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Team B.O.A.R. 

News and Race Reports

September 23, 2005

Team B.O.A.R. will compete in the 2006 Primal Quest. Primal Quest is the toughest and most prestigious expedition adventure race in the world. Co-ed teams of four from all over the world race non-stop for nearly 400 miles (640+ km) over 5-10 days – using only map and compass to traverse demanding backcountry terrain. Primal Quest features competitors running, mountain biking, trekking, mountaineering, horseback riding, kayaking, and using various means of self-propelled water travel, as journalists and television cameras document their struggles and relentless determination to finish the rugged journey.

Primal Quest is a non-stop, continuous race. Except for the important distinction of safety, the clock, once begun, does not stop until the teams cross the finish line. The first team to reach the finish line is declared the winner. 

Completing the journey and crossing the finish line is a stunning triumph and provides for a lifetime of memories. To actually win Primal Quest is a remarkable feat reserved only for those extraordinary athletes that have excelled in teamwork, self sacrifice, perseverance, and endurance.

To learn more about Primal Quest and the adventure ahead of Team B.O.A.R., check out Primal Quest at : http://www.ecoprimalquest.com/2006/registration/

September 17, 2005

Team B.O.A.R. competed in the final stop of the TRIOBA series. Check out our race report from the September 27^th 24-hr TRIOBA, Ellensburg, WA.

Team BOAR’s members Ken Thorp, Paul and Dave Schneider traveled to Ellensburg, WA to compete in the 24 hour TRIOBA.

The race was schedule to start at 8:00 Saturday morning, which lead us to believe we were actually going to get some sleep the night before, but that was not the case. A 4:30 am gear drop and catching a 5:45 am bus that would take us to the start, meant starting another race sleep deprived. Thankfully the Yeager brothers took some pity on us and we did not have to plot UTM’s the night before.

The race started with 6.5 miles of paddling on the Columbia River. It appeared that Mother Nature was taking it easy on us because the wind was calm. CP1 was on the other side of the Columbia and the thought of crossing the Columbia in a Sevylor kayak in rough conditions was not bringing cozy feelings. But it turns out the crossing would be nothing more than a flat paddle with a slight breeze against our back. After CP1 we turned down current and one hour and twenty minutes later we hit the beach at TA1….literally. Ken climbed out the boat only to find out his legs were not working from being scrunched in the Sevylor kayak and ended the kayaking with a face plant on the beach. These Sevylor are so small, Paul suggested we climb in and we blow the boat up around us.

We came off the paddle in 26^th and transitioned to the bikes for a 26 mile ride with 3,800 feet of gain. The Brutal Yeager Brothers (BYB) were praying for snow to add to our misery but instead we got gusty winds. Although the first nine miles were on pavement and the climb was somewhat gradual, it was into a headwind that I wouldn’t wish on any team…well except DART. We started on the climb and quickly fell into a pace line with Ken taking the lead. It wasn’t long before we started to pick off teams including several of the top ten finishers. About half way up the climb we came to a group of three teams drafting each other. Ken asked if we wanted to take a break and fall in line behind the pack to get a breather from the wind. Paul and my legs were burning from the pace, but the competitive side took over and wanting a few more road kills (road kills…a term for passing a team), Paul yelled to Ken to go for it. We passed the teams and even picked up a stowaway team.  Team Blobwally decided to break ranks with the pack and draft us. The five of us continued the climb up to CP3 where we left the pavement and jumped on a series of jeep trails that would take us to the next TA.

Jeep trails are far different from fire roads and single track and not fun to mountain bike. Jeep trails are full of boulders and loose rocks with significant elevation gain. During this section, Ken’s rear tire was victim to the sharp rocks. The repair was quick, but we lost several places to teams we had just passed. Soon the jeep trail was too steep to ride and we were now in the Yeager brother’s famous hike-a-bike section. We could see the trail heading up to the peak of the ridge and every team was pushing their bikes as did we.

At the top of the range, we had 13 miles of fire roads and more jeep trails to TA 2. We passed several more teams on this section, taking advantage of the hills and rocky terrain and rolled into TA 2 in 12^th.

TA 2 was a transition to trekking. The trekking section had 7 CPs that we had to navigate over 15 miles. There was also a canyon that we were going to have to climb into and out of. The kind of canyon that you look for your route with color between the brown contour lines on your map, but can’t find any….or in other words very steep!  There was no way around this canyon as there was a CP on both sides and in the bottom. What looked on the map to be impossible turned out to be a lot of fun. On the top of the other side of the canyon we looked back and saw several teams heading down the steep sections. We were very thankful to make it through the canyon in the daylight. The trekking had several running sections which enabled a couple of teams to get pass us. Two of the bigger BOARs are going to have to do more running to keep up with the sprinters.

TA 3 was the last stop before the finish and only 26 miles of downhill biking to go. As we left the TA in 14^th, one of the volunteers (who was also the paramedic) shouted for us to be careful. The downhill was rocky and they were expecting several over the bar type injuries. This was not good news, as I have had more than my share of over the bar crashes. Ken and Paul with their full suspension bikes seemed to be happy about the rocks, perhaps they were looking for an opportunity for more road kills. A term I was now worried about as I was wishing I had taken Tom up on his offer to borrow his new Blur. The downhill was so rocky and nasty, it shook apart Ken’s rear bike light, leaving only the mount attached to the seat post.

I thought I would never be happy to be racing on pavement, but after 16 miles of riding down a rock quarry, the pavement was a relief. Only 10 miles to go to the finish with nothing to worry about, except this is adventure racing. The head winds were back and the street names were different than the names on our map. As we slogged along the roads trying to find our way back to the finish, the head winds were just killing our progress. After asking for directions from some of the locals (twice) we crossed the finish line in 14^th place, 3 hours behind the winning team and 12 hours ahead of the 43^rd place team.

The TRIOBA races have a reputation for being fun and challenging. This race was fun and our only complaints were too much pavement and it was not long enough.  We had hoped for a true 24 hour race and we finished in just over 13 hours which left us trying to find a motel room in a sold out town. I must admit, it was fun to go back in the morning and see some teams that had just finished limp around. I wonder if we looked that bad.

Next up for BOAR is the 2006 Primal Quest. Team BOAR will be competing in several 24 hours next year to prepare for the 10 day expedition race in June.