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Toughest Odyssey One-Day Yet

Dawn Taylor Mann / 05.05.2003

Just when racers thought Doc Wortley couldn’t possibly top his previous Odyssey course designs, he comes along and makes the 13th a real kicker. In what race director Don Mann calls the toughest One-Day course yet, soloists and teams of 2 and 4 set out on the evening of April 12 for one helacious romp through the Blue Ridge Mountains and a total of 14,600’ in elevation gain in this 24-hour course. There were also 15,300’ of descent, although racers will insist the whole course went “up-hill�!

From the starting line, competitors completed the 5-mile New Balance Performance run just before jumping on their bikes for the first of four bike legs. The 5-mile prologue run was used to separate teams before their night time orienteering course. This first bike leg was where competitors started showing signs of exhaustion as some rode and others pushed their bikes up a steep winding fire road to the top of Headforemost Mountain. Teams were awarded with a bonfire and surreal panoramic night time view as they plotted their orienteering maps and headed out to the 3-point course, which was just the beginning of a navigationally tough race. Through the night, the moon and stars shone so brightly that many competitors chose not to use their headlamps.

Truly, this was one of the most beautiful weekends in the Blue Ridge. After almost a full week of non-stop rain, the sun came out and highlighted the bright green foliage, swollen creeks and raging waterfalls. The excessive rain had increased the water volume on the James River to seven times its normal rate, making it unsafe for the scheduled canoe section of the race. The Odyssey staff deliberated keeping the popular paddle section in the race, but determined the risk of racers becoming separated from their canoes and being caught in strainers was too great. The result was a course with over 80 miles of biking and 30 of hiking to round out the PRO course in this 24-hour race. Also, for the first time in the Odyssey One-Day, the ropes course included not only a 90-foot rope assist leading to a 50-foot traverse, but also a 90-foot rappel.

The crux of the race, between the checkpoints, punch points and assistance points, was the long hike to the top of Apple Orchard Falls. Nearly every team commented on how beautiful this section of the race was. “We were kicking ourselves for not bringing a camera!� said Mary Scheerer, teammate of new Odyssey partner Shari Hymes of Team Towanda. Shari is one of those remarkable athletes who gets stronger and has more fun as the race wears on. Odyssey’s other new partner Arnie Owsley also raced with his 4-person coed team Usurp. Team Usurp was the only team in the race to make the tactical decision to skip the orienteering course in lieu of a 6-hour penalty (and less wear on their legs.)

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