Members of the Dirty Avocados were all over the place.  Brian was at Untamed New England, DP was racing with Galen, Will is getting ready to have a baby. Abomb just opened a business and Doti was being a race volunteer.  This left Angel and I to race as a 2 person team at the 2010 Gold Rush 24 Challenge.    We were racing under the name of Big Blue in hopes of winning some sponsorship dollars. 

 Mark, Adrian and their crew always put on a very well thought out, challenging and fun course.  As they say, it is not a race you will finish in24 hours.

There was a very good field but the class of the teams were the Yogaslackers and DART/nunn.  Angel and I were just looking to run a solid race.

The race started with a paddle O course where we would get bearings and distances at each checkpoint on the lake.  The teams were divided in to 2 groups - an A group and a Z group.  We were in the Z group with the Yoga slackers and DART.  We paddled well.  DART and Yoga got turned around on the bearing and we pulled a significant lead over them.

We were 2d off the water and after a very quick transitions, including loading the boat onto the car, we were off on the bike.  We rode hard up to Crandell Peak, almost 3000 above.  We picked off the CP’s as we continued to ride hard through Strawberry and were working our way to the TA when I began cramping. The last climb was 2300 feet, mostly on exposed pavement.  I chased Angel up the hill but really suffered with massive cramps in the major muscle groups.

We finally got to the TA, still in the lead.  however, that lead was short lived as Yogas and DART pulled in within minutes.

After a quick TA, we headed out on the trek towards the ropes course.  We ran down the hill and instead of following the road bush whacked straight  up the mountain.  We moved up the mountain as fast as we could and eventually found a downhill mountain bike trail that lead us to the main road.  A slight misdirection and then back on then right path hitting the CP at the top.  We hustled down toward the ropes running into DART.  DART beat us into the CP just as Yoga was getting onto the ropes.

The repel was a fun 200+ foot dropping down a rocky face.  There were 2 ropes.  I took the more aggressive route which included a short overhang.  This was Angels biggest repel ever so she was a bit nervous but handled the rope work without any problem.  After getting ff the rope and traversing over to the spine we affixed on to a rope for a jumar assisted climb back to the CP.  This was a beautiful repel with a wonderful view off towards Pinecrest lake.

After the climb we gathered ourselves and began heading to the canyon.  There was a waypoint at the junction of the rivers.  I took a quick bearing and began down the ridge.  We ran into a bike trail and followed it a ways.  I sort of lost track and we followed it too far.  The long and short of it was the decent was tricky requiring many down scrabbles and bush whacking through nasty Manzanita

It was getting dark as we finally got down to the river.  We were too far to the West of the way point.  As it was getting dark we by passed the way point and headed straight up the mountain towards the next CP that was located at the top of a ski lift.  It was a long hard climb but eventually we made it.  Just before we got to the CP we were caught by the Brazilian team including our local friend - Jen Klifflin.  We got to the CP and quickly moved on while the Brazilian team took a break. 

We bushwhacked down toward the road that would lead to CP 10.  The bush was nasty and scratchy and tore our legs up.  Even though I tried to stay on the compass moving in the dark around the various obstacles we hit the road father west then I had planned .  We walked a ways till it became clear we needed to turn around. We quickly adjusted and found the CP 10 in short order.  At this point time was becoming an issue.

Looking at the map we realized that we would have to skip CP 11 in order to give our selves a chance to get all of the bike CP’s..  The map showed a horse trail that went from CP 10 to CP 12.  We couldn’t find the trial head so we just started bushwhacking along the creek.  After a while we ran into the trail and moved on at a good pace.  We arrived at the TA at the base of Dodge Ridge Ski resort around 3:30am.

After a quick transition we were back on the bikes and climbing.  We had a trouble finding CP 14.  I missed the turn off and we did some extra climbing.  Just as the sun was rising we found 14 and started working our way through the check points.  There was a lot of climbing and many of the down hills were rocky and sketchy and slow.  It was taking us a long time between the CP’s.  The cut off for finishing was 2 pm and the clock was running.

We had decided that we would have to skip a few CP’s including 21.  We were moving as fast as we could and our navigation was solid but this was a very long bike ride.

As we were heading to CP 22 we came to the last bail out point.  We had only 2 hours to finish.  I was beat.  We took the bail out and finished in just over 29 hours.

When the finally tally was done we were 3rd overall.

Gold Rush had a great course.  The swag was great - a really nice long sleeve tech shirt, an engraved pocket knife and a nice personalized finishing certificate.  The organization was great and everyone was very nice and very helpful.  The Gold Rush is a must do race every year.

XPD - the final trek

We got to the ski club at Lake Tinaroo around 4:30 - 5:00pm on the 7th day.  I was a mess and my feet were killing me.  We wanted to get on the lake as quick as possible.  However, I was moving slowly.  I had to work on my feet - get them cleaned and re taped.  I was hoping to let them rest during the paddle.  While I was taking care of my feet (with the assistance of one of TA members,) Brian and Karl were getting the boats blown up and Jen was packing the boxes.  I was just moving slowly.  I felt better then I did at the cafe but was still not in very good shape.  The rest of the team wanted to finish the paddle and head straight into the trek.  I just wasn’t going to be able to do that and insisted that we sleep some before the trek.

Several teams came into the TA and left before we were able to get on the lake.  Just before we left, I noticed we had 4 mountain house packages in the box.  I spoke to Karl about whether we should take it.  He thought we had some in the next TA box.  Why I would listen to some one so sleep deprived just shows how sleep deprived I was.  Anyway, I didn’t bring the food.

We got on the water right at sunset.  After being past by several teams in the TA we were out of the top 20.  The paddle was uneventful except that Brian and I did crazy Ivans down the lake.  I had a very tough time keeping the kayak going in a straight line.  Jen navigated us to the take out where there was a nice fire.

Sure enough, we had very little food in the TA box, and no mountain house.  I had to settle for a can of tuna fish before I laid down.  We agreed to hit the trial at midnight.

We got up, packed up our packs for the final trek and hit the road about 12:30 am.  The trek started on a good fire road the climbed up the ridge towards Caines.  I was feeling much better after that short sleep.  According to the map, after getting to the top of the ridge and rounding a bend there should have been a trial head leading north.  About 12 kilometers in, around 3am we got to the spot I thought the trail should have been, but couldn’t find it.  We were at the right elevation, the trial turned as indicated on the map but we couldn’t find anything that looked like a trail.  We went back and forth, up and down the trail, but no luck.  We went back up the ridge and found a trail head with a tent of another team that was taking a nap.  We tried heading up the trail but it was going the wrong way and I found it on the map leading to a peak we didn’t want to go.  Leeches were falling out of the trees and I got one attached on my lip.  We didn’t go up the trail too far before we turned back, quietly sneaking around the tent without waking it’s occupants.

We were at a loss, so we studied the map some more.  Further down the trail, there was a trail on the wrong side of the road that was marked “overgrown.”  I thought, maybe it crossed the road.  As we were heading down the trail we ran into an all male team that had been out there for hours.  They did not look like they were in very good shape. Sure enough, there was a solid trail with nice blaze markers.  We took off moving well.  I was feeling pretty good at this point. 

We were doing well until we crossed a stream.  We picked up what we thought was the right trail.  We followed it for a while and all of a sudden dropped onto the road.  We had found the original trail head we had been looking for before.  It was completely overgrown and required a climb up to it.  The sun was just coming up.  So we turned around and trekked back to the stream.  The first trail we followed had nice blazes.  The trail we were now on had only yellow ribbon marking the way.  At this point, I was pretty sure I knew where on the map we were and was able to follow it as we moved forward.  From that point on, we made good time. The trial was not very good, completely overgrown.  Every once in a while we would lose the trail.  One team member would stand at the last ribbon till we found the next one.  That worked well, especially when there was a lot of tree fall. We later found out that this section caused a lot of teams a great deal of trouble.

Youtube – last jungle trek http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOCgWfkG_Ks  and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0BToY1ZNt6c&feature=related

We had a very big climb up to a peak, then down along a ridge and finally came out to the intersection we were looking for.  This was the trail to the outlook where the next CP would be.  This was going to be a 2000 foot climb.

We got to this intersection around noon.  We took a quick 10 min lay down and then we were off.  There were two ways to the top - a shorter, steeper section, or a longer, more gradual path.  We picked the shorter path.  It was extremely steep.  Those Aussi’s are a tough breed, calling this a walking path. 

 A couple of hours of climbing and we were at the lookout.  It was a nice little clearing by a tower.  We got there around 3:00.  We took a bit of time to eat and work on our feet.  I was getting concerned that we were going to get stuck in the jungle in the dark. 

The next section was a 5 kilometer jungle bush whack.  I had been concerned about this section since I first saw it.  When we originally got the maps I had located a second route - one that was all on road, but was about 25 kilometers longer.

From the outlook CP (located at Kalphalim Rock) we dropped down into the jungle, attempting the bushwhack.  After 45 minutes, we hadn’t gotten anywhere and realized we were not on the ridge that we wanted to get on.  We got back up on the trail that lead us to the outlook.  We were looking for an entry to the correct ridge.  As we worked our way along the trail, looking for the ridge, we saw two teams show up.

At this point, given the lack of sunlight left, we started to talk about doing the longer “walk around” route.  Not only was I concerned about the slow going in the jungle, but I knew sleeping in the jungle with the leeches and other nasties would be very tough.  Also, given our physical state, I was concerned that someone might slip and get injured. We figured that the best we could do would be 1 kilometer an hour in the jungle, while we could do 5 kilometers an hour on the road.  We also figured that if it didn’t go well in the jungle we could be in the jungle for hours, while on the road, as long as we keep moving we would do fine.  So we agreed to take the longer route.   

The Kiwi girls and an all male team were with us at this point, but didn’t seem interested in working together.  They took off to somewhere, I don’t know where they went.  We headed down off the ridge back to the parking lot near the intersection we had been at several hours before.  We dropped down about 1700 feet and hit the parking lot just as the sun went down.  We did an hour lay down and got a little sleep before starting this long trek on the road.

The trek on the road was long and painful.  My feet were really hurting.  It appeared that everyone had bad feet and the trek was just a grind.  The road turned out to be much more hilly then I had expected.  Very steep up hills and steep down hills as we moved along.  Although it was painful we were making good time.  We headed West, then cut down some power lines north.  We found the main road heading East.  We were looking for the dam that crossed Lake Morris.  It seemed like it took us forever to get there.  As I was sleep walking (Brian was navigating) I kept thinking how could we miss a huge lake and dam.  As is always true in AR, you are never as far along as you think.  Finally, we got there and found the dam around 3 am.  We were beat so just laid down in the middle of the dam and slept for an hour.

It was a short walk from the dam to the turn off down to Crystal Cascade. The trail that dropped down to this very beautiful park was extremely steep and several hundred feet vertical - all switch backs.  We worked our way down and as the sun began to rise we were at the park. We walked past the CP marker in the dark and went all the way to the end of the park.  We cursed the race director and took a picture of the end of the gate thinking that some one may have stolen the flag.  As we were walking out of the park we saw the marker and gathered the CP. 

Now we were on the home stretch.  20 kilometers to the finish.  As we began to walk out of the park, a lady on a bike rode up to us.  She was very excited to see us and said she had come to the park hoping to find a team.  Like many of the locals, she had been following the race.   She, like many of the people, was very encouraging and urged us on.  During this last trek we had several cars pull over and the people get out and cheer us on.

Just before we left the park Karl jumped in one of the bathrooms and was greeted by a huge yellow spider, the size of his head.  Deeming that stall occupied he moved on.

Like horses smelling the barn, we were on a mission to the finish.  We had no idea if our walk around had changed our position, but we knew we were going to finish well in advance of the cut off ( a concern that I had had that entire leg.)

First we needed to trek east around a mountain range (we did have the option of climbing over the range; an option we soundly rejected.). We were trekking at a strong pace.  We cut though a neighborhood, through a sugarcane field and into a park.  We cut through a creek and around the end of the range.  At this point we had 10 kilometers of walking through the town.  For me this was the toughest section.  So close, yet such a long way on hot, hard pavement.  We stopped briefly at a gas station for ice cream and red bull.  We kept working our way to Carins.  I had misplaced the final map - the one of the city that showed the location of the final CP - on the north end of the Esplanade (about 5 minutes from the finish.) 

We had some trouble locating the CP.  The instructions said it was at a phone box but there was no phone box at the north end.  We found the closest phone box, got the number and took it to the finish line.

We found the finish at the pool at the Rydges.  We crossed the line at 11:30 am, just a few minutes shy of 8 full days after we started.    We were the 13th team overall and 11th in the Premier (Co-Ed) division.  In the last trek, between passing teams and drop outs, we moved up 7 position.  20 teams finished the full course fully ranked, 3 teams finished the full course unranked, 2 teams did a short course and 21 teams did not finish.

This was a great race for us.  For all of us it was the first time we had finished the long course of an expedition race fully ranking.  For me this was the hardest race, both physically and mentally, I have ever done.  The great support of my teammates got me through.

I came to his race hoping for an Eco-Challenge type expedition.  I got exactly what I was looking for.  It was hard, interesting, and exciting, with leeches and all. 

For more pictures see the gallery at www.Dirtyavocados.com.  For more video, go to youtube and search under Dirty Avocados

XPD - the final trek

We got to the ski club at Lake Tinaroo around 4:30 - 5:00pm on the 7th day.  I was a mess and my feet were killing me.  We wanted to get on the lake as quick as possible.  However, I was moving slowly.  I had to work on my feet - get them cleaned and re taped.  I was hoping to let them rest during the paddle.  While I was taking care of my feet (with the assistance of one of TA members,) Brian and Karl were getting the boats blown up and Jen was packing the boxes.  I was just moving slowly.  I felt better then I did at the cafe but was still not in very good shape.  The rest of the team wanted to finish the paddle and head straight into the trek.  I just wasn’t going to be able to do that and insisted that we sleep some before the trek.

Several teams came into the TA and left before we were able to get on the lake.  Just before we left, I noticed we had 4 mountain house packages in the box.  I spoke to Karl about whether we should take it.  He thought we had some in the next TA box.  Why I would listen to some one so sleep deprived just shows how sleep deprived I was.  Anyway, I didn’t bring the food.

We got on the water right at sunset.  After being past by several teams in the TA we were out of the top 20.  The paddle was uneventful except that Brian and I did crazy Ivans down the lake.  I had a very tough time keeping the kayak going in a straight line.  Jen navigated us to the take out where there was a nice fire.

Sure enough, we had very little food in the TA box, and no mountain house.  I had to settle for a can of tuna fish before I laid down.  We agreed to hit the trial at midnight.

We got up, packed up our packs for the final trek and hit the road about 12:30 am.  The trek started on a good fire road the climbed up the ridge towards Caines.  I was feeling much better after that short sleep.  According to the map, after getting to the top of the ridge and rounding a bend there should have been a trial head leading north.  About 12 kilometers in, around 3am we got to the spot I thought the trail should have been, but couldn’t find it.  We were at the right elevation, the trial turned as indicated on the map but we couldn’t find anything that looked like a trail.  We went back and forth, up and down the trail, but no luck.  We went back up the ridge and found a trail head with a tent of another team that was taking a nap.  We tried heading up the trail but it was going the wrong way and I found it on the map leading to a peak we didn’t want to go.  Leeches were falling out of the trees and I got one attached on my lip.  We didn’t go up the trail too far before we turned back, quietly sneaking around the tent without waking it’s occupants.

We were at a loss, so we studied the map some more.  Further down the trail, there was a trail on the wrong side of the road that was marked “overgrown.”  I thought, maybe it crossed the road.  As we were heading down the trail we ran into an all male team that had been out there for hours.  They did not look like they were in very good shape. Sure enough, there was a solid trail with nice blaze markers.  We took off moving well.  I was feeling pretty good at this point. 

We were doing well until we crossed a stream.  We picked up what we thought was the right trail.  We followed it for a while and all of a sudden dropped onto the road.  We had found the original trail head we had been looking for before.  It was completely overgrown and required a climb up to it.  The sun was just coming up.  So we turned around and trekked back to the stream.  The first trail we followed had nice blazes.  The trail we were now on had only yellow ribbon marking the way.  At this point, I was pretty sure I knew where on the map we were and was able to follow it as we moved forward.  From that point on, we made good time. The trial was not very good, completely overgrown.  Every once in a while we would lose the trail.  One team member would stand at the last ribbon till we found the next one.  That worked well, especially when there was a lot of tree fall. We later found out that this section caused a lot of teams a great deal of trouble.

Youtube – last jungle trek http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOCgWfkG_Ks  and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0BToY1ZNt6c&feature=related

We had a very big climb up to a peak, then down along a ridge and finally came out to the intersection we were looking for.  This was the trail to the outlook where the next CP would be.  This was going to be a 2000 foot climb.

We got to this intersection around noon.  We took a quick 10 min lay down and then we were off.  There were two ways to the top - a shorter, steeper section, or a longer, more gradual path.  We picked the shorter path.  It was extremely steep.  Those Aussi’s are a tough breed, calling this a walking path. 

 A couple of hours of climbing and we were at the lookout.  It was a nice little clearing by a tower.  We got there around 3:00.  We took a bit of time to eat and work on our feet.  I was getting concerned that we were going to get stuck in the jungle in the dark. 

The next section was a 5 kilometer jungle bush whack.  I had been concerned about this section since I first saw it.  When we originally got the maps I had located a second route - one that was all on road, but was about 25 kilometers longer.

From the outlook CP (located at Kalphalim Rock) we dropped down into the jungle, attempting the bushwhack.  After 45 minutes, we hadn’t gotten anywhere and realized we were not on the ridge that we wanted to get on.  We got back up on the trail that lead us to the outlook.  We were looking for an entry to the correct ridge.  As we worked our way along the trail, looking for the ridge, we saw two teams show up.

At this point, given the lack of sunlight left, we started to talk about doing the longer “walk around” route.  Not only was I concerned about the slow going in the jungle, but I knew sleeping in the jungle with the leeches and other nasties would be very tough.  Also, given our physical state, I was concerned that someone might slip and get injured. We figured that the best we could do would be 1 kilometer an hour in the jungle, while we could do 5 kilometers an hour on the road.  We also figured that if it didn’t go well in the jungle we could be in the jungle for hours, while on the road, as long as we keep moving we would do fine.  So we agreed to take the longer route.   

The Kiwi girls and an all male team were with us at this point, but didn’t seem interested in working together.  They took off to somewhere, I don’t know where they went.  We headed down off the ridge back to the parking lot near the intersection we had been at several hours before.  We dropped down about 1700 feet and hit the parking lot just as the sun went down.  We did an hour lay down and got a little sleep before starting this long trek on the road.

The trek on the road was long and painful.  My feet were really hurting.  It appeared that everyone had bad feet and the trek was just a grind.  The road turned out to be much more hilly then I had expected.  Very steep up hills and steep down hills as we moved along.  Although it was painful we were making good time.  We headed West, then cut down some power lines north.  We found the main road heading East.  We were looking for the dam that crossed Lake Morris.  It seemed like it took us forever to get there.  As I was sleep walking (Brian was navigating) I kept thinking how could we miss a huge lake and dam.  As is always true in AR, you are never as far along as you think.  Finally, we got there and found the dam around 3 am.  We were beat so just laid down in the middle of the dam and slept for an hour.

It was a short walk from the dam to the turn off down to Crystal Cascade. The trail that dropped down to this very beautiful park was extremely steep and several hundred feet vertical - all switch backs.  We worked our way down and as the sun began to rise we were at the park. We walked past the CP marker in the dark and went all the way to the end of the park.  We cursed the race director and took a picture of the end of the gate thinking that some one may have stolen the flag.  As we were walking out of the park we saw the marker and gathered the CP. 

Now we were on the home stretch.  20 kilometers to the finish.  As we began to walk out of the park, a lady on a bike rode up to us.  She was very excited to see us and said she had come to the park hoping to find a team.  Like many of the locals, she had been following the race.   She, like many of the people, was very encouraging and urged us on.  During this last trek we had several cars pull over and the people get out and cheer us on.

Just before we left the park Karl jumped in one of the bathrooms and was greeted by a huge yellow spider, the size of his head.  Deeming that stall occupied he moved on.

Like horses smelling the barn, we were on a mission to the finish.  We had no idea if our walk around had changed our position, but we knew we were going to finish well in advance of the cut off ( a concern that I had had that entire leg.)

First we needed to trek east around a mountain range (we did have the option of climbing over the range; an option we soundly rejected.). We were trekking at a strong pace.  We cut though a neighborhood, through a sugarcane field and into a park.  We cut through a creek and around the end of the range.  At this point we had 10 kilometers of walking through the town.  For me this was the toughest section.  So close, yet such a long way on hot, hard pavement.  We stopped briefly at a gas station for ice cream and red bull.  We kept working our way to Carins.  I had misplaced the final map - the one of the city that showed the location of the final CP - on the north end of the Esplanade (about 5 minutes from the finish.) 

We had some trouble locating the CP.  The instructions said it was at a phone box but there was no phone box at the north end.  We found the closest phone box, got the number and took it to the finish line.

We found the finish at the pool at the Rydges.  We crossed the line at 11:30 am, just a few minutes shy of 8 full days after we started.    We were the 13th team overall and 11th in the Premier (Co-Ed) division.  In the last trek, between passing teams and drop outs, we moved up 7 position.  20 teams finished the full course fully ranked, 3 teams finished the full course unranked, 2 teams did a short course and 21 teams did not finish.

This was a great race for us.  For all of us it was the first time we had finished the long course of an expedition race fully ranking.  For me this was the hardest race, both physically and mentally, I have ever done.  The great support of my teammates got me through.

I came to his race hoping for an Eco-Challenge type expedition.  I got exactly what I was looking for.  It was hard, interesting, and exciting, with leeches and all. 

For more pictures see the gallery at www.Dirtyavocados.com.  For more video, go to youtube and search under Dirty Avocados

mid camp - day 3

Once we pulled into mid camp we were feeling pretty good about things.  We were all healthy, we were 1/2 way (as far as distance) and we were going to get a big sleep.  We were fed a nice hot meal, given the opportunity to clean up with a warm bucket of water and get some sleep.  This was the only real opportunity to look at the trail mail but there really wasn’t time to go on line to do that.  I spent a couple of minutes looking at it but really needed to get sleep.  We greatly appreciated the trail mail but didn’t get to look at it till the race was over.

The race management  provided a wake up call, for us it was 3 am.  I was hopeful that we would be on the road by 4:19 (our 6 hour point) but I was really moving slow and we were a little late.  Brian gathered up the kayak stuff and loaded the wheelbarrow.  I was struggling getting my bike taken apart and my gear put way.  Finally, about 4:40 we were off.

Being off meant pushing a wheelbarrow loaded with kayak gear down the road for 20 kilometers.  In the 1870’s Queensland had a gold rush (much like the one that occurred in California a few years before.) Many on the miners had no horses or wagons, so they transported all of their worldly possessions to the mines in wheelbarrows.  Midcamp was at a town called Dumbula - apparently the wheelbarrow race capital of the world.  It was from this transition that we pushing our nice green Kelso wheelbarrow.

It was very dark and foggy when we set off and I really had to rely on the bearing because we couldn’t see more then 50 feet.  We wanted to make sure that we got to the bridge to get across the Walsh river. Less then 1/2 a click down the road Jen realized she wasn’t wearing her mandatory vest.  She quickly ran back and got it and we were on our way.

We had agreed that we would alternate every 5 minutes and everyone would take there turn.  At first, it wasn’t too bad.  Our wheelbarrow was pretty nicely balanced and the weight wasn’t too bad.  As the hours rolled on the push became harder as we each in turn was glad when our 5 mins was up and we would have 15 mins of walking without pushing. 

As the sun came out and the fog cleared it got hotter.  We were clearly heading to the outback.  The narrow road we pushed Kelso had almost no vehicle traffic except photographers and one lady who scolded us for being on the wrong side of the road.

Finally, at a little before 8 am we got to the kayak put in.  It wasn’t much to see, just a spot by a very low river.  It because obvious that the rumors were true, the river was so low we would be doing a great deal of portaging of one kind or another, including just dragging the boats over the shallows.

For hours it was paddle a little, push and pull a lot.  The river bottom was very treacherous with large slick rocks making up the entire river bottom.  Walking along the bottom risked twisted ankles and banged up shins.  Also the consistent   jumping in and out of the rubber boats tore up the shins, especially as they got burn burned.

We “paddled” for hours.  Some times we would be in an open area where we could actually paddle then we would be looking for some small river off shoot were the river continued and flowed into another open area.  Jen quickly realized that we had to always follow the moving water and became our route finder. 

Around 5 pm (an hour before darkness) we located the bend in the river where the 1st CP on the river would be.  We beached the boats and Karl and I went looking for the  flag.  It appeared to be close and I thought I would just grab it quick. I must have over run it because soon I found my self heading up a creek bed and was too far.  I tried to circle back but must have missed it again.  Daylight was waning and I didn’t want to be out there without a light.  As we were heading back to the boats we ran into Latitude 19 and they had already gotten the CP.  They gave us a bearing and I walked right to it.  I had gone completely around it on my first go.

When I got back it was almost dark.    We changed into our night kayaking gear. The bad news was that all of my gear was soaking wet.  The good news was that it was not too cold so we were fine.  We got back in the boats and continued on.  Hour after hour paddling and pulling and following little shallow narrow water ways.  We saw some “freshies” (small fresh water crocs.) Finally around 1:30am we need some sleep so we pulled off on to a beach and build a fire.  We had seen Latitude 19 pulled up a few 100 meters before.

I wanted to sleep for a few hours but the general consensus was that we would only sleep for a hour.  After a very quick, but comfortable hour we were folding up camp and putting out our nice warm fire.

Our getting started early strategy didn’t work so well.  We paddled to the end of the water.  We didn’t see or hear the outlet.  I got out of the boat and looked around but did not do a very good job because I missed the water which was about 50 meters to the west.  I was relying of hearing the sound of moving water which was not happening at that location.  Soooo we paddled back up river running into the Kiwi girls.  We didn’t find any other way so we turned around again and paddled back to the end of the water.  This time, as the sun was starting to come up, we found the outlet that we were looking for.

We continued to paddle and pull boats over the rocks.  In this last half of the paddle there was actually longer stretches of real paddling.  We were with the Kiwi girls off and on.  There was one section where we were weaving in-between and through a groove of trees.  Watching the little yellow boats go back and forth between the trees reminding me of a ride at Disneyland.  Finally we were getting close the final kayak CP.  It was on a big bend in the river, where the river turns 180 degrees to go south.  The map also showed 2 creeks feeding the river with the CP at a hot springs in between the 2 creeks.  We over shot the CP by about a 100 meters but used our backstop (the bend in the river) to know where we were.  The river was so low the creeks were not apparent until we were out of the boats.  We made pretty quick work of finding the CP (there was a muddy bog with steam coming out of it). 

After the last CP we were approaching the rapids.  We were promised a set of rapids with specific instructions regarding how to approach them.  They were not very impressive and a lot of work to get the boat past the little waterfall to lead into the 30 meter stretch.

 Youtube of the rapids http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XJrnJCNOsY

After the “rapids” the paddling was pretty straight forward except a little strainer we got caught in that caused us to lose our Sun Screen and had me chasing Brian’s helmet down the river after it fell out of the boat.

Finally, 30 hours after starting we arrived at nine mile, the TA.  We came in just ahead of the kiwi girls.  We were told no team had been there for 6 or so hours.  Just after we arrived, however a whole parade of teams came in and soon the TA was very busy.  We had to deflate the boats, stow our paddle gear, try to dry stuff out, eat, and get ready for the most intimidating legs on the course - The Tigerland trek.  This trek was completely without trials, roads or any man made objects.  The navigation was going to be difficult. 

And we were starting just after sunset so we had to travel the early section in the dark.  We had agreed to team up with Latitude 19 again to tackle this section.  We all felt that we would move faster if we worked together.  While I contributed and was very active in the navigation Adrian from the Aussi team really did the lions share of the work.  His ability to concentrate hour after hour was pretty amazing.  There were certainly times when I just faded and was really glad for the help.

 youtube - 1st part of the Tigerland trek http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysCUPjFG_-U&feature=related

By taking and maintaining accurate bearings we were able to cover the large distances to the first way point, a canyon heading in the main part of the area.  We did some serious climbing that night and were very glad to be doing it in the cool of the night.  We were very concerned about locating water.  We were told that there was water on this section, but seeing is believing.  Fortunately, there was water, as long as you kept to the many streams.  Not all of the water was that great, but we were able to locate enough to keep us going.

We moved well through the night and were getting pretty close to the sole CP on this leg.  However, around 2 am, everyone was tired from the paddle and trekking and we agreed to take a sleep with the understanding that we would be on the “trail” by daylight.  I found a relatively comfortable spot to lay down and was instantly asleep.  Our alarms woke us and by 1st light we were on our way.

By early morning we had located the CP and were pretty pleased with our progress.  We worked well together as we slogged along hour after hour through this hot, barren hostel terrain.  We were making good time as we were trekked along.  As we began climbing a pretty steep hill, I felt the tape on my right heel slip and an instant blister developed.  Up to that point my feet were doing ok, but all of a sudden, I was in a great deal of discomfort.  After a few steps, I had to stop to fix this.  I hated to stop like that but I was doing some real damage.  A few minutes of taping and I was good to go again.

As the trek went on my feet became more sore and various blisters started to pop up.  I taped them as best I could but the ground was so rough and uneven that the feet were taking a beating.

All day we trekked on.   It was hot and barren.  No human has any business in this place.  As the sun began to set we were climbing the last hill that would drop us on to the river that we had aiming for.  We were running low on water and figured this river would be our supply.  The river was dry.  The next part was a climb over another ridge to shortcut the bend in the river.  This was a very steep climb and an even steeper decent down into a creek bed.  After carefully descending into the creek bed we had about 3 kilometers of negotiating  the rocks and uneven ground.

It seemed like this creek bed went on for ever.  Finally we got to the river.  I was so tired I had to sleep.  We got to the river, which did have water, and I immediately laid down and went to sleep.  Latitude 19 went on.

We got up about an hour and half later.  It was still dark as we made our way, crossing the fingers of the river.  We started out pretty well but turned the wrong way on the river for a short while.  Just before sunrise, Karl climbed to a high point and we got ourselves back on track.  We were making good time as we were working our way towards a road that was on the map.  As we were crossing one of the river fingers, we ran into Latitude 19.  They had camped out, explaining that they had become so tired they had to stop.

Again, together, we soldiered on looking forward to finding the road and getting to the TA.  Of course, the road was not where it showed on the map.  So we continued to work our way along the river along the uneven and rocky terrain.  Finally we found something that use to be a road.  We followed this “road” until it slowly turned into a real dirt road.  Still we had several miles to go.  We slogged on till finally hitting the little oasis in the middle of this wasteland - in the shadow of Mount Mulligan - an old cattle station.

Youtube - coming out of the Tigerland trek  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gu51p-kw4Mc&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvMJxJQ3URs&feature=related

Again, when we pulled into to the TA we were told that no one had been there for several hours.  Shortly after we arrived a bunch of teams came in.  Again we were feeling the pressure of the teams behind us.  At the end of the trek we were in 18th place. It was around 3pm

We took the time to eat, rehydrate and rest.  The station had a shower, which felt great.  We decided to take 2 hours, to get past the heat of the day before we got back on the road.  We rested, got our bikes put together and loaded food in our packs.  We were told that the navigation was going to be tricky as there were many roads that were not on the maps.  This proved to be true.

We had talked to Latitude 19 about riding with them, but when the time came for us to leave they were not ready.  They were having some serious medical issues that ultimately caused one of the team members to have to be taken to the hospital.

Putting my bike shoes on was a very painful experience.  Walking in bike shoes was even worse.  Fortunately, riding the bike was not so bad and didn’t really hurt to much. 

The first CP was only a couple of miles north in a cemetery in a ghost town.  Then we would back track and head south towards a gold mine some 30+ kilometers down the road.  We took off about 5 and within 20 minutes were at the first CP.

As we were heading back past the TA, we saw several teams right on our tail.

We made good time down the road as darkness fell.  We rode along uneventfully and worked our way to the next CP at a gold mine.  The maps (being 30 years old) were not completely accurate but we were able to work our way to the home just above the mine.  The family that lived there was very nice and very excited about the race.  They said that they had been following our progress and gave some helpful local information.  They were also selling cokes which was very nice.  As we were drinking our cokes several teams came up, including the Yogi Bears, BMX bandits and Racing 4 Cancer.   After these many days you would think we could relax, but instead the pressure was still on.

We grabbed the CP 1st and took off.  We were riding well as a team.  The trail was very rocky and rutted and at times technical.  We rode together very well working the climbs and downhill well.  A few miles in I crashed and got a pitch flat.  We quickly fixed it.  A little while later Jen did an endo.  Fortunately she was ok.  Still we were making good time and appeared to be putting time on other teams.  We were told to follow the fence till we got to a gate.  It all came together and I was lulled into feeling like we were going to knock this ride off without any trouble.  Wrong. 

When we got to the gate there were two routes indicated on the map - a northern route and a southern route.  On the map the northern route looked shorter and easier.  However, we simply couldn’t find the right road.  Every road we took dead ended.  After an hour or two we went back to the gate.   The Yogi Bears were also there.  We tried to work with them, but they were not interested in working together.   As we sat there trying to determine what to do, we decided  that a little sleep would help.  There was a nice sandy area and we were able to get a few hours sleep.

When we woke up, we spread out the maps and after looking at everything, and based on Jen’s suggestion, tried the southern route.  I couldn’t find the roads that were on the map, but I figured that if we stayed on roads that went either south or east we would be fine.  We rode past a group of trailers that looked like a meth lab.  That lead to a road south.  We made pretty good time down the road.   It was very misty and foggy and the visibility was poor.  We found a main road and followed it for several kilometers.  We ran into a construction worker who gave us some good directions.

We were trying to find a canyon with a river running through it.  We peddled on and were going in the correct direction.  We went on and on and I couldn’t understand why we had not got through the canyon.  A little after sunrise, we came to an open area and I looked back.  As the fog lifted, there was the canyon.  We had ridden through it and didn’t know it.

A short while later we found the CP, which as on a hill top.

After the CP, we back tracked about a 1/2 kilometer to a “road” that, on the map should lead us to a main road and toward the long paved stretch to the TA.    This “road” was rutted and a real mess.  Slowly, it improved and was looking very promising.  We were moving along at a good rate, and except for some huge spiders, the going was good.  Then all of a sudden, the trail just ended.   We backtracked but could not find a better another way around.  I figured that we were within a kilometer of an actual road.  So the only real option was to bike whack.  As much as it hurt my feet to walk, that is what we did.  Pushing and carrying our bikes through the high grass, soon we could ride and then we were at some kind of farm.  After jumping a fence what did we see - two teams just ahead of us.  We cut through the farm and there we were, back with Yogi Bears and BMX.

Youtube - riding through the field - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHzG_BKT3U4&feature=related

We were out of water so we had to stop to fill up at a garden hose.  The other teams went on.  As we caught them, they were talking to a local who was giving some directions and clarifying where we were on the map.  The other two teams then stopped for water as we continued on.  From this point to the lake was going to be all paved roads.

We worked out a pace line as best we could.  We were making pretty good time and looking forward to getting off the bikes.  About 15 K into this part of the ride the BMX guys caught us and we rode to gather, more or less to the town of Tolga.  In Tolga, about 10 k from the TA at Lake Tinaroo, we hit a cafe for meat pies and drinks.  I was completely spent when we got there.  This was a real low for me.  I ate a pie and had a chocolate milk then promptly feel asleep on the patio.  A solid 20 minutes and I was feeling much better.

We started to the Lake for our TA, but followed the directions given by the ladies at the shop, instead of the map.  So a 1/2 hour later we corrected our mistake and were on our way. 

We got to the Kayak TA around 4:40pm still in 18th place.  While I was a mess, everyone else on the team seemed to be feeling pretty good.  They wanted to push on into the trek without sleeping.  I just couldn’t do it and told everyone that I had to have some sleep before the trek.  At the TA, I worked on my feet, cleaning and re-taping.  I was very concerned about the last trek and was trying to get my feet as ready as I could.

Everyone else packed the boxes, inflated the boats and generally got us ready.  While this was going on Yogi Bears came in to the TA and left before we were ready.   A couple of other teams - BMX and Race 4 Cancer came and left the TA before us.  We were out of the top 20 when we left on the kayak - just as the sun was setting.           

mid camp - day 3

Once we pulled into mid camp we were feeling pretty good about things.  We were all healthy, we were 1/2 way (as far as distance) and we were going to get a big sleep.  We were fed a nice hot meal, given the opportunity to clean up with a warm bucket of water and get some sleep.  This was the only real opportunity to look at the trail mail but there really wasn’t time to go on line to do that.  I spent a couple of minutes looking at it but really needed to get sleep.  We greatly appreciated the trail mail but didn’t get to look at it till the race was over.

The race management  provided a wake up call, for us it was 3 am.  I was hopeful that we would be on the road by 4:19 (our 6 hour point) but I was really moving slow and we were a little late.  Brian gathered up the kayak stuff and loaded the wheelbarrow.  I was struggling getting my bike taken apart and my gear put way.  Finally, about 4:40 we were off.

Being off meant pushing a wheelbarrow loaded with kayak gear down the road for 20 kilometers.  In the 1870’s Queensland had a gold rush (much like the one that occurred in California a few years before.) Many on the miners had no horses or wagons, so they transported all of their worldly possessions to the mines in wheelbarrows.  Midcamp was at a town called Dumbula - apparently the wheelbarrow race capital of the world.  It was from this transition that we pushing our nice green Kelso wheelbarrow.

It was very dark and foggy when we set off and I really had to rely on the bearing because we couldn’t see more then 50 feet.  We wanted to make sure that we got to the bridge to get across the Walsh river. Less then 1/2 a click down the road Jen realized she wasn’t wearing her mandatory vest.  She quickly ran back and got it and we were on our way.

We had agreed that we would alternate every 5 minutes and everyone would take there turn.  At first, it wasn’t too bad.  Our wheelbarrow was pretty nicely balanced and the weight wasn’t too bad.  As the hours rolled on the push became harder as we each in turn was glad when our 5 mins was up and we would have 15 mins of walking without pushing. 

As the sun came out and the fog cleared it got hotter.  We were clearly heading to the outback.  The narrow road we pushed Kelso had almost no vehicle traffic except photographers and one lady who scolded us for being on the wrong side of the road.

Finally, at a little before 8 am we got to the kayak put in.  It wasn’t much to see, just a spot by a very low river.  It because obvious that the rumors were true, the river was so low we would be doing a great deal of portaging of one kind or another, including just dragging the boats over the shallows.

For hours it was paddle a little, push and pull a lot.  The river bottom was very treacherous with large slick rocks making up the entire river bottom.  Walking along the bottom risked twisted ankles and banged up shins.  Also the consistent   jumping in and out of the rubber boats tore up the shins, especially as they got burn burned.

We “paddled” for hours.  Some times we would be in an open area where we could actually paddle then we would be looking for some small river off shoot were the river continued and flowed into another open area.  Jen quickly realized that we had to always follow the moving water and became our route finder. 

Around 5 pm (an hour before darkness) we located the bend in the river where the 1st CP on the river would be.  We beached the boats and Karl and I went looking for the  flag.  It appeared to be close and I thought I would just grab it quick. I must have over run it because soon I found my self heading up a creek bed and was too far.  I tried to circle back but must have missed it again.  Daylight was waning and I didn’t want to be out there without a light.  As we were heading back to the boats we ran into Latitude 19 and they had already gotten the CP.  They gave us a bearing and I walked right to it.  I had gone completely around it on my first go.

When I got back it was almost dark.    We changed into our night kayaking gear. The bad news was that all of my gear was soaking wet.  The good news was that it was not too cold so we were fine.  We got back in the boats and continued on.  Hour after hour paddling and pulling and following little shallow narrow water ways.  We saw some “freshies” (small fresh water crocs.) Finally around 1:30am we need some sleep so we pulled off on to a beach and build a fire.  We had seen Latitude 19 pulled up a few 100 meters before.

I wanted to sleep for a few hours but the general consensus was that we would only sleep for a hour.  After a very quick, but comfortable hour we were folding up camp and putting out our nice warm fire.

Our getting started early strategy didn’t work so well.  We paddled to the end of the water.  We didn’t see or hear the outlet.  I got out of the boat and looked around but did not do a very good job because I missed the water which was about 50 meters to the west.  I was relying of hearing the sound of moving water which was not happening at that location.  Soooo we paddled back up river running into the Kiwi girls.  We didn’t find any other way so we turned around again and paddled back to the end of the water.  This time, as the sun was starting to come up, we found the outlet that we were looking for.

We continued to paddle and pull boats over the rocks.  In this last half of the paddle there was actually longer stretches of real paddling.  We were with the Kiwi girls off and on.  There was one section where we were weaving in-between and through a groove of trees.  Watching the little yellow boats go back and forth between the trees reminding me of a ride at Disneyland.  Finally we were getting close the final kayak CP.  It was on a big bend in the river, where the river turns 180 degrees to go south.  The map also showed 2 creeks feeding the river with the CP at a hot springs in between the 2 creeks.  We over shot the CP by about a 100 meters but used our backstop (the bend in the river) to know where we were.  The river was so low the creeks were not apparent until we were out of the boats.  We made pretty quick work of finding the CP (there was a muddy bog with steam coming out of it). 

After the last CP we were approaching the rapids.  We were promised a set of rapids with specific instructions regarding how to approach them.  They were not very impressive and a lot of work to get the boat past the little waterfall to lead into the 30 meter stretch.

 Youtube of the rapids http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XJrnJCNOsY

After the “rapids” the paddling was pretty straight forward except a little strainer we got caught in that caused us to lose our Sun Screen and had me chasing Brian’s helmet down the river after it fell out of the boat.

Finally, 30 hours after starting we arrived at nine mile, the TA.  We came in just ahead of the kiwi girls.  We were told no team had been there for 6 or so hours.  Just after we arrived, however a whole parade of teams came in and soon the TA was very busy.  We had to deflate the boats, stow our paddle gear, try to dry stuff out, eat, and get ready for the most intimidating legs on the course - The Tigerland trek.  This trek was completely without trials, roads or any man made objects.  The navigation was going to be difficult. 

And we were starting just after sunset so we had to travel the early section in the dark.  We had agreed to team up with Latitude 19 again to tackle this section.  We all felt that we would move faster if we worked together.  While I contributed and was very active in the navigation Adrian from the Aussi team really did the lions share of the work.  His ability to concentrate hour after hour was pretty amazing.  There were certainly times when I just faded and was really glad for the help.

 youtube - 1st part of the Tigerland trek http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysCUPjFG_-U&feature=related

By taking and maintaining accurate bearings we were able to cover the large distances to the first way point, a canyon heading in the main part of the area.  We did some serious climbing that night and were very glad to be doing it in the cool of the night.  We were very concerned about locating water.  We were told that there was water on this section, but seeing is believing.  Fortunately, there was water, as long as you kept to the many streams.  Not all of the water was that great, but we were able to locate enough to keep us going.

We moved well through the night and were getting pretty close to the sole CP on this leg.  However, around 2 am, everyone was tired from the paddle and trekking and we agreed to take a sleep with the understanding that we would be on the “trail” by daylight.  I found a relatively comfortable spot to lay down and was instantly asleep.  Our alarms woke us and by 1st light we were on our way.

By early morning we had located the CP and were pretty pleased with our progress.  We worked well together as we slogged along hour after hour through this hot, barren hostel terrain.  We were making good time as we were trekked along.  As we began climbing a pretty steep hill, I felt the tape on my right heel slip and an instant blister developed.  Up to that point my feet were doing ok, but all of a sudden, I was in a great deal of discomfort.  After a few steps, I had to stop to fix this.  I hated to stop like that but I was doing some real damage.  A few minutes of taping and I was good to go again.

As the trek went on my feet became more sore and various blisters started to pop up.  I taped them as best I could but the ground was so rough and uneven that the feet were taking a beating.

All day we trekked on.   It was hot and barren.  No human has any business in this place.  As the sun began to set we were climbing the last hill that would drop us on to the river that we had aiming for.  We were running low on water and figured this river would be our supply.  The river was dry.  The next part was a climb over another ridge to shortcut the bend in the river.  This was a very steep climb and an even steeper decent down into a creek bed.  After carefully descending into the creek bed we had about 3 kilometers of negotiating  the rocks and uneven ground.

It seemed like this creek bed went on for ever.  Finally we got to the river.  I was so tired I had to sleep.  We got to the river, which did have water, and I immediately laid down and went to sleep.  Latitude 19 went on.

We got up about an hour and half later.  It was still dark as we made our way, crossing the fingers of the river.  We started out pretty well but turned the wrong way on the river for a short while.  Just before sunrise, Karl climbed to a high point and we got ourselves back on track.  We were making good time as we were working our way towards a road that was on the map.  As we were crossing one of the river fingers, we ran into Latitude 19.  They had camped out, explaining that they had become so tired they had to stop.

Again, together, we soldiered on looking forward to finding the road and getting to the TA.  Of course, the road was not where it showed on the map.  So we continued to work our way along the river along the uneven and rocky terrain.  Finally we found something that use to be a road.  We followed this “road” until it slowly turned into a real dirt road.  Still we had several miles to go.  We slogged on till finally hitting the little oasis in the middle of this wasteland - in the shadow of Mount Mulligan - an old cattle station.

Youtube - coming out of the Tigerland trek  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gu51p-kw4Mc&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvMJxJQ3URs&feature=related

Again, when we pulled into to the TA we were told that no one had been there for several hours.  Shortly after we arrived a bunch of teams came in.  Again we were feeling the pressure of the teams behind us.  At the end of the trek we were in 18th place. It was around 3pm

We took the time to eat, rehydrate and rest.  The station had a shower, which felt great.  We decided to take 2 hours, to get past the heat of the day before we got back on the road.  We rested, got our bikes put together and loaded food in our packs.  We were told that the navigation was going to be tricky as there were many roads that were not on the maps.  This proved to be true.

We had talked to Latitude 19 about riding with them, but when the time came for us to leave they were not ready.  They were having some serious medical issues that ultimately caused one of the team members to have to be taken to the hospital.

Putting my bike shoes on was a very painful experience.  Walking in bike shoes was even worse.  Fortunately, riding the bike was not so bad and didn’t really hurt to much. 

The first CP was only a couple of miles north in a cemetery in a ghost town.  Then we would back track and head south towards a gold mine some 30+ kilometers down the road.  We took off about 5 and within 20 minutes were at the first CP.

As we were heading back past the TA, we saw several teams right on our tail.

We made good time down the road as darkness fell.  We rode along uneventfully and worked our way to the next CP at a gold mine.  The maps (being 30 years old) were not completely accurate but we were able to work our way to the home just above the mine.  The family that lived there was very nice and very excited about the race.  They said that they had been following our progress and gave some helpful local information.  They were also selling cokes which was very nice.  As we were drinking our cokes several teams came up, including the Yogi Bears, BMX bandits and Racing 4 Cancer.   After these many days you would think we could relax, but instead the pressure was still on.

We grabbed the CP 1st and took off.  We were riding well as a team.  The trail was very rocky and rutted and at times technical.  We rode together very well working the climbs and downhill well.  A few miles in I crashed and got a pitch flat.  We quickly fixed it.  A little while later Jen did an endo.  Fortunately she was ok.  Still we were making good time and appeared to be putting time on other teams.  We were told to follow the fence till we got to a gate.  It all came together and I was lulled into feeling like we were going to knock this ride off without any trouble.  Wrong. 

When we got to the gate there were two routes indicated on the map - a northern route and a southern route.  On the map the northern route looked shorter and easier.  However, we simply couldn’t find the right road.  Every road we took dead ended.  After an hour or two we went back to the gate.   The Yogi Bears were also there.  We tried to work with them, but they were not interested in working together.   As we sat there trying to determine what to do, we decided  that a little sleep would help.  There was a nice sandy area and we were able to get a few hours sleep.

When we woke up, we spread out the maps and after looking at everything, and based on Jen’s suggestion, tried the southern route.  I couldn’t find the roads that were on the map, but I figured that if we stayed on roads that went either south or east we would be fine.  We rode past a group of trailers that looked like a meth lab.  That lead to a road south.  We made pretty good time down the road.   It was very misty and foggy and the visibility was poor.  We found a main road and followed it for several kilometers.  We ran into a construction worker who gave us some good directions.

We were trying to find a canyon with a river running through it.  We peddled on and were going in the correct direction.  We went on and on and I couldn’t understand why we had not got through the canyon.  A little after sunrise, we came to an open area and I looked back.  As the fog lifted, there was the canyon.  We had ridden through it and didn’t know it.

A short while later we found the CP, which as on a hill top.

After the CP, we back tracked about a 1/2 kilometer to a “road” that, on the map should lead us to a main road and toward the long paved stretch to the TA.    This “road” was rutted and a real mess.  Slowly, it improved and was looking very promising.  We were moving along at a good rate, and except for some huge spiders, the going was good.  Then all of a sudden, the trail just ended.   We backtracked but could not find a better another way around.  I figured that we were within a kilometer of an actual road.  So the only real option was to bike whack.  As much as it hurt my feet to walk, that is what we did.  Pushing and carrying our bikes through the high grass, soon we could ride and then we were at some kind of farm.  After jumping a fence what did we see - two teams just ahead of us.  We cut through the farm and there we were, back with Yogi Bears and BMX.

Youtube - riding through the field - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHzG_BKT3U4&feature=related

We were out of water so we had to stop to fill up at a garden hose.  The other teams went on.  As we caught them, they were talking to a local who was giving some directions and clarifying where we were on the map.  The other two teams then stopped for water as we continued on.  From this point to the lake was going to be all paved roads.

We worked out a pace line as best we could.  We were making pretty good time and looking forward to getting off the bikes.  About 15 K into this part of the ride the BMX guys caught us and we rode to gather, more or less to the town of Tolga.  In Tolga, about 10 k from the TA at Lake Tinaroo, we hit a cafe for meat pies and drinks.  I was completely spent when we got there.  This was a real low for me.  I ate a pie and had a chocolate milk then promptly feel asleep on the patio.  A solid 20 minutes and I was feeling much better.

We started to the Lake for our TA, but followed the directions given by the ladies at the shop, instead of the map.  So a 1/2 hour later we corrected our mistake and were on our way. 

We got to the Kayak TA around 4:40pm still in 18th place.  While I was a mess, everyone else on the team seemed to be feeling pretty good.  They wanted to push on into the trek without sleeping.  I just couldn’t do it and told everyone that I had to have some sleep before the trek.  At the TA, I worked on my feet, cleaning and re-taping.  I was very concerned about the last trek and was trying to get my feet as ready as I could.

Everyone else packed the boxes, inflated the boats and generally got us ready.  While this was going on Yogi Bears came in to the TA and left before we were ready.   A couple of other teams - BMX and Race 4 Cancer came and left the TA before us.  We were out of the top 20 when we left on the kayak - just as the sun was setting.           

 Pre-Race

             Australia, especially in the Queensland area, is the home of some of the most dangerous and nasty creatures and plants on the planet. Box Jellyfish, man eating crocs, poisonous spiders and snakes, and plants that sting, grab and tear at the flesh.  This was the site of the 2010 XPD.  A 10 day 700 kilometer expedition race following the general formate and course of the 1997 Eco challenge .  The Dirty Avocados arrived a few days early from San Francisco to match up with 47 4 person teams from around the world.  Jen Rigioni, Brian Schmitz, Karl Royer and Mike Chastaine set out to complete this highly difficult and demanding race that was deemed “As much as an adventure as a race.”

            After going through gear check and preparing our bike boxes, we had the race briefing.  The overall course case going to start relatively easy and get harder as the race went on.  While no single leg was actually easy, the early legs were clearly a warm up for what was to come.  It was strongly emphasized that two of the legs were so remote that the only way be rescued was by helicopter.  It was stated several times that one should not go out on those legs unless they were “highly” committed to making it out.

             The briefing went on to discuss the various hazards on the course - snakes - if your bit you need rescue, spiders - if you bit you need rescue - crocs, stinging tree, wait a while plants and all other manner of nasty stuff.

             It also became very clear that there were going to be lots of route choices and the navigation, especially in the second part of the race was going to be very hard.

             We were given our maps and a matrix of where we would see each box.  Some boxes we would see multiple times while other boxes we would see only once.  It was very important to have the right stuff in the right boxes.  While Karl and Mike worked on the maps and routes, Jen and Brian set forth getting the boxes in order.  Working like a well oiled machine we got out boxes and maps set up, waterproofed and down to the drop off at the appointed hour.

             The basic outline of the course was as follows:

Start at Dunk island with a 10k run around the island.  We would then paddle out to some snorkel locations and get 4 checkpoints, then paddle to the mainland - 25k in total of paddling.  100k bike ride to Tully gorge.  This would bring us to a dark zone.  9k hike to the start of the white water rafting and 10k guided white water.  47K jungle trek up the Misty Mountains followed by a 130k bike ride in the tablelands with a 10K orienteering course in the middle.  This would take us to mid camp where we had a mandatory 6 hour layover.  This was where the course started to really get hard.  The next leg was a 20k wheel barrel push with all of the kayak gear.  Next a 70k paddle in a river that was too low and would require a great deal of portage.  This would be followed by the 60K tiger trek.  This trek had only one CP and no trials or roads any where. 

             If you survived the Tigerland trek you got to do a 120k bike ride with more difficult navigation.  This ride ended at Tinaroo Lake and a 15k paddle and finish with a 60k jungle trek to the finish at Caines.

             After the boxes were delivered there was nothing to do but get a good meal and good night sleep.

 RACE DAY

             The race start was at a reasonable time. We boarded buses at 8am and drove south a couple of hours to Mission Beach and then a water taxi to Dunk island.  As the main boat had broken down it took a while to get everyone and the boats out to the island which delayed the start a bit.  But it was after 11:30 am before the race began with 200 excited adventure racers running along the beach. 

            We settled into a steady pace.  It was hot and humid and I was nursing a sore ankle so I was trying to avoid aggravating it any more.    We moved along well in the mid teens.  I was affected by the humidity and after an hour or so was feeling sluggish and dehydrated.  We finished the run, grabbed the kayak and started paddling towards the buoys for the snorkeling checkpoints.  The water was rough and we were paddling into the waves.  We had four people in the 2 person kayak.  This made the steering tricky but Karl did a great job keeping the kayak straight and on course.  We did well on the paddle and got out to the buoy to tie up the rope along with several other boats.  We donned our fins and jumped out looking for the buoys that were the CP’s.  Each CP had a letter that we had to remember.  As the water was pretty rough it was hard to find and the visibility was not very good.  It was disappointing as I’m sure the reef was very beautiful and there was lots of fish life.  Jen did see a stingray.  We swam as a group to each of the CP’s, got back to the boat jumped in and paddled to the 2nd tie up buoy.  This time the swim was longer but we got out the farthest CP to get the last letter.  The CP’s spelled out “nude.”

            After getting the final swim CP we had to paddle back to the island and then on to the mainland.  In Queensland in May there is only 12 hours of daylight and it gets dark at 6pm.  We were a little concerned that we wouldn’t get to land fall before sunset.  We paddled steadily and made really good time, getting to the shore well before the sun set.

             We had to deflate the boat, put away the paddle gear, built the bikes, load up on food and get ready for ride.  It was a 100k road ride on paved roads.    We took off just after dark and Brian really pushed the pace.  Aside from a wrong left turn which cost us a 1/2 hour, the ride was pretty uneventful.  Karl lost a brake pad and and I broke a chain which quickly repaired with a master link.  We passed several teams and made good time.  We were hoping to be in the top 12 as the white water rafts were going to go off in groups of 12.  Even though we rode well we were in the second group of 12.  The good news is we got to the TA around 11pm so had time to eat, and get some sleep.

 DAY 2

            After a good meal and a good nights sleep in our Nemo tent, we were off on the 9K trek up to the put in for the White water rafting.  Because we were in the second group we would not be hitting the river until close to 8 am. However, we had to be at the orientation at 7:30am.  We were told that if we weren’t there on time, we would be moved to the end of the line and go last.  So we wanted to make sure we gave ourselves plenty of time to make the trek.  We also didn’t want to use a lot of energy so we gave ourselves 2 hours to make the 6 mile hike.  We made the hike easily and hung out with the other teams waiting our turn.  We would be going down with a another boat occupied by Kiwi girls from Girls on Top.

             The White water rafting was fun and exciting.  Our raft guild Jessie was very experienced and knowledgeable and interesting to talk to.  This was the same river that the 97 Eco Challenge rafted down.  We took the ride without using too much energy.  We were not going make up or lose any real time on this leg so we figured there was no reason to work too hard.

            After we got off the river - just before 10 am we quickly got ready for the trek.  We left the TA just behind the Dancing Panda’s.  They took off running and quickly put several hours on us.  We moved along at a steady fast trekking pace.  The beginning of the trek was along a fire road.  After several miles we hit the trial head.  The trial head was nice looking with a little building and signs and promised to lead to a well maintained trail through a national park.  We had actually been told that this was a “proper trail.”  In fact this was incredibly overgrown and barely a trial at all.  It was muddy, covered with wait a while vines as well as other grabby, sticky thorns and  stinging tree.  The trail was hot, humid and steep.  The going was rough.  We trekked all day and just before  6 (sunset) we reached the lone CP on this trek.  We thought that the trail would improve but it only got worse and harder to follow.  There was much tree fall where the trail would appear to end and you would have to find you way around and pick up the trail again.  We learned that shortly after we came though they began rerouting teams because of all of the stinging tree.  Apparently this part of the course had not been pre run.  We were pretty lucky.  Only Karl got hit with the stinging tree. I felt bad for him as the treatment was as bad as the sting.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FeZ8TJ7fzEc&NR=1  (youtube video of 1st jungle trek)

           We worked steadily through the bush going from Blaze to Blaze  (markers on the trees) to try to stay on the trail.  Finally, we got out of the jungle and on to the road.  A short hike down the ride and we were at Ravenshoe, Queensland’s highest town.  We hit the TA at 2:15 am haven taken 16 hours to get though these trek.  I got a shower, Karl got some treatment.  We ate and we had a sleep for a few hours. 

             When we got up we put together our bikes and headed out on the next leg, a 130 kilometer bike ride with a 10k O course in the middle.  We were very keen on getting to the O course before dark.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZO1oYoCH5U    (youtube video of bike ride)

            We took off just as the sun came up.  The ride started out with a 20k road ride slightly down high down the Kennedy Highway.  We made good time down the road as the day began to warm up.  We overshot the turn by a 1/4 mile and had to back track to the dirt road.  Soon we were back on track and road steadily along the various dirt roads though the Tablelands.  The road meandered along heading towards Misery Mountain.  As it turn it out it wasn’t that bad of a climb and soon we were at the top.  This was followed by a long steep down hill.  Karl had lost a front brake pad so he was riding with only the rear brakes.  The down hill caused my brakes to heat up so that you could smell them.

             The down hill lead to a little town of Irvinebank. This little town had a tavern where we got meat pies and chips (french fries) with gravy and ice cold cokes.  It really hit the spot.  After a quick brake we were back on the road and heading towards the Orienteering course.                      

          We got to the O course around 2, changed into running shoes and headed out on the course.  The course required locating 5 out of 6 checkpoints.  Most of the CP’s were located at or near abandon mines.  The Queenslands Tablelands were famous for goldmines.  These were the remains of those mines.

            We had a bit of trouble locating the first CP.  Once we got on track we hooked up with an Aussi team called Latitude 19.  We worked together efficiently and hit the remaining CP pretty quickly.  We completed the O course in just over 3 hours getting done just before dark. 

            At this point we  had two possible routes to mid camp.  The southern route which was a little longer and, on the map it looked like the road was less established.  The more popular route was the northern route.  This proved to take a bit longer because there was a fair amount of climbing and the down hills were very rutted and rocky.  There was some hike-a-bike as some of the hills were very steep.

             On one of the down hills I rolled the bead off my tubeless front tire.  It took me a while to repair this; ultimately I had to but a tube in.  Shortly after I affected my repair Karl did the same thing, rolling the bead and had to fix his flat.  This double flat cost us about 45 minutes.

             We got rolling again and were moving pretty well.  We were looking forward to getting to mid camp and a good sleep during the 6 hour layover.  The rocky terrain turned to sand and eventually we got to the highway.  On the highway we formed a nice pace line and really smoked down the highway.

             At about 10:19pm (after 20 hours including the O course) we arrived at mid camp. We were very happy to be at mid camp on day 3 and we’re feeling very good about how we were doing.  We were not concerned with our relative placement (we were in 21st place) because we knew that the race was just getting started and the hardest legs were coming up.

             At mid camp we got a nice hot meal, cleaned up and got some sleep.  The race was just beginning

 Pre-Race

             Australia, especially in the Queensland area, is the home of some of the most dangerous and nasty creatures and plants on the planet. Box Jellyfish, man eating crocs, poisonous spiders and snakes, and plants that sting, grab and tear at the flesh.  This was the site of the 2010 XPD.  A 10 day 700 kilometer expedition race following the general formate and course of the 1997 Eco challenge .  The Dirty Avocados arrived a few days early from San Francisco to match up with 47 4 person teams from around the world.  Jen Rigioni, Brian Schmitz, Karl Royer and Mike Chastaine set out to complete this highly difficult and demanding race that was deemed “As much as an adventure as a race.”

            After going through gear check and preparing our bike boxes, we had the race briefing.  The overall course case going to start relatively easy and get harder as the race went on.  While no single leg was actually easy, the early legs were clearly a warm up for what was to come.  It was strongly emphasized that two of the legs were so remote that the only way be rescued was by helicopter.  It was stated several times that one should not go out on those legs unless they were “highly” committed to making it out.

             The briefing went on to discuss the various hazards on the course - snakes - if your bit you need rescue, spiders - if you bit you need rescue - crocs, stinging tree, wait a while plants and all other manner of nasty stuff.

             It also became very clear that there were going to be lots of route choices and the navigation, especially in the second part of the race was going to be very hard.

             We were given our maps and a matrix of where we would see each box.  Some boxes we would see multiple times while other boxes we would see only once.  It was very important to have the right stuff in the right boxes.  While Karl and Mike worked on the maps and routes, Jen and Brian set forth getting the boxes in order.  Working like a well oiled machine we got out boxes and maps set up, waterproofed and down to the drop off at the appointed hour.

             The basic outline of the course was as follows:

Start at Dunk island with a 10k run around the island.  We would then paddle out to some snorkel locations and get 4 checkpoints, then paddle to the mainland - 25k in total of paddling.  100k bike ride to Tully gorge.  This would bring us to a dark zone.  9k hike to the start of the white water rafting and 10k guided white water.  47K jungle trek up the Misty Mountains followed by a 130k bike ride in the tablelands with a 10K orienteering course in the middle.  This would take us to mid camp where we had a mandatory 6 hour layover.  This was where the course started to really get hard.  The next leg was a 20k wheel barrel push with all of the kayak gear.  Next a 70k paddle in a river that was too low and would require a great deal of portage.  This would be followed by the 60K tiger trek.  This trek had only one CP and no trials or roads any where. 

             If you survived the Tigerland trek you got to do a 120k bike ride with more difficult navigation.  This ride ended at Tinaroo Lake and a 15k paddle and finish with a 60k jungle trek to the finish at Caines.

             After the boxes were delivered there was nothing to do but get a good meal and good night sleep.

 RACE DAY

             The race start was at a reasonable time. We boarded buses at 8am and drove south a couple of hours to Mission Beach and then a water taxi to Dunk island.  As the main boat had broken down it took a while to get everyone and the boats out to the island which delayed the start a bit.  But it was after 11:30 am before the race began with 200 excited adventure racers running along the beach. 

            We settled into a steady pace.  It was hot and humid and I was nursing a sore ankle so I was trying to avoid aggravating it any more.    We moved along well in the mid teens.  I was affected by the humidity and after an hour or so was feeling sluggish and dehydrated.  We finished the run, grabbed the kayak and started paddling towards the buoys for the snorkeling checkpoints.  The water was rough and we were paddling into the waves.  We had four people in the 2 person kayak.  This made the steering tricky but Karl did a great job keeping the kayak straight and on course.  We did well on the paddle and got out to the buoy to tie up the rope along with several other boats.  We donned our fins and jumped out looking for the buoys that were the CP’s.  Each CP had a letter that we had to remember.  As the water was pretty rough it was hard to find and the visibility was not very good.  It was disappointing as I’m sure the reef was very beautiful and there was lots of fish life.  Jen did see a stingray.  We swam as a group to each of the CP’s, got back to the boat jumped in and paddled to the 2nd tie up buoy.  This time the swim was longer but we got out the farthest CP to get the last letter.  The CP’s spelled out “nude.”

            After getting the final swim CP we had to paddle back to the island and then on to the mainland.  In Queensland in May there is only 12 hours of daylight and it gets dark at 6pm.  We were a little concerned that we wouldn’t get to land fall before sunset.  We paddled steadily and made really good time, getting to the shore well before the sun set.

             We had to deflate the boat, put away the paddle gear, built the bikes, load up on food and get ready for ride.  It was a 100k road ride on paved roads.    We took off just after dark and Brian really pushed the pace.  Aside from a wrong left turn which cost us a 1/2 hour, the ride was pretty uneventful.  Karl lost a brake pad and and I broke a chain which quickly repaired with a master link.  We passed several teams and made good time.  We were hoping to be in the top 12 as the white water rafts were going to go off in groups of 12.  Even though we rode well we were in the second group of 12.  The good news is we got to the TA around 11pm so had time to eat, and get some sleep.

 DAY 2

            After a good meal and a good nights sleep in our Nemo tent, we were off on the 9K trek up to the put in for the White water rafting.  Because we were in the second group we would not be hitting the river until close to 8 am. However, we had to be at the orientation at 7:30am.  We were told that if we weren’t there on time, we would be moved to the end of the line and go last.  So we wanted to make sure we gave ourselves plenty of time to make the trek.  We also didn’t want to use a lot of energy so we gave ourselves 2 hours to make the 6 mile hike.  We made the hike easily and hung out with the other teams waiting our turn.  We would be going down with a another boat occupied by Kiwi girls from Girls on Top.

             The White water rafting was fun and exciting.  Our raft guild Jessie was very experienced and knowledgeable and interesting to talk to.  This was the same river that the 97 Eco Challenge rafted down.  We took the ride without using too much energy.  We were not going make up or lose any real time on this leg so we figured there was no reason to work too hard.

            After we got off the river - just before 10 am we quickly got ready for the trek.  We left the TA just behind the Dancing Panda’s.  They took off running and quickly put several hours on us.  We moved along at a steady fast trekking pace.  The beginning of the trek was along a fire road.  After several miles we hit the trial head.  The trial head was nice looking with a little building and signs and promised to lead to a well maintained trail through a national park.  We had actually been told that this was a “proper trail.”  In fact this was incredibly overgrown and barely a trial at all.  It was muddy, covered with wait a while vines as well as other grabby, sticky thorns and  stinging tree.  The trail was hot, humid and steep.  The going was rough.  We trekked all day and just before  6 (sunset) we reached the lone CP on this trek.  We thought that the trail would improve but it only got worse and harder to follow.  There was much tree fall where the trail would appear to end and you would have to find you way around and pick up the trail again.  We learned that shortly after we came though they began rerouting teams because of all of the stinging tree.  Apparently this part of the course had not been pre run.  We were pretty lucky.  Only Karl got hit with the stinging tree. I felt bad for him as the treatment was as bad as the sting.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FeZ8TJ7fzEc&NR=1  (youtube video of 1st jungle trek)

           We worked steadily through the bush going from Blaze to Blaze  (markers on the trees) to try to stay on the trail.  Finally, we got out of the jungle and on to the road.  A short hike down the ride and we were at Ravenshoe, Queensland’s highest town.  We hit the TA at 2:15 am haven taken 16 hours to get though these trek.  I got a shower, Karl got some treatment.  We ate and we had a sleep for a few hours. 

             When we got up we put together our bikes and headed out on the next leg, a 130 kilometer bike ride with a 10k O course in the middle.  We were very keen on getting to the O course before dark.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZO1oYoCH5U    (youtube video of bike ride)

            We took off just as the sun came up.  The ride started out with a 20k road ride slightly down high down the Kennedy Highway.  We made good time down the road as the day began to warm up.  We overshot the turn by a 1/4 mile and had to back track to the dirt road.  Soon we were back on track and road steadily along the various dirt roads though the Tablelands.  The road meandered along heading towards Misery Mountain.  As it turn it out it wasn’t that bad of a climb and soon we were at the top.  This was followed by a long steep down hill.  Karl had lost a front brake pad so he was riding with only the rear brakes.  The down hill caused my brakes to heat up so that you could smell them.

             The down hill lead to a little town of Irvinebank. This little town had a tavern where we got meat pies and chips (french fries) with gravy and ice cold cokes.  It really hit the spot.  After a quick brake we were back on the road and heading towards the Orienteering course.                      

          We got to the O course around 2, changed into running shoes and headed out on the course.  The course required locating 5 out of 6 checkpoints.  Most of the CP’s were located at or near abandon mines.  The Queenslands Tablelands were famous for goldmines.  These were the remains of those mines.

            We had a bit of trouble locating the first CP.  Once we got on track we hooked up with an Aussi team called Latitude 19.  We worked together efficiently and hit the remaining CP pretty quickly.  We completed the O course in just over 3 hours getting done just before dark. 

            At this point we  had two possible routes to mid camp.  The southern route which was a little longer and, on the map it looked like the road was less established.  The more popular route was the northern route.  This proved to take a bit longer because there was a fair amount of climbing and the down hills were very rutted and rocky.  There was some hike-a-bike as some of the hills were very steep.

             On one of the down hills I rolled the bead off my tubeless front tire.  It took me a while to repair this; ultimately I had to but a tube in.  Shortly after I affected my repair Karl did the same thing, rolling the bead and had to fix his flat.  This double flat cost us about 45 minutes.

             We got rolling again and were moving pretty well.  We were looking forward to getting to mid camp and a good sleep during the 6 hour layover.  The rocky terrain turned to sand and eventually we got to the highway.  On the highway we formed a nice pace line and really smoked down the highway.

             At about 10:19pm (after 20 hours including the O course) we arrived at mid camp. We were very happy to be at mid camp on day 3 and we’re feeling very good about how we were doing.  We were not concerned with our relative placement (we were in 21st place) because we knew that the race was just getting started and the hardest legs were coming up.

             At mid camp we got a nice hot meal, cleaned up and got some sleep.  The race was just beginning

The next expedition stop for Dirty Avocados Adventure Racing is Australia’s North Queensland and the XPD Expedition Adventure Race. The XPD is a ~10 day race among 47 co-ed teams of 4 from across the world. Teams will trek, bike, paddle and snorkel all day and night (stopping and sleeping are optional!).

The Dirty Avocados team that will face this voyage includes Jen Rigoni, Karl Royer, Mike Chastaine, and Brian Schmitz. Each has faced similar journeys in the past and have years of expedition experience behind them. And each is uniquely armed with skills and dynamics that—combined—should form a very competitive team.

The XPD has been on the Dirty Avocados calendar for more than a year.  Months have been spent preparing and planning everything from logistics and travel, to strategy and tactics, to bettering skills and abilities. Time together and separately have been spent paddling the tumultuous San Francisco Bay, beating down paths at altitude in Lake Tahoe, and hammering the hills on Mount Tamalpais.

This voyage starts on Wednesday morning, May 19^th somewhere outside of Cairns and finishes on the edge of North Queensland in downtown Cairns. Along the way there’ll be trekking and pedaling across the desolate and dry Outback and through the thick and dripping jungles on and around Mount Bartle Frere. The local tumultuous whitewaters will be negotiated and there will be paddling and snorkeling in and around the Great Barrier Reef.

Follow the Dirty Avocados adventure and race at http://geocentric.geo-loco.com/xpd/. And for more information about the team go to http://dirtyavocados.com/.

• Modern running shoes encourage a heal strike footfall which is unnatural.
• Our feet and arches are natural shock absorbers when we land on the “mid-foot” of “forefoot” and work best in that capacity barefoot or unsupported.
• Modern Running shoes and arch supports prevent the foot from flexing and our feet get weak.
• Natural running builds strength in your feet.
• Natural running can alleviate many common running injuries.

I decided that 2010 would be the year that I work on my running and to learn to run injury free..  I started by trying to minimize my heal strike.  The technique that worked best for me was to run as I would if I was barefoot.  I could immediately feel the change and was a little sore in the lower legs, especially the shin area.  I started with low miles and worked up gradually.  Next I took the custom orthotics out of my La Sportiva Fireblades and ran like that.  My feet adjusted pretty quickly.  I eventually purchased some La Sportiva Crosslites because they are the least built up trail shoes in the La Sportiva line.  I have only used them with the stock insole, not my custom orthotics.  I started using them on short runs a couple times a week.  Now they are my shoes of choice for any run unless it’s really rocky and I need more protection.  Last Saturday I ran the Red Tail AR in my La Sportiva Fireblades, also without orthotics. My feel were golden the whole event.  I have had my knees flare up a couple times over the past few months, and I’m not sure if the new form will allow me to put off major knee surgery, but I now feel confident that I can do long runs in my favorite shoes without arch supports. I have also noticed over the past couple of weeks that I am starting to run a bit faster.  My average training pace has gone from 10 minute miles to 9 minute miles and I’ve recoded a few sub 8 minute miles on some runs recently.  Before, going faster resulted increased discomfort in my knees.  Now when I speed up my knee feels fine.  So my progress report is that things are starting to come together and the running is improving and I am a believer in the whole natural running movement. My next shoe purchase will be a pair fo La Sportiva Skylites.