2008 SOAR Highlands
From 4LPH41337.com
Contents |
2008 SOAR Highlands Pictures
| Pictures | |||
Jordan Laura Mountains |
Jordan Prerace Prep |
Laura Prerace Prep |
Race Morning |
Laura Prepping Bikes At Start |
Laura Punching Bike CP |
Laura Punching Trek CP |
Team at Finish |
Jordan & Laura with "The Colonel" |
2008 SOAR Highlands Maps
2008 SOAR Highlands Website
2008 SOAR Highlands Results
2008 SOAR Highlands Reviews
Jordan's Take
Like Laura I cannot say enough about the crew that put on this race. They are all fabulous people, and are out to support a great cause. All in all the race was fair and physically challenging. I have to applaud the Course designer for throwing in the exciting rides on the forest service roads. These trails either had yet to be mowed or were abandoned by the Forest service, which made it much more exciting than the norm.
Race Synopsis:
The weather for the race was perfect. It was in the mid-50's when we started the race in the middle of Highlands, after the bagpiping and prayer. The route to the first CP quickly showed the dramatic elevation changes that we were in for during the race. We arrived at CP1 at Cole Gap in the mid-front of the pack, even though I dropped my compass early on the bike and had to stop to retrieve it. The RD had suggested that from CP1 the proper path would be to take unkempt forest service roads West up and around to CP2. Not being the best bikers, Laura and I decided to head back South on the roads and then West to CP2. This would would result in an extra couple Kilometers of riding, but would keep us off the terrible/hard-to-navigate single track. This would have worked out perfectly if we didn't miss our turn to CP2. Instead we biked another kilometer West and more importantly down a hill before realizing we had missed the turn.
Once back up to CP2, we quickly got CP3 since we had already passed it on the road en route to CP2. Then we had a fun single track downhill extravaganza to get to Turtle Pond Road. Turtle Pond provided our second extended seat climb of the day. We dropped our bikes at CP-4 / Broadway Gap and started the trek section. Wanting to start out slowly we hiked West until we reached the turnoff for the Bartram Trail connector. This is where everything got hairy. This was a four way interchange where no one seemed to know where to go. There were teams who continued West on the forest service road, thinking that they were on Dillard (the main road). There were also some teams that headed North, traveling in the complete wrong direction.
The complete confusion made us slow down and reaffirm where we were. We resolved to head South through the gate (as instructed in the pre-race meeting) and quickly encountered the HS team from Texas coming back in the opposite direction. After helping them in the wrong direction, I had to run to catch up to them and bring them along on the Bartram Trail connector. We then hiked up and up and up to the top of Scaly Mountain, where we stopped to take a few pictures. Traveling back down and along the winding Bartram trail we finally reached CP6 at the Osage Mtn. Overlook.
At the overlook for only a quick passport punch we quickly started off down in the ~4 mile trek along the Bartram Trail. This proved to be a fairly difficult trek since running was mildly dangerous due to the thick covering of leaves over the often rocky trail. We decided to take it at a measured pace and ended up finishing that leg in a leisurely ~50 minutes.
We were not really excited to get back on the bikes at CP7, but were greeted by a wild ride on a "reclaimed" forest services road. At one point we were happy to ride for 1 minute without having to get off the bike and throw it over a log or hike around a cluster of downed trees. We slowly made our way through the trail, across a river and back on to a maintained forest service road on the way down to CP8. At the UTM coord's for CP8 we encountered a crowd of elite racers. We all searched the immediate area, but the CP was not found. We resolved that it must have been misplaced and decided to continue on, since the cut off time for CP9 was quickly approaching.
We made good time up to CP9, just moments after the cutoff time (which was not enforced since the race was taking much longer than anticipated). Reaching CP8 meant we had the a serious climb ahead on the way up to Glens Falls. Once we reached Glens Falls the volunteers there told us that due to the rain/lightening the Canoe segment was canceled. This boosted our spirits a bit, since we were both tired from the climb. We raced back to the civic center and the hiked up to the top of what I think is Bearpen Mountain. There we donned our climbing harnesses and dropped 120ft down to the bottom. Thereafter we ran, still wearing our harnesses, back to down and finished.
This was definitely a learning experience for both of us, and I think we both learned quite a bit about each other. Laura was tough on the bike until the very end, and we did exceptionally well because of it. Navigation was a challenge since I wasn't used to the extra gear or responsibility. Because of it I didn't eat enough, but luckily the race was short enough that it didn't have a big impact.
Laura's Take
This was my first 12 hour race, and with Josh's coaxing (which can be quite convincing, everyone beware!), I signed up. Overall, it was a great course. This year's course was tough, physically, but when you got to the CP, it was usually very easy to find. I found this to be less mentally draining than courses where you have to search all around with great minutia to find the CP after finally arriving to the location! Jordan did an awesome job navigating and planning our course. He made some excellent decisions when selecting our course- especially the execution to checkpoint 2. We opted for a few more miles on the bike, going downhill on roads, instead of bushwhacking through chest-high grass! Our team morale throughout the race was good, and we had some great scenery! We really had no idea how we were doing until we got to the rappelling (which was a blast!) and Mr. Lindsey (who had taught me to rappel the night before), told me I was the first female to get there. When I was going down the rappel (150' I think), Mr. Lindsey told me to look over to the left so the paper could take my picture. When I did, I caught a glimpse of the far away ground, and I screamed like a girl, and had to look straight ahead for the remainder of the descent! After being the first co-ed team to cross the finish line, the Salomon representative asked how I liked my pink Salomon racing shoes. I was then offered a new pair for being the first female across the line. Of course, a girl loves shoes, so I accepted! Truth be told, the only reason I was the first female was because of Jordan's fantastic navigation! He truly deserves the shoes! We were then interviewed by the Highlander, the local newspaper. The volunteers were awesome-we met many of them at the pre-race dinner and meeting. They were very appreciative of our participation in the race which supports the Special Operations Warrior Foundation. The fund allows children of fallen soldiers to attend college. They currently have 100 students in school and 30 graduated this year. It was a touching start where we heard our National Anthem sung and heard a short testimonial of a mom whose husband was killed in combat when she was 4 months pregnant. Her son just graduated from Clemson as an engineer because of the foundation. What a great cause to support! The race's goal of helping these students was frequently mentioned and that made the event more worthwhile! I would be very open to doing this race again... and MAYBE another 12 hour race(I say this VERY cautiously, Josh!)
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