An Epic First

Over the winter, a new race popped up on series’ schedules, both with Checkpoint Tracker and USARA. When the East Coast Series came together, the REV 3 Epic appeared there too, so it wasn’t a hard decision to pull together a team for an early season trip down to the Old Dominion. In addition, the race was running up along Skyline Drive, which would test our legs but offer unmatched vistas. While there are always concerns over new races and directors, Bruce, Abby and I teamed up with Brian Reiss from Adventure Pocono to get the season started, venturing down to see if the tri-folks at REV 3 could put on a quality adventure race. Thankfully, they delivered.

Originally, the course was intended to include a 30+ mile stretch of Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park and a long paddle back down the Shenandoah River. Permitting issues, impending government shutdowns and high water levels forced the race directors to dramatically alter their course, but by all accounts, including their own, the final course ultimately provided more “adventure” than the original version. After a fast 5 mile prologue run for the passport, the race began with a long and grueling 50+ mile ride up and through a mountain valley in the northern stretches of George Washington National Forest. Seven checkpoints (one of them optional) demanded that teams navigate through seldom traveled mountain roads and up to high passes on both sides of the valley. Monster climbs alternated with screaming downhills and the pace was hard as the strongest biking teams jockeyed for position through the first half of the race.

After riding past the first CCC camp established under FDR, fittingly known as Camp Roosevelt and far more exciting to me than my teammates (just led a discussion on a book concerning the matter for a graduate school-class I’m enrolled in), we bombed down the mountain range to the original canoe put-in. With the canoe canceled, bikes and racers were loaded onto a bus and trailer to drive back to the central TA. Thereafter we set off for two quick foot points before hitting the crux of the course, a 15 or so mile orienteering leg in Shenandoah River State Park. Unfortunately, we had fallen behind the leaders and several other teams on the first bike. I was disappointed but not surprised to find that my legs had little power after two weeks off due to illness leading up to the race. I had hoped that adrenaline would take over, but after the first hour or so on the bike, my legs just couldn’t keep up with Bruce, Brian or Abby, not to mention the horses on SOG, ImONPoint, NYARA and Remington-Mountain Khakis. Several other teams also caught up by the end of the bike section, so I was eager to get into the woods for the O-section which offered us a chance to get back into the race.

As we finished our two quick foot points and checked in for the O-Map and 21 UTM coordinates, the rain, which had been steady all day, turned into a torrential downpour. While the team dealt with resupplying for the foot section, I plotted point after point, and I quickly realized that the folks at REV 3 had truly outdone themselves with the O-Course. While the park has many trails, the course was designed so that trail running was kept to a minimum. Instead, we spent the better part of five hours out in the woods, roaming wooded hills and gulches, fording creeks and navigating along ridges and hilltops. We moved quickly and efficiently from point to point, and I can honestly say that after 40 or 50 races, this was easily one of the most enjoyable foot sections I have ever done. I bobbled two, but my teammates quickly helped figure out the mistakes, and after weathering further rain, a hail storm and a short river swim to a checkpoint on an island (thanks to Brian for that one; we all watched from “dry” land as he stripped down to bike shorts and took one for the team) we rolled back into the TA in fourth place, right as darkness had fallen. We weren’t sure how much time we had made up, but we knew we had passed a handful of teams, and we later found out that we did so by a significant amount of time.

Upon completing the foot section, we knocked out a quick team challenge (which I’m not going to even attempt to describe...though Abby makes a valiant effort on her blog and included some pics) and then set off for the final leg, a mountain bike loop on trails that ought to have been ruined from the heavy rains and sprint teams that had run a short course that morning. While tired legs and conditions prevented us from riding all the hills for the first two points, the trails were incredible and in amazingly good shape considering the conditions. The second and final loop for the final two bike points was an absolute blast and we quickly dispatched the final two points before descending into the TA around 11:30 PM. We had managed to finish in fourth place overall and were one of five teams to clear the entire course.

For a first time race, the folks at REV 3 did a wonderful job, and Mark and Mike were great directors. The course was beautiful despite the rain, mist, thunder, lightning, hail and clouds, and I can only imagine how much more impressive it would have been if it had been a clear day and if we had been able to paddle. As always my teammates were great, and while I felt bad for holding them back over the first half of the race, I admit, I enjoyed being taken care of (though I would have given anything for more speed and power). They fed me, they towed me, they pushed me (literally), and they kept me moving. I’ve never needed that much help before, and I’m glad they did it with a smile. Congratulations are also in store for all the great racers who took on the Epic. It was a big course, and the conditions made it all the more difficult. A lot of brave new racers took on what proved to be a mentally and physically challenging 26 hours. Team SOG, NYARA 1, and ImONPoint were impressive in their podium finishes. All in all, it was a great first race to the season.