Stone Mill 50 Mile Run

Written by Dima
Last Saturday, November 17th me and Robin together with 350 runners participated in 50 miles trail run in Montgomery county. Robin is long time ultra runner, while for me it was the first ever ultra. The course went through parks of Montgomery county from east of route 355 in Gaithersburg along Muddy Brunch and Seneca Creek all the way to Potomac River and back. Most of the time we ran on newly created mountain bike trails, thanks to MORE. Exact distance was 51.02 and despite general flatness of the area total elevation gain was more than 5000 feet.

The race started before sunrise at 6 am. My goal was to finish before sunset and for the first 35 miles I was following Robin at better than 10 minutes per mile pace. Somewhere at mile 36 my body decided that it enough for today and I had really hard time to override stupid brain systems that tried to shut down my legs. As the result my overall pace fall well below 11 minutes per mile, but i finished before the dark in 9 hours and 45 minutes. Robin beat me by more than 10 minutes. Overall I finished in 70th that is not bad for the first ultra.

Calleva Race Video and Markoff’s Haunted Forest Update

Greetings racers.
Fall is here and cold weather erases memories of hot and humid Calleva Race day. Here is short reminder of 10 hours of running, biking and paddling you had this summer. Good way to feel the excitement once again and to get ready for the next year race. Mark your calendar for August 4th, 2013. We are already in full swing of preparations for the next year.



Meanwhile, if you want to get warm in this cold weather, the famous Markoff’s Haunted Forest is open. Some of you had been brave enough to punch the aqueduct CP at this year race, have won free Haunted Forest tickets. Now it’s the time to use them. The Forest is open every weekend in October.



Come in costume and join the walkers as they invade our farm & forest... nightly prizes go to the best dressed... remember this is also a prom! Zombie’s prom ...

Krista Griesacker Memorial Adventure Race

Written by Nick Josties The 9th annual Krista Griesacker Memorial Adventure Race was held this year on July 28, 2012 at its customary site, the Civil Air Patrol Search and Rescue School near Hawk Mountain, Pennsylvania. Sponsored by GOALS ARA (Gibbons Outdoor Adventure Leadership School: Adventure Racing Association), this race is a fundraising event designed as a memorial to Krista Griesacker, who spent many years training and instructing at the volunteer School. Proceeds from the race benefit the School, which is a volunteer search-and-rescue training school. The Civil Air Patrol is an auxiliary service of the U.S. Air Force that provides aerospace education, cadet programs, and emergency services nationwide and flies more than 85% of all federal inland search and rescue missions directed by the Air Force.

This year's race featured approximately 50 total miles of canoeing, mountain and road biking, trekking, orienteering, and a ropes / obstacle course, all to be completed in under 12 hours. Eighty seven racers on thirty five teams competed for pride and prizes on rugged terrain with plenty of elevation change and spectacular scenery. The race was extremely well-organized and run, with no shortage of volunteer support and encouragement for racers at checkpoints and transition areas.

The race began with a quiz. Each team provided one team member who had to answer a series of emergency and first-aid related questions by running back and forth between two tables, one containing the questions, the other containing information with the answers. Answers were presented in writing to volunteers who would only say the number of incorrect answers, but provide no additional help. After getting "no wrong answers", the team was given their passports and released into the Schuylkill River near Landingville for the canoeing section. After 3 checkpoints on the water and about 3 hours of canoeing, including a dam portage, teams transitioned to bikes for a long trail climb to a ridgeline, then along the ridgeline to the second transition to the first o-course in the Weiser State Forest. This o-course took the racers to the bottom of the valley again, then back to the top of the ridge in a grueling bushwack climb. Completing the first o-course, racers transitioned back to bikes for a ride that included gravel roads, paved roads, the paved rail-trail, and some bike-whacking, taking the racers into the next valley near Hamburg and crossing the Schuylkill River before reaching the last transition area at Hamburg Reservoir. From this last TA, racers had to complete a second o-course, including a climb to Pulpit Rock, and then find their way back to the Civil Air Patrol school. But we weren't done yet. At the CAP base, racers had to complete a ropes course and an obstacle course. The ropes course included 50-foot vertical rope ascent of a tower, then a rappel back down. The obstacle course included rope and wall climbs, water jumps, monkey bars, and pipe crawls before finally reaching the finish line.

Two teams dominated the course, finishing four minutes apart and about 1.5 hours ahead of the next group of finishers. Team Calleva cleared all checkpoints on the course, placing 6th overall and 1st in the Masters category with a time of 10:48.

This was an excellent short-distance race, with a great mix of mandatory and optional checkpoints, located to provide interesting choices and opportunities for clever teams to take advantage. The organization and execution by race directors Bill and Anne Gibbons and the huge volunteer staff was superb. I would recommend this race to experienced racers interested in honing their strategic skills and beginning racers looking for a taste of what a longer race will offer.

New team's backpacks

It's great to have sponsors! Now team Calleva has full set of Mike Kloser's AS1 backpacks, thanks to Calleva Outdoor.



First impression: these packs are the best. It's going to take some time to learn all options and locations of all pockets. It's heavier than Lafuma Race 30 that we are using for 24 hours races, but has extra 10 liters of storage capacity. It weights as much as my Osprey that I am using mostly at expedition races (Untamed New England was the last one). It might be useful at Check Point Tracker championship in a month. Boogie board, wet suit, life jacket, and helmet... extra carrying capacity might safe the day.
See you all in September at New River.

Dima

Green Ridge Adventure Challenge

Race report by Greg Palardy.

This was my first solo adventure race. I've had six 10-12 hour races previously and one 24 hour race. The race took place in Green Ridge State Forest near Cumberland, MD. I got the maps around 7:00am so had an hour to plot the Prologue O-course and 1st O-course and get a pretty good idea how to proceed in canoe and on bike for the next sections. The 2nd O-course and bike back to the start/finish would have to be planned on the fly. Bringing a flat board to write on really helped. The race started at 8:00am with a cut-off of 8:00pm. One CP penalty for every 5 minutes late. The course started off with a 350ft steep climb up the ridge to hit a CP then back down a valley and up another 200ft climb. It was all flat and downhill after that to get another 2 CPs then back to Town Creek near the start. Maybe 4 miles and cleared in about an hour. Not super fast but so far so good.
Got in my solo canoe and started making good time. I went with my wide-bladed bent shaft canoe paddle since I knew it well. Kept up with the two lead 2 person canoes in my wave and left a few behind though the 3 person canoe got away from me. Later I had some kudos from the canoeing group for my speed and technique. Wrapped up the paddling section in about an hour and impressed a few folks at the take-out with an adroit lift onto the shoulders and a quick one trip portage to the transition area. Picked up both paddling CPs without a hitch. Got on the bike after perhaps a slow-ish transition due to some gastrointestinal distress.
Biked through the Paw Paw tunnel to the next TA(only 15 minutes) and didn't adequately assess my position. After a few minutes of thought and seeing everyone heading in one direction along a trail, I proceeded. Made the next CP/TA and topped off my water. Got headed in the wrong direction initially but came to my senses and got on course losing about 10 minutes. Ran the flats and downhill and trekked the hills with a few other racers to make it to the next CP and then another. We all had the wrong expectation of what CP we were actually at when we got there. I made the adjustments and headed back to the CPs I had missed. Found one of them and searched for another for entirely too long. Lost about 45 minutes. Saw some racers later and they too just couldn't find it. Others did. After the lost time and energy, I was somewhat disheartened. I was running through some open woods and rolled my left ankle. I had taped them but ...ouch....SOB! 6 hours into the race, I hobbled on towards the next CP and started running again. Ouch....SOB! as I heard the bones in my left ankle rub and pop against each other in another roll. I thought the race was over as I was limping hard. I kept going thinking to just drop out. No way I could run any more. I was getting way behind. Saw a short asian woman running solo in the opposite direction along the trail. She was at least 2 hours behind the leaders and 45 minutes behind me but she was smiling and somehow I knew she would finish. I resolved to get this race done. Picked up a CP, missed another and made it back to the TA to pick up my bike.
The ankle only bothered me on the steep uphill walks with the bike. I had a good route and knew where I was. Made 2 CPS then turned off the main gravel road for a CP. I thought I was on one gravel road which turned out to be another. Went down a big hill and then finally realized something was amiss. Saw some other racers who had "HAD IT" and were heading back to the start. They confirmed I was not where I thought I was and so I walked back up the steep hill. Another 30 minutes lost. Got determined at this point and figured out a close CP to hit on my way back to where I was supposed to be. Walked the bike up another steep rocky road and then down a bumpy, bumpy ATV road. Shook me and my hardtail to hell.
Got to the 2nd O-course with 2:15 left in the race. It was about 1:30 back to the start. Another soloist showed up and he decided to just head back to the start. Asked the race director at the TA if it was okay if I road my bike to the 2nd O-course CPs. He said, "you have to get the O-course CPs on foot but I could ride down the hill". Good enough for me. I rode to a trailhead and footed it to pick up another CP with a bit of a run. Tried for another on foot but realized I missed and headed back to the bike only losing 10 minutes. With 1:30 left in the race, I had a long uphill to walk and 10 miles to go on gravel road.
I rode hard letting the brakes open on the downhill and gritting my teeth as it felt way too fast. Picked up another CP and came to the turn-off onto a grassy trail with 15 minutes left. Let it fly again down the hill. Hit one tight dip and held, 2nd tight dip and held. The third was too deep. The front fork bottomed out and sent me flipping over the handlebars with the bike attached to my feet. I landed on my back with the bike on top. My back ached but no painful stabs as I gingerly got up. I gathered my wits and maps which were scattered and got back on the bike. Picked up a CP and headed down a leafy slope only to wipe-out again. 4 minutes left, I hit the road and put everything into it. I paused as I came to the realization that I was not going to make the cut-off. Still I had to try. I turned the corner by the clubhouse , dropped the bike and ran the last 50 meters to the clubhouse porch and finish. I looked at my watch...12 hours and 30 seconds. I asked the woman taking the passports if I had made it. She said yes. Later when they called my name for 1st place, solo division, I thought to myself, "Never have I had a worse race to finish so proudly".
The grilled sausage was great and the homeade mac and cheese spectacular if the prizes were only typical. The comraderie that night was excellent and my only wish was that I didn't have to drive 2.5 hours home as Fat Tire Ale looked very tasty.
Sorry no pictures but I did get this fine race placard (see below) to hang on my refrigerator.

Untamed New England race: Results and short report.

Written by Dima.

I couldn't write this report without the final race results. This looks like the final results and it's amazing to see team number 12 at 12th position in prime division rankings. Only half of the teams officially finish the course and I am really happy to see Calleva closer to the top of that half.
I didn't want to miss this epic adventure and started preparation well in advance. Hard DNFs of two previous Untamed Adventures taught me two lessons: 1) I cannot navigate this race. 2) Everybody on the team must have real expedition experience. I got offers from a few teams to race Untamed, but neither of them was satisfying all my picky conditions. A day before the race was sold out I registered the perfect team Calleva with Marcy, Druce and Val.



This race was epic in all disciplines: the craziest whitewater in big and small rafts, the most technical mountain biking, the longest trek, the hardest navigation, and absolutely impossible bushwhacking. Both biking and hiking were approximately the same length of 120 kilometers and I am not sure which one was faster. At least half of the course we had to carry super heavy backpacks with pack-rafts, paddles, PFDs and all other gear and supplies. That should explain relatively short distance of 200+ miles for 4 days race. My favorite part of the race was traverse through the Carrabassett Range. This crawling changed my definition of bushwhacking.
Cannot write much longer now, Calleva Race is in exactly 3 weeks and all my "free" time is taken by the race preparations. May be in the future I'll write more detailed race report, but for now just check amazing photos that Vlad took during the race:Vladimir Bukalo Photography.

Untamed New England 2012

The biggest race of the year, Untamed New England, starts in 3 days. We're leaving DC Monday morning and heading north to Canada border. Dima, Val, Druce and Marcy will try to push 200+ miles of the surface of our planet into direction opposite to the start-finish line. For 4 days and 4 nights we will move our bodies and our heavy backpacks through wilderness of north Maine using all possible means of human powered transportation: running, biking, climbing and paddling. Vlad is coming with us as a support before and after the race and as a member of the media team during the race.


We will have spot tracking device attached to our team and you can follow our progress through the life race HQ. You can send us motivational "trail mails" that we will receive at transition areas. We really need all your support to finish this "mission impossible" event!

Our team is Calleva, our number is 12.
The race is sponsored by Calleva Outdoor Adventure.

Wild & Wonderful race report

Written by Nick Josties.
Odyssey Wild & Wonderful 24-hour Adventure Race
May 19-20, 2012



With our fearless team captain Dima off racing the Longest Day Race in New York's Catskills Mountains for the weekend, the 4-person co-ed team of Robin, Tamir, Nick, and Greg took on the hills, valleys, and rivers of West Virginia's New River Gorge in the annual Wild & Wonderful 24-hour adventure race organized by Odyssey Adventure Racing. The weather was perfect, with clear skies, the high temperature around 80 and lows in the 50's at night. Race headquarters and the finish line were at the ACE Adventure Resort near Oak Hill, West Virginia.

The race started in its traditional way, with teams bused to the starting point on the bank of the New River to load up into 8-person rafts for some Class III to Class V whitewater rafting. Each raft was provided with an experienced river guide for the 14 mile first leg of the race, ending at CP-1 beneath the iconic New River Gorge bridge (the fifth highest vehicular bridge in the world, and the third highest in the Americas at 876 feet above the river).

At CP-1 on the east side of the river, teams transitioned to a trekking section consisting of six checkpoints, all located on the west side of the river. There were three options for crossing: swim the river, or choose one of two bridges (the high bridge at 876 feet up, or the old roadway bridge at about 50 feet up). Team Calleva chose the high bridge and soon discovered why we were the only team to do so. Halfway across, we were visited by a State Trooper who happened by wondering if we were the "jumpers on the bridge" that he had been told about. We assured him we had no intentions of committing mass suicide, but his concern was about illegal base jumpers. After several minutes of pleasant conversation about adventure racing (wtf is that?), maps, route choices, and general foolishness we convinced the young man that we were not a threat and would get our butts off the bridge pronto.



Being on the highest point around and having avoided jail time, we felt the race would be all downhill from here and ran on to CP-2, CP-3, and CP-4 at the end of a beautiful ridge spur overlooking the gorge. The next checkpoint had a prescribed route in the race rules of travel, which directed us to the Kaymoor Miners Trail with CP-5 being at the end of this trail. It turned out that this "trail" was in fact a staircase, with 817 steps down to the bottom of the gorge, following the old path of a conveyor left over from an old mining operation and the 1900's town of Kaymoor, which was abandoned when the conveyor cable broke in the 1950's. Remnants of the conveyor and many of the old structures are still there with old mine openings blocked off with steel bars. CP-6 was, of course, back up at the top of the the stairs and CP-7 back up on top of the ridge. Along our chosen routes, this leg of the race was approximately 15 miles.

At CP-7 we transitioned to bikes to pick up 7 checkpoints along about 11 miles of brand-new and very nice singletrack. Then at CP-14 we transitioned back to trek to tackle the o-course, which offered 10 optional checkpoints. The team picked up three checkpoints before darkness fell and our pace slowed as navigation became critical. Other than being a bit confused for a short time, which ended when we literally stumbled into one of the checkpoints, we executed the o-course well having picked up 7 of the 10 available checkpoints before making a strategic decision to move on to the remainder of the course. At CP-22, which was the end of the o-course, we transistioned back to bikes for the remainder of the race having covered approximately 11 miles on the o-course.

We biked another very nice singletrack trail from CP-22 toward CP-23 and were doing well until at about 2 a.m. the derailleur hanger on Nick's bike broke in half. Being short on spare parts and competent bike mechanics, Robin made a valient effort to MacGuyver the derailleur back onto the bike, but despite the wire twist-tie, shoelace, and duct tape was unable to rebuild the bike. The bike would coast down hills, but would be little more than a scooter otherwise. At CP-23, it was 3 a.m. and decision time for the team. Most of the remaining checkpoints were optional, with a 6 a.m. cutoff time at CP-28 and a 9 a.m. cutoff time at CP-33 (the finish line). The rules of travel allowed a team to miss the 6 a.m. cutoff at CP-28, but that checkpoint was still mandatory, so we would have to get there and back to the finish by 9 a.m. in order to finish the race officially. This became our goal.

We figured out an alternate route along mostly paved and hardpan gravel roads from CP-23 to the race headquarters (CP-33 / Finish Line) and decided to head there first, then we would head out to pick up CP-28 which was only about a mile away, then back to the finish. It was a good strategy, and we reached the race HQ by 6:30 a.m. At that point, another team was finishing their race and offered to let Nick use one of their bikes. The rules of travel do not allow race officials or volunteers to help the racers in any way, but do allow other teams to help in any way they like. So lending the bike was within the rules and the team took advantage of it. We biked to CP-28 and back again to finish the race at 8:00 a.m., one hour ahead of the cut off. This final leg from CP-22 until the Finish covered approximately 19 miles along the routes we chose. The distances traveled by discipline were: 14 miles whitewater rafting, 26 miles trekking, and 30 miles biking for a total of 70 miles.

Proud of finishing officially with a busted bike, we headed off to eat and shower before the awards ceremony. It was during the awards that we discovered that we had missed one of the mandatory checkpoints, CP-32 which was very close to the finish line and we could have easily gotten it in the hour we had remaining, but having not reviewed our rules of travel before finishing, did not notice the mistake. As a result, we did not get an official finish for the race, but were still proud of our performance and looking forward to keeping our heads in the game for the next race.

The Longest Day and other trainings

With Untamed New England around the corner we are using every possibility to get ready for this brutal race. Last weekend part of the team that didn't go to Wild and Wonderful, spent long day and night in Catskill mountains. Marcy did perfect navigation job and prepared the most detailed race report. We used the same gear we will use at Untamed new England and it was the last big test for our gear and body.

Yesterday was another good training day:
Packraft upstream along islands of Potomac: (run, unpack, inflate, paddle, deflate, pack) x 2 + 3 hours bushwhacking with packraft, PFDs, paddles and all other gear + 30 miles of biking including 5 miles of technical single track. Biking was also with packraft, PFDs, paddles and all other gear, because you never know what to expect at Untamed NE race. In the process Druce learned that stingy nettle grass is the national Russian tree.

REV3 Epic- My first adventure race.

Race report by Robin Blendell



I know, 26hrs probably sounds crazy for my first adventure race but what the heck, go big or go home. This adventure started around the time I started trail running in Sept 2010 at an Odyssey Adventure's Trail Race. After that they sent me with emails about their other events: adventure races. As someone who likes to be outdoors and loves an adventure, I was intrigued. As I learned more about adventure racing, I was sure I wanted to do a race, but was nervous about my ability to navigate. So, I signed up to take an orienteering class last spring with my fiance with the hope of convincing him we could do an adventure race together. I really learned a lot in the class, but put the adventure racing goal on the back burner as I focused on run training. I ran my first 50k last June, then the TransRockies Run in August, 3 marathons in October and my first 50 miler in November and with a schedule like that there isn't much time for taking on a new sport. My run training continued this spring as I focus on the Laurel Highlands Ultra this June (and the Welcome to Watkins 5k, July 1st 2012, the day after I get married) as well as my first IM in NYC in August. Then, I met Dima after the Seneca Greenway 50k and marathon. It was a muddy, mess of a day in the woods, but a fun local 50k and while waiting to get picked up at the finish and chatting, I got roped into actually trying an adventure race.

Enough of the back story, onto the race! I was pretty nervous in the week leading up to REV3's Epic, I really had no idea what to expect. I feel strong in my running and have crewed enough 100mi runs to know what an overnight race looks like, I own a mountain bike that I pretend to ride, but I was headed out into the woods with 3 men I really didn't know! Adam, my finance, and I got to the cabin pretty late on Friday night and the rest of the team, Dima, Tamir and Nick, were pouring over maps and planning our route for the next day. I have run in these mountains, I know they are tough, but I've always on the trails and I was learning a lot from listening to them plan, I was feeling confident in my team and none of these guys seemed like an axe murderer, so I figured I was safe ;) . We got to bed at a reasonable hour, but 6am on race comes pretty early.

Paddling: I guess I don't know anything else, but a mass canoe start was pretty crazy. Our team got separated at the start as Dima and I got off to a good start. Tamir and Nick quickly caught up to us as we headed down river. There were 3 checkpoints and a challenge to complete. Checkpoint 1, no problem, a quick run up the hill and back down to get the blood flowing, checkpoint 2 was a mess as so many teams were still grouped together and most everyone bouldered up and followed the leaders to a misplotted checkpoint. I was starting to figure out what this race was all about! The challenge was interesting as we had to work together as a team.

We finished the paddling section and back to transition in good spirits and headed out on our bikes. Working hard as we headed into the woods, bushwacking with our bikes (a new experience for me) and we were able to clear the course and get back to transition in good time. It was forecasted to rain and be in the 40s, but so far the weather had been cooperating and I was eager to get out on my running legs and have some fun! So far, so good, we were making good time, hitting all the checkpoints, thanks to some good team effort and excellent navigating! We made it back from the trek just before 6pm, 3hours before our doomsday scenario. Tamir family was volunteering at the second challenge and Adam was waiting for us at the transition area to say hello. It was nice to be able to see some familiar faces, eat a frozen burrito, a package of beef jerky and a variety of other foods while packing up our gear and heading out for a long night in the woods.

As we headed out for the evening, we knew the rain was coming. We hit a few checkpoints as we made it to TA2, hoping to have enough time in the morning to come back, changed a flat in the rain (thank you guys!). But most notably, we went to a 2pointer 4k down the mountain, which can only mean one thing: Dima is going to help pull me 4k back up the mountain! I cannot thank my teammates enough for the amount of help and support I got with my biking and with taking responsibility for all the navigating. I can push these guys to run and pick up the hiking pace, but I my lack of training on the bike was pretty evident.

The night orienteering course was my favorite part. Not sure if this was because I feel most comfortable when I am treking and running, scrambling or that at night there is nothing to focus on but the race. The rest of the world falls away and you are lost in the goals of the race. This was the first overnight race I have done and which I have heard people talk about your headlamp playing tricks on your eyes in the shadows or the blood sugar lows just before sunrise, it is a totally new experience for me to actually experience them. I can't say it was a good feeling, but when sunrise comes, it brings an amazing burst of energy. We made it back to our bikes before 7am after clearing the o-course, but leaving one of the optional bike/trek points.

Not knowing how long it was going to take to get back to the start and how my biking legs would hold up we were able to get several additional checkpoints on bike. While Dima felt we had enough time to go for another 2 point CP at the top of Signal Knob and make it back in time, I wasn't quite sure. As a team we decided to skip it and head back. Unfortunately, we made it back with more than an hour and a half to spare, so we probably had time, but learning those lessons, that's what a first experience is all about.

Calleva finished 6th in prime division and 7th overall (out of 66)!



Race results are here.
More race photos are here.

Adrenaline Rush race report

Written by Greg
Photos Vladimir Bukalo



Well, this was my first race of the season, the 12 hour Adrenaline Rush out at Shenandoah River State Park near Front Royal Virginia. We brought two teams, 5 members in all; Dima, Val, myself (Calleva1) and Tamir and Alexandra (Calleva2). My trepidation was high since I was running with Dima and Val, two very experienced racers. Tamir and Alex ran as a duo and stayed with us for the start of the race and then joined up again at the end to great effect. There was 73 racers split into 34 teams. The race was laid out as Prologue(short run), O-course, mountain biking, paddling, road biking, and O-course. We had maps to everything but the last orrienteering section which we would get after the 2nd biking section.

The Prologue was a simple kilometer road run up and down a steep-ish hill. The first O-course was about 10km if you cleared all 13 ckeckpoints. Lots of steep ridges and plenty of bushwacking. We lost Tamir and Alex after a few checkpoints. We got on bikes after clearing the O-course and right off the mark encountered one of numerous large hills . I thought my biking was strong with commuting to work once or twice a week but Montgomery county has nothing on these hills. The mountain biking was great. Steep inclines, some of which I had to walk, and descents on wide hardpack through the forest, twisty and real fast. Dima had told me of tales bushwacking through the forest with mountain bikes and indeed we did. It was only about 500 meters but it was well placed and probably saved us 20 minutes. Nice one! This is how it is done.

The paddling section was next and fairly uneventful. We loaded up 3 in a canoe. It was about 12 km flatwater with one short 10 meter portage around a low bridge. We brought kayaking paddles and knocked it out in about an hour and 15 minutes passing one boat. The field of racers had spread out significantly by this point. The potable water resources were not that well placed. We were completely out of water by the end of the paddling. If it had been hotter, we would have been in trouble. Val was drinking out of the Shenandoah river. He didn't seem to suffer for it. There was a bathroom with water not too far from the paddling take-out so we were alright and I filled up another 2.5 liters. We ran back to the bikes about 3km.

At his point we had to make a strategic decision. We had about a 2.5 hr bike ride ahead of us, all on the road, and my hill legs were not that strong. There were only 3 checkpoints to get in this section. The last O-course had 22 ckeckpoints. It was about 3:15pm. We had been running, trekking, biking and paddling for 7 hours. Too tell the truth, I was getting a bit worn out. We decided to skip the 3 road biking checkpoints to give us more time on the final trek. Tamir and Alex were coming along the trail on foot as we were heading back to get the last map. We told them our plan and they caught up with us to do the last O-course together. Dima picked up the final map and noted there were no trails marked on it, unlike the first O-course map in the same area. I give credit for the race organizers for coming up with this little trick. We headed for the obvious first pick of checkpoints. Dima suggested we mark the new checkpoints on the first map. We did. It took about 10-15min but really paid off.

Tamir and Alex showed up at this point and after discussion we all headed out. The next hour and a couple of CPs were a little blurry for me as I was pretty tired and the ridges didn't get out of our way. I ran the flats and downhill and walked the hills keeping my eyes mostly on the trail and whoever's feet were in front of me. We made a direct attack on a non-visible checkpoint down a reentrant and up a steep ridge. When we crested the ridge the flag was sitting on our direct line. It doesn't get better navigating, Dima. We took a brief break to reassess our plan. After some discussion among our team, we came up with what I think was the most efficient laid out course for the next 17 CPs. A brilliant group effort. I got my second wind and was able to act as Val's second as rabbit in taking a few flags. Dima and Tamir both had maps and we made good work of knocking out all the high ground CPs. We descended a steep incline with fortunately no cliffs. A regular WV sleigh ride though I did not give in to such reckless abandon or at least mostly not. With a steady trudge of a jog through the last checkpoints we all arrive at the finish at 10hrs, 50min. Tamir and Alex scored with 41 CPs. Dima, Val and I, 44 CPs.

Michelle Faucher and Andy Bacon, the race directors, put on a pretty good first race. Dima provided some nice constructive criticism to make it better next year. Team Odyssey placed first overall beating us by about 2.5 hrs(if you include the cycling) and clearing all the checkpoints. How the heck! I need some serious training. Still, Calleva1 placed 1st in our division, 8th overall and Calleva2 placed 2nd by division and 12th overall. I consider it a win for both teams, 1st and 2nd is not too bad! Tamir no doubt is wishing he would have taken the time to get one more checkpoint to get 1st in their division. Very close and he was redeemed by Alexandra who won the pushup contest against Vanessa, the gal from the Double Trouble coed 2 person team, who got first. Val's rejoinder to Alex, "just one more", no doubt got her that tube of Zanfel as a consolation prize.
Congratulations to all! Let's do some hill work!

Soggy Bottom 2012

Writen by Tamir



Team Calleva ventured out into the swamplands of Virginia on the third annual Soggy Bottom Boys Rogaine and Adventure Race Challenge. The team, composed of Vlad, Nick, Steph and Tamir, headed out strong and finished strong. This was the first time several of the team members had raced together but all members clicked, with well placed insults, puns, songs and bad jokes fueling progress. Vlad was asked questions about Russia, how to say things in Russian, what he liked about Russia...until all realized that he is from the Ukraine. (Stupid Americans...we don't even know the name of the King of Canada!) Anyway...Vlad was well humored and was the core strength of our team. As holder of the Passport he made all the final treks to the checkpoints while the rest of us napped. We lost Nick for about 45 minutes when he decided to "check out" something. (We are now all assigned periods of time to watch him and make sure he doesn't wander away.) He redeemed himself though with stellar night orienteering...("just follow the moon"). Steph won the eagle eye award for spotting checkpoints when all of the men were searching in completely the wrong direction. Tamir decided to be a hero and venture into the swamp (inevitably for little to no reason but to ruin several pairs of socks and taunt water mocassins.) Actually, the only snake seen was tiny and cute. Couldn't say the same for the competition though...tiny...some, cute...hardly. Steph had to be held back from throttling several ill tempered competitors (unnamed for now) when they exhibited a lack of humor. In his excitement to see Dima at the transition area Vlad performed a full frontal flip (on his bike) in some form of eastern European braggadoccio - to which Dima showed great delight. Vlad promises to teach all of us how to do the trick. (Nick tried it earlier in the day but it was a disgraceful attempt- no flair.)



All in all a great race day. The team did reasonably well (for a first effort) and finished as the second place coed team and in the top 4 or 5 teams overall. (Depending on the color of your glasses.) Thankfully we all avoided cracked heads...which Tamir's 2000 Jeep Cherokee unfortunately did not. At least we know what a cracked head sounds like now. The Jeep is only $1400 and a return trip to the swamplands away from getting home. The $1400 is probably worth the price though for the introduction of Steph, Nick and Tamir to an incredible southern VA tow truck/repair shop owner, Chase, of Butler's Towing and Recovery. Chase came to our rescue at 10:30 at night, had the Jeep towed to his shop, took us to a hotel 45 minutes away and got one of his mechanics into the shop early on Sunday morning to try to fix the Jeep so we could get home for family commitments. His stories were incredible, mostly not repeatable online for fear of his being arrested, and almost worth the money spent. A full team of N. VA parents, wives, boyfriends, and children were called into action to perform Team Calleva (yellow submarine unit) extraction. Nick's wife ventured into the swamp in the dead of day and rescued us from the Virginia Diner where we spent 5 hours in wait. (And unfortunately drank our 2 beer limit within the first 30 minutes.) Kudos to Nick and Steph for not strangling Tamir.

On to the next adventure!...

Seneca Creek Greenway Trail Marathon

Written by Dima.


I started preparations for this year Untamed New England Adventure Race. This race is always hard, but this year we will race against reigning AR World Champions of 2011, Thule Adventure Team and some other pro teams. I guess it doesn't make it any easy. So I started my preparations from buying new shoes. Good way to test new shoes is running. Better way to test new shoes is long running. The best way to test new shoes is long running on rough terrain in wet conditions. But what I got today was the best of all possibilities: 48 kilometers of Seneca Creek Greenway Trail Marathon (yes they call 48k the marathon).

I had only one month of trainings, with the longest run of 27 kilometers on the same trail, but in perfect dry conditions. A few days before the race forecast called for a lot of rain and thunder storm. That's why I decided to visit the local REI store for "Minimalist and Barefoot Running Basics" presentation. My new shoes are almost minimalistic, but I had to figure out a way to prepare these shoes for wet conditions. The presenter was real barefoot maniac, and recommended to everyone to purchase zero support shoes and start running on pavement. I wonder how many injures he initialized by his presentation. But good thing, after the presentation he gave me really good advice for wet conditions treatments.

Conditions of the race were terrible: we had rain whole night and this morning. All creeks crossings were underwater, and we had to cross a few dozens of creeks. Most of the trail was covered by mud or was just muddy swamp without any option for detour. And don't forget, Greenway trail always goes up or down, never flat. Waterproof treatment for my feet and socks worked 100%. My goal was under 5 hours. I am almost done this... 5:02, thanks to my new shoes that drove me through this mess.



I ran with light backpack and started the race with 2 liters of water. It gave me an opportunity to skip all, but one aid station. Stephanie also blasted the course, and actually it was her crazy idea to run this race, I just followed. The Greenway Trail Marathon was organized by Montgomery County Road Runners Club and is sponsored by many organizations, including Calleva. This year, despite bad weather, there were more than 200 runners. And by the way, registration fee for this great event is only 20 bucks! Result and more photos will follow...

Superbowl weekend training

Tamir, Alex and Nick joined the A-List morning ride at difficult run and met Dima's race partner from several races last year, Michelle Faucher. While the A-listers headed off for pancakes, we decided to continue on and rode the trails into Great Falls. Great day for riding and a much needed stop at Trader Joe's for chocolate and beer on the way home! (6 pounds of dark chocolate should last a few weeks. The beer a night or two.)


At the same time Dima and Stephanie have been running at the Maryland side of the river. 15 miles of the Greenway trail was a good training for the next month Greenway 50k run.



Everything went pretty smooth until we lost the new unmarked section of the trail and had to include a little bit of adventure racing into our run:

Team Calleva general meeting and 2012 plans

This weekend we got all (almost all) together with Calleva director to discuss plans for this year and preparations for the 2012 Calleva Adventure Race.



We also went over budget and proposal for new uniforms (yes!).
Here are our preliminary racing plans for 2012:

February - SBB Rogaine & Land Nav Challenge
March - Adrenaline Rush
April - Rev3 Epic Adventure Race
May - Odyssey Wild Wonderful
May - The Longest Day
June - Untamed New England
July - Equinox Traverse
August - Calleva Adventure Race
September - ECARS Championship
September - 2012 Adventure Racing Championship

Our race calendar and team members pages will be updated soon. See you at the start line.