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The Womens International Adventure Race. Berga, Spain. July 15th, 2005.

Stats/format:
Two person teams
All female
2-day stage race
Each day 4-8 hrs of racing

Events: trekking, mtn biking, swimming, orienteering, rollerblading, climbing, tyrolean traverse, ride and tie.

Prize money for overall top 3 and also the fastest times for certain sections of the race

At least 6 Nationalities represented

Navigation required over the entire course (i.e. no flagged sections)

The horn sounded and 62 super-fit ladies took off sprinting across the Berga River Bridge then onto a forest single track, scrambling up a steep hillside on all fours. This was the start of the Woman’s International Adventure Race (WIAR). Navigation decisions were being made in five or six different languages as the ladies made their way across the Catalan (a region in Spain) countryside for the next two days of competition.

This was the third edition of the WIAR, organized by adventure racer extraordinaire, Emma Roca. Emma lives in the Pyrenees mountains of Catalan, just 25 kilometers from Berga. Emma designed the “WIAR” to provide woman the opportunity to “shine” in a sport that is male-dominated, when woman are often sheltered by dominate males. “The importance of women on this kind of competitions is shown at the international raids, where is necessary to have, at least, a female as one of the team members..“ says Emma, “WIAR wants to promote females in sports, something that has been so many times discriminated, forgotten and never has had the recognition it deserved.”

This edition of the race featured 31 teams, many from the Barcelona area, including Team Abarth, which included the Spanish National Orienteering Champion, Vera Gil. There were three teams that traveled from Sweden, and an English team featuring speedster Helen Jackson. Also, our team from the United States, Rebecca Rusch and myself, Danelle Ballengee.

Of over 100 adventure races I have done, this was one of the most enjoyable and well organized . The course included a good variety and well balanced proportion of adventure-sports. The navigation was challenging… lots of decisions and choices…. and the checkpoints were all accurately placed in special places including castles and cathedrals. The course started with a trek, which also included two ¼ mile swims across a lake and a technical scramble along a loose, steep hillside. We new this race was for real after the first section! This course wasn’t toned-down by any means because we were girly-girls! We then switched to roller blades and made our way up a gradual paved road to the start of the climbing section. This was a true “climb“, with routes from 5a (fairly easy) to 6b (overhang). After the climb was a long trek, with several route options and cross-country travel, to the bike transition. Temperatures at this time had reached the high 90’s. The bike leg proved challenging as well, with many route options and intersections where quick decisions had to be made. Mid-way through the bike leg was a “ride and tie“, which entailed using only one bike per team and following an aerial photograph of the area, with checkpoints labeled, instead of using a typical map. Day two started with an orienteering section. There were 20 “controls“, or orienteering checkpoints. We had 1 hr. 15 min. to find as many as we could. For each point we found, time was subtracted from our overall race time. Some points were worth more than others depending of the difficulty. This was a fantastic orienteering course! We then set off on a mostly downhill bike ride that was super fast and included some unbelievable single track. The last section was a nice trek to the finish line.

What I most enjoyed about the race was the opportunity to truly be in charge of making decisions during the race and to work with my teammate in a constructive and efficient manner. We were accountable for our decisions and had to continuously “think” throughout the race. As many adventure racers know, especially women, sometimes the “dominate male” on the team makes all the decisions and the rest of the team just follows along like a puppy-dog. By not being a part of the decision making, we really miss out on a lot of the positive attributes of what adventure racing has to offer. One of the enjoyable and unique aspects of adventure racing is the planning, strategy, navigation, and decisions that need to be made during the race. This is what makes adventure racing different than a triathlon, bike, or running race. I find that when my brain is busy thinking, my body often moves faster because I’m not thinking about the physical work. I also find that when I am actively navigating and looking for landmarks or intersections, I enjoy and remember the scenery much more.

Racing with Rebecca was a joy. While there are a lot of male teammates that I also enjoy racing with, I found it different racing with another female. After all, both Rebecca and I are from Venus…. Those guys are from Mars. There is a difference! The difference I noticed is that woman tend to communicate a lot more. Woman are constantly looking out for landmarks, intersections, etc. to assure we are on the right track with navigation, and woman are constantly thinking ahead as far as strategy and pacing, etc. The guys might do this too, they just don’t express it or communicate it as much as the ladies. I’ve noticed that guys like to take charge of the map and plug along silently, and then confidently arrive at the checkpoint as if they are a “true man” for getting us there, whereas woman like to talk their way through each step of the way to reassure that everything is a-ok, and then arrive at the checkpoint relieved and excited that everything actually went just fine. Of course, I’m bias, I’m from Venus, but I really liked how Rebecca and I communicated and made decisions as a team. We re-confirmed our decisions with each other so that we were both liable and responsible for decisions we made-- good or bad. With this check-in system we didn’t made any big mistakes, and made very few little errors. This course was a good test, as there were many route choices and intersections along the way…lots of decisions! If anything, we learned that we need to trust our decisions more-- sometimes we might have spent a little too much time re-assuring ourselves and could have been scooting along a bit quicker. The opportunity we had in this race allowed us to gain experience to not only learn skills, but also to gain confidence in ourselves and our ability to make good decisions and take charge. I think that after this race, we felt more satisfaction in ourselves as well as excitement about doing more races like WIAR. We felt like we raced strong and hard and made the best choices we could. That is a bit of a different feeling than I get when racing with guys…. where sometimes I feel like I’m the “third wheel”….. wishing I could have contributed more to the effort, and feeling helpless/lost for not having the opportunity to correct mistakes. Can you ladies relate?

In the end, Rebecca and I finished second overall. We were behind by 6 seconds after the first day. Our biggest challenge the first day was making route choices in a totally unknown area and also the language barrier. Neither one of us spoke Catalan (the local dialect, very different than Spanish!), so it was difficult to communicate. These were challenges that the local Spanish teams didn’t have to face. The Spanish team was dang fast too… so a second here and there cost us first position. We went into the orienteering course the second day knowing we had to nail it! After all, we were up against the National Orienteering Champion!….. So we tried our best. We got all but 4 controls, and the Spanish team, Abarth, got all but 2. The team that finished third, team Salomon Alpina, had a different strategy… they followed the orienteering champion (Vera Gil, Abarth) around the course. So, they got all but two controls also. We were nervous we might have slipped into third position after hearing that, but fortunately we hung on to second!

After the race, the atmosphere was great! We practiced our Catalan, learned a little Swedish, hung out poolside in bikinis, with beers, and shared silly stories, like girls do…. laughing the whole time. You would have thought it was a Tupperware party…not one of the toughest, knarliest adventure races we’ve ever done! But we had scrapes, bruises, and sprains to prove it… no Tupperware! The guys were also there to share the fun and stories; as significant others and the super-handsome Catalan Fire Dept guys helped out as race volunteers and support crew.

I hope to have the opportunity to compete in in this type of adventure race again. I love racing with and against other guys too…. But it’s nice to have the opportunity to do both. Rebecca and I have kept in contact and hope to organize an event similar to WIAR here in the States next year. Keep on the lookout! We might also offer a camp too! There’s even talk of a woman’s team competing against the guys in one of the big expedition races next year….

On a final note, I want to encourage woman to get out there and be adventurous…. Be it on thier own outdoor journey or in a competition. Sometimes it can be intimidating around the guys, or even around the super fit woman. But don’t be intimidated! Remember, everyone started somewhere…. And there are a lot of mentors out there who are patient and willing to join you in your journey. If you enjoy the journey, learn something from it, and give it your best shot; that’s plenty to be proud of! See you out there!

Results:

1. Abarth, Monica Aguilera and Vera Gil                      6hr 45min 0 sec
2. Rubicon, Rebecca Rusch and Danelle Ballengee       6hr 56 min 4 sec
3. Salomon Alpina, Roser Espanol and Norea Martinez 7hr 2 min 19 sec
4. UKA w’s team Nabes, Nuvia Picas and Tina Bes       7hr 23 min 4 sec
5. Casall, Anna Agusti and Neus Tort                          7hr 29min 24 sec

I sat on the plane in route to Antelope, Oregon. I was to meet my Team Spyder teammate Rebecca Rusch to compete in the U.S. Rogaine Championships. This was a 24 hour orienteering competition. I had competed with Rebecca in an adventure race in Spain the prior year, so I new we would be compatible teammates and we would for sure have a good time. I wasn’t so sure that we wouldn’t get lost…..!!! I decided to review the race rules on the plane, only to realize that we had left behind a few pieces of mandatory gear, and learned that altimeters were not allowed. This was surprising new to me, as my Highgear Altimeter is one of my crucial navigation tools. Hmmm. So a trip to Wal-Mart was in store for us to pick up some items including a cheapo watch (without altimeter function!) to make sure we returned to the “Hash House” within the 24 hour time limit.
            Hash House? Rogaine? What kind of weirdoe race was this? As Rebecca and I drove to the start we envisioned seeing a bunch of pot-smoking, bald-headed men hanging out in some retro-like house. The Hash House is actually the start/finish area of the race, and actually it’s just a tent where they serve warm yummy food for the athletes during the race. A Rogaine is actually the Swedish word for an orienteering meet, in other words; searching for checkpoints using a map and compass. Nervousness set in as I thought about the 24 hrs ahead of me, and actually wished maybe our joke about the pot smoking bald men at the hash house would actually come true. It wasn’t. Instead we were greeted by several very fit and friendly athletes with map and compass in hand.
            Sure enough, we were late. Antelope was in the middle of no-where-Oregon. It took a while to make our way past the lush vegetation and waterfalls of the Columbia River Gorge of eastern Oregon and into the contrasting dry grasslands and rolling hills of Central Oregon, home of the Big Muddy Rogaine, as it was called. We wondered why it was called the “Big Muddy” because we saw little sources for mud around. (Turns out the little creek that runs though the area is called the Big Muddy River.) The Rogaine was on a parcel of a several thousand acre private piece of land; the land itself having quite a history which we would learn about later. In the meantime we scrambled to collect our maps, control punch (to prove we’d been to the checkpoints), and several hours worth of food and water. While lacing our shoes, the gun went off. Yes, we were late for the start. We stayed mostly calm knowing we still had 24 hrs to complete this thing. I glanced at the map which looked like a checkerboard of hills with little dots indicating checkpoints.   Whew! There were over 30 checkpoints. Hmmm..    So in about 30 seconds, like a little kid with a crayola I picked a start point and connected the dots in as logical order as I could into what would be our predicted route. I made three loops, coming through the Hash House to refuel between each loop. I would have liked about an hour to look over the map, but oh well, at least we got an extra hour sleep before the race!
            So then we were off and running. Only a couple minutes late and chasing past some other teams. Many teams choose to walk to the checkpoints to conserve energy. We chose to run, at least as long as we felt good. We made it to the first checkpoint with no problem. We had the help of watching another team come and go from the checkpoint, which certainly helped, but our confidence was boosted none-the-less. We continued running and made our way to the next two checkpoints. As we made our way to the fourth we realized we had chosen a route that no other team had chosen. It was a little further, but worth big points (some checkpoints were worth more points than others, and the goal was to get as many points as possible in 24 hrs.). We aced it and continued running, feeling good about our progress so far. Rebecca and I worked well together; we kept a moderate pace; not too fast and not too slow. Typically in the adventure races we do, the guys start out really fast and it’s hard to keep from “blowing up” later in the race. It was nice to cruise along steady. We communicated well with each other. Since we each had a race map we could walk and talk and bounce thoughts and ideas off each other as we progressed. We confirmed each move with each other as we made our way to the checkpoints. Each checkpoint was about a ½ mile to 2 miles apart.
Things were going well, and we were about 6 hours into the race. We had just got a checkpoint atop Black Rock, a fairly high peak in the area. From a viewpoint atop the peak we took a bearing to the next checkpoint, which was far below in the valley. Following our compass, we scrambled down the steep hillside toward the checkpoint. But no checkpoint? We searched and searched but couldn’t find it. There were a couple other teams searching for the same checkpoint and they came and went after a while. We didn’t know if they found it and left or if they didn’t find it and left. We searched a while and decided to skip it. It wasn’t worth very many points and we didn’t want to waste too much time. So we continued on, chin's down and discouraged. We were nervous looking for the next checkpoint as we were unsure of our position and our confidence was blown since we missed the last one. Fortunately we found the next one with little problem and we regained our confidence and momentum.   We were moving at a fast walk at this point, since the terrain was more rugged and slightly uphill. The next checkpoint was on the edge of the map and caused us some confusion as the high point of the hill was off the edge of the map so we didn’t have a good frame of refrence. Once we sorted it out we found the checkpoint and continued on. At the next checkpoint we were greeted by a team of 4 ladies doing the race at a “more casual” pace. They were enjoying a snack and the view. We stopped long enough for a short chat and a photo, and then carried on. The sun was getting low and we were loosing our daylight. The realization of this put a “bee in our butts,” which we needed at the point to keep our momentum going. We hustled on, enjoying the beautiful area and the challenge each checkpoint posed. Our plan was to return to the hash house before dark to grab our bright headlamps and to refuel and rehydrate before heading out on another loop. We arrived just as it got dark and enjoyed a warm bowl of chili and prepared our gear for the night ahead.
            It was completely dark when we headed out and we both simultaneously had a moment of complete disorientation. The first night checkpoint was only 200 or so meters from the hash house and Rebecca and I both stumbled around in the dark doing circles before we decided to re-group and reorient. Once we calmed down, we found the checkpoint but realized that the night orienteering definitely was going to be a challenge. We tried to choose a route where we could use mainly roads, even though it entailed some extra distance. As the night went on, fatigue and sleepiness set in and our pace slowed, but we continued and actually did a good job of finding the checkpoints. We realized we weren’t going to be able to find all the checkpoints, so we tried to make it priority to get the ones with more points, when possible. We fought the zzz’s and each of us though about stopping for a nap but never said anything as we are both competitors, so we continued with our walk/jog momentum. We knew we had to overcome the fatigue, as we had done many times before in adventure races. Our conversational energy quieted, but we still continued to work together with the navigation, even more so at night knowing we needed both our brains and both sets of eyes to accurately fight the fatigue and dark and properly night navigate. At one point we stopped for a snack and I put on my ankle brace, as my ankle had surgery 5 months prior, and with only three months weight bearing, the tendon was not as strong as normal and was weakening and sore. The brace helped and we carried on. I remember a conversation between us during the wee hours of the morning about why we do these crazy kinds of ultra-endurance events and how much longer we’ll be doing them. Both of us fatigue at the time settled with the fact that we really are a little crazy to do this kind of thing, but knowing in the back of our mind that once we persevere through the suffering, that the reward of achievement and the personal satisfaction of “doing” is worth it.
As first light made its way over the landscape, we knew we would soon be warmed by the sun and our job of finding more checkpoints would be easier. The energy of the sun also energized our pep, and although our legs were fatigue and eyes a bit droopy from lack of sleep, we had a new energy as we continued on. As we planned the rest of our route, we had kept in mind our timeframe, knowing that every second we came in after noon would cost us points. We wanted to be in well before noon, just in case. Our conversation also turned to our main competition in our category; the “Mom’s on a Mission.”   With the word “Mom” in the title, one might assume they were doing the race for fun—a break from the responsibilities of the kids, right? Otherwise perhaps they’d call themselves “Gals on a Mission” or “Divas on a Mission.” Or so we assumed. “Mom’s” suggests, or so we assumed; keeping overly busy with the kids and housework and cooking responsibilities, perhaps also holding a job. Could these “Mom’s” potentially be competition for two well-achieved adventure racers without kids nor husband to take care of? You’d think not, but… both Rebecca and I chatted about many a mom’s who most days of the week can kick our ass be it in cycling, running, kayaking,…..rogaining, etc. We reminded ourselves of the German woman from the way-back-when Olympic games-- who induced pregnancy then abortion prior to competing; as supposedly the hormones released after pregnancy allow for lower body fat and increased VO2. I suspect the truth in that story, yet decided that indeed the “Mom’s on a Mission” might actually be tough competition for us, and not to be taken lightly! With that in mind, we changed our route strategy.
Originally, we were going to swing through the hash house before making another loop, but we realized we could save ourselves a ½ mile to mile of travel if we just continued on without the pit-stop. We had enough food and water with us; so we charged on. Our pace had slowed after over 20 hrs on foot, but we still managed a walk/jog. It was a long distance to our next checkpoint, and we made a slight error in route as we headed up one re-entrant too early. It was easily corrected, but frustrating as we had to traverse a side slope. I looked at my watch, and studied the map and convinced Rebecca to get one more checkpoint before returning to the finish. Not wanting to be late, and with our pace slowing due to fatigue, she was a bit worried, but agreed. So we charged on for one more, and aced it. I kind of wanted to charge on for another, but knew it would require us to pick up the pace and could be risky. I accepted Rebecca’s advice and agreed it wasn’t worth the risk…but first asked “but do you think the mama’s..” “No way in hell, honestly…I mean, I just don’t think so” she replied. I thought to myself, “yeah we’d been doing really well at navigating-- not making any big errors, and our pace had been steady.” I figured Rebecca was right, we were safe.   But, were we????
            We made our way back to the finish at the hash house and checked in. We had about an hour to spare. We had been out about 23 hours. There were still several teams out there. We were in need of a bath and a nap. We drove a short distance to a little lake where we washed and laid down for a short but sweet nap. We went back to the hash house in anticipation of the results. We found out the Mama’s had arrived only a couple minutes before the 24 hour cutoff!! I caught my first glance of the Mama’s—fit and still with compass in hand discussing routes, etc. with some other teams. There definitely was no post-pregnancy fat on them, and they certainly new there stuff when it came to navigation! “Had we been too conservative?” I wondered if we should have hustled to get that last checkpoint.   Word began floating around that it was a close race, as we anxiously awaited results.
            It was time for results, and we found out that Team Spyder had narrowly surpassed the Mom’s on a Mission to take the win. The point spread was close, only a couple checkpoints! Whoa! There were two male teams ahead of us, who got all but one or two checkpoints. We were third behind them and the Mama’s were forth! A good showing for the gals! We also found out that several other teams struggled with finding the checkpoint below Black Rock and in the end we were awarded the points for that checkpoint! Both Rebecca and I had to rush to catch a flight back home, but we had time for a photo and a short chat with the Mom’s who were super friendly. They did the Rogaine on Mothers Day, and a good day indeed it was for them! And for Rebecca and I as well. We really enjoyed our first Rogaine and were thrilled with our title of US Rogaine Champs. We’ll be back for more!

It's snowing. Beautiful white fluffy snow all over. And I'm stuck inside. I want so bad to be out there running and jumping through the snow, wresting with my dog and snowshoeing through the woods and up and down those beautiful mountains.

I had to have surgery on my ankle seven weeks ago. I tore some tendons in my right ankle while running on Mt Bachlor last summer. Time off from running and rehab didn't help... I finally went in and saw a specialist last fall, Dr Buccannan, an excellent doc here in Summit Cty. The MRI showed a complete tear and he infomed me that surgery was really the only solution if I wanted to be able to run normally again. I scheduled the surgery for the next day. The good news is that once I heal up, I should be back running 100% again! The surgery went well and the next thing I knew I was in a cast and getting around with crutches.

I have to say that forced time away from the sport you love makes you appreciate it even more. The first month of rest wasn't too bad. I needed a break from a training and racing. After all, it has been 15 years since I've taken a 'true' break. I spent a lot of time sleeping, letting my ankle rest and heal. I actually caught up on a few movies, which I rarely take time to see and I actually know more about world news than I really care to know (at least at this period in time....) It's been 7 weeks now, since the surgery. My right leg has atrophied to almost nothing and the rest of me is turning really 'soft.' All I want to do is run!! I love running, it's my favorite thing... I really really miss it! I did get the go-ahead from the doc to ride the stationary bike. I also can swim with the pool buoy (so I don't kick) and can row (with one leg) and use the arm ergometer (yippee??). That's great and all, but it's just not the same. I want to run...I want to be outside with my snowshoes running through the forest with my dog!

Since I couldn't participate, I volunteered at a night snowshoe race in Breckenridge yesterday. I stood out there and froze my ass off doing timing while my friends got to run. It was sad for me. I was jealous. I missed that nervous feeling I get while standing at the start line. I missed running across the snow, pushing myself-- using my heart, lungs, and muscles till they hurt. My friends were so excited after they finished. I was proud for them, and I missed sharing that with them. I even missed coughing up nasty chunks after a hard effort in the cold weather (you snowshoe racers know what I mean....) I can't wait to get my turn to participate again. It was good for me to volunteer. It was the least I could do after years of competing! I will volunteer again, even once I’m capable of participating.

I know when I get the go ahead to run that it's going to be a long haul to get back to true running shape. But I will appreciate it even more! I will never take the opportunity to run for granted. I will be happy I had the surgery and was patient with the healing process so that I can run for many years into the future. I am glad that I was in shape before the surgery so that getting back into running shape will be a little easier. I'm glad I get to do my 'little exercises' now, so that I will have a bit of a base for running. I look out the window. It's beautiful out there. I'm drooling...I want to be out there playing. I live in a beautiful place and I appreciate that I have the ability to get out there and enjoy it. I know I'll be out there soon, and I'll respect and savor that opportunity even more.