Cowboy tough 2016- 6th place

2016 Cameco Cowboy Tough Adventure Race, Casper, WY

Team Canada AR Race Report

With James on loan to Adventure Medical Kits for this race we recruited Charles Triponez and Matt Hayes to join us for the race. Both would be solid additions to the squad with a ton of racing experience to draw from.

Race check-in began Wednesday at 11:00am with the typical forms to hand in, rappel check, mandatory gear check, map handout and racer weigh in.

 

 

Jason was not happy to find out he was the heavyweight on the team for this race. We spent the remainder of the afternoon going over the maps with optional points to plot and routes to find and then a final pack of the gear bins just before handing them in at 8:30pm.

 

 

1:50:00, 49 km.

The race would start as a group ride along a bike path out of town following an ATV with a rolling road closure at the intersections. 

 

Once we hit the road the pace amped up a little but it wasn’t too bad until we started onto the gentle climbs where the initial team selection was made with AMK, Tecnu, Yogaslackers, Swedish Armed Forces, Team North Face and us making the cut. We hammer along and put about 5 minutes into the remaining peleton before reaching the first transition area. This was exactly what we hoped would happen as we had a small cushion for the transition topaddling, avoiding a massive hurricane for the most part.

2:20:00, 28 km.

We put on the North Platte River for what would be over 100 miles of paddling with a few stops mixed in. We were just ahead of Team North Face but they took a better line through the first small ripples and passed us. We ended up following them all the way to the Water Challenge at anabandoned fort, passing Journey Racing along the way.

0:10:00, 1.0 km.

The Water Challenge involved a take-out at a small landing where each team needed to haul 4 buckets of water up to a cistern in the old fort in teams of two being careful not to lose too much water out of the bucket or you’d have to make a second trip.

 

 

 

AMK and Tecnu were both one bucket trip ahead of us at this point.

1:45:00 21.0 km.

Once the challenge was complete it was back into the boats for an uneventful paddle to the town of Douglas.

0:45:00 7.0 km.

In Douglas there was a canoe drop for a short urban o-course with points at a WWII Internment Camp, a stop at the College Inn for a shot of whiskey and in a train car museum. 

 

 

We took the opportunity to fill up our bladders for the next long paddle leg just before putting back in.

3:00:00 36 km.

Back on the river the current was still flowing well and we continued to make solid progress in the Mad River 16’ bananas through the afternoon. This section seemed long however as we did not see another team the entire way.

2:00:00 8.0 km.

Midway through this leg there were 5 optional points to pick up just prior to the

reservoir. The 5 points were up on a plateau and split by a large reentrant in the middle. Charles saw his first bald eagle just before the take-out. There were multiple strategies used by teams to get the points with a majority landing at the reentrant and doing two out-and- backs to get them all including us.

5:40:00 35.0 km.

The 5 optional points provided a nice break from paddling but it there was still more to go so we got back into the boats for the remaining portion of leg 3 paddle. 

 

Unfortunately it was in the Glendo Reservoir and the current was no longer providing help. In addition, a solid wind had picked

up straight across the water right into our teeth as night fell. We never had water over the bow but I am sure it was very close a few times. A number of teams behind us took shelter as the winds continued to build through the night. We paddled the entire reservoir with the two-person team of Nordic Adventure

hot on our sterns. I’m sure they were happy to have another team near-by in case they had an issue.

Later in the race we heard of another 2-person team that spent over an hour waiting for a rescue after their boat sank.

6:00:00 49.0 km.

At the take-out we portaged the canoes to the TA and transitioned to biking. There were a number of optional bike points to pick up in the challenging Glendo Bike Trail system. There was an impressive amount of work done to make these trails, cut straight into the canyon walls and along the tops of the nearby hills with giant slabs of rock as the trail bed. Most of the trails were rideable but there was still a fair amount of bike pushing required, mostly anytime we went up-hill. Somewhere along the way I dinged my derailleur and it would act up for the remainder of the race. It’s surprisingmore people didn’t knock them off on rocks completely here.

5:20:00 39.0 km.

We made it back to the TA in time to score 11 minutes of time credit since the paddle 4 dark zone didn’t lift until 5:30am. We filled up bladders and then portaged down to the river on the other side of the reservoir dam. 

It wasn’t easy starting back up paddling given the distance we had paddled in the 20 hours before but that quickly changed when we say the first set of rapids coming up.

We made it through with a solid line without scouting but a number of the earlier teams had at least one boat capsize here. There was a number of smaller rapids along this last leg which made this paddle go by relatively quickly.

Just prior to entering the Wendover Canyon there was another set of rapids to negotiate which everyone was keen to clear without swimming. They were set up in an S turn so that there was not one clear side to stay on and required traversing from river right to left in the middle of the S. Fortunatelyboth of our boats negotiated them without an issue.

Once clear of the remaining river obstacles we set our sights on catching Journey Racing who were again ahead of us. We caught them just prior to entering the Guernsey Reservoir with a number of pick-ups originally intended to wake up a few of the sleepy paddlers on the team. For some reason there was a new take-out location and we wasting a little time heading to the mapped version before figuring it out.

I guess the lady jumping up and down and pointing should have been a clue we picked up on sooner.

We packed up our paddle gear and wished it a fond farewell, hoping to never see it again then transitioned to biking.

4:40:00 73.0 km.

The bike leg consisted of a few early controls to reward those not taking the bike Fast Forward option prior to Paddle 4. We rode to those with Journey Racing but they put some tome on us when we stopped at a well for water. The next portion of the leg was on a busy road but we had a great tailwind and it made for some fast traveling. In the distance we could see the mountains we were riding to and as we slowly got closer to them the climbing increased. The last 10k was mostly all uphill granny gear climbing.

6:05:00 21.0 km.

We rolled into the TA looking forward to the first real trekking and it didn’t disappoint.

 

There were no controls mid-route to keep you on track, just solid navigation. Fortunately we had the aid of daylight and a tone of scenery to use for handrails and we could see Laramie Peak in the distance.

 

 

Matt did a great job of locating the South Branch and we made a good call to exit the canyon towards the end before getting boxed in. We cleared the saddle just as the sun set and then descended down to the next TA and our gear bins.

AMK arrived from the Laramie Peak climb as we were transitioning and had taken the lead from Tecnu on the climb up. We finished our TA then tried to get an hour of sleep prior to the KOM climb.

Unfortunately the TA was too noisy and only Matt and Nathalie got any sleep.

4:50:00 20.0 km.

We set off for the climb with a gravel road run to the trailhead. There must have been 150 switchbacks on the climb to the top. Once there we glanced around at the view quickly, punched and then set off on the descent. I think I tripped over every rock in my sleep-deprived state on the way down.

6:35:00 57.0 km.

Back at the TA we transitioned to biking and then attempted another hour of sleep.

With the aid of some earplugs we were all successful in finally sleeping and I felt significantly better once awaking.

The next bike leg had some great downhills with 5-8 km stretches of coasting at 35 kph and we made solid time while heading towards the next o-course.

4:00:00 13.0 km.

The next o-course contained an ascent and a rappel which we went to first, then on to the remaining points.
 

photo credit Chris Radcliff

 

It was a cool area for orienteering with some big features to locate controls on (lots of climbing). Around this time we started looking at our schedule and we were about 4 hours

behind. There was still some slack time before the race finish but the urgency needed to stay high to ensure we clear the course.

6:20:00 71.0 km.

Much to our disappointment the Wyoming Winds picked up and we had a tough

sidewind to contend with on the next biking leg along with some considerable granny gear climbing.

 

photo credit Chris Radcliff

 

Halfway through the leg we turned straight into to it which slowed our pace to a crawl (12-15 kph).

Eventually as the sun went down the wind did as well making the last few km to the TA much easier.

1:40:00 10.0 km.

The next o-course was basically a small valley in the middle of a cattle farm. We

picked up 5 easy points here and I’m not really sure what the purpose of this stop was other than a prescribed chance to get off your bike in the middle of a 150 km ride which was appreciated.

6:54:00 70.0 km.

As we left on to Bike 6 we had a great view of an approaching thunderstorm. Our route took us straight into the heart of it but we made it through without incident most-likely due to Nathalie keeping her head ducked down lower than everyone else’s on the team as we rode past.

While under the storm the air was completely still. Once we made it past we were instantly greeted with a cold front and the temps dropped to the mid-40’s. Just after punching the only control on the ride we decided to get 30 minutes of sleep.

Once barely awake again we set out on the long 2000 ft climb up to the Muddy Mtn TA. It was a granny gear climb all the way to the top.

3:00:00 17.0 km.

As we were transitioning to for the last o-course we noticed that Team North Face was still there and sleeping. They heard us arrive and set out just ahead of us. 

Unfortunately we struggled with the first point on the ridge and lost and chance of passing them for 5 th place. The remaining controls went smoothly and we headed back to our last TA of the race.

3:16:00 25.0 km.

There were a number of teams in the TA. By this time they were mostly the teams on the bike tour option, those who were skipping all of the o-course controls to stay on schedule to reach the finish before it closed. It was a nice ride down Muddy Mtn to the base of Casper Mtn despite our difficulties in sitting on our bike seats. The road turned to pavement making the climb to the top easier.

Once at the top it was a 3000 ft. descent to the bottom and the finish in Casper where we arrived in 6th place, the last team to clear the course.

 

 

ULTRA DRAILLE 2016- 120KM RUN - 3RD WOMEN

I decided I wanted to give Ultra running a shot and I wanted to try a long one.

I was having some time off in France in May and thought it would be a good occasion to do so.

I found a trail race not too far from where we were staying that would fit perfectly what I was looking for; The Ultra Draille http://www.festatrail.com/festa-trail/courses/120-km-ultra-draille/

A 120km in some of the most beautiful landscape you can see with 5000m D+.

When I asked James if he was keen on joining me he said yes and then mentioned he would run the 73km. A couple of weeks later I told him I had registered both of us for the 120km and that we could run it together :)

So we did. It is 5:30am and we are at the start line. It is dark and a little chilly but we know it is going to be hot day.

 

 

I wanted to put the emphasis on my mindset for this race. I wanted to be able to control those down that keep me down too long during races. I wanted to learn to snap out of them and be able to run and enjoyable race without worrying about what was going on around me.

In order to do so I decided to not "race" but only to focus on completing it in a good mindset.

The race starts and I am struggling to run properly. My left hamstring hurts from a track session I had done a few days prior to the race (my mistake, my bad). I am a little concerned about my ability to run and mostly about the first two cut offs but I jog along not worrying too much about what's going on around me. My two pairs of 2XU shorts I am wearing are helping me a lot.

After 15km or so a volunteer tells me I am in 5th place in the girls. I try not to pay attention too much. It will be a long race and I don't want to think about placing.

 

 

After 25km I am passed by another girl. I don't let it upset me. It is starting to be hot. It is 9:30-10am and I am already feeling super warm, a little dehydrated. I sweat like crazy. I mention it to James who points out to me the time and that we will have to take it very easy if we want to go through the warmest time of the day.

 

 

The day goes on and we get warmer and warmer. The peaks we are climbing don't have much shade and we drink a lot. We barely make it from aid station to aid station with our 1,5L each time.

We had a long winter and the temperatures at home were still pretty cold and only had one run on trails without snow/ice before leaving for France. The difference in climate is brutal but we love it anyway. The terrain I also very rocky. we are not used to it but our Pearl Izumi N2s are doing a good job at keeping us stable and running.

 

 

The mid point (60km) is where we can see our drop bag. Unfortunately I cant eat anything that I brought. It is too warm and only little fruit puree can go through and I am thankful they have some at the aid station so I can refuel now and then. I also made sure during my entire run to keep hydrated with Nuun and even dropped a few Nuun plus to get some calories in me.

I had in my bag a bottle of Endurox R4 that I drank there and it boosted me. I left that aid station feeling a lot better. it is now 3:30pm and I now the temperature is going to drop from there on and I am already feeling a little better.

Another big climb to get us to the 70km mark. On the way up I managed to pass a girl but didn't want to get excited. My climbing is going really well. I am trying not to think of the distance left and take some little rest here and there.

 

 

 

 

A volunteer tells me I am in 4th place as we are coming down. One girl ahead had DNF and the 3rd girl is 20min ahead.

I think "20min is a lot" and keep on doing my own little race. I can accelerate a little more as the day goes and the temperature cools down. I am feeling better and better.

 

 

 

On the way to the 90km mark the sun goes down and it is getting dark. I have managed to push off any negative thoughts that had come to mind but I am starting to think that maybe I should call it off. My elbows are starting to hurt from running with poles and I am wondering if I should stop to prevent injuries for the big expedition races to come. I tell James I will have to evaluate at the aid station at 90km. We get there and oh surprise the 3rd girl is there. She is just leaving as I get there.

Without thinking twice I fill up my bladder and I am gone. James runs after me and ask me what happened to the "evaluation". During the entire race other racers and volunteers would tell me to push to get the girl ahead but I ignored them to run my own race and I decided to not change that so I kept my pace thinking that I would probably see her again.

At the 100km mark I pass her. Since I was feeling pretty good I decided to push it a little harder from there on and so we did. The feeling of having someone right behind you is hard cause it makes you push a lot harder than wanted. I will never see the other girl again and ended up passing the line with James in 40th and 41st place overall, ranking 3rd in the women and 1st in my age category in 21h23:11.

 

 

My biggest victory of the day was my mind control and being able to enjoy the entire race with the man I love.

SHENANDOAH EPIC 2016- 3RD COED TEAM

On April 14^th, Nathalie, James and Jason joined up with Kevin Poirier, a fellow adventure racer from the Ottawa area, to head down to Front Royal, Virginia for the Rev 3 Shenandoah Epic adventure race. The race was billed as being 26-hours long, but after seeing the maps and having the race briefing, it became apparent that the race would be won in under 18 hours, partly due to having to cut the paddle short because of low water levels. The race format was quite straightforward – paddle, trek, then combination bike/trek to get the remaining checkpoints.

Jason got the race started at 9am on Saturday morning with a ~1 mile prologue, which only required one team member to complete. He came back tied for the lead and off we went on the paddle. There were a number of CPs along the way that could be gotten any time during the race, so we opted to grab the ones closest to shore as we paddled by. We could see that teams adopted different strategies here, so right from the start it became nearly impossible to tell who was in the lead during the race.

We were one of the first teams off the 12km paddle section which ended with teams having to designate one or more team members to traverse the boats to the opposite shore of the transition area and them swim back across the river (about 50 metres). James was “voluntold” for this task and paddled the attached canoes across and swam back in the very cold water and the team headed on the trek section.

The first portion of the trek was mainly uphill, ending at a 100 foot rappel site. The team was the second to arrive at the ropes, seconds behind one of the Rev 3 teams. A quick rappel had them regain the lead as they headed back up to the ridge and then worked their way down to the river below. The chosen route down turned somewhat sketchy and made for slow travel. Once down at the riverbed, the team expected easier travel, but due to being prohibited from crossing the river, we were forced to traverse along the steep rocky edge of the river for about a kilometre before finally getting to some flatter ground. The slow trekking along the river and difficulty finding a CP in this area allowed couple teams to get ahead of us at this point.

Once arrived at the next TA, we transitioned onto the bikes, opting to carry our running shoes for a 15+ km section that we planned to cover on foot. The first half of the bike/trek section had some roads, as well as a fair bit of technical trail riding. Again we worked our way up to a high point in the mountains where the trail seemed to get more technical. The plan was to ride in as far as we could and then begin trekking from there, since this section was basically one big loop from the start of the ridge. We rode a few hundred metres along the ridge and then decided to drop our bikes there and put on our running shoes. However, as we progressed further along the ridge on foot, we realized that the trail was rideable quite a bit further than where we had dropped our bikes. We saw bikes from the teams ahead of us further up the trail as we went along, which confirmed our thoughts about being able to ride further in. We arrived in the vicinity where we expected to find CP 16, only to spend about 30 minutes looking for it to no avail. We finally decided to move on and look for this CP while on the way back to our bikes at the end of the loop, since these CPs could be gotten in any order. We had little trouble finding the rest of the CPs to complete the loop, however it was a long steep climb back up to the ridge from the lowest CP in the section. Once back at the top and headed back to our bikes, we once again struggled to find CP 16, wasting another 15 minutes before stumbling upon it. After the race, we confirmed that, in fact, the CP was not in the right location – but all teams did manage to find it eventually.

From here we worked our way back to the start/finish, which acted as the final TA in the race. There was a word puzzle challenge to do here, which we guessed correctly on our first attempt.  We quickly refuelled and headed out on a final bike/trek o-course in the surrounding hills. The singletrack trails were flowy and relatively non-technical, however there was quite a bit of climbing to do in the area. We did a combination of biking, trekking, bushwhacking, and bikewhacking in this section. For the most part things went well, but we struggled to find a few CPs quickly and the bikewhacking and bushwhacking up hills was slow and difficult. There was a bonus CP in this section for which clues were given at 3 unspecified CPs in the section. After getting the 3 clues we made our way to where we expected to find the CP but couldn’t find it initially. Assuming we had incorrectly plotted the bonus CP, we searched the obvious features in the area, eventually finding the CP at a nearby high point. From here it was a quick ride to the finish line, crossing the line in under 16 hours. This was good enough for a 3^rd place finish in the co-ed 4-person division.

Overall the race went well, but the places where we struggled to find CPs cost us a fair bit of time. Combine this with the fact that it was an early season race (there’s still snow on the trails in Nat, James, and Kevin’s training grounds!) and the team (particularly Nat) is better-suited to multi-day expedition racing, we are pleased with our 3^rd place finish. The best part about finishing in 16 hours instead of 26 hours was that we were able to get some sleep before having to drive the 10 hours back home in time to work on Monday morning!

A huge thanks to our sponsors, whose gear and nutritional products were an immense help in the race. Our Osprey Rev18 and Rev24 packs were perfect for this style of racing, and the 2XU compression gear and Pearl Izumi cycling gear were excellent in these conditions.  We relied heavily on NUUN, StrongBars, and the Pacific Health Labs line of products (Accel Gels, Accelerade, and Endurox R4) for our nutrition during the race. James at not one, not two, but 3 Strongbars at once near the end of the race, after going a little too long without eating anything. Finally, since there’s still ice on our rivers and lakes at the moment, it was great to have a PaddleOne kayak ergometer to be able to get the paddling muscles ready to perform in this race.         

RAID INTERNATIONAL GASPESIE-2ND CO-ED TEAM (4 PERSONS)-12TH OVERALL

On Tuesday September 9^th, Nathalie, Yannick, Jean-François, and Me (James), along with Pete Dobos – the team’s support person for the race - headed out for the Raid International Gaspésie 3.5 day stage adventure race. This was our first race together as a team, although Nat and I had frequently raced against Yannick and J-F, who were regular team mates. After an overnight stop in Quebec City, we finally arrived in Carleton-Sur-Mer to jump right into the usual chaos that is pre-race preparation! There was an opening ceremony Wednesday evening where teams were introduced and we finally got the race maps. We already knew it was going to be a fast race based on last year, but with a sold-out 50 team race and 11 countries represented we knew this would really be a challenging event.

Prologue (From James' perspective):

The prologue started out the same way as the previous year – a blistering 2.1km run along the beach that had us red-lined right from the start. From there it was a short but challenging 1.2km bike ride along the beach and then into some double track trails. With such a short day, we knew there would be no letting up in the pace of the race all day, so everyone pushed as hard as they could. We dropped the bikes and headed up the very steep gravel road system leading to the top of Mt. St Joseph, the highest point in the area. Once at the top, I (James) was designated to head out onto a short ropes course (slackline) while the rest of the team took a quick break to re-fuel. From there it was a very fast descent on foot in single track trails.

At this point, Nat pointed out to the team that eating a meatball sub a few hours before the race may not have been the best decision ;-) but she managed to keep most (but not all!) of it down…  The team then hopped on the bikes again for a jaunt mostly downhill on a beautiful hiking trail. We then faced our first of many water-based challenges in the race – a wetsuit-mandatory canyoning section, complete with slippery rocks, very cold pools of water at the base of waterfalls, an underwater checkpoint, a ropes section, and a crazy 20+ foot drop down a cement “waterslide” (you have to see the video!). Then back on the bikes back into town and onto the 2^nd water-based challenge – a 15 foot leap off of a pier into the saltwater and a swim to a fishing boat to retrieve a checkpoint. This was a surprisingly tough little swim with the waves, fatigue, saltwater, and a difficult climb into the boat using only the fishing nets.

Then back on the bikes for a quick ride to the finish line. Prologue completed: We were wet, tired, excited, and amazed at how much action the organizers had managed to pack into only a few hours of racing. This certainly set the tone for the rest of the race. We finished the day in 11^th place overall, 2^nd in our category.

Day 1 (From James' perspective):

Day 1 was the team’s first full day of racing. The team was excited to get going once again but just like the prologue, the start had us red-lined right from the word “go”. We left from a farm on bikes and proceeded through a trail network. This led to a trekking section that featured a long hike in a very slippery riverbed with fast moving water carrying all of the team’s paddling gear. There was also a rappel down a waterfall for 2 team members, which was completed by Yannick and J-F. While this river trek was slow-going and cold, we were still able to keep a decent pace in relation to our competitors. The river finally led down to the team’s first paddling section of the race. The rivers in the area are shallow and fast-flowing, so the paddling was a constant search for the deepest water around while negotiating small to mid-sized rapids along the way.

We were able to make up a lot of ground on the flatwater sections of the paddle. In fact, we were so fast that we came in ahead of when our amazing one-man support crew – Pete – was expecting us. Pete was around the corner getting the team some hot beverages at the store when we came into the transition. But the team managed to find the support vehicle on our way out of transition, complete with race food, drinks, and sandwiches laid out waiting for us. Then on to a very steep climb on foot and then back down, mainly on trails, which initially seemed pretty straightforward. However, this turned our to be the costliest section of our race: the team lost about 10 minutes due to a navigation error, and Nathalie slipped on a muddy uphill section and smashed her knee pretty badly. While both of these things slowed the team’s pace temporarily, everyone worked well together to get the team back on pace. The next bike was a series of trails, gravel roads, and paved roads which enabled the team to push the pace and draft off of each other.

 The bike eventually led to the final challenge of the day, a short trek that involved crossing a fast flowing waist-deep river to get to the finish line. Another intense, wet, and chilly day completed!

At the end of Day 1 the weather was still rainy which made things difficult for us to repack for the next day knowing that nothing would dry overnight and attempting to keep some things dry for the following day's race.

As soon as we passed the finish line we were told to go to the white tent where some maple toffee and some smoked salmon were waiting for us…that was so great. We also used up a table there with the lights to work on the maps for day2 before heading to a small restaurant to get some warm food.

Day 2 (From Nat's perspective):

The start of day 2 was at 9am but we needed to be there at 8:30am and it was 45min away. We woke up shortly after 6am, made our breakfast and packed up the tent and gears. The results were up. We were still second in our category with the Brazilians and Danish in between 10 to 20 min behind us and we were standing in 12^th place overall.

We started on the bike from a big field and soon we were climbing.

My (Nat's) hip and knee were a little sore from the fall the previous day and were of a nice blue-blackish color at that point. The bike section went relatively well. The Danish were ahead and we didn’t know by how far.

We reached the transition and started a trek that was almost all runnable. We were hoping to make up some time but when we got to the canoe transition we couldn’t see the Danish team…they were on the water already.

We spent too much time at this transition trying to sort out the canoes. A lot of them were broken and we couldn’t decide which ones to take.

Once on the water we realized quickly that we wouldn’t make up too much time on that leg because it was a fast moving water leg. It is a lot harder to make up time on fast moving water with rapids than it is on flat water. To our surprise while going downstream we saw the Danish team going back upstream. They had missed the CP and had a couple rapids to paddle back. I think that gave us a little boost and we pushed a little harder.

We finished the paddle without any problems and jumped back on the bikes to get to the next TA which was coasteering section with a little swim and a zipline before getting to the finish.

We ran on the beach and then walked in the water along the cliff. We swam to a buoy and back for a CP then there was more running to the zipline CP. We got there just after a team of two from Canada - MOB. As we were waiting for James and Yannick to do the ropes section we saw the Danish arriving.

We left before they got on the rope and ran to the last CP and then on to the finish. We had a good day overall. We were happy.

Time to sort out the maps for the next day, pack our gear and sleep.

Day 3 (From Nat's perspective):

After spending our last night in bivouac, it was an early morning that was waiting for us.

The start of the race was scheduled at 5:30am from the top of Mt. St Joseph. We were a 35min drive from there and had to be there 30min prior to the start, making it a 3:45am wake up for us. A quick breakfast, packing up tents and gear, and off we went in the truck. We arrived at the top of Mont St Joseph in the pitch dark. The organisation decided to give us an extra 10min to have the first rays of sunshine rising for the start of the race.

The start was a MTB start again. I (Nathalie) am not at ease with mass starts. I feel comfortable once the crowd is spread out, that’s when my race begins.

We knew from the results posted that same morning that we had barely ten minutes on the Danish team (they got a 15min credit for waiting at the canoe section I think) and that today wouldn’t be an easy one. The two person co-ed team from Canada (MOB) had also passed us in the ranking. We were 13^th overall. Day 3 had a lot of biking, which is the Danish’s strength, but we would fight till the end for our second place.

We started on the bike, like the other days a little behind lots of people and then played catch up one team at a time. As we reached the first TA to go for a 1km out and back hike to a CP, my bike gears started jamming up and I couldn’t use the 4 easiest gears of my bike. After running to the CP and back James managed to gain back a couple of my gears quickly and we left again.

James helped me a lot during every MTB stage, pushing me up the hills and mentoring me in the more technical sections. We had a couple of hike-a-bike sections on that day, one big downhill bushwacking and a long zig-zagging uphill after a CP in the river.

We knew the Danish Merrell team was ahead of us, but we were catching up. We got to the second transition for a 2km hike to a swimming out-and-back CP. We dropped our bikes and started running. We caught up to the Danish team by the time we got to the lake. Yannick went for the swim and we ran back neck-and-neck with the other team.

We jumped back on the bikes to do an orienteering section. The Danish had passed us in transition and were now ahead. Our orienteering section went well and we were out of there and back on the road to get to another transition. We left that transition 5-10min behind the Danish. It was a short hike through a river to collect a couple of CPs to get back to the beach where we would eventually jump back on the bikes. We decided to bushwack instead of taking the road and the creek down to the river. We hit the river and saw the Danish just ahead of us. It was such a smart move… only problem was we were not sure if the CP was upstream or downstream from where we met up with the river.  So we decided to go upstream a little bit before coming back on our steps. The CP was barely ten meters further downstream from where we had originally hit the river on the bushwhack. We managed that river section very well and caught up and passed the Danish team again.

I knew the next section was a 4.5km ride on the beach and I am a terrible rider in the sand. I was so panicked by that section that I wanted to put as much time on foot on the Danish team as possible to have a buffer for the final bike on the beach. We got to the TA and jumped on the bikes. As I was expecting, the Danish team passed us (I don’t know how they were towing their girl in the sand…it amazes me!) but we managed to keep them in sight till the next and last transition. We went up some stairs, picked up two canoes and were up for a 9km paddle to finish up the race.

We got in the water a few minutes after the Danish but it didn’t take long before we caught up to them. We had a strong last paddle. We did a portage once we reached the barachoi (lagoon) and had a sluggish paddle to the finish line after that due to the shallow water and weeds in there.

We were very happy with how the race went and with our second place co-ed finish (12^th overall). It was a great event, fast, but great.

We want to thank the organisation - Endurance Aventure - for such a great event, and also our sponsors for their support. Thanks to Altra Running Canada, Nuun Hydration, Pacific Health Labs, Strongbar Nutrition, Osprey Packs, 2XU Canada, Pearl Izumi, and Natural fitness lab.

And I (Nathalie) want to thank my team for this amazing race!