by Jess Evans
April 27 2018

Adventure Racing includes four main disciplines, although others may be included.  The four main disciplines are navigation (using USGS topographic maps often 1:24,000 in scale and a compass), biking (both on and off road), trekking (on and off trail), and paddling.  Other disciplines may include ropes (rappelling, climbing), team challenges, rafting, swimming, paddle boarding, snowshoeing…  Really, the sky is the limit for the other disciplines, but all these various racing legs center around navigation.

Having all these disciplines is a curse and a blessing.  The curse is, you should practice all of them.  The discipline I practice the least is paddling.  I have a kayak, so not getting out to kayak is just pure laziness.  When I do get out to paddle, if it is on a lake, I tire of the activity quickly and head in.  If it is on a river, the advantage for me is I get to run back to my car after hiding my kayak in the woods.  I always run fast back to my car because I am so worried someone will take off with my kayak.  My over practiced discipline is running/trekking.  When I have no idea what discipline I should practice on a given day, I default to running or going for a long walk.  Note to self: I really need to bike more.

The blessing is, during the race you are doing each discipline just long enough to get tired, miserable, and sore.  Near the end of a long leg, I am cursing the race directors for putting me through so much misery.  As soon as I switch to another discipline, my muscles and mind rejoice!  “Hallelujah, I do not have to trek for a while!” Or… “hot dog, I am sure glad that paddle is over”.  Switching from one discipline to the next per leg, rejuvenates me and keeps me searching for those checkpoints.  Nothing motivates me more than moving on to a new leg of the race – and the finish.

The only time navigating gets grueling is when I get really lost or make navigation errors, one after another.  When I participate in a race as a solo, I sometimes find myself completely in the wrong spot. It takes all my emotional strength not to sit down in the mud and start wailing.  I can imagine myself going into an all out 2-year-old tantrum, throwing down my map, cursing my compass, and wallowing in the mud in utter self pity that I am lost – AGAIN.  But I manage to keep myself together and find where I am on the map, even if it means going back to the last known spot.  Finding oneself after being lost is always encouraging.

To sum it up, do not over train or under train in your disciplines like I do, and be glad when you see a lot of legs in a race, that means you get lots of breaks from one discipline. Reason number 287 as to why adventure racing is so great (if I were counted the reasons).

by Jess Evans
April 24 2018

My nieces and nephews will sometimes ask me after a long race, “where did you sleep?”  As I tell them, I get looks of horror, shock, amazement, or laughter.  I do not think they quite understand the pleasure of sleeping wherever you can put down your sleeping bag or bivvy when you are on a long adventure.

Here are some fun ones I remember:

During the Great Divide ride I did in 2015 and 2016, I slept in some crazy places due to my fear of bears.  I slept in a propane tank enclosure in Canada, in an outhouse on Union Pass in Wyoming, and behind a car rest area in Wyoming.  One evening in Montana, we put up our tents, ran around the campsite to lose the mosquitos and dove into our tents to sleep soundly without buzzing in our ears.   The next morning we did see a black bear meandering down the road off in the distance, but he had no interest in us.  There were plenty of lovely campsites we enjoyed as we progressed south from Banff those two summers.

During the Breakdown EXP race in 2017, one of the best sleeps I have ever had was in a leaf litter filled ditch along a gravel road.  The leaves crunched as I nestled down in them.  The wind blew strong way above our heads, swaying the trees, but we could not feel it.  We also slept in a post office one night trying to keep out of the below freezing temperatures.  It was 50 degrees in the post office, and we only had bivvy sacks.  Each of us shivered throughout the 3 hour nap we had – that was not great sleep.

During the 2017 Cowboy Tough ARWS race, we had some very unique spots to sleep.  One night after riding our bikes for 20 hours, we rolled into an Historic Mining Town (South Pass City) at 3am ready to crash.  Jim and I unrolled our sleeping bags in a jail cell in the old wooden jailhouse.  While it was not very warm inside, it was a lot warmer than outside, and we had our sleeping bags.  Doug and Shawn curled up in Doug’s tent outside.  I think Jim and I had the better deal. The other fun spot we slept during that race was under an old red school bus out in the Basin of Wyoming where there are a lot of sagebrush and sand.  There was an abandoned town nearby where other teams slept, but we chose the beautiful red bus.  My primary fear as we fell asleep was if someone sat up suddenly, hit their head on the bottom of the bus, and was knocked out cold for a few hours.  Luckily, that never happened.

While in most of my previous examples, we searched for a fairly decent location to sleep before stopping, during the 2017 USARA Championship race, we just plopped down in the middle of a mowed trail and wrapped ourselves in one space blanket.  The few minutes of sleep we captured was heavenly.  When you are hit by fatigue, anything will do.

by Jess Evans
April 17, 2018

While the Unbridled Adventure Race Series always has some great races at the spectacular Kentucky State Parks (full disclosure, I used to work for Kentucky State Parks), this year seems to have some particularly great races.  The race series has The Bluff (at Jenny Wiley State Park), The Frog (at Green River Lake State Park), and my favorite, The Fig (at Natural Bridge State Resort Park).

I have never raced at Jenny Wiley State Park, but prior to my Kentucky State Park career, I worked for the Army Corps of Engineers at Dewey Lake (home of Jenny Wiley State Resort Park). Thus I started my fondness for that area.  Dewey Lake is a flood control reservoir managed by the Army Corps of Engineers.  The lake is about 1100 acres and is on a tributary of the Big Sandy River.  The earthen dam was built in 1949.  At the Army Corps Office next to the dam, they have historic photos of the construction of the dam.  They are cool to look through to see the equipment they used to build the dam and the people involved in the process.

Working for the Army Corps of Engineers, I had the opportunity to be on the lake at least once a week during the summer ensuring people were safe.  In the winter, we would walk the boundary line to freshen up the paint that indicated federal land and look for any encroachment.  I quickly learned how steep the hills were around the lake and in eastern Kentucky in general.

The Unbridled AR Series promises steep climbs, great single track, and restful accommodations.  Register for the races in the series and have a great time at Kentucky State Parks!

by Jess Evans
April 17, 2018

If you are thinking of doing the Pike’s Predicament 48 Hour Adventure Race, here are ten enticing facts about the race.

1)     It is located in beautiful Colorado

2)     It is May 18 to 20, 2018, just as the mountains are waking up for spring

3)     Free camping at the host campground

4)     You get to plot your checkpoints!

5)     Your canoe is included in the race cost (center seats are not supplied)

6)     You are allowed a 5-gallon bucket per person to resupply in the middle of the race

7)     The race elevation is between 7500 and 9500 feet above sea level – not too high!

8)     The race course is designed for all skill levels to easily do as little or as much of the course as you want to or can do

9)     You will pass through ponderosa pine forests, stands of aspen trees, forest land that endured terrible Colorado wildfires several years ago, and mountain valleys with lakes and rivers.

10)  Finally… Shawn and Dallas have shared with me their AR Directing secrets.  You know this race will be good.

Do not wait too much longer to register.  Registration will close May 3.

Sign up today!

by Jess Evans
April 13, 2018

Another reason I really like adventure racing is that it requires you to be in the present.  You have to stay focused in that moment – where you are, where you are going, what food or drink you need at the moment to keep you going.  Each step requires purpose and awareness of your surroundings. For many outdoor adventures, your mind can’t wander too much or you’ll get lost!

I cannot navigate and day dream (or think about unrelated topics) at the same time.  Some people may have that talent, but not me.  Even when I am not navigating, I like to stay focused on the moment.  I need to focus on my body and what it is telling me it needs.  I observe my teammates to make sure everyone is awake, and they do not look like they are suffering too much.

Focusing on your surroundings can be hard, especially at night.  During the night hours is when I pull out my trusty pace counting to make sure we are where we think we are.  But staying focused can get a little bit dicey as fatigue sets in.  If I am pace counting and trying to keep my teammates’ minds active by talking, that is a trick.  I have managed it where I will be counting and listening to the conversation, say something, and then guess on what number I would be at if I had not contributed to the conversation.

It is really frustrating when you are pace counting and forget what number you are on.  I have done “37, 38, 39, 30, 31, 32…” then I stop and think, “wait, didn’t I just finish the 30s?”  Then you have to guess as to where you should be in your counting.  Everyone is looking to you to tell them when you reach 100 meters, 200 meters, 300 meters, and you are just guessing at this point.

I think I am happiest when I am in the moment.  When I feel the breeze, feel each step I take (even if each step is painful), and hear the sounds of trees rustling or birds singing, I know I am where I want to be.  There are few problems that arise when you are in the moment.  If you keep yourself propelling forward, you will get to where you need to go in the moment.