Buff Betty #1
Team JAK wins the first Buff Betty of 2006
Greg Yetter / 15.04.2006
The race began at 1000 with a quick Prolog to get the heart pumping and warm up the muscles. After reaching two points in the park located on the Red Cedar Trail and punching their race cards teams made their way back to the Start/Finish/Transition Area to move on to the bike leg. This section led teams through the park on the Otter Creek Trail, Red Cedar Trail and the Valley Overlook Trail. With teams moving from one trail system to another careful attention to the map and a good idea of where the team needed to go was a necessity.
After the biking section racers moved back onto the parks trail system to make their way to the canoe put-in at Garnettsville Picnic Area on Otter Creek. With low creek levels a good line was needed in navigating down stream or teams got a lesson in vessel portages, which several learned. Teams paddled down to the Blue Hole area and the take-out. From this point teams continued on foot collecting Punch Points toward the rappel site.
At the rappel site teams clipped into 1 of 2 ropes for a short (about 65’) descent to another trail. With the park providing Ranger Bob as the rappel master and stationed at the top, the race officials providing safety teams to give a fireman’s belay at the bottom each racer going over the side was safe and having a great time. Some of the racers had just learned how to rappel the day before when the race organization held its skills training. If teams had their own gear so much the better, racers that borrowed a climbing harness had to run the borrowed gear back to the top.
Once done with the rappel teams had a choice. Each of the orienteering points were worth 10 points. Teams had to weigh gathering all the O points or coming in on time. With there being a 10 point deduction for each minute past the official end of the race, teams had to gauge how long it would take them to reach the O points. Teams began arriving at the finish with 14 minutes to spare and continued to come in with the last crossing the line at 1643.
Rank list is Team, Time and Place.
Team Jak 5:47 1st
Team Folz 5:48 2nd
Team KC & MH 5:46 3rd
Team Amoeba 5:47 4
Team Black Jack 6:00 5
Team Tuck Chicksters 6:03 Finished
Team Race Virgins 6:04 Finished
Team Hill 6:09 Finished
Team Women of Faith 6:09 Finished 9
Team Valkyries 6:17 Finished
Team Muddy Buddies 6:23 Finished
Team Mini Medics 6:40 Finished
Team Mud Dobbers 6:43 Finished
Team Unity DNF
This race series is fantastic and with stops in five other venues it’s easy for new racers to get their feet wet with adventure racing. With so many new racers in this race some great quotes were heard along the course. I wish I could attribute each one to a certain racer, but the names are withheld to protect the guilty.
“Can I borrow the purple highlighter when you’re done?� this was said several times even though there were more than a few highlighters only in different colors.
“Oh! There’s a worm on my shoe� and this was said later in the race after all the mud.
“Don’t hate me because I’m beautiful� I think she was playing head games with the rest of the team.
“We’re still the prettiest team� more head games?
And the best thing that could be said about an AR, “It was hard, but not demoralizing�.
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