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SRRC Race Reports

Odyssey Adventure Race, Roanoke, VA —Saturday, July 21, 2007
by Dave Ashley

Facing the adventure.

This race was a huge challenge for me, significantly longer than any I have attempted in the past—24 hours, 75-90 miles, trail running, kayaking, mountain biking, orienteering.  I wanted to run it last year, but I was deploying to Iraq in early August and didn't want to run the risk of injury delaying my departure.  There is an extensive list of "mandatory" equipment for this race that cost me around $200.  I don't think it was necessary by any means, and some I had to mail-order. Be prepared and plan early.  And train while packing your gear. I was a minimalist and still had around 15 lbs on my back.

Roanoke is a very hilly place—short, steep hills.  This race has over 8000 feet of elevation gain.  Ouch! We started at noon, and it was a very hot and humid day with temperatures in the 90s.  The starting point was at Virginia's Explore Park, off the Blue Ridge Parkway east of Roanoke.  They have some nice mountain bike trails here!  We started on a trail from the river, running up, up, up, then back down to the river on the mountain bike trails.  Since this was my first 24-hour race, I paced based on the group.  We walked the steeper hills, and kept a fairly slow pace otherwise.  After about 3 miles of runningm, we transitioned to bikes and followed the same course with some extra loops to new checkpoints—about 5 miles total.  Back at the starting point, we had one last chance to fuel up with water and food before we began the rest of the race that would leave the park and head south and further east of Roanoke.  No more opportunities for food/water, except for stopping along the road and buying things from a store.

We rode along the Blue Ridge Parkway for about 10 miles past Roanoke Mountain, to a transition point.  Next was a trail run, about 10k and the "time trial" of the race.  If you completed this stage with the fastest time in your category (solo male, solo female, male team, female team, coed team, military, masters, etc) you had 1 hour deducted from your overall time.  I ran this portion very hard (ok, too hard) and posted a winning time for my category.  However, I became very dehydrated from the heat and was having trouble cooling down.

Next we had a mountain top run, starting at the base of a mountain and running to the top, then back down the backside and transitioning back on the bike.  I was now first place for the entire race, and feeling good but definitely not pacing my self appropriately for such a long race.

At 6:00 p.m. I was back on the bike, and I made a pit-stop at a Food lion, filling up my belly and backpack with cold water and buying food.  I had only packed cliff bars and gels. With a high core temperature and in my dehydrated state, my stomach was rejecting this food. I was beginning to run into trouble.

Over the next several hours we were on the bikes, riding on paved roads and with traffic.  Many riders made wrong turns. I made one that took me several miles in the wrong direction.  It's difficult to think when you're getting overheated, dehydrated, and hungry.

By around 9:00 p.m. my legs were starting to shake uncontrollably, and I couldn’t seem to drink enough water to satisfy my thirst.  I stopped by the side of the road for 30 minutes. I got back on the bike but found that I couldn't ride more than 2 or 3 miles before I needed to stop again.  I sat on the ground watching riders pass me and feeling my calves convulse.  This was not good, and there were about 40 miles and 10 hours left of this race.  I knew I could finish. It would take some time, and it would hurt physically, but I could make it.

I decided that it was not worth risking damage to my body.  I began riding back the 10+ miles to the start line and became a DNF (Did Not Finish) around 11:00 p.m.  I made some serious speed in my car to Taco Bell—thankfully open late—and enjoyed a huge meal.  Next year??  Maybe, but it will take much better endurance training, food planning, and pacing to survive the hot temps, big elevation gains, and long distance of this race.  And I'll be riding slicks, since some much of this race was on paved roads!

July 2007

The SRRC would love to hear about your running, racing, or crewing experiences! If you would like to submit a race report, to be posted on the SRRC website, please email srrunner@srrunners.org.