Nadja- Race start at 6:30am at fire station in Eastsound- Had to check in and find out where to drop off our kayak and bikes first in the autumn pre dawn.
Thick marine fog added to the mystery of the day we were about to embark on.
In true adventure race style, at the pre-race meeting just before the start we got the race course- we’re going to Sucia island!!
Began with about a mile run to North Beach Park where we jumped in our kayaks and launched in thick fog relying on compass bearing to get us to Sucia island, where the kayak checkpoints had us circumnavigate the rugged shorelines of this remote island state park. After finding the 4 clues/checkpoints- buoy numbers, counting boards on benches, it was time to transition to land.
Spent the next few hours running/trekking around Sucia, down every trail and service road, atop of cliffs, through old growth forests, searching for 14 checkpoints over 10 miles of back and forth down each finger of the entire island …
Then back to the kayak to paddle 3 miles back to Orcas island and switch paddles for pedals for the final leg that would take us back to the trails of Moran State Park- after finding 3 checkpoints on the 5 miles or so road ride to the park it was time for the grande sufferfest of riding/hike-a-biking up Mt Constitution trails – where I had my greatest bonk of the day- Super sick feeling to my stomach made worse by the push up the hill, ended up doing Jim’s endurance racing trick of curling up in the fetal position for about 15 minutes to calm my rates down and get a bit more food in me so I could continue- a team of 4 guys we had past on the climb past us back during this break, but to my elation, we caught back up to and passed them on the descent and game on, we’re still racing! Got my 7th wind of the day and dug dug dug, down our favorite trail there that we had just ridden last weekend to get the final checkpoints hidden under bridges, in swamps to the FINISH LINE!!
April is a co-founder and former co-Executive Director for Recreation Northwest. She has a passion for place and loves exploring, experiencing and sharing the beauty of the pacific northwest. She is currently working with Ocean Conservancy to protect our oceans, specifically the Arctic.
