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.