24-Hour Beaver Creek Adventure Race, Near by Summit County, CO

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24-Hour Beaver Creek Adventure Race

Competing in a 24-hour adventure race takes stamina, drive, determination, and a strong will. Many people think they can compete in this type of competition, but few succeed. Those that have the want, the experience, and can overcome the elements will be triumphant in finishing this type of event.

Adventure Racing is a multi-discipline activity that tests your body and mind to the ultimate limit. While competing in the Beaver Creek 24 hour adventure race, I went through many emotions, feelings, and highs and lows to finish as the 16th elite team with a time of 24 hours 49 minutes and 34 seconds. Some may wonder if it is all worth it to put your body through the pain and pay money to do it!

Here is my story:

The night before the race my team and I met for the provided pasta dinner and the maps that will determine our route at the race headquarters. When we received our maps, some teams decided to stick around, but we went back to the hotel room to plot points. The goal is to find the most direct, easiest route the next checkpoint. This was not always a simple decision. Sometimes we would see a road, follow it, but break away to a section that we were unsure about if a road existed or not. As a team, we compromised on which direction was the most appropriate. The fun part was that we really did not have any idea what, if any, the trail looked like. The maps were completed around 10pm and we were ready for bed.

4:00am: The alarm rings and we slowly get up and begin our daily morning activities. It was tough to eat because it was so early in the morning but we knew it was very important. I drank my Ovaltine and had a few bits of Grape-Nuts, Andy enjoyed his toast and Cheese-Wiz, and Terry had his oatmeal. Our water packs were ready and we headed out to meet the bus at 5:15am. We were not sure if it was a tactic to wear us down or not, but the bus did not leave the parking lot for another hour. I tried to sleep, but continually heard the sound of the bus hydraulic system over and over. Eventually we began the trek.

I was concerned at the start because we had a mile of hiking through the riverbed until we reached the kayaks, and I was in my paper-thin surfing booties. Luckily, we choose a kayak without a hole or, more unfortunately, a couple of holes. A few teams got kayaks that began sinking on them. The entire kayak section was 14 miles down the Colorado River. A few class II rapids but nothing too technical. It was just difficult keeping the boat straight.

When coming into the transition, we smoothly took off the kayak gear and put on our trekking gear, ate my 7-layer bar that had gotten wet but still tasted great, and prepared for the long 20 mile trek. After the first checkpoint things got a little challenging. Our team had plotted to go on the easy route, but most other teams headed the other direction. We made an executive decision and went with the other teams. That was a good decision because it took us probably half the time and the trail was more primitive. Another decision came when we decided that we should keep going to find the small lake. From there we were home free, hit the checkpoint and ran all the way back to the bike transition.

At the time, I was so excited to switch from running to the bike section and ate a few Pringles at the transition. Efficiently we adjusted into gear, jumped on our bikes and headed out on the road. "What road" is always the question in Adventure Racing. Again we are faced with another decision, do we take this singletrack or the other one? We chose one and the other team next to us chose the other. Strangely enough we arrived about the same time at the high wire traverse. At this portion of the race we locked our bike and ourselves on these wires across this ravine. The last few parts of this traverse were so difficult. It really felt like my arms were ready to fall off. After that feeling, we needed a minute to rest. At this point, there were a few spectators cheering us on. From there we had a brief chance to rest with a nice 14-mile downhill bike ride on the road to the town of Eagle. That is where the fun began; If you consider uphill fun.

After checkpoint 7 the course jumped another level with technical Mountain biking, continuous rocky uphill, and serious fatigue setting in. Time was slipping away from us and we were in need of our bike lights. The temperature dropped and our minds began to wonder to other places. I especially liked to think of songs in my head to keep me from thinking about the grueling uphill. Anything to keep my mind occupied and not thinking of how tired I actually was. At this point another decision had to be made. Do we take the trail to the left a 3-mile technical climb or take the trail to the right a gradual 6-mile climb. At these points it is always best to make a decision and stick with it. We choose the shorter route but had to get off our bikes for most of the trail. The reward at checkpoint 8 in the ghost town of Fulford was a large bon fire and friendly staff. It was difficult to leave after getting so comfortable but checkpoint 9 was calling our name. To get to checkpoint 9 we had to go on some of the most technical downhill ever. Challenges arose as our body temperature dropped, our bike light batteries died, and it was about 1:00am way past our bed times. Our mental state became blurred, as rational thinking was quite impaired. We were lost and had no idea where checkpoint 9 was. With limited view of the trail, I alone must have fallen off my bike 10 times. I could feel the blisters on my feet and was a bit concerned because my hydration system was bone dry. At this point my team and I had a heart to heart. Troubled that we might have pasted checkpoint 9 we were afraid that we would have to back track, but the state of our bodies was another concern. At this moment we thought about ending the race and finding the most direct route back to Beaver Creek. Luckily a team came up from behind and told us to continue on. Not more than a mile or so did we run into checkpoint 9. From there we knew we were home free!

At 5:00am we arrived at Beaver Creek and began our orienteering section of the race. At this point we were fortunate that the sun began to rise making spotting the flags a bit easier. It was the hiking up the ski slopes of Beaver Creek through the sharp bushes and tall grasses that was challenging. At the last 4 checkpoints we joined a team that we had seen in various portions of the event. So it was just fitting that we cross the finish together.

Adventure Racing can be stressful, strenuous, challenging, painful, trying, yet lots of fun. I would not recommend this to anyone who has not trained,who is not experienced in all disciplines, and who does not has a strong will to succeed.

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24-Adventure Race Photos

24-Hour Beaver Creek Adventure Race - Near by Summit County, Colorado

24-Hour Beaver Creek Adventure Race, Summit County, Colorado

24-Hour Beaver Creek Adventure Race, Near by Summit County, CO

24-Hour Beaver Creek Adventure Race

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