Jul 23, 2010

Odyssey One Day


Calleva/UHB are going west to fight the heat of Odyssey One Day 24 hours adventure race. You can follow the team on-line (we hope) at Checkpoint Tracker. The race starts Saturday 12:00 noon.

Jul 16, 2010

This busy time of the year updates



1) Team Calleva qualified for the Checkpoint Tracker National Championship in solo male division. The Championship race will be in Moab, UT October 29, 2010.

2) This weekend is Calleva race pre-run. Vetting team: Brian and Monika will test the course in real conditions. We finally will get the answer to the main question of the year: is it possible to clear this year course in 10 hours or not?

3) Next weekend is our traditional Odyssey One Day race. Dima, Adam, Phil and Sarah will race in prime division as team Calleva/UHB.

4) August 8th is Calleva race day! Get ready for 10 hours of pain and suffering. The course is ready, the maps are ordered and the race is more than half full. Register now, before it's too late.

5) 3 days after Calleva race, on Agust 11th, team Calleva will go north to fight for a spot in a World Championship qualifier event Untamed New England Adventure Race. Dima, Val, Vlad and Sara will race for 3 full days in Northern New Hampshire together with 40 other teams.

Jul 7, 2010

XTERRA East Championships

XTERRA off road triathlon in Richmond, VA on June 20, 2010.
Report by Michelle Lindsay.


I had a fun time racing and did pretty well! I focused on swimming hard and then just having a good time on the bike and run :)

SWIM (15:52, 2nd female) - Richmond’s James River is pretty shallow! I lined up along one of the giant concrete pillars so I had something to push off of. The course went straight across the current to Belle Isle where we ran 50 meters on the trail to a beach to get back in the water and swim back across the river. I got out to a fast start and was leading the wave with about 5 others. I was in the 2nd wave with all the women and the men over 35, so catching up to the 1st wave is like swimming through a minefield! I saw one woman ahead of me as I ran on the island, but I wasn’t able to close the 10 foot gap for the rest of the swim. I put on my socks and shoes at the top of the boat ramp and put on my jersey and gloves as I ran the quarter mile to the transition area.

BIKE (1:21.01): I was pretty excited for the mountain bike, especially after they reversed the course. This direction suited my style better - FAST, technical, as opposed to slow technical - and I really enjoyed how they changed the Forest Hill trails. I rode more obstacles than I usually even attempt, so I was pretty pleased with myself. I knew where Derek was planning to be stationed for photos, so I mad sure to smile for the camera. I also made a point to thank volunteers - it was really hot out, especially if you’re just standing there! My major mistake on the bike was not focusing on exactly how much fluid I was getting in, but that wouldn’t take an effect until during the run and after the race. I did my typical bike-run transition by taking my feet out of my shoes on the last stretch of the bike and had a quick transition to the run.

RUN (59:45): I passed a lot of people early on, and steadily picked off more and kept moving up until just before the boulders section when a nasty side stitch started digging into my abdomen. I thought I’d be okay since I had heard they shortened the run course. I saw a volunteer standing at the point where in years’ past we turned up the hill to the top of Belle Isle... oh no... they didn’t shorten the run! I sucked it up and kept chuggin’ up the hill, the side stitch feeling like a fork twisting in my side. My tight hips reminded me of how I felt at the end of an ultra! It felt really good to be done when I crossed the finish line. Turns out I was 8th overall and first in my 25-29 age group! However, since I had registered as Collegiate, they didn’t put me in the age group results, oh well!