LionHeart Adventure Race

Matthew M. Dougherty

Race Report #1 Lionheart 24 Hour Adventure Race

Location: Ohiopyle, PA

This was my second adventure race of the season and looked to be an incredibly hard challenge in the Southern Mountain of Pennsylvania and a race director known for creating courses that kick teams butts… the race was sure to be a challenge.

The race morning actually saw a three hour delay due to a Tornado in the area, the race started the first leg a 30 mile run, with over 7000 ft in elevation gain in a downpour. We ran conservatively for the first 30 miles and finished into TA 1 in second place.

Unfortunately this is where our first error of the day happened, as we were loading into our 2 person whitewater raft. The race officials checking our mandatory gear, one of my teammates states “Dude I forgot the throw rope”. A mandatory piece of safety equipment and something that would cost us a HUGE time penalty later on, forgetting it was understandable as we were packing and setting up our Transition in the midst of a tornado so to say things were crazy is an understatement.

We proceeded onto the paddle where posted the fastest paddle split and toke over the lead going into the ropes and mountain bike section. The final bike section would take us well into the night transitioning to the Orienteering section at 2:00 am. We had been wet and covered in mud for hours already and had to set out into a tough, o-section wet, and hungry.

We finished the race around 8am after suffering through a cold, wet night on the O-Section and a brutal bike leg to bring us home. We finished in the lead of the race, but knew we would be further back in the pack for our costly safety gear violation.

We finished with the fastest paddle section and the fastest mountain bike sections. This was some consolation for our demotion. In the crazy weather and conditions of this race my outstanding equipment kept me in great shape. Unfortunately this race brought an unwanted guest into my life, as Tuesday after the race I began to feel very ill, and a later trip to the Doctors discovered I had picked up a parasite during the white water rafting section. I spent the next four weeks sick and in bed, I lost 12 pounds and have just started training again. Unfortunately it has caused quite a drastic change in my racing as I was set to defend my Double Musselman Triathlon title next week, and can only have a new goal of finishing the race.

The Longest Day Adventure Race

Race Report #1 NYARA (New York Adventure Racing Association) The Longest Day 12 Hour Adventure Race.

Location: Schawangunks, NY

This was my first adventure race in over a year and early in the season, racing with some old and new teammates. It is always a bit of an unknown starting with new teammates luckily they turned out to be the best!

The race started with a 3:00 am wake up to a bike drop, and then loading onto buses for an undisclosed race start. The buses were rolling and suddenly stopped and we were instructed one person from each team had to get off the bus at this location, and then the next two were dropped off handed the maps and told to wait for their other team member.

The race started in freezing cold temperatures, and very muddy wet day. We traversed the first section with only one or two little navigation snafus … we blame them on the early morning! The race consisted of a total of 6 different sections with our gear being transported from spot to spot, but also a twist all of the checkpoints were not mandatory and worth different points, the team with the highest points and fastest time wins… meaning you have no idea if the team next to you is winning or not!

We knew we were flying in most of the race and that we had to be in contention but there is just no way to tell… The key for this race would be racing your guts out and trusting your navigation. The race consisted of Trekking, Mountain Biking, River Paddle, Back to the bike for a grueling 5000 feet of climbing, and then trekking high in the Catskill Mountains.

In the end our team finished an amazing 2^nd Place in the C0-Ed ELITE division just behind the defending National Champions. Not bad for our first race, and it qualified us to race at the USARA National Championships.

Married!!!

Mary Gibson and I were married on March 22, 2008 in Detroit Michigan!!! Check out our wedding blog for more info... www.maryandmatt.blogspot.com ... Here is a pic ... more soon : )