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IMPOSSIBLE PANTHER Race Report Team NORTHERN LITES Team Northern Lites was drawn to the far western boundaries of North Carolina to compete in the much heralded Special Operations Adventure Race (SOAR). The event benefits the Special Operations Warrior Fund which provides college scholarships, along with financial aid and educational counseling, to the children of Special Operations personnel who were killed in the line of duty. This race draws some great adventure racers from around NC, GA and as far away as Texas. This year there were also 18 entrants from Black Water USA including the founder Erik Prince (no relation). Racing against Black Water contractors was a little intimidating at first as most are retired Navy SEAL or Special Op Veterans but we quickly forgot their resumes and politics as we raced on a very challenging course in the Highlands of North Carolina. Northern Lites consisted of Alex and Ian for the SOAR which is set up for solos and teams of two. The biggest change for us was adjusting to a non-rogaine format that had time penalties for missed CP’s and having to carry all your gear, food and water for the duration. There were no transitions for gear changes and refueling. This meant carrying a bike helmet, climbing helmet, climbing harness, bike shoes, running shoes, extra clothes, food, water, first aid kit and all the mandatory gear in our packs at all times. Race organizers did transport our bikes between the two bike legs which can be risky but we got lucky with no damage other than a misaligned sensor on a bike computer. We started at 7:00 am from the Main Street in Highlands to the sound of bagpipes and a police mountain bike escort through town. We had to stay behind the Police for about a mile until we turned off the main street and began our ascent up to Cole Gap. It didn’t take long for the pace to pick up as three strong solo racers pulled the pack. We were behind the solos with one team separating us from the lead. Then the navigator (who shall remain nameless) made the bone head decision to not follow the leaders without checking the map. A half mile later (downhill) with no-one ahead and no-one behind, the afore mentioned bone head was willing to admit to the mistake and we started to double back now chasing the entire pack over a mile away. We rode that hill hard and caught up to the slower teams on the way to CP1. We reached the control about mid pack. Having already gone down the back side of the mountain for a half mile by mistake we knew it would be faster and cleaner than the bike whack from 1 to 2. By doubling back we ended up punching CP2 about two minutes after the leaders who were quite surprised to see us attacking from the other direction. Back in the heat of it we rode on to CP3 and then began the long single track descent to Cliff lake and onto CP4 which was the bike drop and transition to the run. Actually the first mile was all up hill so it was more of a brisk walk. The map was nothing like the roads and trails we were on at this point and the navigator was initially very confused. Luckily the volunteers nodded in the right direction and we were on our way. Teams spent a lot of time here trying to reconcile the map and existing roads at this transition. CP5 on top of Scaly Mountain offered beautiful panoramas then a 2 mile run down the other side of the hill where we picked up the Bartram Trail. This famous trail was named in honor of the naturalist, William Bartram, who traveled throughout the southeast from 1773 to 1777 providing the earliest record of the areas natural beauty. We were excited to have the opportunity to run this 5 mile section of the trail both for its historical significance but also because the race director said this was an area where you could really make up time. After rolling my ankle twice in the first mile, I was having second thoughts. Duct tape wrapped on the ankle kept me upright and we limped along. Alex was feeling exceptionally sprit at a time when I was really dragging. I began cramping and getting slower and slower. We had a very strict regimen of water, food and electrolyte intake set to timers on our watches. Alex was responding very well to this but my body was acting as though I was doing nothing to feed the machine. My body was imbalanced; I knew it but couldn’t seem to fix it. We struggled on to CP7 and transitioned back to bikes. Luckily for me it was a challenging ride on an over grown trail but was mostly down hill. On one spill I landed head first down the hill with my bike on top of me and my leg fully locked up. When Alex got to me he said “man your leg is spasmimg bad”. He massaged the cramp out until I could get up then we soldiered down to the river crossing. This trail had bottle necked a lot of racers as the Sprint racers were now intermingled on the course with the Elite racers. We ended up searching for CP 8 with 6 other teams. We all confirmed our location and the correct plot but no CP. Alex took a picture of us all there as evidence and we biked back up the mountain. The control was actually misplaced over a quarter mile away on a side trail. If you took that trail out of the valley you rode right into it accidentally. Some teams found it this way, others left towards CP9 worrying about the two hour time penalty they had just incurred. After punching CP9 we began the long ride/march up what the racers from last year had dubbed “Hell Hill”. The last 2 mile section of this trail was really a steep bike push to the top. I was still not fully recovered; Alex pushed both bikes up the last mile as I walked behind. The thunder storms came in while we were on Hell Hill and we had refreshing rain for an hour. At the top they informed us that the paddle section was cancelled due to lightning and we were to proceed to CP10 for instructions. We biked the last 5 miles back into to town skipping the 3 paddle points, dropped our bikes and began a 2 mile run up the hill to the top of the rappel section. The 120’ rappel was our highest but uneventful. The rain had soaked the ropes and it was a very slow descent. We ran the last mile back to the finish line and completed our first attempt of the SOAR. Northern Lites covered 10 miles running on foot and 36 miles on the bike, navigating to a 1st place in the Men’s Team Under 40 Division and 6th place over all…. ahead of all the Black Water entrants except… Erik Prince. Great job Northern Lites!! |
Pro-Tint
is proud to help local organizations in any way we can. The Northern
Lights Adventure Race Team is comprised of 5 North Carolinians who
compete in many grueling races throughout the year. We will be posting
any new race reports we receive from Ian and the rest of the guys.
