Race Report for Circle City Urban Adventure Race
Submitted by Matthew Jourdan (People Burn Foundation)
Circle City Urban Adventure Race
Indianapolis, IN
8-16-03
It was hot! First words from each of us when asked how the race went.
Eric Armstrong, Craig Haggard, Matt VanHoosier and myself hit the city
streets this past weekend. This race had the same setup as an adventure
race but had urban surroundings. We arrived early and got the canopy and
sponsors banners setup. Even at 7am it was warm enough for us to get a good
sweat going.
The race transition area was at University Park just north of the Circle
downtown. Mayor Bart Peterson gave us the count down to the start and off
we went. We ran full throttle down and around the Circle and then to the
City County Building for a 25story stair climb. We hit the stairs in the
top 5 and hit the top 1st. Believe it or not coming down was just as
difficult. Mainly from the standpoint that you are completely exhausted
from running up and then having to concentrate on the way down and hitting
your steps right. If you hit one step wrong and twist an ankle and the race
for the entire team is over. We made our way to the exit and ran to Conseco
Fieldhouse (home to the Indiana Pacers and Fever). Just outside the arena
were two-basketball goals. We each had to hit a lay-up and then we were
off back to the transition.
We came into transition 1st with around a 30second lead. We changed shoes,
downed Clif Shots and off we went on the bikes.
I was testing out my new SID Team fork (from our sponsor Rock Shox). It has
a lockout that enables you to lock out the front fork for races like these
where you do not need a suspension. Really nice! We came to our first
checkpoint on the bike around a mile or so from the TA (transition area)
then headed north on the Monon trail to Broad Ripple. There we obtained
another checkpoint and sped our way to Butler University. As we came up to
our next checkpoint we noticed we had a flat tire. I will say that changing
a tire under race pressure is nothing like stopping along the road and
taking your time. As we messed with the wheel other teams started arriving
and our frustration or at least mine was obvious. But we eventually
finished the job and got squared away with our next task. We had to find
several checkpoints on the university grounds by foot and then return to the
bikes. After hoofing it for a few miles we returned to find ourselves tied
for 1st place.
We then pedaled our way to Riverside Park for the kayak section. We came up
to the park and noticed we are going to be paddling in inflatable kayaks.
This is every adventure racers nightmare as they are unstable and hard to
direct. We had to paddle up river around a half mile and then return and we
did this twice. Add to this our legs cramping in the small kayaks made it
the low point of the day. We emerged out of the water with a couple minute
lead and jumped back on the bikes. We then had to find a business just
northwest of downtown for the ropes section. We entered the building to
find rope attached around 15feet in the air with knots tied every three feet
or so. We had to attach our harnesses and climb to the top and then back
down. Problem was the knots weren't big enough to get a good grip with our
shoes and with our arms exhausted from paddling the promoters changed the
requirement for us to just hit the third knot up. One downfall of being the
1st team through makes us the guinea pigs. We lost a few minutes in there
but were now off on the bikes trying to regain some of it back.
We came back into the TA and transitioned into the Triad event. This is
where one of us is rollerblading, one is running and the other two are using
scooters. (and NOT the motorized kind). We now were off to find several
checkpoints around the canal just west of downtown. The pavement was
contoured which made it tough for the small wheels on the rollerblades and
scooters and the heat was the highest yet. We made it to one end of the
canal to find the second place team right on our heals. We then started
switching off from running to using the scooters to try and give the runner
a break. When we came back into the TA we were now tied for 1st as the
other team had a couple of pure runners. We each knew that a quick
transition was the only way to get some good time in them. We were in and
out in less than a minute and had at least a minute lead on the other team
when we left.
The last event was for all four of us to run to the last three checkpoints.
The first was in a city (water) run-off tunnel about a mile east of town.
As we ran down the street two of us cramped up. Craig had a hamstring and
thigh both cramp at the same time. He was standing in immense pain. I
tried massaging and we gave him as much liquid as possible. We drank all
day but with the heat we just couldn't get enough in our systems. We could
now see the second place team behind us and they too had teammates that had
cramping problems. Craig worked through the cramping and we walked as fast
as we could. The team behind had slowed to a brisk walk as well so we had
some comfort in knowing we were on level playing grounds. We finally made
it to the tunnel and hit the pitch dark with our headlamps glowing. It took
our eyes several minutes to adjust from being in the bright sun and then
jumping into complete darkness. We made our way through the water and
darkness to the checkpoint underground and returned to the surface. We now
had two more points to find and had added a minute or so to our lead. With
our legs still cramping we made the final two checkpoints. We alternated
jogging and walking and made our way to the finish line on the Circle! We
finished 1st overall (out of 40+ teams) in 4hours flat and the second place
team finished 5minutes behind. The next event for us was to hit the
fountains of cool water around the monument. Great shots of us standing
under the waterfalls!
Congrats to my teammates! We had a great time even though we were miserable through most of it. As a team we overcame several obstacles that were not part of the race and that speaks volumes for the group that we had. Craig's ability to overcome his extremely painful leg cramps goes to show his drive and dedication! That is three wins in a row for The People's Burn Foundation Team!
Powered by Clif Bars and Clif Shots.
Orbea Mountain Bike frame with Shimano components.
Rock Shox SID Team Suspension Forks
American Classic Seatpost
Voler team issue adventure race top and shorts
Limar Helmet
Defeet socks and under shirt
Asics trail running shoes
Red Bull Energy Drink
Matthew Jourdan
The People's Burn Foundation Cycling Team
Aug 18 2003
Submitted by David Kelley:
The following is Team Relentless Pursuit's race report for this past Saturday's Circle City Sprint Urban AR held in Indy:
I competed in the three person COED category with Paul Overhaurser (Indianapolis) and Dana Little (Bloomington). It was my second race with Paul and my first with Dana.
The start and transition area was next to the War Memorial in downtown Indianapolis. The race started at 9:30am. There was a six hour cutoff.
Stage 1: Run/Stair Climb: This stage consisted of climbing and descending 25 flights of stairs (The building name escapes me). Not counting the stairs, the run total was amount one mile. We did fairly well in this stage and transitioned to the next stage without a lot of delay.
Stage 2: Bike/Orienteering/Canoe: This staged consisted of amount 23 miles of biking (mountain bikes) around Indianapolis. It had several sub-stages.
Stage 2A (Bike): We had to find several checkpoints throughout the city. Most of the points were located north of downtown. The biggest problem here was avoiding cars. There were several close calls. This was a strong stage for us.
Stage 2B (Orienteering): We had to dismount our bikes and run a short orienteering course around Butler University. We did well during this stage but Paul's running was starting to fail. We were still doing fairly well.
Stage 2C (Canoe): We made our biggest mistake biking from Butler to the canoe site. We took a bad route which probably cost us 5-10 minutes. You can't make these mistakes during a sprint race. The canoe was inflatable, two-person kayaks. Paul and I towed Dana during this event. The route was two laps of down and back. It totaled about 2 miles. We did manage to pass a couple of teams not in our category. I was starting to notice a lack of three person COED teams. Very strange. I was wondering if we were last.
Stage 2D (Bike/Rope): This sub-stage required us to bike back to the transition. Along the way we each had to stop and negotiate a rope climb. We were still making fairly good time.
Stage 3 (Triad): This staged required one member to scooter (Paul), one to roller blade (Dana), and one to run (me). I had planned on Paul and me swapping scootering and running during this stage. Paul's running was failing fast so I had to do most of the running. This entire stage was about 3 miles. I did have to walk some. I was starting to cramp in my calves.
Stage 4 (Urban Trek): This final stage required us to find three points around the downtown area. One was located under the city in a drainage system. We trekked most of this stage. From the triad stage I new that there was no team in my category within reachable distance in front of us. I wasn't sure how close any teams followed. The first checkpoint on this stage was an out and back. We noticed that the first three person team was about 10-15 minutes behind us. Another team was about 20 minutes back (they were running). This stage was about an hour in length, so I didn't expect anyone to catch us.
Finish: We finished in 5:05. That was good for 3rd place (out of 14) in the three person COED category. I was really surprised that we did so well. It was a fun race.
David
Aug 13 2003
Added the events from the Ohio Biathlon Summer Schedule. The combination of running and shooting has got to be considered an Adventure Sport!
Aug 11 2003
Added the Indiana Crossroads Orienteering Fall Schedule to the LASC Upcoming Events page.
Aug 8 2003
LASC's own LeeAnne McBane scores 3rd in the DINO Adventure Triathlon! Full Results
Aug 1 2003
From Eric Bishop:
Hey gang, did a really neat event this weekend with Chuck, Janice, and LeeAnne. It was the DINO Xterra adventure Triathlon, kayak division. Very cool and fun, though way too short. I am not sure but the winners of the first wave swim division finished in about 2 hours, maybe 2:10. first overall woman was in at 2:24. We (LeeAnne and I) finished in about 3:30.
They launched the real swimmers off first at about 9:05 or so with the "survivor swimmers 15 minutes behind, then us "kayakers" 10 or 15 behind them. The swimmers swam .6 miles and we paddled twice around the same course with a short, around the lifeguard stand portage, separating the laps. I say "kayaks" because some registration error had them short 3 kayaks, so the four of us agreed to take canoes. As we started to line up LeeAnne and I were in the middle of the line. We quickly shifted our canoe to the left end giving us a straight shot toward the first turn buoy and the shortest run to the canoe. The tactic worked well. LeeAnne chose well taking a regular paddle because she had never used a kayak one. I had a kayak paddle. We shot out into the front pack as a jam tried to sort itself out behind. We had a very good time pushing hard but joking with some of the front runner we knew from DINO's Muscatatuck race. As we rounded the first buoy we were fighting with two guys for 3rd - 5th. By the time we portaged we were firmly in fourth and on the third place guys heels. We took him by the next buoy and tried hard but failed to catch number three beaching our canoe as he stepped from his kayak.
Now it was off to transition, don dry socks and shoes, bike helmets, and for me my AR hydration pack, then off for the 19 mile mountain bike. Most of the first 2-3 miles was either very tight technical turns in gullies or uphill, and I mean a long tough 250 footer!!! Chuck had passed us as I stopped and had to run back to a dropped bike pump never to be seen until the run. Janice and LeeAnne and I kept trading positions with each other and several other competitors in this early stage. LeeAnne and I finally established ourselves in place and got our rhythm going. We moved past a couple people and then got in an other place/pace dice with two guys. I was feeling good and could not resist messing with one of them pushing him very hard until I finally wore him out only to drop off the pace to link back up with LeeAnne. He paid for that about 6 miles later as LeeAnne and I again caught up to them and he was cramping. This time we left them in the dirt and caught sight of fresh meat ahead. This group battled all the way back to the finish with us moving ahead of 4-5 but being bested by one tough little technical mountain biker gal.
We did a very good dump gear and head out for the run transition, but did let one female ahead of us. Off into the woods we went. Being the first ever event LeeAnne has done, and never having even trained at this combination or length the run became very challenging for her. But she hung in there (I had a cattle prod along) and we ran/speed trekked the 6 miles, seeing Chuck and Iggy on their way back in, to the finish!!! Chuck was sitting there nonchalantly waiting for us. Janice was still out on the course. Janice toughed it all by herself and finished as well. So we had 4 of 4 finishers!!!
They gave out lots of category awards and LeeAnne earned the 3rd female kayak division finish!!! So cool.
Regards,
Eric
Jul 25 2003
Eric Bishop has announced the date of the 2003 24 Hours on the Move event (24HOTM). It will be December 13th and 14th. Check the Upcoming Events page for details.
Jul 18 2003
David Kelley and Team Relentless pursuit participated in the 'Mission on the Muscatatuck' Adventure Race. Read David's Race Report.
May 17 2003
Some LASC members atteneded the 'Night Orienteering' event put on by Jeff Coates of True North and Associates (http://www.truenorth360.com/). This was a great event and a gentle introduction to the difference of night -vs- day orienteering. Loads of fun!
May 3 2003
Posted some pictures from the Parke County Covered Bridge Bike Tour. Excellent tour! Weather was perfect and the countryside was beautiful!
Jan 24 2003
A Canoe/Camping outing has been planned for early September. Those wishing to participate should check out the Upcoming Events page or Click Here.
Nov 3 2002
The 24 Hours On The Move event has been givin its own webpage. This is the biggest event that LASC does so this is easily justified. The new webpage is a quick source of information and has links to the 24HOTM mesasge board and other information... As well as a link to TrueNorth and Associates who are conducting a four week training class for the event. Check out the new 24HOTM Website.
Oct 31 2002
The LASC website now has a Forums section. Right now there is just a forum for the 24 Hours On The Move event. I'm taking suggestions for forums if you want one added and/or are willing to admin the forum. -Steve
Oct 19 2002
Kris Ames, Phil Zodiaco and Steve Ames (Team LASC BLah!) do the 2002 Lewis and Clark Cup Rogain Orienteering event. Read More
Oct 6 2002
A total of 9 people participated in the Ride-Paddle-Rid
e training event (6 local club people and 3 from Indy). The initial ride outto
Hodge's was great. Three teams of three headed out at interval. Only thethird t
eam followed the correct route entirely but all ended up at Hodge'swithin a few
minutes of one another. Canoing was scenic but tricky. The riverwas really low
so some of us spent a lot of time outside the canoe. The rideback to Battlegro
und was against a headwind much of the way but everyone stillmade good time. Mo
re Canoe and tethering practice is definately in order.Read More
Sep 29 2002
David, Nathan and Kasey (members of LASC Relentless
Pursuit) competed in "Rock the Race"A
dventure Race in Rockford, IL. David reports that the race was one ofthe best o
rganized races he has ever seen. The team finished 11th.
Sep 28 2002
Critical Mass(?) does the Berryman Adventure. Two of the regular Critical Mass cr
ew (Eric & Jason Orbaugh) teamed up with Maribel Romundo to do this 36 hourrace
that includes 70-100 miles of mountain biking, trekking, canoeing and caving.
Sep 18 2002
Ropes Training: A large number of LASC members gathe
red near West Point where Eric Bishop demonstrated and gave tips on ascendingan
d repelling. Everyone did at least one ascend and repell from the 50-ish foot cl
iff being used. Next ropes training Eric swears there will be traversing.(Pictures)
Sep 14 2002
LASC Members (Kris & Steve Ames and Phil Zodiaco) co
mpeted at theICO (Orienteering) e
ventat Eagle Creek in Indianapolis. They scored 1st in the red level course. E
vent results are posted HE
RE.
Sep 12 2002
Ian Adamson
(Three time winner of Eco-Challenge) speaks at Moosejaw in Chicago. Great presentation and Q&A session. LASC had 8 peopl
e in the front two rows. The attendees didn't get back in town until 1AM, that's
dedication!
Sep 4 2002
Team Critical Mass (Eric, Larry, Jenn, Brant) scored 4
th at this years Trekkineer in Michigan! Way to Go! Eric posted an account
of the event on the mailing list. Special Thanks to Boyd for handling support on
very short notice.
(UPDATE: Some race pictures and the leaderboard are avai
lable at the Trekkineer web-site... results to be posted there soon).
Aug 26 2002
David Kelley and Travis Fuerst return from the Driftless Zone Adventure Race finishing 3rd in the two-person category.
Aug 20 2002
LASC Rope Training.
Aug 18 2002
LASC held orienteering training today for its members. Turn out was good. After class-type work several teams of two were sent out at intervals to test their knowlede. Great Event! (Pictures)