Funderstorm Raids the Rib

Having successfully (well, moderately) completed the half distance at GHO's semi annual Raid the Hammer/Rib, the girls decided that it was time to take it up a notch and try out the full length distance of what is billed as Canada's "toughest half-marathon." Teams of 3 have up to 8 hours to orienteer their way through a 25km course complete with great snacks and fun tests like "The Lasso," "In, Over, and Out" and the girls new personal nemesis, "walk the line." Who was the Funderstorm's third? Enter Ursula, aka the Energizer Bunny, who may not know how to use a compass but sure is good at hauling ass through the woods!

Both SP and T/T were somewhat concerned for this race. T/T is not a huge fan of the running, and SP is not a huge fan of getting lost in the woods. Once the race started, however, their fears quickly abated as CPs were knocked down one by one and feet stayed dry for the first five minutes of the race.

With only the most minor of setbacks, the girls whizzed through the first 2/3 of the course, cracking jokes and counting the number of falls into the mud. The fun and games deteriorated however, at "Walk the Line." In this section of the race, teams had to follow a dotted line on the map finding unmarked CPs along the way, and using only the Nature's curves the contour lines for guidance. CPs 18 & 19 were easily located, but 20 proved to be another story. After two times round the course and an unmentionable number of profanities (SP) later, CP 20 was left unpunched.

Things continued to go downhill from there en route to CP21. Things got even sketchier when what appeared to be an innocent water crossing nearly turned into an opportunity to practice swiftwater rescue and the tripod crossing. With morale a bit low, CP 22 was eventually located and the girls headed back to the Rocky Ridge Ranch with only one more CP left to punch.

By the time the race was over for the girls, most of the winning teams had already packed up and gone home. But there was still burgers and cookies left, and many stories to trade with other teams that were pulling up the rear.

Despite the "walk the line" incident, the girls were the first all female team to complete the full course. Minutes later, however, the GHO girls appeared, having not had quite as much trouble walking the line as Funderstorm. Nevertheless, a good time (for the most part!) was had by all and it was definitely a learning experience. Being unquestionably the toughest navigation test that the girls have faced to date, it perhaps did not go so badly after all.

The Funderstorm spirit award (which some of you may know is nearly equivalent to an Oscar, and waaaayy cooler than a Juno) certainly goes out to Ursula, who kept on trucking and saying happy things right through to the end of the race. The girls look forward to teaming up with this speedster again later in the season. T/T definitely took the award for most spectacular falls, while SP was honoured for wearing out the F word in the general vicinity of CP20.

Next week SP and T/T will test their mettle at the Diamonds & Dirt all female adventure race in Michigan. Here's hoping that the lessons learned at Raid the Rib will pay off in Brighton next Saturday!

Pre-race photo. All bundled up in preparation for a rainy day.

This is Ursula, still smiling after a long haul (some necessary, some just for the heck of it) through many, many swamps.

Some Mexican Photos...

Navigating the Whitewater on the Antigua River (and trying to stay in the boat).



Group photo in Gulf of Mexico.




Team Flat Tires celebrates the end of a long day.





Our new Mexican friends in Neuvo Jacal.






On the trek to Pico de Orizaba.

Cuervas Peligrosas! (Mexico 2008)

It's been about two weeks now since SP and T/T returned from their winter sojourn down to Mexico for Frontier Adventure Sports & Training and Esprit Rafting's "Pico 2 Playa Expedition Training Week," but the memories are still fresh and the scars from the no see 'ums still visible.

The adventure began on Friday, March 14th, when the girls departed from Toronto to Veracruz, Mexico. Although camp didn't officially start until Sunday, the girls wanted a day to acclimatize and drink some beer at Caliente in the zocalo in Veracruz. Friday night the girls had a chance to meet up with several other camp participants and a great time was had as they all tried to navigate the Spanish dinner menu and ward off street sellers.

Saturday morning, SP and T/T went out for a little jog to loosen up their legs. As luck would have it, there was a road race taking place in Veracruz that morning, so after running against the race for a few kilometres, the girls decided "what the hell," and joined in on the race. Although SP was worried that they might get arrested for banditing, no such criminal charge occured. Despite their stellar times, the girls refused to accept medals.

By noon the campers had congregated at the Hotel Veracruz to begin the 5 hour trek to Tilachachuca, where they would be staying for the first night. The drive was scenic, the banter entertaining, and the ice cream, as always, was delicious. After a dinner and map marking session, the girls spent the remainder of the evening repacking their gear into tiny (way too tiny) dry barrels.

The first training activity for Sunday was a 3 hour trek up to the base camp at Pico de Orizaba (4200m). Having never been in elevation before, SP couldn't help but exclaim "mountains are big," as her lungs and innards began to explode. Lunch at the base hut was followed by a 2 hour downhill bike ride to the village of Nueva Jacal. As SP, T/T and Denise arrived into the village, swarms of children began to trickle down off of the hills. Although the girls were initially a little worried, as it turned out, all the kids wanted was to exchange their manual labour for some "dulces" and have their photos taken.

Monday involved a 40 km bike ride from Neuva Jacal to Villa Hermosa. About 14 km of this ride was downhill, and the other 26 or so was up. This was the day in which the girls redefined what a hill meant to them. Did I mention there was lots of hills? There was also lots of flat tires. And chips. Mmm, Mexican chips are good. The 7 hour slog in 40 degree heat was celebrated with a cold beer and a bucket shower in front of an appreciative male audience.

Tuesday was trekking day. SP and T/T were paired with Erin and Anthony for a 22km hike from Villa Hermosa to Amatitla. There were lots of hills (who knew Mexico was so damn hilly) and lots of stops for chips and ice cream. There was also an impromptu shower under a water tower and a bath in the river. Arrival at Amatitla, a coffee plantation, was celebrated with more beer and delicious lime popcorn. T/T entertained the group this evening with her always a riot love fortune card game.

Wednesday the legs had a chance to rest as the group ran 25km of whitewater in 2-person inflatable kayaks from Amatitla to Monte Blanco. The girls enjoyed this tremendously, although SP fell out of the boat 6 times, providing endless entertainment for the other groups. Today was a good test of the trust factor between SP and T/T: SP had to trust that T/T wasn't going to fling her out of the boat off of any more rocks, and T/T had to trust that SP would finally learn her lesson and lean into the rocks (how very counterintuitive!). The camp at Monte Blanco was a great reward mid-week, as it had indoor beds and showers (albeit cold ones).

Thursday was a combination of trekking, biking, canyoneering, rappeling and ascending, taking the group from Monte Blanco the much beloved village of Jalcomulco, where SP made everyone relive last year's memories by drinking on the bridge after the temasczal ceremony. After a year of Jalcomulco dreamin' , the girls were not disappointed. The roosters were just as loud, the juice ladies just as friendly, and the bridge just as inviting (although there were some cockroaches this year). It was then that the girls decided that they had to return to Jalcomulco for the big disco on Saturday night.

Friday was an epic ride from Jalcomulco out to the Gulf of Mexico, some 78 km away. After lots of hills and many more bike breakdowns, the group was thrilled to have made it to their final destination and celebrated with a swim in the Gulf of Mexico. T/T had a near miss this day with a motorcycle that left her with some cool body souvenirs that made SP jealous. The swim was followed by cold beer (of course!), a mariachi band, a drive back to Veracruz, a lovely dinner and a few more drinks in the zocalo.

Saturday morning the group gathered for one last breakfast together before trips to the airport had to be made (sniff sniff). For SP, T/T and their sidekick Tom, however, the adventure was hardly over. At the airport, the trio rented a car and braved the Mexican highway to drive back to Jalcomulco. Jim, the consummate host, arranged for a lovely street dinner, a few drinks at Esprit's awesome new bar, a Jalcomulco pub crawl and a long, long night at the disco. The sleepy village of Jalcomulco had been transformed for semana de santa, with a stage and band being brought in. After a long night of dancing, a short sleep in a hammock, and a sleepy drive back to the Veracruz airport, Funderstorm's Mexican adventure was over for yet another year.

It was a truly awesome week with too many amazing experiences to ever recapture. SP is already counting down the weeks until Mexico 2009.