Gilmore Adventure Race
On Saturday Justin & I and Justin's brother Trent and his wife Lindsay all competed together in the Gilmore Adventure Race up in Prescott. We had to be at the race to check in by 7am, which meant we had to wake up at 3:45am to leave by 4:15am. NOT exactly the best way to start a race day, but it's what we had to do. We drove to Prescott, had breakfast at Cracker Barrel (love that place!) and made it to the race site. It was held just past Prescott up in the mountains. After check-in we went and set up our 10x10 square at the Staging Area (the spot where we leave all of our stuff and come back to get different items throughout the race). We couldn't help but laugh at ourselves as we saw all these other teams around us wearing sponsor shirts, working on their super sweet bikes, stretching and getting themselves pumped up for the race....and here we were. None of us really wearing proper clothing (it was cold), we had our $4 shirts from Walmart with our homemade iron-on team "logo" (our team name was 4.0 since we were four Owens')...We were so pathetic looking, but we had already decided that we were there to have fun and not necessarily to win. Well, to be more honest, the wives made the decision that we weren't doing this race to win it since neither of us really trained at all. We laughed at ourselves and had a good time waiting for the race to start.
I'm pretty sure my cowboy hat didn't make me look like a racer to be feared either...
Some of the other racers really get into this. They set up camp rather than throw all their junk on the ground like us (we brought two camping chairs along with a beach umbrella, two beach chairs, and a beach mat...which probably all made us look like bigger stooges. A few of the other racers asked us if we had ever raced before, LOL! I just couldn't stop laughing. I think they were surprised when I told them Justin and I had done this race three years ago. We actually would have won our division (short course co-ed) had we not be disqualified for accidentally checking into two of the checkpoints out of order. I don't think we came so close this year...
There are two different starts, the long course, which is 24-30 miles and for the more "prepared" racers, and the short course, a 12-15 mile course for those not so 'hardcore' racers. Don't be fooled though, the 12-15 mile course is all up and down hills and mountains and was NOT easy. Our first portion was the trekking portion. We hiked approximately 4 miles up, around, and down two mountains called Bean Peaks. We were not following any trails, we were given a topographical map and plot points to figure out on our own using our ruler, compass, and the map. The mountain peak was about 500 feet higher in elevation than our starting point (which was at 6000ft). Let me emphasize that we were RACING up this peak though, not taking a leisurely hike, and with the elevation we were really huffing and puffing. This first portion was rough!
Unfortunately we didn't get any other pictures on the course because we were just moving nonstop for five hours straight. There was a cutoff for us to finish at 2pm (racing started at 9:05am) and we busted our bums from 9am for five hours straight! The only stops we had were at the checkpoints, mystery challenges, and switching from trekking to biking. Since we ate breakfast at 6:30am, you can probably guess that our granola bars and apples weren't really cutting it and we were STARVING and exhausted (and stinky) by the time we finished. The biking was fun but rough. About 60% of it was on mountain roads and the rest was on rough(in my opinion) and narrow trails. Since we are in the mountains it was very hilly too and half the time I'd get almost to the top of the hill and then my quads would be burning up so I'd hop off and walk my bike the rest of the way up and then hop on again. This was the only portion Justin and I sort of trained for. We have been biking along the canal by our house 1-2 times a week for the past two months. We'd typically bike for about 7-10 miles. So with that training, these hills in the race STILL burned my legs out! (I'm just trying to EMPHASIZE that this was not easy!!!!)
We had three mystery challenges on the course. With a mystery challenge you can choose to do the challenge or take a 30 minute time penalty. If you attempt the challenge and cannot complete it you still get a 30min. penalty. The first challenge was to make a bridge using small dominoes. The bridge had to be self-supporting and wide enough for us to pass the domino boxes (approximately 2in wide, 3-4in tall and 6 in long). The bridge had to hold itself while we passed the boxes under the bridge completely. The second challenge was tossing 2in washers into a hole in a box about 12-15 feet from us. The hole was about the size of an orange. We had to get four washers into the hole. It seemed like it would take forever but we actually got through it quickly. The third challenge was a circle puzzle. We had three pegs. One peg had 6-7 circle cutouts of plywood, ranging in size from largest (on bottom) to smallest. We had to move the entire pile to another peg, but we could only move one piece at a time and we couldn't put any larger pieces on top of smaller pieces. It was a crazy mind game. Only one team member could work on it at a time, and the rest of us had to stand off to the side and yell out directions (or at least what we thought would work). There was no easy way to do it. It took at least 50 moves, and at one point you'd think you have it down and then you'd get stuck again and have to take 5 more moves... Some teams got stuck on this one for a LONG time. We were lucky enough to figure it out in a decent amount of time (4.0 really fits us smarties) :)
Between the last mystery event (circle puzzle) and the finish, Justin's tire all of a sudden let out a loud sssshhhhh. It was dead flat in about 20 seconds. He figured we were less than a mile from the end and the other teams who we had just past at the puzzle were not far behind us, he ran his bike to the finish, instead of changing the tire. He was definitely tired when we got to the wall but running rather than changing the tire likely allowed us to finish before the cutoff.
Just to kick us when we have absolutely no energy left, they make us scale a 12ft. wall right before the finish line (see the yellow checkered flag behind the wall?!). We reached this wall 11 minutes before the cutoff time for the race. We can only use our teammates and a 20ft length of rope we provide ourselves. In these pictures the wall is clear (it was after the race was over) but when we were actually scaling the wall there were other teams scaling at the same time, so we didn't have a lot of room and it was really rushed because we were racing other teams! Justin boosted Trent up first, and he straddled the top to help pull the rest of us up. With Justin's boost and Trent's help I got up to the top but the other team had a guy sitting on top in the middle and I couldn't swing my leg over because his big butt was in the way (and I have long legs)! Trent kept trying to pull me over more but my head and shoulders were hanging off the other side looking at a 12ft drop and that was freaking me out! So I was stuck there on the top on my stomach for a good minute or two until the other guy inched over a few inches so I could swing my leg over. I felt like I'd been punched in the gut after that! Lindsay had a similar experience getting over the wall too. Justin probably had the most challenging experience because he didn't have anyone to boost him up, so he had to run and try to climb his way up high enough for Trent to reach his hand (at about 10ft). We had our rope slung over the wall as well for him to grab onto to get up that extra foot or two (Lindsay and I were holding it from the other side) It took a few tries but we made it without breaking any legs!
I didn't care to make a cute pose at the wall, we just laid on it for the picture (which turns out to not be the most flattering). I hate that wall!!! We had to scale it for our last race but it didn't have the 2ft rise on top, it was just a 10ft wall back in 2007.
This course was definitely more difficult the one Justin and I did, and it really isn't just that we are older and out of shape. Several other teams came in behind us and they have done the race before too. They commented that it was tougher than the prior years as well. We were drenched in sweat and thankfully we had Gilmore Adventure shirts to change into, so we headed to the campground showers and rinsed off and put on our new shirts (and at least half us us went commando home since we neglected to bring extra undergarments, TMI? I don't care...)
It really was a great race. It was hard, but to think that I burned probably 2000 calories makes me feel great! Justin wants to do another one already and I'd like to go biking more, in the hills. It was really fun when you forget about the parts where you feel like your muscles are going to melt off your bones because they are burning so hot. Maybe next year....who will join us?
On Saturday Justin & I and Justin's brother Trent and his wife Lindsay all competed together in the Gilmore Adventure Race up in Prescott. We had to be at the race to check in by 7am, which meant we had to wake up at 3:45am to leave by 4:15am. NOT exactly the best way to start a race day, but it's what we had to do. We drove to Prescott, had breakfast at Cracker Barrel (love that place!) and made it to the race site. It was held just past Prescott up in the mountains. After check-in we went and set up our 10x10 square at the Staging Area (the spot where we leave all of our stuff and come back to get different items throughout the race). We couldn't help but laugh at ourselves as we saw all these other teams around us wearing sponsor shirts, working on their super sweet bikes, stretching and getting themselves pumped up for the race....and here we were. None of us really wearing proper clothing (it was cold), we had our $4 shirts from Walmart with our homemade iron-on team "logo" (our team name was 4.0 since we were four Owens')...We were so pathetic looking, but we had already decided that we were there to have fun and not necessarily to win. Well, to be more honest, the wives made the decision that we weren't doing this race to win it since neither of us really trained at all. We laughed at ourselves and had a good time waiting for the race to start.
I'm pretty sure my cowboy hat didn't make me look like a racer to be feared either...
It was COLD too! It warmed up right away when the sun finally rose above the trees, but we were all pretty chilly until then.
This is the staging area. There were about 30-35 teams total. Half for the long course and half for the short course.
Trent & Lindsay. We are really glad they remembered to bring their camera. I looked all over the house for our camera the night before and couldn't find it (dang kids!)
Some of the other racers really get into this. They set up camp rather than throw all their junk on the ground like us (we brought two camping chairs along with a beach umbrella, two beach chairs, and a beach mat...which probably all made us look like bigger stooges. A few of the other racers asked us if we had ever raced before, LOL! I just couldn't stop laughing. I think they were surprised when I told them Justin and I had done this race three years ago. We actually would have won our division (short course co-ed) had we not be disqualified for accidentally checking into two of the checkpoints out of order. I don't think we came so close this year...
There are two different starts, the long course, which is 24-30 miles and for the more "prepared" racers, and the short course, a 12-15 mile course for those not so 'hardcore' racers. Don't be fooled though, the 12-15 mile course is all up and down hills and mountains and was NOT easy. Our first portion was the trekking portion. We hiked approximately 4 miles up, around, and down two mountains called Bean Peaks. We were not following any trails, we were given a topographical map and plot points to figure out on our own using our ruler, compass, and the map. The mountain peak was about 500 feet higher in elevation than our starting point (which was at 6000ft). Let me emphasize that we were RACING up this peak though, not taking a leisurely hike, and with the elevation we were really huffing and puffing. This first portion was rough!
This is our trekking map
Here is us at one of the lower peaks
Unfortunately we didn't get any other pictures on the course because we were just moving nonstop for five hours straight. There was a cutoff for us to finish at 2pm (racing started at 9:05am) and we busted our bums from 9am for five hours straight! The only stops we had were at the checkpoints, mystery challenges, and switching from trekking to biking. Since we ate breakfast at 6:30am, you can probably guess that our granola bars and apples weren't really cutting it and we were STARVING and exhausted (and stinky) by the time we finished. The biking was fun but rough. About 60% of it was on mountain roads and the rest was on rough(in my opinion) and narrow trails. Since we are in the mountains it was very hilly too and half the time I'd get almost to the top of the hill and then my quads would be burning up so I'd hop off and walk my bike the rest of the way up and then hop on again. This was the only portion Justin and I sort of trained for. We have been biking along the canal by our house 1-2 times a week for the past two months. We'd typically bike for about 7-10 miles. So with that training, these hills in the race STILL burned my legs out! (I'm just trying to EMPHASIZE that this was not easy!!!!)
We had three mystery challenges on the course. With a mystery challenge you can choose to do the challenge or take a 30 minute time penalty. If you attempt the challenge and cannot complete it you still get a 30min. penalty. The first challenge was to make a bridge using small dominoes. The bridge had to be self-supporting and wide enough for us to pass the domino boxes (approximately 2in wide, 3-4in tall and 6 in long). The bridge had to hold itself while we passed the boxes under the bridge completely. The second challenge was tossing 2in washers into a hole in a box about 12-15 feet from us. The hole was about the size of an orange. We had to get four washers into the hole. It seemed like it would take forever but we actually got through it quickly. The third challenge was a circle puzzle. We had three pegs. One peg had 6-7 circle cutouts of plywood, ranging in size from largest (on bottom) to smallest. We had to move the entire pile to another peg, but we could only move one piece at a time and we couldn't put any larger pieces on top of smaller pieces. It was a crazy mind game. Only one team member could work on it at a time, and the rest of us had to stand off to the side and yell out directions (or at least what we thought would work). There was no easy way to do it. It took at least 50 moves, and at one point you'd think you have it down and then you'd get stuck again and have to take 5 more moves... Some teams got stuck on this one for a LONG time. We were lucky enough to figure it out in a decent amount of time (4.0 really fits us smarties) :)
Between the last mystery event (circle puzzle) and the finish, Justin's tire all of a sudden let out a loud sssshhhhh. It was dead flat in about 20 seconds. He figured we were less than a mile from the end and the other teams who we had just past at the puzzle were not far behind us, he ran his bike to the finish, instead of changing the tire. He was definitely tired when we got to the wall but running rather than changing the tire likely allowed us to finish before the cutoff.
Just to kick us when we have absolutely no energy left, they make us scale a 12ft. wall right before the finish line (see the yellow checkered flag behind the wall?!). We reached this wall 11 minutes before the cutoff time for the race. We can only use our teammates and a 20ft length of rope we provide ourselves. In these pictures the wall is clear (it was after the race was over) but when we were actually scaling the wall there were other teams scaling at the same time, so we didn't have a lot of room and it was really rushed because we were racing other teams! Justin boosted Trent up first, and he straddled the top to help pull the rest of us up. With Justin's boost and Trent's help I got up to the top but the other team had a guy sitting on top in the middle and I couldn't swing my leg over because his big butt was in the way (and I have long legs)! Trent kept trying to pull me over more but my head and shoulders were hanging off the other side looking at a 12ft drop and that was freaking me out! So I was stuck there on the top on my stomach for a good minute or two until the other guy inched over a few inches so I could swing my leg over. I felt like I'd been punched in the gut after that! Lindsay had a similar experience getting over the wall too. Justin probably had the most challenging experience because he didn't have anyone to boost him up, so he had to run and try to climb his way up high enough for Trent to reach his hand (at about 10ft). We had our rope slung over the wall as well for him to grab onto to get up that extra foot or two (Lindsay and I were holding it from the other side) It took a few tries but we made it without breaking any legs!
I didn't care to make a cute pose at the wall, we just laid on it for the picture (which turns out to not be the most flattering). I hate that wall!!! We had to scale it for our last race but it didn't have the 2ft rise on top, it was just a 10ft wall back in 2007.
It really was a great race. It was hard, but to think that I burned probably 2000 calories makes me feel great! Justin wants to do another one already and I'd like to go biking more, in the hills. It was really fun when you forget about the parts where you feel like your muscles are going to melt off your bones because they are burning so hot. Maybe next year....who will join us?
Comments
Is it at the same time every year?