Backyard Challenge X
race report

Exactly 60 brave and dedicated adventure racers showed up in Boulder early Sunday morning to test themselves at the latest Backyard Challenge. After days of overcast skies and steady rain, the weather looked promising...at least it did at 6:00 in the morning. By 6:45, dark skies were building to the west, and savvy racers quickly donned rain gear.

At the start, each team had to send its best skater for a quick lap around Eben Fine Park before receiving maps and passports. Hopes and dreams of dry weather were dampened as the threatening clouds quickly delivered their wet payload. Racers discovered that not only does a pounding rain make stopping on inline skates difficult, it makes plotting UTM coordinates difficult as well. Team Race Rats decided to use the nearest available shelter, a porta-potty, to keep their map dry as they plotted CPs. Other teams crowded into the dark but relatively dry picnic shelter, or huddled in their vehicles.

Soon, the first teams skated away into the downpour. Other teams were adopting the "learn as you go" approach to plotting coordinates, and took anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour to accomplish this task. These slower teams were rewarded, however, because the rain soon stopped and they were able to enjoy much drier conditions when they finally set out on the course.

Racers skated an 8.5 mile course on Boulder bike paths, taking them up University Hill, along Bear Creek, through the scenic CU Research Center, and finally back on the popular Boulder Creek path. Solo racer Jonas Fast lived up to his name by turning in the speediest skate time at 58 minutes. He was followed eight minutes later by 3-person coed team Necky, proving that kick-bikes can compete with fast skaters, and Team Get Out, both vying for the free Balance Bar race entry to be awarded to the top 3- or 4-person coed team. It would be another two hours before the final team, Peggy Sue, completed this section, having suffered from severe skate malfunctions.

Back at Eben Fine Park, the main transition area, skaters quickly traded wheels for trail running shoes and set off toward Gregory Canyon for a 7-mile course that circumnavigated the summit of Flagstaff Mountain. Although the rain had now stopped, a heavy fog rolled in, making it difficult to take the required compass bearings to landmarks at several checkpoints. CP9 was located at the Flagstaff Amphitheater, and one team reported bursting onto the scene just as a wedding was about to begin. One can only imagine what the wedding guests may have thought as a team of sweaty, grimy racers searched for a bit of historical trivia hidden on a plaque in the amphitheater.

Meanwhile, Erik and Natalie Luhtala, course climbing supervisors, called in to report that the planned climbing routes were currently running with water. They quickly sized up alternatives and chose a couple of new routes 150 meters to the north of the stated CP location. Unfortunately, the race director failed to relay this information to the racers. For most teams it was not an issue, but at least one racer spent a significant amount of time searching for the incorrectly located CP.

After completing the trekking circuit around the summit of Flagstaff, teams raced downhill toward the climbing area, where they had their choice of two routes. The first, a seventy-foot 5.3 slab, featured good holds and some airy exposure. The other route was shorter, but had a bouldery start that went at a more difficult 5.6 rating. Amazingly, everyone who tried was able to successfully complete one or the other route, even though many teams were relatively new to the sport. Only one team opted out of the climbing section and took a time penalty.

Another mad downhill dash led racers back to the main TA, where they quickly swapped their running gear for bikes and helmets. Solo racer Ted Harlan had gained a 6-minute lead over duo Team Rio leading into the bike section, although he had missed a CP on the trek and would take a 15-minute time penalty for it. Jonas Fast had fallen to third place. He had gained an early lead with superior skating skills, but he also hadn't plotted all his CPs yet, which cost him some time on the trek. In the race for the Balance Bar entry, seasoned veterans Team Hudie and the Blowfish had built a good lead over 4-person squad Team Croak, a team of three complete AR newbies led by endurance master Andrew Hamilton. They were chased by Team Get Out and GoLite Sprint. Necky was right behind, but had lost an hour due to problems with route selection.

Teams were now faced with several miles of climbing up Boulder Canyon alongside the rushing waters of Boulder Creek. Soon they found themselves at CP14 and the Mountain Bike Skills Test, a chance for adept riders to gain an advantage for their team. The task was simple: ride a thirty-foot section of trail without putting your foot down. Perhaps it was easier said than done...only 12 out of 26 teams successfully completed the test and gained a 10-minute time bonus. Ted Harlan held onto his lead over Team Rio, although they gained one minute during the climb to CP14. The skills test put Rio ahead of Harlan for good, at least on paper, as they were able to earn the 10-minute bonus, while Ted did not.

After the skills test, teams continued steeply uphill on rocky, loose singletrack. Most teams had to resort to hike-a-bike for at least part of this section. They were rewarded at the top with a fun, swoopy, 3-mile loop of beautiful singletrack before retracing their path all the way down to Eben Fine Park and the final test of the day: whitewater tubing.

Coming into the transition area, Ted Harlan was now only one minute ahead of Rio. However, Harlan had a quicker transition to his tubing gear, and was already in the water before Rio had left the TA. Like nearly all who participated in BYC-10, Harlan quickly discovered the power of the hydraulics on Boulder Creek.

With the unusually wet weather, Boulder Creek was running at almost full flow. The three- and four-foot drops on the kayak course make for fun playboating in a kayak, but the resulting holes certainly have a tendency to flip a person on an inner tube. The cold, volume, speed, and sheer noise of the whitewater combined to make this the most exciting and/or terrifying section of the course for most teams. While many racers swallowed some water and got dunked against their will (sometimes repeatedly), and one racer's knee suffered a nasty encounter with a rock, everyone avoided serious injury and most emerged from the water with huge smiles on their faces.

At the finish line, teams peeled off wet clothes and eagerly chowed on oranges, bananas, and junk food. Many ambled back to the creek to watch the fun as the remaining teams tried to stay afloat.

In the overall standings, Team Rio prevailed for first place over Ted Harlan with a time of 4:10 due to their bonus on the mountain bike section. Harlan's official time was 4:32, while Swede Jonas Fast earned a solid third place with 4:36. Not far behind at 4:48 were Hudie and the Blowfish, happy to be the first 3-person team to finish, and of course earning the free Balance Bar race entry as a result.

Earning the award for Best Attitude were 3-person team The Toe Scratchas, each completing an adventure race for the very first time, and each demonstrating their newfound passion for the sport in exemplary fashion. The Persistance Award goes to team Peggy Sue. This two-person female team may have been the only team not to finish, but it wasn't for lack of trying! Hopefully Team Peggy Sue will share some of their stories with the FROG group, as there must be some good ones there. Still up for grabs is the Scenic Route award, given to the team who took the most scenic (i.e., longest) route between checkpoints. Peggy Sue would be an obvious candidate, but also in the running would be the team who rode their bikes up Poorman Hill, and also the team who trekked up to Saddle Rock...twice. Please post your stories on the FROG list to get your awards!

Finally, I want to send a huge thanks to the hard working volunteers who showed up yesterday to make BYC-10 a great success. Allison Weiss helped at the main TA at Eben Fine, brought a huge umbrella, space heater, and water, and shopped for post-race snacks. Erik and Natalie Luhtala not only pre-ran the course, but completely handled the climbing section and braved cold rain, fog, and the hot sun to belay the racers. Kristen Harlan managed the remote outpost at CP14 and put everyone's mountain biking skills to the test. And Molly Bockmann pre-ran the course, helped manage the main TA, took lots of photos, and made sure racers didn't drink too much Boulder Creek water. It is always said, and it is always true...we couldn't have done it without them!

I'd also like to say thank you to all those who participated in this, the largest ever Backyard Challenge. I was inspired by your attitudes, smiles, teamwork, grit, and athleticism. I honestly had a blast putting this thing together, and you guys have made it all worthwhile. And just so you know, the great thing about the Colorado FROG group is that anyone can put on their own race just like I did. If you have the desire and initiative, you can do it. And people will help you, too.

Cheers,

Mark Bockmann