2007 YMCA Challenge Four

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1 YMCA Challenge Four Map
2 YMCA Challenge Four Website
3 YMCA Challenge Four Results
4 YMCA Challenge Four Reviews

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YMCA Challenge Four Map

2007 YMCA Challenge Four Adult Map

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YMCA Challenge Four Website

YMCA Challenge Four

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YMCA Challenge Four Results

Final Results

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YMCA Challenge Four Reviews

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Josh's Take

YMCA Challenge Four: hot as hell, canoing in mud, random people yelling.

All in all, a great experience:

First challenge--run and get maps/directions at end of park and come back. "Jordan, beat that guy", pointing to Enduraventure's Allen McAdams. He did by a few meters. "Nice Job! Put on your PFD, they said PFD for trek. Directions say CP1 on spur. CP1 that-a-way (bearing south)!" We scurry off...to CP1->CP6...in order...with our PFDs on...in the 97 degree heat.

CP2 took a little while for us to find, but other than that uneventful. Transition to biking leg wasn't bad, despite us losing 15 or so minutes by doing them in order because we didn't read the top of the directions where on tests they tell you to put your name in the blank blah blah blah.

Off to biking section. TAKE OFF ***** PFDs. This time we read directions. "Stay on marked bike course." Doh! We read them, now we have to be honest while 1/3 other teams were cutting course. Integrity check; honesty best policy. Take off on bike. Somebody at CTA starts yelling. "WTF. Oh, they're yelling at another team. Dang it. Stopped for that crap." Continue on. Followed CP0 across creek-bed with broken tape (must of been looking at our footfall in the stream bed). Trail forks then disappears. "What the dealio?" Start bikewhacking. Where the heck are we? CP0 confused. So are we. "Supposed to be here...what are these houses doing here?" Look at topo. "Holy crap we're on the hill south of where we should be. YARRRRRGG..." Bikewhack back to trail and back down to stream.

Bike trail now getting congested. "Gotta pull away else we'll get hung up. Hey, there's CP8." Right turn. "Hey, there's CP8." Left turn. "Hey, there's CP8." Start leaving CP8. "Why are we leaving CP8?" U-turn. "Hey, there's CP8. Get out the passport, I think we're gonna get to it this time." Right turn. "ARRRRGGGGHHHH!" Left turn. CP8. Punch, go.

We continued on the marked trail that went the opposite direction of the CTA (CP9 was in that direction) to find Lisa Randall at the bottom of the hill. Thought she might be taking team numbers of people going in the wrong direction, so I put my seatbelt on and maintained speed limit. "Yikes bikes everywhere." Critical mass on the 2 way trails. Time for special challenge #2. I'm running this time. Some guy yells at me from down in the field in the middle. "WTF. Why is that guy yelling at me. I stop, only to realize he thinks I'm somebody else. ARRGGGHHH!" I had a serious hatred for that guy. Vow to self not to stop again at some random dudes yelling unless they yell HELP in 5 different languages so I know they mean business. Find race ambassador, punch, go. Get back to CTA. Almost get K.O.ed by people speeding around blind corner.

Time for trek. Put back on ***** PFDs. Swim is nice. "Swimmedy swim swim. Swim swim swim. Hey, my legs keep hitting bottom. I'm in 2 feet of water!" Stand up. "Slosshedy slosh slosh."

Took bearing at CP11 and went directly over hill to CP12. Check. "Decision time. Up the hill and along the ridge to CP13 or coasteering? 5 seconds to make it." Coasteering. Not sure if this was the right choice or not, as it was a mix of running, climbing, and swimming. All I know is it was different and so it must be the cooler choice. I don't care how crappy we felt, the coasteering section was cool. Nothing like running on baseballs, swimming in spoiled chocolate milk, and climbing on wet cardboard. Oh wait.

Ultimately, we figured there'd be more houses that weren't on the map so we'd better stay close to water to avoid them, else we'd be bushwhacking it. We ended up being right. We went north along the coast, and when we were west of CP13 and a bit south decided to take a reentrent up the hill towards it. We met up with Enduraventure, CP0, and another team who were bushwhacking it to avoid the houses. We did the same until we got to CP13.

CP13 to CP14 was bad for me, as I was dizzy and having dehydration issues between CP12 and CP13 and so I was drinking a lot of fluids. Now I am having nausea issues and lagging the team. CP14 was all she wrote and we could no longer keep up with the front-runners. CP14-CP16 we did on our on. Despite my out-of-it state, I managed to get us to CP15 with the help of my teammates keeping me focused on nav. CP16 I regained my energy levels and the nausea left.

Canoe transition was a bit slower than the team immediately behind us (Sports Factory?), and so they pulled out a bit faster. The first section of the mud...errr...river included a couple of short portages to get over rocks. Navigating canoe based on Sport Factory's ability to paddle as they got stuck on mud and whatnot. About 50 meters behind them, we pulled into CP17, ran to it and caught them in the process. Ran back to canoe and left 50 meters ahead. "YES!"

Paddle on to CP18. Maintained distance, pulling away slightly. Went around bend in lake, now that it's opened up a bit, only to hit shallows. Jordan gets out to push about 30 meters. "Too late, they've caught us." They're now roughly 15 meters behind us. Some guy from the shore yells at us. "WTF! Can't hear what you're saying." I start complaining about all the people yelling random incoherent stuff at us while we're racing and Sports Factory (now neck and neck with us) smiles. I secretly wish people yell random stuff at them and cause them to stop and/or break train of thought. "Grrr."

We got to CP18 before we thought we would. Sport Factory pulls off just as I'm wondering, "What checkpoint could that be? There's none on the map between CP17 and CP18. DOH. That's 18!" We pull over a bit later than they, but they get the break on us when leaving. They high-tail it out of there and pull away from us, pulling into CP19 a solid 150 meters ahead.

We get to CP20, divide up the 4 tenants so that it's easier for us to remember, and run it on in.

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