Castlewood State Park 8-Hour Adventure Race, December 1, 2007

By Bill Stevens

Mid Rivers Adventure: Mike Cooper, Nathan Darling, Stephanie McCreary, Bill Stevens

Just like the previous year, the second annual Bonk Hard Castlewood Race had four teams entered from the Mid Rivers Adventure community. Two newcomers to the sport, Nathan and Stephanie, trained with Mike and Bill on several occasions and joined the team for this year's race.

Maps and clue sheets were handed out the night before, so we knew what we were facing: trek, bike, canoe, and then bike some more. Also known was the race day forecast: low to mid 30's with freezing rain likely before noon. A tent and an extra tarp for the transition area were added to the list of things to bring. On race day we arrived an hour early and set up the TA. Tent up - check. Bikes ready to go with full bottles, air in the tires, required gear - check. Tarp over bikes to prevent ice build-up while we're out trekking - check. Bike shoes, helmets, gloves, and changes of clothes ready to go in the tent - check. Those occasional sprinkles kept returning, and we knew that at any moment we could get drenched. Passports were handed out with 20 minutes to go. There were 30 check points, all to be visited in order. Even the orienteering section had to be completed in order. Last-minute checks were done for gear, and we all were calming those pre-race nerves. The Star Spangled Banner kept us at attention briefly, and then the race was on!

With over 200 people racing, our plan for the first check point was to have Bill take the passport, outpace the other three (he loves to run), get in line at the punch, and then regroup before heading to CP2. It worked, and soon we were heading to (and climbing) a popular landmark at Castlewood: the wooden stairs at the west end of the River Scene Trail. After punching CP2 at the top, we made tracks back to the start where CP3 and our orienteering map were waiting. No TA stop was required, because we had all stocked up for the full trek before the race.

The next part of the foot race took us to various areas on and around the Grotpeter and Lone Wolf Trails. And because of the way the next 12 points were laid out, teams seemed to be scurrying about chaotically when in fact they were following a well-choreographed plan. Lots of trail navigation and bushwhacking brought us to check points 4, 5, and 6 before we returned to the start for CP7. Just when I thought my clothes could hold no more burrs, we had to go out again! Two more "loops" followed this, meaning we made it to 8, 9, 10, (back to start), 12, 13, and 14 before finally punching CP15 and starting what would be our only restocking transition. The three orienteering loops were performed in different orders, depending on the teams, so our CP4 was someone else's CP8, and it was someone else’s CP12. Get it?

In twenty short minutes in the TA we got ready for the biking and paddling legs. The plan was to stock up from now to the finish of the race, even though there was a chance near the end to pop back to the tent if necessary. It had taken us about 2 hours and 30 minutes so far, and we figured we had almost 5 hours to go. Besides restocking water, power bars, and GU in the packs, we also ate and changed out of wet clothes. There hadn't been much rain, but we were good at making our own "moisture" anyway. A quick duct tape patch was applied to Stephanie's rain jacket (it got initiated to adventure racing during the bushwhacking).

It was time to leave the park: 3 miles of pedaling down Kiefer Creek Rd. to the intersection at St. Paul Rd. We were warned at the pre-race meeting that the bike check points would not be marked with the normal white/orange flags, so it was no surprise that we were one of 3 or 4 teams hunting for the CP16 punch on a sign post. A very hilly St. Paul Rd. brought us to CP17, a manned check point at Sherman Beach Park on the river. Canoes were lined up and ready to go, but we had about 6 miles of trail riding to do before returning here. The Al Foster Trail brought us into the west end of Castlewood Park where we picked up the Stinging Nettle Trail to check points 18 and 19. CP20 and CP21 were along the Cedar Bluff Loop, so we ducked through the train tunnel to capture those (hopefully Mike's backpack didn't get too scraped up in the tunnel).

It was a quick return to CP22 and the canoe put-in. The volunteers did a brief gear check (fleece, rain gear, emergency blanket, and headlamp) before granting us the punch. Some teams were piling their bikes into the canoes before lugging them about 70 yards to the water, but we decided to make two trips and save our backs. The aluminum canoes were already heavy enough empty! It took a few minutes to strategically stack our bikes in the canoes. Mike took his front tire off and was able to get his bike completely on the floor of the boat, allowing Nathan’s to sit above the crossbar. Bill's and Stephanie's bikes remained assembled and looked a little tangled when piled atop the crossbar of their canoe. In any case, once we hit the water everything was stable - no tendency to tip due to the bikes.

The first water check point was less than a mile upstream on the bank. We were back to regular orienteering flags, so CP23 was easy to spot. Now heading downstream, we had over a mile to go before beaching the canoe on the right shore. CP24 was a pond about 150 yards away, so we shot a bearing and made a beeline. The terrain was pretty flat, which was good because we were all wearing bike shoes. Upon reaching the pond, Bill went to unzip his jacket pocket to retrieve the passport, but the pocket was already open. The passport, that single item that all adventure racers hold most dear, even more important than the map or clue sheet or even water, WAS GONE. The news shocked the team, but we quickly went to work looking for it. We backtracked to the canoe, scanning the ground. Nothing. It wasn't in the canoe. It wasn't in any other pockets. So we made another round trip to the pond, scouring the ground both ways. Nothing. The only conclusion was that it was in the Meramec River. A mental error at the last check point had resulted in the zipper remaining open for the first time of the day, and paddling must have jostled it loose.

Since the weather was holding and the team felt strong enough, we decided to finish the race unranked. So with a little wind out of the sails we paddled back to the Castlewood beach area and checked in at the manned take-out point. The bungee cords came off the bikes, pedals replaced paddles, and we headed out for a final 6-mile trail ride. (After the race we realized that CP26 was missed, most likely due to our focus on the missing passport, so maybe 5 minutes should be added to the final time.) Check point 27 was located at the top of the Lone Wolf Trail, and the final three punches were spread out along the Grotpeter Trail. All were easy to find, and phantom punches were made on our phantom passport.

A dash back to the finish line saw Mid Rivers Adventure complete the course in just under 8 hours. Based on time, this put us in 7th place of the fourteen 4-person coed teams, which probably would have been 6th, without the lost 40 minutes looking for passport. Stephanie and Nathan are now experienced adventure racers with the before and after pictures to show for it! Congratulations on the finish, and thanks for a great race.