Castlewood "8 Hour" Adventure Race

Sat morning, December 6th, 4 am. Wake up time for the Bonk Hard Castlewood 8 hr Adventure Race. Ken, Jill, Marc and I all stayed together the night before the race, packed our packs together, and plotted the checkpoints that we had already received. When I took a peek outside at 4 am, I saw a very light dusting of snow covering the lawns, streets, and houses. Oh boy. I wouldn’t be honest if I didn’t say that thoughts of, "What in the H*%^ am I doing this race for?" didn’t pop into my head...... And stayed there for a while.
We headed to Castlewood at 5 am, and passports and additional maps were given out at 5:30 am. We staged our bikes near the Race HQ pavilion and were informed that we were all going to be bused to a remote unknown location. The buses arrived at 6 am and proceeded to take us on a drive out I-44. It seemed like the bus ride was 40 minutes long. I was halfway expecting to see a highway sign reading, " Rolla, 20 miles."Fortunately, we exited in Eureka, took some backroads and arrived at the race start area about 6:40. While many racers from STL may have had an idea where we were, our team had no clue where this bus trip just took us. We stood for the national anthem, and then Marc lined up to run out to two designated volunteers and brought back our clue sheets and UTM coordinates for additional plotting. Ken plotted the CP’s onto the map and off we went on a short trek to the first leg of the race, a paddling leg at 7 am with freezing temperatures.

This paddling leg ended up being about 8-10 miles I believe. There was an orienteering course mixed in there too. We did it without any major problems.
Once we pulled over to the takeout, we had a mandatory gear check, and then transitioned to trek, hitting CP’s 6 through 13. We were doing well until we moved from CP 7 to CP 8. We had major problems finding CP 8, which turned out to be right inside a tunnel going under the RR tracks in a remote area of Castlewood State Park. I won’t go into all of the details of the "CP 8 fiasco," but it cost us time, A LOT of time. Once we finally found CP 8, we easily and quickly hit CP’s 9 through 13. But we were morally defused at that point. It was a defining and testing moment for our team to say the least. Frustrations were setting in, having teams that you were way ahead of begin passing you, etc. Every adventure racing team has dealt with moments like this, and it really tests the team factor to see what every individual is made up of, as well as testing the collective team unit itself. We responded by sucking it up and trekking faster and harder. We noticed some teams beginning to walk and were ‘hitting the wall,’ but we pressed on pretty hard and we all felt pretty strong still.
We arrived back at Race HQ, transitioned to the mountain bike and hit CP’s 14 through 29 pretty much without any problems. We then went out on a final trek to find as many CP’s as we could before the 5 pm race cut-off as there was substantial time penalties for being out past 5 pm. We took off and found seven CP’s, one of which was on a beautiful bluff overlooking the Meremac River at sunset, and it was awe inspiring. We made it back to the Finish line with a little time to spare.
Once it was all said and done, we finished 10th place in 4 person co-ed out of 21 teams. We were disappointed in not having a more respectable showing, feeling capable of finishing in the top 5 if we had raced to our capability, but we raced for 10 hard hours and learned a lot about ourselves and the team. Another race under our belt is always a good thing.
By Bryan Greaser
Next up: Bonk Hard Chill, February 2009

Sand Spring River Race 2008

Ken and I got the pleasure of racing together in the third annual, two person AR sprint at Sand Springs Resort on the Niangua River just outside of Lebanon, MO.

The morning was cold. It was not cool, or brisk, it was cold. We were prepared with plenty of clothing for the pre-race preparations. Ken was even prepared for a total eclipse of the sun as he still wore his headlamp in broad daylight (he had just forgotten to take it off). We pulled in and began to sing “Stayin Alive” by the Bee Gees. We had discussed the lyrics earlier in the week and both admitted that we could not understand the lyrics but we liked the title so it has stuck temporarily as our theme song. This was especially true on this day as Ken had heard this song on the radio earlier in the morning. Come to think of it, what kind of radio station still plays that song Ken?

We traveled by bus to the beginning run (sprint) of 2.2 miles. We ran the first mile in 6:34 and the second mile in 7:04 and was very glad to see the run ending and the canoe starting. We neither one could have kept up that pace much longer. I took the front and Ken took the back of the canoe and off we went.

Further down the river I bailed out and headed to land to do the mystery event. It consisted of a zip line across the Niangua River. It was a blast! Thanks for letting me do that Ken. The next one is yours. When I got done zipping, the instructions were not very clear on what was next as far as me getting back into the boat. I asked the volunteer if I just needed to jump in or what. She said yes and so I did. Ken was right there with the canoe and I dove into the canoe and we were off………………..that was short lived. The officials then decided to inform us that I had to get out of the boat, back into the river, and run a few feet past a fallen log before I could get back into the boat. Soooo, out of the boat I went, down the bank and then back into the boat. Now we were legal and off again.

A little further down the river we beached the canoe and were off for a two mile technical run. By the way, did I mention that it was technical? Up the hills was a hike. Down the hills it was sometimes a free fall. We slid down parts of it. It was some amazing scenery overlooking the river. You really did need all of your concentration on parts as a fall from the heights was definitely possible. The highlight of this run for me was when we missed part of the trail and it took us a bit to relocate it. Once we did, we had surrendered a couple of spots to other teams. We got in a traffic jam because of this. We began a downhill run and the teams in front of us were very cautious about the downhill. I was thinking of our need to get past them and about that time I heard a voice behind me say, “Gotta go.” Next thing that I see is Ken bounding down the hill, passing the teams effortlessly, and making his own trail. I knew that was my cue to get on it also so down the hill I went making my own trail down the other side of the pack. That move alone made up major ground for us.

It was then back to the canoes for a short trip back to the transition area (TA). We were out of the river and off to our bikes. At this point I got to see Pam and the kids and my mom for a brief moment. It is always so good to see your family at these events and having them cheer you on.

The bike portion was seven miles. It was very technical and rocky and lots of major hills. We passed one or two teams on the bike. We then stashed our bikes and ran across the finish line together. The family was there and Dad had since joined them. I was so excited to see him there.

We had a blast. We finished 2nd in the men’s division and 6th overall out of about 40 teams.

The race was, once again, very well organized. Thanks to the volunteers and the Glendenning family for all of their hard work to put on this race.

Thanks for the pictures Pam, Dad, and Jenny.

Race summary by Marc

Burnin' at the Bluff 12 Hour Mountain Bike Challenge

This wasn't necessarily our adventure racing team that competed in this race, but I decided to include it on this blog anyway. The Burnin' at the Bluff 12 hour race has become a premier race put on by Mesa Cycles out of STL on a very technical, rocky, rooty and loose gravel short steep climbs around a 13 mile loop of Council Bluffs Lake south of Potosi, MO.

Cyclewerx sent four teams to this race, and I was racing with 15 year old up and coming phenom Garrett Smith and Scott Taylor in the 'Fast' division under the team name "B.A.M.F."

We had an incredibly consistent day of racing. We pretty much went out and raced a perfect race. It started at 9 am, and by 9:45 pm we each had completed 3 laps of nearly equal times for each lap. Not a single flat tire all day. Must have all been choosing good lines.

This was good enough for a 2nd place finish in the Fast division out of 10 teams. It was a nice finish to an excellent race that just gets better and better every year. A great race to finish off the mountain bike season and carry some momentum into the offseason and next year. I still have the Bonk Hard Racing Castlewood 8 Hour Adventure Race on December 6 with my AR team and we are sending myself, Marc, Jill and Ken, so I can't get complacent. There is still much prep to do.

By Bryan Greaser

Up next: Castlewood 8 Hour Adventure Race December 6, 2008

The Monster in Quincy IL from Jill Plassmeyer

On Saturday, September 20th, The team chose to do the Long Course of the Monster Adventure Race in Quincy, IL, which consisted of about 45-50 total miles of biking, running/trekking, orienteering, kayaking, an obstacle course, and worst of all, a 40 lb sandbag carry for 2 miles!
The team sent Jill Plassmeyer, Marc Fisher and Ken Chappell to this race. Bryan had a wedding to attend that weekend (hey Bryan, where's your priorities???) ha
For some reason, all three of us seemed to be more nervous for this race than some of the others. I think I had to use the restroom at least 4 times before the start of the race. Due to the last stop to the restroom, I forgot to put my Camelbak back on. I realized this just before the horn sounded. After letting out a classic, "Ohhhh F*$@" like Ralphie from a Christmas Story, and as I frantically sprinted to get it, my team ended up about 30 seconds behind the rest of the teams. Nice one Jill. Not exactly the best way to lobby for MVP of a race.
This race, like all races, was another adventure for sure. We spent much of the day on our bikes, riding through sand (or attempting to ride), torturous hills on the road, and mud, mud, and more mud. Did I mention mud? The 2 mile creek run was also interesting. With the extra rain they had received, the creek felt like quicksand much of the time. Marc did the kayaking portion of the race and had a blast! He couldn't stop talking about how much fun it was.
We also owe a big round of applause to Ken for learning to do the orienteering in a little over a week. He even checked out a book and a video from the Lebanon Public Library He guided us through the woods as if he had been orienteering for years. This was key as the more people knowing how to orienteer and navigate, the better. Woo-hoo, nothing like hands on learning in combat situations.
Near the end of the race was the dreaded sandbag carry. All three of us agreed that that was the worst part of the race. I know my back was sore for three days after the race.
Overall, we had a great day. The weather was almost perfect (about 5-10 degrees cooler and it would have been perfect). We ended up finishing 4th in our division (3 person co-ed long course) and 10th overall with a time of 8 hours 22 minutes. We were disappointed that only the top three teams qualified for nationals, but at least our goals are in sight. The organization from the race staff and volunteers was "spot on" and one of the best I have participated in. I would strongly recommend this race, as I know we will probably continue to do this race in the future.
Race summary by Jill Plassmeyer

What's behind the name?

Cyclewerx is a bicycle shop here in Cape Girardeau, MO.

They have an excellent cycling team as well and all of the best cycling equipment you could want. John Dodd is the owner and a good friend of mine. He is an excellent local ambassador for cycling, and we're proud to sport the Cyclewerx name and jerseys.

Greenways pic

That is what you like to see out of your female racer....in the lead showing those boys how to run! Go Jill !

Good Samaritan Boys Ranch Adventure Race

Darren Helton was unable to race this one with us, so we picked up Ken Chappell who has experience with adventure racing already. Ken is a friend of Marc's that joined us at the last minute. He worked out great. Looking forward to racing alot more with Ken.
This was an 8-10 hour race near Walnut Grove, MO. We sent Jill Plassmeyer, Marc Fisher, Bryan Greaser and Ken Chappell on this race.
It was a semi-cold and rainy morning and it rained for probably at least half to 3/4 of this race. One of the highlights (or low-lights) of the race was when we were on the Frico Highline Trail. There was a bridge that crossed the river, but the map and race instructions stated, "Bridge out. Swim river or use canoe to cross river if provided." Hmmmm. I looked at that again, and again, and again. The bridge wasn't 'out,' but I assumed that it meant that we couldn't use it. Even though there were no race officials there, I thought maybe they were hiding in the woods or something and keeping track of which teams crossed the bridge illegally. Well there we go, down to the water's edge and into the river, despite a perfectly functional bridge that crossed right over the river. After some river crossing hoopla, fighting the current and hidden deep spots, we came out across the other side having to climb up a muddy slope. This whole deal cost us probably 15 minutes extra. At the finish, we asked other teams about that spot, and they didn't know what we were talking about. When they came to that same point they just ran right across that bridge. Come to find out, the bridge was actually 'out' and non-functional last year at the race and they didn't change the race instructions. Dohhhh.
There was an obstacle course that was pretty cool, and we learned that Marc might have better balance than Shawn Johnson and Nastia Luikin. We finished in first in our division, and 2nd overall behind the very strong all male team of Downhill Bikes of Branson, MO. They are strong racers and overall very good guys too, so there was no shame in losing to them. Nice race guys.
Our time was 8 hours and 13 minutes. We made some errors which we looked back on and laugh at, but every race is good experience and you always learn something, especially when our team is in it's infancy. Getting races under our belt is key and we are determined to continue to get better and better. We're already learning everyone's strengths and weaknesses, so we all know where we need to improve to make the entire unit a well oiled machine. My mountain biking background is helping me alot, but I need more miles on my feet.
Next up: Quincy, IL Monster Adventure Race, September 20th.

Ozark Greenways Adventure Race

Well on May 31, 2008 it all came together. I have been racing fora couple of years now but have not been able to establish a consistent and permanent team to race with. Things changed on May 31, 2008.
The Ozark Greenways Adventure race near Richland, MO was a 8-14 hour race which is one of the most heavily participated races around, drawing 78 teams of 4 racers per team. In past years it was even as high as 90+ teams. Through mutual contacts, myself, Marc Fisher, Darren Helton and Jill Plassmeyer joined to race together for the first time ever. We had all raced in various races in the past but never all four of us together.
The race was a spectacular event for us in our initial race together. We had high expectations and we lived up to them despite some serious adversity. About the midpoint of this race, we jammed it up Cyclewerx style and got our groove on in the Orienteering course. We went into the woods in 10th place and came storming out in 4th place after completing the course. Next, we transitioned to the technical bike section, and that is where the poo hit the fan. With about 3 miles left in the technical mountain bike section, Jill's bike pedal broke off of the crank. We spent a couple of minutes trying to fix it, but when it was hopeless, Darren made the call to take Jill's bike and they swapped. What a bummer. We were smokin along, looking at a top 5 finish in our first ever race together, and now this. I was envisioning getting passed at that point by 20 teams. Well I'll tell you what, we only got passed by 4 teams. We hooked up a retractable dog leash that I threw into my pack at the last minute, carabinered that bad boy up to 'one pedal Darren' on his bars, and off we went like a blue streak. I sucked down an Enervit and felt like Lee Majors, pulling Darren for 8 miles while Marc pushed on his back when he could. Every little bit helped. We actually passed one team during that final leg. We ended up finishing 7th place out of the 78 teams, and we knew at that moment we had something special. A team was born. I love the team aspect of this sport. So many dynamics come into play that these races truly are an adventure.