2014 Bonkhard Castlewood 8 hour Preview

The field that has already signed up looks tough indeed, with good teams in all the divisions, but the competition that everyone will be paying close attention to this year is the heated race between the two TeamBOR squads.  This has the makings of a legendary event, Neil and Kyle in the two man with Scott, Dave, Paul and Kevin in the four man, all with our sights set on being crowned TeamBOR CHAMPIONS! 


The two man team, Neil and Kyle, looks very strong indeed for this race.  Combining Neil's impressive navigation skills with Kyle's fearlessness and speed will make for a tough team to beat in the 2-person male division.  The only potential issues I see with this team are Kyle's inexperience and Neil being old.  And not necessarily that Neil is old in a physical sense, but I see him being ready for a nap and breaking out his old man chair at a TA to change his shoes.  Kyle is going to have to really try and push the pace where he can without going to fast as to loose his dad.  Remember Neil, 100 foot between the two of you at all times. 


The four man team is made up of four strong individuals, who I believe will draw upon there collective experience to form an even stronger unit.  Scott will be doing the navigating, which is a huge boost to the 4 man team as he has had much success in previous races and o meets and has not let them down yet.  Scott has the natural ability to not only get you to the checkpoint, but he can see the best route to the point and put you in good position on the following point.  They also have Dave, whose riding style is hands down one of the smoothest I have seen and has the unique ability to speed up as the race goes on.  Paul brings with him his natural abilities at everything athletic and really helps pull the team together by being the anchor point.  Kevin brings a good attitude, and a bike that is missing some gears. 


Expect to see some serious fireworks when these two teams go at it Saturday, Nov 15th.  If you haven't already made plans for that day make sure you are out there to cheer on not only both TeamBOR teams, but all the other teams out there as well!

"Long Overdue Blog for Escape the Night Extreme Obstacle Course Adventure Race Mud Fun Run with Warden X

"Long Overdue Blog for Escape the Night Extreme Obstacle Course Adventure Race Mud Fun Run with Warden X….or something like that.  Team BOR – Neil, Ahab, Paul, Dirk, Rachael, and Ryan (Rachael’s boyfriend).

 

This was a race at a newly formed obstacle course in Rolla with Team BOR proving…well, we’ll get to that soon.

 

The ‘race’ started with 6 events – an obstacle course race, tossing hand grenades into 5 gallon buckets, running with a tennis ball balanced on top a pvc pipe, flipping a massive tire, eating 1000 year old eggs and the like, and answering some logic questions incorrectly.  And PT.  And more PT.  Thankfully, Team BOR LOVES PT.  From these events, we got the best prize you could get….not the Gatorade they were talking about, no, a ‘Pardon’.

The racing portion of the race started with everyone else being zip tied into prison, where they had to break out with guards shooting paintballs at them, loud horns going off, fireworks, and the like. While they were going through all that, we took a leisurely stroll up the quarry to the first checkpoint.  OK, so it wasn’t leisurely…it was right slow.  We basically walked/crawled along the edge of the quarry to keep from being seen by the guards.  Used a rope to climb up a massive hill, and then got our first clue partway down a 60’ ladder.  Onto Checkpoint 2!! Woo-hoo!!

 

Along the way we gathered some important stuff for starting a fire, which was the next checkpoint.  May have gone a little overboard on this, but between Dirk and Scott and nice fire was made and much kindling was left for others.  Scott was having serious troubles seeing with his goggles, so he ran back to the Trailblazer for some different safety glasses, losing his light.  Then we headed on the treacherous journey to our next checkpoint….going past the Prison.

This seemed like an easy enough challenge….there was a berm on the west side of the prison…we could hide along the west side of this berm and go un-noticed!  HA!!  Started as planned, but a guard quickly spotted us and started hunting us down.  Here is where Team BOR became the uber-sneaky/crafty team.  The entire team would hide in a matter of seconds, many times even from other teammates!  After a half hour going 200 meters, we finally reached the woods. 

 

The woods were a scary time for those of us with tinted ski glasses….or perhaps just me.  We were moving without lights typically, and there was no moonlight to help us out.  By the way, the ‘race’ started around 7pm.  Several shin hits and a big drop later, I said screw moving without lights.  The map was also found to be…well, wrong.  We found our checkpoints, but in much shorter distances than expected.  And again, we found cover at the mere mention of ‘Guard’!!

Since we were basically lost in this portion, we spent some good quality time hiding in the woods, finding random checkpoints, and deciding where to go next.  Mind you, the race was ‘designed’ to be done in order.  This naturally meant you had to cross the entire complex between each point, and probably at least 200 guards (Dave number) each time.  With our massive speed past guards, this would have been a 7 day adventure race.  We opted at first to go to the Paintball course, where apparently we would have been given gear (paintball guns) to fight the guards with to retrieve a flag (not our flag), and then run a gauntlet to return with the flag.  This didn’t happen because our course kept moving away from it, and guards (and some other inmates) kept us pinned down.  As time was already running out, we moved toward the final obstacle – a double rope walk across the water to FREEDOM!!

 

We watched several people struggle on this, and Dirk was the only soul brave enough to conquer this obstacle.  The rest of us made an attempt to find our flag based on very rough information, and failed.  So we just walked into the finish area and enjoyed some bonfires while re-swapping gear.  We all joined up pretty quickly, had a few beers and burgers and departed.

Overall, I’d like to do this course again.  Screw the red lights.  Balls Out Racing would all have maximum light power on at all times to run like the wind to all checkpoints, blinding guards with our massive light output!!  Yes, we’d probably be caught.  Yes, we’d probably get shot.  But….we’re Balls Out Racing!!"


-Paul

01-04-14 FUGITIVE RUN – ESCAPE THE NIGHT by Captain Ahab (Scott Shaw)

I put St. Louis to my back Saturday late morning to pick up Neil Dickhaus (Human Compass) and head to Paul Frisbee’s (Manimal’s) neck of the woods in Rolla to compete in the Fugitive run.  As I am driving, I am thinking this may have been a bad idea since I have never done an obstacle course, never been around tear gas, and never have been in the military, but hey I am an Adventure Racer so I will be fine…well at least I won’t get lost.  Human Compass sounds the same concerns, and by the way, we are headed into a predicted snow storm…well we just completed the Castlewood 8, so we will be fine.  We arrive at Manimal Manor and Minimal (Tanner Frisbee) starts us off on our first orienteering event of the night by strategically relocating our gear.  Missymal (Rachael Frisbee) and Ryan Reagan (Mr. President) show up and look like Stay Puff Marshmallow Men with all the layers they are wearing.  While we are discussing clothes, layers and gear, the time is ticking for registration and the other Manimal (Dirk Frisbee) hasn’t shown up yet.  Manimal-D (D milk) shows up and says that was the earliest he could milk his cows.  For you city folk, he seriously was milking cows.  We pile in my wife’s trailblazer and Manimal races it to the registration.  We are one of the last teams to hang our flag and take a picture.  As people are rattling off rules and map nonsense, I am checking the other team’s flags for quality and find that most are really good, but not as good as the BOR flag.  Confusion sets in and we try to figure out where to start and when to start because the time has passed.  We herd ourselves into the jail (barn) with all the other teams and sneak up into the rafters thinking we could escape first.  The prison guards come and tell everyone to get out and assemble in the yard (obstacle course area).

The guards check to make sure everyone has their mandatory gear and then split us up into groups.  BOR is announced first…yes they recognize!  We head to a large wooden wall and are told we will be competing in an obstacle course in timed intervals and we get to go first.  I am looking at how tall this thing is and I am thinking I have climbed moving sailboat masts taller than that, but I am a little worried about my shorts legs making the spaced out rungs…oh crap they said go.  I am up the wall last as we had to go two by two.  Missymal is on my left and beating me to the top.  I get to the top and tell her to be careful when crossing to the other side as her foot comes across my face and she tells me there is no time for that and she is descending the other side.  Well I am not going to be last so I descend about half way and let go.  We go through various obstacles and my stupid goggles start fogging and I see enough to push Manimal-D’s butt up to get through an obstacle and then he pulls me up.  I remember cursing the Chinese water trap zig zag over ice as I am jumping on Manimal-D, then H-Compass, then Manimal-D is on me, then Compass is gone and I fall through the ice while other teams are jumping past me.  I can hardly see and ask Manimal-D where to go and I see Manimal across a stupidly small tunnel.  Compass is slithering through it backpack and all, like an inch worm.  I throw my pack to Manimal and launch into it with a thud as my shoulders are the same size as the tunnel.  I shoe horn myself as far as I can and inch worm my arms to Manimal, who pulls me out like a breach baby.  Somewhere in the mix, we get to a rope wall and I am last to go and a military looking gent tells me he will hold the rope.  I start to climb and the rope is tugged away from the wall and I hear laughter as my short legs leave the wall.  I yell “slack, shorts legs!” and I climb the rope as far as I can to reach the wall.  Using the rope in one hand, the wall on the other hand, I somehow monkey crawl to the top.  I am kind of mad now.  I keep running obstacles and notice I am gaining some ground as I have caught back up with Manimal-D and Compass.  We cross the finish line in first, but are we first with corrected time?  YES we are!  We win a Pardon.

At this point we are being PT’d (pushups, burpees, jumping jacks, squats) between different mental and physical challenges.  If you ever have seen me do burpees you will get a good chuckle out of that( Note: Scotts uncoordinated burpees are hilarious. Looks like a fish -Kevin).  We flip this huge tire I was sizing up for Ida (my Jeep XJ).  She rolls on 33’s and I estimated this was at least a 60”.  The stupid thing is full of ice and I get excited and start to lift on 2 of a 3 count and almost poop myself.  All six of us are flipping this thing and for a moment I stop to admire the military team flipping in complete synchronization…wow they are half way…I better help…we lost.  We do this flash bang toss that takes an eternity to get into a 5 gallon bucket and you have to race back in forth…we lose again.  We have to assemble a jig saw puzzle and our princess is missing a piece…lose again.  We have to eat the most disgusting eggs I have ever tasted.  Manimal-D devours them and I think he liked it, I choke mine down as a drill instructor type is yelling at me to about face and not throw up on him.  I drink some water and start swallowing large chunks like pills.  Mr. President spits his out…we lose again.  We run up and down a hill repeatedly while asking each other trick questions and I am thinking when does the race start and ok here comes some snow.

We are herded back into the jail and are told our pardon lets us out with a head start.  We run towards the quarry and try not to fall to our deaths, get hit with paintballs, or tear gas.  My goggles are completely fogged and I am totally blind.  I can’t risk losing an eye so I follow the best I can and I make it to the obstacle / check point, but on the way back I slam my shin, which are legendarily rock hard, against a diamond hard rock.  I can tell it cut my skin through my bushwhacking pants and heavy tights.  I can’t find a hole in the pants, which again is proof that North Face Paramount Peak Convertible pants are awesome and are not for teenage girls, except Missymal because she is not all human like the rest of the Frisbees.  So now I am totally mad and blind and can’t start the fire with my new flint, but Manimal-D strikes his and gets it going.  I tell the team that I have to go get my safety glasses or I won’t be able to continue; so I run to the truck, get my glasses, ditch the goggles, and run back and notice I lost my headlamp, so I run back to the truck and can’t find it, so I run back and borrow Manimal’s backup.  We continue sneaking by police and guards to check point after check point.  I can see now so I am no longer mad, but I am mourning the loss of my Petzal E-lamp.  We seem to be going in circles and Missymal is telling the Manimals where to go, and I see the Compass without a map and can read his thoughts that he is upset and the Manimals are lost.  I mentally agree but lay down in a low cold obstacle and think this is the slowest race we have done and I could take a nap right here.  I look over and Missymal Monroe and Mr. President are holding hands and snacking.  Guards start coming and it’s time to move.  We are “hell-o-stealthy”TM and move around through the woods searching for check points and finding few.  Missymal hits a booby trap as a guard is planting it and “kills” him.  We can hear the paint balls firing and can smell the tear gas in the distance.  We are running out of time so we head back to the start and we are asking where our flag is, but we never get it back.  I thought Cops were not supposed to steal and we didn’t even get to shoot back at them.  We left wounded, sore, dirty, but we all survived without capture or being shot. 

We eat, drink, talk, and drop off the Manimals at Manimal’s house and head back to St Louis.  I drive in 4HI through snow, listen to Compass snore, drop him off, get home, throw my gear inside, text Manimal to let him know I survived the drive home, inspect the bloody shin, shower, sleep, and wake up to two feet of snow and realize I have to now go shovel with a sore body…tis the life of an Adventure Racer.

New Years Day Extravaganza: BOR vs. Chubb, The Epic Battle

Brief report: Chubb victorious.  BOR wounded, but coming back for more.


So as a BOR tradition, as of 2013, the new year is kicked off with the BOR New Years Extravaganza.  This event consists of a ridiculous amount of bike and run miles and hopefully some kayak miles if more team members would buy kayaks, you know who you are Dave and John,   and this year was no different.   We set off with an ambitious plan to ride castlewood state park trails then ride to greensfelder and ride the trails, then return to castlewood, a 40 ish mile ride, and then run 13 on the castlewood trails.  While the distances seemed long the terrain was easy to moderate at worst and seemed more than do able in a days time.  However, Captain Ahab grabbed a hold of it and started changing locations and the like until we settled on Chubb Trail.  Now anyone who has ridden chub trail knows that it is the yeng and the yang of the mountain biking world.  the west Tyson side is very rocky, hilly and technical while the lone elk side is very flat and fast.  Chubb is also an out and back, 7 each way for a 14 mile total if you don't do the castlewood challenge loop. 

So with this being Paul's first experience with Chubb and the rest of us having not trained as hard as we should have, the 16 mile ride followed by a 16 mile run followed by a 16 mile ride seemed like it might be a little much but we decided to give it a go and see what happened.  Turns out what happened was a war of attrition between the four members of BOR and the epic Chubb Trail.

So the day started around 7:00 am with a text from Neil saying he was running late, which is odd since he was the closest of us to the trail......  Undeterred Paul, Scott and myself (Kevin) set off on the West Tyson side full of hope and excitement.  Then Chubb decided it had enough of our generally positive outlook and sent Scott careening off the trail and almost off a 10 foot drop.  After that we got back on the trail and continued the beating until we reached the picnic table at the top of the hill.  There Paul decided it would be a good idea to take video of part of our decent down the back side, however it didn't turn out to be as awesome as it could have been since the trail was loose, leaf covered, and bouncy.  So the video completely makes us looks like amateurs and its iphone quality, but here it is anyway. 

 

 

The rest of the ride was uneventful through the castlewood loop and up the hill to the Lone Elk parking lot and the return to the West Tyson side.  Then Chubb started taking its victims.  We checked the phones to see where Neil was, and had a message that read "Fell too much, left knee and elbow hurt. on my way home"  Chubb had claimed its first victim.  I then proceeded to fall about 4 or 5 times with one of them being a big enough hit I wound up about 25 feet from my bike after I got done rolling downhill.  I manage to tweak my left knee a little when coming off the bike on that one, but figured I would be alright after a little stretching it on the rest of the ride.  Paul then managed to have a pretty intense fall smashing his hip onto a rock outcropping pretty hard, hard enough to have him cursing the ground with anger and disgust.  After a few minutes he was well again and we were back to riding out the last bit of the trail.  at this point the three of us had decided we probably were not going to get the last ride in and were okay with that as we rolled up to the trucks to change shoes and head off on the run.  The run was fairly uneventful up to the picnic table where Paul decided his injuries were too much to do the remaining 12 miles of the run.  Just before we set off a runner came flying up the back side of the hill and through the picnic area with enough speed to amaze everyone standing there, and to set off the injured Paul's competitive spirit.  As he left the picnic table area with the speed of a super human, and a slight limp, Scott and I figured he would catch the mystery runner, and he did with photographic proof.

 

 

 Paul on the right, mystery runner on the left

 

 

Once Scott and I started down the hill my knee really started acting up, to the point of being painful so we ran / jogged / hiked the rest of the trail to lone elk and back.  but while we were out there we did come across some SLUG (Saint Louis Ultrarunners Group) members and talked with them about trails and gear and the balls on our packs. 

 

Only one member of BOR that started the extravaganza finished unharmed, and surprisingly it was Scott.  Maybe this year will continue like that for him, but smart money would bet that he will keep pushing and find a way to get hurt this year just like every other year.......  Side note, John also did not get hurt while sending us updates from his own personal workouts that day, he managed to sit in the kitchen for a while, the move to the living room all without falling or getting injured, congrats on the achievement John!