Funderstorm Recommends...

"Funderstorm Recommends" is a new addition to the Funderstorm blog, because we've had lots of questions about what equipment the girls use to train and race with. How do you get the "fun" in Funderstorm? Well, it all starts with the right gear.

Right now, the girls are both singing the praises of their Cannondale Roam bike shoes.* Why? Well, the SP and T/T appreciate hybridity, and it's not all bike shoes that are comfortable and versatile enough to also run and paddle in. Although the girls have been sporting these shoes since the start of their adventure racing career in 2003 (and they are both still on their first pair -how's that for durability?), it wasn't until their race last weekend that the Roam was truly appreciated. To avoid saving transition time, the girls decided to start the run and paddle section in their bike shoes. After realizing that they were at least as stable as their running shoes, after the first lap they both decided not to bother changing shoes at all. Over the course of the day, the Roams racked up a solid 12-15km during the run sections, with nary a blister or bruised toenail to show for it.

It is rare that an adventure race contains a bike section that is entirely bikeable, and hike-a-bike or bikewhack sections are the rule rather than the exception. The Cannondale Roam may perhaps be the ideal bike shoe for adventure racing. It looks and feels as good as a trail runner and has stood up to 5 years of less than delicate treatment. Neither of the girls can remember where they got theirs, but as a regular model in the Cannondale lineup, they should be available at any store carrying the line.

*Note: Cannondale is currently not a sponsor of the Funderstorm, but they would not be averse to the idea.

Two Cents From Toots-In-Tights

It's about time that the other half of the Funderstorm made an e-appearance. Although race reporting is best left to the pros (SnackyPants), it takes two (or sometimes three... or four...) to tango. If by tango you mean run/paddle/bike through the woods looking for checkpoints for hours and hours, trying to "eat the pain". And eat it she does - along with her own selection of strange snacks (to be discussed in a future post). Her favourite race sections always involve biking and bushwhacking; probably because she doesn't feel like she's worked a hard day unless bruising is involved.

Funderstorms the Ten

This past weekend, the Funderstorm was officially unleashed at Sean Roper's inaugural Storm the Ten 10 hour adventure race relay. The girls thought that this would be a laidback, easy race to get back into the swing of things before their fall racing season gets underway.

Wrong.

It was hard. Much harder than anticipated. Locating the race at a ski hill should have indicated that there would be some climbing involved, but the girls were perhaps overly optimistic that "it wouldn't hurt too much."

The 10km course involved the following: running down a set of stairs and across a beach, kayaking to the other end of Kelso lake, dragging kayak up a hill, running (uphill, of course) to the bike TA, biking up the ski hill then through the woods to the run TA, dropping off the bike, running a loop on the Bruce Trail, getting back on the bike, riding down ski hill with teeth clenched, dropping off bike, running back to lake, paddling back across lake, then, to add insult to injury, running up loooonnnnnggg set of stairs to tag off for the next lap.

All that in 10km? I'm tired just thinking about it.

Funderstorm's initial strategy was for each member to do two laps at a time, so as to have a longer break in between laps. This idea didn't last very long however, as it was determined that there would be a need for snacks, peeing, changing clothes, and complaining about the course in between each lap. Despite gripes about hills, sore muscles, and lack of escalators, the dynamic duo managed to peel off 8 laps in 9 hours and 34 minutes. This performance, which bested many of the teams in other divisions as well, secured them second place in the tag team division, ahead of both the coed teams in that category, but unfortunately behind the apparently infatiguable Tree Huggers. In the opening lap, SP also posted the fastest female time, but it was mainly just so she could take a rest.



Next up: ARC Barrie on October 13th

Brewing of the Funderstorm

September 22nd marks the official North American debut of the Funderstorm at the Storm the Ten 10 hour adventure race relay. The girls have formerly raced under many monikers, most recently as "I left my heart in Jalcomulco," a tribute team to the good times had at adventure racing camp in Jalcomulco, Mexico, as well as "SnackyPants and Toots-in-Tights: Mission Michigan," a name designed to reflect unsubstantiated potential spy connections. It was, in fact, on the way to said race in Michigan that the Funderstorm began brewing. The name came out of what was designed to be a mere slip of the tongue, but, with further reflection, appears to be universal intervention in the search for the ultimate team name. En route to Michigan, the word thunderstorm was misinterpreted as funderstorm. Like a flash of lightning or burst of thunder, the Funderstorm as you now know it was thus conceived.

Originally going to be held back for unveiling in 2008, the girls decided that there were enough 2007 races left for the Funderstorm to be unleashed. Both feel quite thankful to the Universe for sending this name their way. A team logo and uniforms are currently in the works.

Funderstorm "brewing" is SP/TT lingo for training. Training for the unleashing of the Funderstorm continued this past weekend as the girls visited Kelso conservation area to scope out the scene for Storm the 10. Paddling was first on the agenda, as it has been pinpointed as the girls, um, least good discipline. Despite questionable weather and boat rental staff who thought they were crazy, the girls practiced all they learned from Ben a few weeks back (except paddling backwards, which they think is stupid and hard). After a successful paddle session, boats were traded for bikes as the girls chased new Funderstorm sidekick Tom around the MTB trails at Kelso. Chagrined to find out there was no ski lift to carry them back up the hill once they rode down, they sucked it up and rode back up the ski hill.

Stay tuned for more brewing reports.

Biking Weekend Extravanganza

Determined not to let summer go out without a bang, Funderstorm et al spent the Labour Day long weekend bikin' and boozin' in the training playground of Collingwood, Ontario. Home to some of the provinces sweetest singletrack, SP and T/T had a great time giving their brakes a workout, and practicing their flying dismounts. There were, of course, some minor mishaps. On Sunday in the Northwest Passage section of Kolapore Uplands (read: far from any parking lot), a bolt on SP's seatpost snapped in half. Yes, that's right: BROKE. Although known for their ingenuity with zip ties and duct tape, the girls were unable to fix said seat, and as a result SP had the fun experience of biking back to the car standing up. She told us, "it was much easier than I thought it would be, but I'm pretty sure everyone got tired of looking at my ass." The offending seat bolt was quickly replaced at Squire John's, where, due to having the Universe on her side, SP was also able to pick up a new pair of Cannondale Roam bike shoes, which she has been searching for desperately on ebay. She felt this more than made up for the fact that her seat had broke. The evening was spent at Blue Mountain Village on a patio with some drinks, then later on patio chairs with some shockingly expensive Ben and Jerry's ice cream. Monday found the team lacking motivation to get out the door, but they meandered their way to 3 Stage just before lunch, and had a lovely afternoon of riding with only one flat tire to show for it. This made for an excellent opportunity to find out if there is really anything inside a CO2 cartridge. Turns out there is, but a lack of instructions on the side of the can made for some entertaining trial runs. One nasty hike-a-bike section in which many curse words were uttered and muttered did not mar the experience of biking at Kolapore and 3 Stage. These trails rated so highly that another training weekend is being planned for later in the fall, where oohing and aahing over fall colours can mix with the delightful smell of apples, which T/T likened to a Glade air freshener. Below are some photos taken on Monday at Three Stage.

Funderstorm Paddle Training

For most people, paddling is perhaps the most undertrained adventure racing discipline. Unfortunately, this is most certainly the case for the Funderstorm. With no boats to their name and only erratic access to bodies of water large enough to paddle in (bathtubs don't count), the Funderstorm quickly realized this season that their paddle skills were, er, underdeveloped. After a particularly frustrating paddle session at the FAR Esprit race in which their inflatable kayak refused to hold up its end of the bargain and deflated, coupled with said boat doing random donuts throughout the excruciatingly long paddle, Funderstorm decided that something needed to be done about this. So, one lovely Sunday afternoon on the Toronto harbourfront, the girls hired a paddle instructor to get some tips for proper paddling. By the end of the three hour session, the girls had a much better idea of how to assemble their paddles properly, how to use paddle sections to develop better abs, and how to paddle not only forward, but backwards as well (though this skill seems to have limited usage). Below are some photos taken at Centre Island, where Funderstorm and Ben (paddle instructor) stopped to practice a beach launch. It is the Funderstorm's hope that squabbles in the canoe are now a thing of the past, at least as far as they pertain to whose fault it is that the boat isn't going faster.

Funderstorm Tour Dates 2007

Below is a listing of scheduled Funderstorm tour dates where you can catch one or both members of the Funderstorm in action. They prefer not to sign autographs but will happily pose for photos!

2007 Tour Dates

March 4 - Chili Half-Marathon (Burlington)

March 9-19 - Jalcomulco, Mexico Training Camp

March 25 - Around the Bay 30km Road Race (Hamilton)

April 22 - Paris to Ancaster Bike Race

April 28 - Albion Hills 5 Peaks Trail Race

April 29 - Tri-City Urban Adventure Run (Waterloo)

May 5 - Frontier Adventure Challenge Huntsville

May 26 - Emergency Services Adventure Race (Barrie)

June 22-24 - Quest for a Cure (Petawawa)

July 7 - ARC Bracebridge

July 20-22 - SMAC XL Adventure Race (Brighton, Michigan)

July 28 - Frontier Adventure Challenge @ Esprit Rafting

August 11-12 - Angry Seagull 24-hour Adventure Race (Guelph)

August 25 - Nocterra 5 Peaks Night Trail Race (Bolton)

September 1 - Paradise Lake Trail Race (St. Clements)

September 22 - Storm the 10 Adventure Race Relay (Milton)

October 13 - ARC Barrie

October 19-20 - GRAAR Fall Adventure Challenge (Augusta, Michigan)

October 26 - Trek or Treat Night Trail Run (Vaughan)

November 11 - Raid the Hammer

December 1 - Infiterra Sports December Chill (Dexter, Michigan)

Funderstorm celebrating a win at the SMAC XL

10 hour Adventure Race in Michigan.

Meet SnackyPants

As the legend goes, SnackyPants burst forth out of her mother's womb and asked for a pair of running shoes. In her youth, she was apparently one of the only children known to wear out a Jolly Jumper and is still not allowed to have any sugar after noon. Later on in life, she chartered her excess energy into more ambitious athletic pursuits, including soccer, horseback riding, and long distance running before being inspired by Eco-Challenge and decided to give adventure racing a try. For the first four years of her adventure racing career, she raced on a co-ed team, in which she viewed her role simply to "shut and keep up." Unsatisfied by not playing a more active role on the team, she adopted the title of Director in Charge of Snacks, which eventually led to her current moniker, SnackyPants. Believing that the calories burned in adventure racing is an excellent excuse to indulge in all of one's favorite foods guilt-free, her favorite racing snacks usually involve the irresistable combination of peanut butter and chocolate, though she is also known to be partial to anything involving salt and nuts. She likes to make sure that everyone is eating adequately and has even been known to share her snacks with other teams who ran out of food or who simply had less tasty options available.

This year, after an inspiring week at Frontier Adventure Racing's Mexico Training Week, SnackyPants and Toots-in-Tights decided they no longer wanted to follow the boys around anymore (not to be confused with chasing the boys, which is another matter entirely), and decided to try racing as an all female team. As lead navigator, SnackyPants devoted much of her spring training to figuring out the mathematical calculation for declination, taking online map symbol quizzes, and competing in orienteering races. Although still new to the role as navigator, SP enjoys decision-making and the thrill of finding CPs in right place. She loves swamping but does not like leeches and swears she will retire from adventure racing if she ever finds one on her legs. She falls off her bike a lot and has been known to photograph her injuries.

In addition to an action-packed adventure racing schedule, SnackyPants still finds time to enjoy other sports, regularly competing in road and trail running events and the occasional mountain bike race. Calling racing "my form of crack," she is currently undergoing psychological testing for her apparent addiction to race-induced endorphins and amino acid supplements. Her long term racing goals include trying out some expedition-length adventure races, ultrarunning and maybe an Ironman or two.

She is a Taurus, is usually missing at least one toenail, and believes that "naps are for the weak."

Meet the Funderstorm

Okay, so you may be wondering, what is a Funderstorm? Well, a Funderstorm can be compared somewhat to a thunderstorm, but instead of wreaking havoc what with the thunder, the lightning, the rain and all, a Funderstorm brings fun. And excitement. And a barrel of good times. Is this too vague?

The Funderstorm is more than just a concept or a philosophy, more than a way of living or guiding principle (although it is all that too). To clarify, the Funderstorm is an all female adventure racing team, composed of two core members, Sally Heath (aka SnackyPants) and Stephania Varalli (aka Toots-in-Tights). This blog is dedicated to spreading the love and sharing the word about their adventures as they train and race, laugh and cry, swear and heckle and generally get up to no good as they travel the province and beyond in search of good times.

In future blog entries, you will have the chance to better get to know the Funderstorm and what they've been up to. You'll laugh at their mishaps, celebrate in their victories, and cringe at their ever accumulating injuries.

So that, in a nutshell, is the Funderstorm. The question is: are you ready for it?