Winter Challenge: Race report February 4, 2006

As I was preparing for the awards presentation, I asked a couple of well-conditioned looking participants if the overall winner was among them.  One of  you replied with a bit of a grin, “man…we’re all winners,”  and I have to say, it was like you were onto something; very well put, I thought.  It was a hard fought race regardless of whether you finished in the top five or the top ninety-five.  Many of you were taking on an event like this for the first time.  For many you I’m sure the race was every bit, if not more, challenging than for some of the seasoned veterans.  Heartfelt Congrats go out to all of you who came out to race a tough course, rife with difficult conditions on a wet and windy day.  For the record, we had 125 participants finish the race on Saturday. 

And then, for the vets, we’ve come to expect strong performances from some of our alumni and they didn’t disappoint.  My cousin Chuck Hiers, like myself, a complete rookie to the sport three years ago when we started this race (he finished second last year) came out of the water in first place, looking like the trophy was nobody’s but his, only to be upended in the final two miles of the mountain bike.  We’ll see plenty more of him before this series is up, I’m sure.  Bill Jordan laid down another strong performance, always pushing his way toward the front of the pack after the run.  Bill finished fourth, (first in the paddle)  And Brian Curran of Outspokin Bicycles spoke up for himself crushing the comp on the bike to move into fifth place.  Myself,  I picked up ten minutes on last year’s time and came out of the water in third place before running out of gas on the bike and falling to seventh place.  Eighth, ninth, and tenth place all went to veterans of the race: Jeff Sosa, Leighton Lord, and Daniel Kryszczuk.  Team Hawes, 2:33:50, found the relay team title they’d been looking for, as Tyler Hawes, currently a member of the Clemson cycling team, once again smoked the bike trails.  David Lyle put on another run, no-make-that-sprint-clinic as he raced to a 42:26:00 run split.  And…..another person quite familiar with the Winter Challenge, my wife Lisa made her debut on the kayak as she claimed the best time for her gender on the water!  I would like to thank all of our WC Alumni, and hope you reached your race goal this year.  I’ll be working on a record of everyone’s annual finish time and hopefully have that available online at some time in the near future.

As for our first place finishers, Paul Humphreys of Hampton, GA (originally New Zealand – where off-road racing is almost considered a national sport) claimed the best time overall clocking in at 2:39:57.  Paul is a seasoned Adventure Racer and apparently brought to the race some serious credentials.  Maggie Everett, a fifty-one year old ultrarunner from Asheville, NC, finished with a time of 3:18:50 to take home the women’s title.  Also from Asheville, Dwight Shuler, a sponsored athlete for Recover Ez  came down to make an assertive debut finishing second with a time of 2:40:22.  All results have been posted on our website.

That’s a wrap up on the finishes; but quite a few participants have emailed me with questions and we have a few announcements to make:

1. The next race in the Category IV Off-Road Race Series is March 4, the Hunting Island Biathlon.  It is put on by Sea Island Rotary and promises, once again, to be a great race.  See our website  for details.  If you are a team wishing to qualify for the series, any two of you may participate in this race as a team.
2. Kayak Handicaps for the Race Series.  The objective is to level the time gaps between race and recreation boats for those who are competing in the race series.

           The handicap will only be applied for the Hunting Island and Santee races and will only affect those that are competing for the race series.  For example: if you are racing in a race boat (see definition below) but are only doing 1 of the 3 races- handicaps will be applied only as the rules dictate for that individual race.  If you are racing in a race boat in all 3 races- a handicap will be applied for the Hunting Island and Santee Races regarding Series Standings.  The Handicaps will be assessed as follows:

Handicap:
45 seconds per mile handicap for the following race boats:

• K-1’s
• Surf Skis
• Decked surf skis (ie Thunderbolt & Exceed)

• Winter Challenge- No boat handicap
• Hunting Island Race= 4.5mi x 45= 202 / 60= 3.4min handicap for race boats
• Santee Race- 6mi x 45sec= 270 / 60= 4.5min time handicap for race boats

Race officials have the final say on determining if a boat falls into the “race boat” category.

1. The third and final race of the series will be held at the Santee State Park.  The same folks that put on the Winter Challenge will be hosting this race in conjunction with the good people of the State Park.  The format is very similar to that of the Winter Challenge, the setting different.   The course will be a little shorter, less technical, and faster. Please see the website for details regarding this race and the series.
2. Photos.  Many participants have inquired about photos of the race.  We are in the process of trying to make some of them available.  If it works out we will have an announcement posted on our website soon, so check in for that and other announcements.

Lastly, I regret that a few of the final finishers missed a bit of the awards presentation.  I will take care to see that doesn’t happen next year.  We hope that everyone had a great day at Dome Farms and endeavor to make the race better every year.  We welcome your input, especially regarding improvements you think could be made.  Thanks for coming out and we hope to see you again in the series. Have a great 2006 racing season.

Best Wishes,
Chris Williams,  Race Director  

PS
For great bikes, service, & great maintenance see Outspokin Bicycles in Columbia www.outspokinbicycles.com/.

For the best in Kayaks & paddling equipment see Epic Kayaks in Charleston.