Backyard Challenge XII
race report

By Mark Bockmann, race director

As the sun sank lower on the horizon, sixteen teams gathered at a vacant lot in North Boulder, eager to start the latest Backyard Challenge. BYC-12, the "Full Moon Fracas", would take place in the fading twilight and, later, the bright light of the full moon.

As an environmentally friendly statement (this is Boulder, after all), teams were offered a 5-minute time bonus if they arrived at the race via bike or public transportation. Six teams took advantage of this bonus, and were allowed to start five minutes before the rest of the pack.

And they were off! The eco-minded racers in the first wave included some of the fastest teams at the event, and they quickly pedaled their bikes up a rocky hill toward the first and only manned checkpoint, just minutes away. Wave number two soon began the chase, and before long teams were spread out over a distance of miles.

Both the initial mountain bike section and the following orienteering section were "Rogaine" style, meaning teams could choose their own routes and collect the checkpoints in any order. Route choices varied dramatically, and no doubt played a major factor in the overall standings.

At the one-hour mark, the first teams started appearing back at the transition area. GoLite/Timberland Sprint had taken an early lead, but was being chased hard by solo racers Stephen Price and Graham Barnes, just two minutes behind. Competition was tough at the front, with the top five teams all within ten minutes of each other after the biking section.

Faster teams had the advantage of being able to complete the first section before the last remaining daylight disappeared. As darkness gathered, teams still on the bike course slowed predictably, switching on their lights to help guide the way.

Reports filtered in at the transition area. All of the checkpoint controls (in this case, fluorescent yellow ribbons marked with a code) were reported to be in the correct locations, but some of these locations were a bit tricky. In particular, CP2, described as being 4 meters east of a bridge, caused some teams a high degree of frustration. The evil course designers, knowing that there were three bridges on this particular trail, placed the marker at the middle one. Less attentive teams searched for the control at the first bridge they came across, failing to notice on the map that there was more than one stream crossing on the trail. In other reports, teams noted that the course conditions were a bit muddy due to recent rains.

With more and more teams completing the bike section and continuing on to the trek orienteering, the Front Range hills were soon alive with dozens of tiny lights visible from a distance. It was interesting to watch the variety of route choices. Some teams opted to bushwhack straight between checkpoints, while others, heeding the race director's warning about steep slopes choked with vegetation and loose rock, stuck to the trails as much as possible. The fastest routes tended to combine trail running when possible, with several carefully chosen stretches of off-trail bushwhacking when necessary. In actuality, most of the off-trail travel, if chosen wisely, was quite easy, with minimal vegetation or rocks to slow the teams' progress.

Out on the course, the full moon rose over the eastern plains, enormous and orange. As it climbed higher, it grew brighter until headlamps were almost superfluous. In fact, some teams switched off their lights in order to avoid giving away checkpoint locations to the competition. Other teams couldn't care less about the competitive aspects of the event, and simply enjoyed the sights and sounds of a beautiful autumn night under a full moon. Foxes and mule deer were seen and appreciated, as well as a herd of cows and some llamas. Team No Expectations howled at the moon and received an answer from a pack of coyotes somewhere nearby. Crickets and frogs chirped. Lights twinkled from town far below. It was a good night to be out.

Meanwhile, at the front of the pack, Stephen Price blazed through the orienteering course and finished in first place with a time of 2:08. GoLite/Timberland Sprint came in eight minutes later, and then Team Croak in third place, still looking strong after an aborted bushwhacking attempt between CP9 and CP8. Over the next hour, teams steadily trickled in to the finish line. Most hung around briefly to sort gear and swap stories, then hurried back to Mark and Molly's place for some much anticipated pizza and beer.

With the cutoff time fast approaching, most teams were safe and sound after completing the course, but one team, the appropriately named No Expectations, was still somewhere out on the bikes! Just as some were thinking about rallying a search party, the missing team appeared. They were cheerful and all smiles as always, jazzed about spending the evening out with the cows, llamas, coyotes, and the moon, and not at all concerned about missing the orienteering section. To the contrary, they felt that teams who were "racing" missed out on the true essence of the sport, which is really about the camaraderie of friends and bonding with nature. That's one of the great things about adventure racing. It can be enjoyed for all kinds of reasons.

Back at the party, teams chowed on pizza and discussed the personality disorder that afflicts Demon, the race directors' cat (whose fur is as black as her soul). A box of schwag was raffled off to competitors, courtesy of Eastern Mountain Sports, Colorado FROG's latest partner. And eventually everyone went home to a well-earned rest.