A Blistering Start

Doug Judson / 09.08.2012

At 9:05 am this morning on a blistering hot morning on Lake Mcclure, 11 adventure racing teams toed the line for the ARWS qualifier Gold Rush Mother Lode Expedition race.  At the end of this brutally epic race one team will stand as victors and get to go to France to represent their country.

As teams boarded the bus at Bear valley Lodge for the 2.5 hour bus ride to the start, the excitement was palpable. 4 teams are among the favourites to go to France. Tecnu domestic squad, Sole/GRML, Yogaslackers/Gearjunkies and Columbia/Vidaraid from Spain.

The gun went off sending teams scrambling down a boat ramp on the edge of Lake McClure where they scrambled to swim out to their kayaks tethered on opposite shores from each other. colmbia/Vidaraid was first to enter their boats, followed closely by Tecnu adventure racing, but Columbia was assessed a 30 minute penalty for separating from their team members by more than 100 yards, and receiving a slight advantage over other teams.

With much racing left over 5 days, I am sure this will be nothing more than a minor hurdle for this strong team to overcome. By CP 4 front running teams had begun to stretch out their leads with the top four teams within 10 minutes of each other.

At the end of the paddle Tecnu adventure racing had assumed the lead by 10 minutes over Yogaslackers/Gearjunkies, followed by Sole/GRML, then 10 minutes back columbia/Vidaraid, scrambling to make up from their mistakes. Tecnu looked strong, and commented it was super hot with temperatures hovering around the century mark. Paul Romero of Sole/GRML commented to his son back home, "This one’s for you Jordan. Keep living life large and dreaming big."

Teams set out on a brutal trekking leg with steep terrain, tons of poison oak, and potential for bears.  All teams but one are still ranked with Firestarters opting to skip some CP's on the lake to try to cover all legs of the course. 

As we go into a full night of trekking, teams will be happy to see the sun set, and the temperatures plummet. With no manned checkpoints till the morning, we will be in a dark zone for information, but if today was an example of things to come, the top 4 teams setting the pace will surely not disappoint.

When the sun rises tomorrow on day 2 of the 2012 GRML, I am sure the top teams will be pushing each other hard. This race will be exciting to watch unfold. Stay tuned!"

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