Team NoMAR

2008 Currahee Race Review!!!

Before I get into the blow by blow account of the epic day we had let me first say a few things.  Team DWP Andy Michal and Brandon; and Solos Steve and Chris were awesome to compete with.  Truly great men and it would not have been the same if you had not been there.  Pictures are on the web under a new gallery so check them out.

We arrived to what started as a little chilly of a morning but the rain that had been promised was nowhere to be found.  Most teams stripped down to base layers so as not to heat up during the race.  It was great to have so many guys there racing and have such a strong showing from this group.  After checking and rechecking our gear the time finally came to hit the starting line.  The first leg would be an in and out on foot that would take us just over a mile into the course before we would have to turn around and come back.  After a half mile the advanced solo route split off and we all waved to Chris and Steve, wondering if we cross paths again.  At the turn around the pack was starting to thin out we made it back to the starting line behind most of the group.  We made a lighting fast transition as Scot and Greg readied the bikes while I retrieved the map.  Looking down at the map for the first time took my breath away.  Green lines delineated what trails we were aloud to ride and red lines showed us where we had to travel by foot.  I couldn’t believe how much red was on the map.  The most concerning was the long red line that wandered it’s way up to the 1,740 ft  summit of Currahee Mountain.  I knew we were not going to be strong on the run as other teams and that the more we could stay on the bike the better.  I decided that we should take the mountain first and move south through the course.  We made a long 3.5 mile ride to the top of the map grabbing out 1^st check point on the way.  The course was covered in mud as the days of rain proceeding the race and done there worst.  Greg face planted avoiding a mud hole and I had to vault off my bike as my wheel buried itself nearly to the axel.  As we both waited for Scot to come around the corner we watched an entire team pile up in the same trench.  Scot was spared our fate as the trail was now blocked with bodies.  We laughed it off and pushed ahead.  We also had the pleasure of leapfrogging back and forth with Steve and Chris who met us halfway from another direction.  We parted ways at our first transition to a run.  The two solos headed west to CP 2 while we headed up the mountain to CP 5.  When we finally got to the top we were forced to carry one of our team members via a stretcher 30 yards down the mountain and back up.  Scot and I both rode one of the legs while Greg pulled double duty.  Back down the mountain we ran past our bikes to CP 2 where a 15ft cargo net was waiting for us to scale.  2/12 checkpoints and 2/4 challenges down and it was nearly an hour in.  The mountain had taken awhile.  We made great time for awhile biking to CP 1; 4; and 6.  We ran into Steve and Chris again and compared notes.  They warned us of the trail to the south and we wished them luck as the journeyed off our map.  At 6 we were made to throw a car tire over an 11 ft high post.  Scot quickly deduced that if I got on someone’s shoulders it would be a much simpler matter.  Greg obliged with the heavy lifting again and then we ran to grab checkpoint 3 and 8.  Number 3 was completely hidden and there were about 15 of us looking for it.  We finally found it as a committee and were able to move on.  But we did lose some time and have to backtrack a bit.  We rode our bikes to CP 9 with 2/3^rd of the course done.  We were met with our last challenge where we had to tarzan across a wide creek.  On the way back Scot and Greg both got dipped in the water.  At that juncture we had to make a critical decision whether to run or ride out the rest of the course.  We elected to make time on the bike and quickly found ourselves one check point way from being done at the end of a very fast 3.5 mile ride.  The final CP (11) was at the top of a very steep rise and we elected to leave the bikes and carry on via foot even though we were aloud to ride.  We had to scramble over boulders to cross a creek and then re-cross it to stay on the trail.  Another team was electing to follow our choice and they were climbing behind us.  I turned around to pull one of there members up over a large stone and when he took my hand he looked up and exclaimed.  “You guys are team NoMAR from the website right.”

I recognized the guys from Yargo and we chatted all the way up to the top.  It made a grueling climb go much faster.  On the way down my legs were done and filed a formal protest in the form of dueling quad cramps.  A bit of stretching got me going again and once on the bike I was fine.  As we started to pedal to the finish line I could not believe my watch.  I was blown away at how well we had done.  We crossed the line at 4 hrs and 36 minutes by my watch. (unofficially)  That is nearly a half hour faster than last year.  I couldn’t be happier with our performance!  Team DWP (disciples with purpose) ran an outstanding race as did our two solos Chris and Steve.  I’ll leave them to tell there own stories as there routes were different and epic in themselves.  (Wait until you hear Steve’s 4 mile hike-a-bike finish)  Congrats to all who participated, it was a truly awesome day!

The Results are in.

3-Male

Team NoMAR placed 7th

Team DWP placed 10th

Solo

Steve and Chris came in just after official time. Darn broke chain.

Great job guys!

Great job everyone! Big shout out to Andy, Michael and Brandon! Way to finish better than we did our first year!

I'm pleased with our (Team NoMAR) improvement over last year. I'm sure if we all paricipate next year, it will be a race to the finish!

Chris and Steve would've killed it if not for the mechanical. As Ragan said, what a great friend Chris was to hang with Steve through the broken chain and finish together even though you guys were in the solo division. Chris personifies “no man left behind!”, or better yet, “No NoMARer left behind”!

It was a pleasure racing with all of you gents…Looking forward to hitting it again in 2009!

God Bless,

Scot