Adventure Racing Cooperative Names 2018 U.S. National Champions

Cliff White (ARC) / 11.01.2019

The Adventure Racing Cooperative (ARC), a newly formed non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the sport of adventure racing in the United States, has named its 2018 U.S. national champions. 

The cooperative, which was founded by a group of adventure racers from across the United States and which counts 190 U.S. racers as members, compiled its first-ever ranking of all U.S. races with posted results. Results were tallied from 122 races across the United States, Canada and the world.  Any race that had a U.S.-based team in it was counted in the results. Scoring was completed using a sliding scale dependent on the race length, competition factor, and standard distribution based on placing within each division. A team, consisting of up to seven people, could accrue points in a maximum of five races throughout 2018. 

Champions were crowned in eight categories: Co-ed three- and four-person teams; female three- and four-person teams; male three- and four-person teams; two-person co-ed teams; two-person male and female teams; and solo men and women.

The winning co-ed three- and four-person team – in ARC’s most competitive division – was Rootstock Racing. The Philadelphia, Pennsylvania-based team started off 2018 with a second-place finish at XPD Tasmania, an Adventure Racing World Series race in Australia. It then took wins at the Shenandoah Epic 26-hour race, the Maine Summer Adventure Race (24 hours), a second-place finish at Untamed New England (four days), and first place overall at the U.S. Adventure Racing Association National Championship. Teammates Brent Freedland, Abby Perkiss, Brian Reiss, Joel Ford, Karyn Dulaney, Eric Caravella and Ryan VanGorder composed the team’s line-up.

For female three- and four-person teams, the national champion was Three Bike Moms, who competed in The Cauldron 36-hour race, the Blue Ridge Adventure Race (24 hours) and finished fourth at the USARA National Championship. The team, made up of Amy Heerema, Teri Lynn and Rachel Witkiewicz, is based in Woodstock, Georgia.

The male-three and four-person category was won by Phil Shrader, Mike Debolt, Richard Sparks, and Tony Misovski of Michigan Racing Addicts, of Grosse Point, Michigan. The team won the USARA National Championship for its division, and also had top placings in the Hastings/Yankee Springs 12-hour race and the Caberfae Epic 18-hour AR.

Racing couple Andrew and Wendy Hahn, based in Rockford, Michigan, won out in the two-person co-ed division with four results, including the Michigan AR: ArtPrize Edition, the Hastings/Yankee Springs 12-hour race, the Caberfae Epic 18-hour AR and the Michigan AR: Winter Edition.

All Toenails Go to Heaven, composed of brothers Nathan and Kyle Davis, was the winner of the two-person male division. They competed in the Florida Sea to Sea 72-hour race and the Earth Day AR, an 18-hour race.

Team Battle Axe, composed of Crystal Day and Leslie Van Winkle of Lincoln, Nebraska, were crowned national champions in the two-person female division. The duo completed five races: the Off Road Rage 24-hour AR, Adventure Race Glenwood 6-hour race, the Sunflower State Games AR, La Vista Urban Scramble, and the Great Kaw AR.

In the solo division, Jennifer Werner and Darryl McCauley (AR Arkansas) each won individual national championships. Werner completed in Virginia in the Shenandoah Epic AR and the Pocahontas 8-hour AR, while McCauley raced primarily in Kentucky, ranking in the LBL Challenge 18-hour AR, Indiana’s Mission 18-hour AR, and Kentucky’s the FROG AR and Fig AR. 

Each of the national champions were awarded fleece beanies as prizes in the first year of ARC bestowing the awards.

ARC will continue its U.S. rankings and also hosting the ranking for the Canada Adventure Racing Association (CARA) in 2019. Its rankings are live and include results achieved over the previous 365 days. With several U.S. races already completed in 2019, updated ARC rankings for the new year are available at https://www.arcooperative.org/rankings.