eat, drink, and strap the trail shoes on the packs. The first part of this leg was on the road. A couple of nice down hills but also one nice climb. The next leg was on like a logging road, down to a substation, dismount the bikes and haul them through 200m of nasty woods (lots of downfall) to CP 18 and then another 200m through a stream and even nastier woods to the road on the other side.
The next few kms was hard going. Lots and lots of downed trees. It felt like were dismounting every 30 secs. We eventually got onto the single track (it was in better condition that the roads as far as down fall was concerned – the Parks Services did a great job). When we got to CP 20, Dave was out of water so he filled it up from the stream and threw in some iodine tablets. The next few kilometres was on some nice single track along the lake shore – pretty easy going. We jumped off the single track for a bit to grab CP 21 before getting back in the trail for a long stretch.
About 2 kms into this section we had a mechanical issue. A limb got into Eric’s spokes and snapped his rear derailleur. He thought we were done for the day (I thought we were done for the day) but Stick was able to remove what remained of the derailleur, remove some links from his chain and turn his bike into a Single Speed – amazing. After about 30 mins we were back in action – yeah Stick. The whole time we are dealing with this, only one team passes us (a team we have been leap frogging for most of the day) so we are wondering if we have taken the best route or not. We continue on… for the rest of the race Eric is stuck in one gear so on the serious climbs he has to walk them. No worries at least we were going to finish – unlike what we though initially.
After CP 22 we were able jump on a good road and then on a paved bike trail. There is a major road that runs down the LBL called The Trace but it was out of bounds to us but were allowed to use this pave path that followed the trace for a km or so. We followed the paved trail to a Visitor’s Information Centre (that was thankfully open) and were able to refill our water bottles for the final leg (all single track). All the single track was in great shape. Not extremely technical but still had some pretty good ascents and descents and you could get some pretty good speed on the flats. The last CP before the finish was CP 23 which was the same as CP 2 (where we had the problems at the beginning of the day). We had been there before so there was no way we would mess this up, right? Wrong… We got on the wrong spur again. As we are coming back down from the wrong spur (in disbelief) there is a team coming up the spur (presumably they think we are in the right spot... but we aren’t). Mum’s the word and off we go to the right spot. As we are on the last few kms to the finish, 2 or 3 more teams are heading in the opposite direction as they missed CP 23. Comforting to know we weren’t the only team. We finish 4 abreast and in pretty good spirits…
Post Race
Final time was 11hrs14mins with a total distance of about 75 kms. We finished 4th overall (out of 37 teams). Pretty pleased with our result especially considering the mechanical problem and some nav errors. After we cross the finish line, Eric picks his bike up and when he does, his back tire falls off – thankfully we were done… A couple of team photos and then hunkered down on the best baked potato and cola I have ever tasted
Dave, Stick, Me, Eric at the finish
Obviously a lot of teams struggled. When we left there was only about 9 or 10 of the 37 teams that had finished… tough day out there, I guess.
Final Thoughts…
Nutrition / hydration. Consumed about 8 scoops of Perpetuem and one Hammer gel. Along with a 70oz Camelbak of water, I also consumed a 24oz water bottle. Every hour I took a Succeed tablet and an Anti-fatigue capsule. Energy level felt pretty good all day and could have gone longer and harder. I think once or twice I had a hunger pain but downed some Perp and it went away. No issues with cramping despite it being a warm day (low twenties, I would say).
Navigation. A couple of mistakes by me cost us some time. Really need to pay closer attention to details. My mistakes cost us valuable time and added on unneeded distance.
Bike parts. Considering what we have seen the last two races, I think it is worth carrying some extra bike parts just in case. The last AR two teams busted pedals and this race a number of teams (including us) busted derailleurs. I will definitely relook at the bike parts I bring for the next race. I think derailleur and a couple extra chain links will be on the list.
Trail shoes. This was my first AR wearing my new pair of LaSportiva Fireblades. Loved them. They are light weight and drained really well after going through the number of streams (and they are orange). No issues with blisters. I have tried a number of different trail shoes and have never been completely satisfied until now…
Recovery. Overall the body feels pretty good. The sun burn and scratches (it looks like I have been attacked by a rabid squirrel) on my arms and legs hurt the most.
Losing a team mate. I have been adventure racing with Eric for the past year and a half and this may have been our last race together. He his posted this summer from Fort Leavenworth to Nellis AFB (just outside Las Vegas). He is going to a region that has a lot of adventure races so hopefully we can link up again because he is a lot of fun to race with.
Keeping a team mate. I have only raced with Stick twice and thought this would be our last opportunity to race together as his course in Fort Leavenworth (like Eric) ends this summer but thankfully he is staying on an extra year so I have a good racing partner for the next year… yay. I think we are a good match. Fitness level and competitive spirit are about the same – we push one another quite well… which could prove dangerous. We both want to make the next step beyond the 12-hr races and finger’s crossed we will do the 36-hr Berryman AR in September together. Training starts now…
Thanks for reading. You deserve a baked potato
Holy cr@p batman .. Congratulations, on a wild and wacky endurnce adventure race 
. Thanks for sharing! I love your race reports!