Pocket Gopher Challenge 18/12/5

Going to Extremes at the Pocket Gopher Challenges 2023

Press Release / 20.07.2023

The Pocket Gopher Challenges (Extreme) 18hr sprint adventure race lived up to its “extreme” name in every sense of the word.  There was extremely varied terrain from rolling hills to vertical drop-offs.  There were extreme decisions that teams had to make on the fly after hours of no sleep and this year there were three extreme mystery points that had to be solved by the racers.

As the sun set on Outback Ranch in the picturesque valley near Houston MN., racers began arriving in their cars, trucks, and conversion vans for the start of the 18hr sprint race hosted but Howling Adventure LLC.  Racers began by getting their swag bags filled with items from Squirt cycling products and the Adventure Racing World Series. Smiles were quickly replaced by looks of steely resolve as racers poured over their race packets and discovered this year’s race was going to be quite different. Not only were there multiple routes to every checkpoint there were three mystery points that had to be solved.

Race Director John Harris explained the mystery points to us. “One of the hallmarks of every PGC race is freedom for the racers to make decisions that best fit their team. I am not interested in putting on a cookie-cutter race and this year the terrain prevented me from adding events like rappelling or climbing so I came up with mystery points.  Each mystery point consisted of a riddle that racers had to solve using their minds, the race books, maps, and even the race updates before the race started. After they had solved the mystery of what the checkpoint was and where it was they had to decide when to go for the point.  Remember racers only received one race section at a time at each TA so they had to decide at each TA when was the correct decision to go for the mystery point.”

Full Speed No Mistakes jumped out to an early lead on section one by opting to leave their bikes halfway to the first checkpoints and trek to find them. After clearing the first few checkpoints and exiting onto the road part of section 1 Full Speed No Mistakes was 20 min ahead of Gear Junkie, with Rage Against the Cutoff pulling into 3rd only 30 min behind the leaders and 10 min behind Gear Junkie.  On the combination of gravel and blacktop road Gear Junkie dropped the hammer and by the time they pulled into TA1 only 3 min separated 1st and 2nd with Rage Against the Cutoff now only 10 min behind.  All three teams went for mystery point 1, a pizza and ice cream place in section 1.  “It was the right call,” said John Harris, “sadly they got there before it opened”. (CP was outside the restaurant  during closed hours)

Full Speed No Mistakes held their lead going down the winding river until they got out to travel on foot to mystery point 2.  Mystery Point 2 was a gas station in Houston MN. “I happened to be in the area checking on volunteers when I noticed on the tracker, they were near Houston so I grabbed my camera to video and even I was confused at first said John. “Full Speed No Mistakes was nearly 5 min ahead of Gear Junkie, but the gas station did have some amazing breakfast sandwiches so maybe Full Speed No Mistakes got lured into stopping for breakfast. I never got the chance to ask them.”

TA 2 to TA 3 was the turning point of the race.  In TA2 teams were again linked up with their bikes and there were 6 routes to TA3 with only 3 of them being practical routes. In yet another twist CP 26 was available in either section 2 or section 3.  If racers chose to grab CP 26 in section 2 they would have to bike 18 km longer and get wet on a river crossing but CP 26 was only 400 meters off the road.  If teams chose to wait until section 3 for CP 26, they could save 18km on the bike but would be forced to walk an additional 5k to reach the CP from TA3.

Team Full Speed No Mistakes headed for the “Valley” route while Team Gear Junkie headed for the “Winding” route “I knew right away that Gear Junkie was going for CP26 in section 2 and team Full Speed No Mistakes was heading straight for TA3”, said John. “What surprised me was 15 minutes later Rage Against the Cutoff pulled their canoe into TA 2 and within minutes they set off on their bikes for the “Hills from Hell” route which was the shortest route to TA3 but by far the toughest. I knew the race was about to get really interesting with the top 3 teams all on different routes.”

Team Full Speed No Mistakes arrived in TA3 first but what they didn’t know was they were now in second place because Team Gear Junkie had already grabbed CP26 and was headed into TA3.  Gear Junkie arrived almost 30 min later than Team Full Speed No Mistakes, but they were able to complete the remaining two CP’s much quicker and return the TA 3 and leave before Team Full Speed No Mistakes got back. 

From there the race was over. “I do not know if Team Full Speed No Mistakes even knew that Team Gear Junkie was even ahead of them.  It was a brilliant racing move by Team Gear Junkie,” said John. “I was at TA 4 when Full Speed No Mistakes arrived at TA4 for the Land navigation section and when I told them team Gear Junkie was already out on the course they were in shock.”  Team Gear Junkie went on to claim victory. Team Rage Against the Cutoff did eventually arrive in TA 3 but was more than 60 min behind. “It was an extremely difficult route and I think it just took a lot out of them. I was impressed, they stayed in the race and even though they were on wobbly legs they pulled into the Land Navigation section and completed it before crossing the finish line in a solid third place.

“Sadly, I was unable to get pictures at the finish line because shortly after Team Gear Junkie arrived, I received a radio call no Race Director ever wants to hear.  An RV had nearly collided with my volunteers transporting kayaks and forced them off the road and the trailer was hanging over the edge of a steep long drop off. My only thought was please let the drivers be uninjured”.  Because of the lack of cell service, first-hand reports were garbled and all but a couple of volunteers who stayed at the finish line rushed to the scene of the accident. The drivers were ok and had done everything correctly, they turned off the truck and quickly exited, the trailer however was sitting precariously on the edge and could go over at any second. 

What happened next is what makes me so proud to be a part of the adventure racing community. Racers, who had just hours ago been fiercely competing now stood side by side helping move equipment out of harm’s way. They offered  to be volunteers as I still had the 12hr and 5hr races in full swing. As so often happens in small towns across the USA word spread quickly people rushed to help. A local construction worker, who was the husband of one of my volunteers, arranged for the largest excavator I have seen to come up and help. They picked up the trailer and set it back down on the road.  In the end not one person was harmed and not one piece of gear was even scratched.  The 5hr and 12hr races continued with no idea what had happened.  “I will forever be thankful for everyone that helped, and it just proves that yes, we are racers, directors, and volunteers but in the end when needed we are family!  I am just thankful to everyone and God that nobody was injured.”

Even with the accident, this year’s Pocket Gopher Challenges was a race for the books.  It had thrills and twists and turns that nobody could have predicted.” I wish I could have sat with the teams and found out what they were thinking at the time. In the end, I couldn’t be happier with the results of the 18hr sprint race” stated John, “even with the accident it was a great success!”  Then with a slightly upturned smile, he couldn’t help but add “Did I mention I already have my repelling permits approved for next year!”