Team Wins Final Norcal Race at Whiskeytown

Written by Glenn Rogers
Created Date: Tuesday, 13 October 2009 07:11
Last Updated: Sunday, 18 October 2009 10:58

As a final tune up for the USARA Nationals on October 23rd, the team competed in the last race of the Norcal Series at Whiskeytown in northern California.  The team was composed of Ryan VanGorder, Mari Chandler, Matt Hayes, and Glenn Rogers.  This was the second year of this race.  We missed it last year and after hearing great reviews, we decided that it would be a great venue to work out any final bugs in nationals bound team

Bally Shasta, which was 5,000 above the race start.  After receiving the final checkpoint coordinates right at the start, the team chose to plot these checkpoints in the first transition area at the top of the mountain and avoid any bottlenecks on the early singletrack.  Matt added his boundless power to the team while Ryan flawlessly navigated our route.  Three hours later, the team was the first to arrive at the top where they left their bikes and transitioned to a trek.

The trek had teams traversing beautiful mountain ridges and bushwacking through heavy manzanita and shrub oak.  "It was tough going in some places as we crawled through the heavy underbrush" noted Matt,  "but once on the ridgetops, the views were stunning."  After four hard hours of clawing and climbing around Bally Shasta, the team returned to the transition area and prepared for a lightening fast descent.

5,000 feet of constant steep descent can wreak havoc on bikes.  We were fortunate to be equipped with Hayes Stroker Trails brake systems that saw us safely down the mountain.  Once down we were treated to some fantastic singletrack through the oak forests that surround Bally Shasta.  As night fell, the team fired up their Light and Motion Stellas which guided them through the night and back to the central TA five hours later.

Normally, the team would paddle in a NW Kayak triple.  However, since they will be required to use a canoe in Nationals, they chose to use a large aluminum canoe for this race.  It was quite amusing to see the old beast lined up next to the high performance kayaks before the race start.  The team received quite a few comments with that boat but still managed to have the fastest time on the paddle leg.  They paddled through the night visiting the checkpoints around the reservour and returned to the central transition area three hours later.

After warming up, they set out on the final section of the race.  All that stood between the team and the finish was a nice 16 mile treking loop.  Mari jumped in the driver's seat and set a hard pace while Glenn handled the navigation.  Once again, the team set a pace that couldn't be matched.  They came across the finish line at 5:30AM approximately 20 hours after the race start.  The team took some time to sort their gear, take a nap, and enjoy a spread of food that is unmatched in any race.

Next up, The team will field a squad for the USARA Nationals and AR World Championships.