North Georgia Adventure Race Report

Well, third time is not always a charm. First I will say that Tony Berwald of Raceday puts on an excellent race to challenge everyone. The unseasonably cold weather decided to make an appearance again, as it usually does for Tony's races. I raced with an all-female team and we kept in the top 20 or so places out of 75 until I got really sick..that means ahead of 50+ co-ed and male teams! I think some of the guys out there were quite impressed with the Bad Lasses, some were a little threatened I think ;) Sometime around 8pm Saturday night is when everything went south. I had a severe allergic reaction to something unknown and my whole digestive system also pretty much turned inside out upside down and shut off. From there it was an 8 hour slog through the snowy backcountry to get back. Unfortunately because of my sudden illness we had to pull out of the race at 3:30am. This kind of racing takes serious mental and physical strength and courage. If you are looking for something to challenge every aspect of yourself and your capabilities, try a 24 hour + adventure race. Regardless of how it turns out, you won't regret it. I'm glad I made the decision to race because I always learn a lot from these, and it was also a good gauge of my strength/fitness at this time of the year- I felt pretty darn good. Props to Eddie O'Dea (the best fiance in the world), Johnny Garner, and Bill Wallace for the excellent support- they went above and beyond for us. A trip to the ER on Sunday morning helped fix me up- cortisone shots and a week's worth of steriods! Next up for me will be the Cohutta 100 Mountain Bike race, April 22.

Pictures courtesy of Peter Jolles: