On Sunday 7/18/10, my friend Joe and I competed in our 2nd Amazing Adventure race. For those of you who don't know what that is, teams of 2-3 people compete in a race that involves running/trekking, mountain biking and canoeing. It also involves orienteering, or reading a map to find checkpoints and complete challenges along the route.
This year's race was much longer than the race we did last year. There were about 50 teams in this race, and it was expected to be about a 3 hour race in the lovely 90 degree heat and humidity of central Indiana. To start the race, everyone had to take off their shoes and put them in the middle of an outdoor basketball court. When they said "go", it was a mad dash to find your shoes and start the race. Once we had our shoes in hand, we had to find a representative who gave us our first map and clue sheet for the first section of the course. Joe was in charge of the map and orienteering, and I handled the clue sheet and our passport which we needed at each checkpoint.
For us, the first section of the race was running. The grounds of the church also have a hilly cross country course, which made for a tough start to the race. We found our first few checkpoints and then made our way to our first challenge. I then had to put on some glasses that made everything blurry and shoot a free throw while a volunteer sprayed me with a garden hose. It only took me 3 shots to make it, and we were on our way. There was a short line at the next challenge, so we decided to bypass it and come back because the team we were waiting on was moving in slow motion. We then had to high-tail it to a Starbucks down the road where we had to give the barista a quarter to get a gumball we would need for one of the next challenges. We completed the next 2 challenges where we had to drop a clothespin from our nose into a glass jar, and move the gumball down the strings of a tennis racket without it falling off. After that, we made our way back to the last checkpoint in section one which involved getting up a board propped against a set of stairs that was covered in shaving cream. Joe pulled himself up the board first, then was able to help pull me up and we were on our way to the transition area. The first section took us about 45 minutes to complete, and we were the first team from our group to the TA.
Once we got back to the transition area, we dropped off our bikes and had to make our way to the zip line. Once they got the harnesses on us, we went down the zip line for a few hundred feet and then had to hike back up the hill to the finish. The finish was a giant slip and slide, which was a fun and refreshing way to finish. We crossed the line in 3rd place out of about 50 teams, which we were very proud of. It was a long hard day, but we completed the race in 2 hours and 23 minutes. We had great support at the race from Audrey and Blake, and Joe's wife Lindsey and their baby Reese. They were real troopers and hung out all day in the heat to watch us come and go a few times every 45 minutes.
Sitting here the day after the race, thinking about the quick decisions we had to make and the physical effort, I think we did a great job for only our second race. This is the most sore I have been in a long time, and I'm hoping my legs heal quickly so I can start getting ready for our next race, as it was definitely an Amazing Adventure. http://www.planetadventurerace.com/