Team SteelSports: Racing with SteelSports in the Ozark Extreme, Ouachita Adventure Race

Team SteelSports for this race is Justin Reneau, Chris Clemmons and Rodney Skyles

We arrived at the main transition area last night at 6:50 pm for a 7:00 pm pre-race meeting. We were a tad bit tardy. Prior to the meeting, during check in, each team had a gear check, repelling skills test and a navigation skill test. The navigation skill test required one team member to plot UTM coordinates on a topographical map. Each number was 8 digits long, and the race director told them to "round off the last number". Team SteelSports plotted the point successfully and moved onto the repelling skill test. For this "test" each member of the team had to repel off a stump that was about 2 feet tall. It was entertaining to say the least, but each team member completed this test, too.

During the pre-race meeting they were told several things about the race. First of all, one section of the race would be a marked course. They will start and finish at the main TA, but will only come back one other time during the course of the race. There will be a second TA, which would be determined after they plotted points. There will be a bike drop. There is a 14 hour cut off. In the pre-race letter the start time was "TBA". During the meeting, the race director said the start time would be a 5:00 am. Bikes needed to be dropped between 4:00 and 5:00, at the trail head of the Ouachita Vista Trail. Teams were also given maps and UTM coordinates for the entire race. There are 28 checkpoints. After the meeting was adjourned we made our way back to the RV where we had a surprise birthday cake and party for Chris, who turned 50 on Thursday. After we had a bite of cake, the team sat down

and plotted all the points and planned out the race and estimated it would take them about 9 hours to finish. We all settled in for bed about 10:00, for our early wake up call at 3:30am.

The alarms went off at 3:30, but we all rolled out of bed about 3:45. After getting a few last minute things together, we made our way to the bike drop, then to the starting line. The race started promptly at 5:00 am. with a trekking leg. They left, running, to get 10 points.

Team SteelSports made it back FIRST !! at 7:37 am. They checked in, refilled packs quickly, unloaded a canoe (boats are provided for all teams at the race) and took off on the paddle leg at 7:42 am. They anticipate this leg will take about 3 hours. They will have a 75 foot repel sometime during the paddle leg. The next leg will be the bike leg. Diana and I are making our way to the Mountain Harbor Lodge for breakfast, then to see if we can spot them on the water, then onto the second TA, at the bike drop. The second team behind them, a solo male team, got on the water 14 minutes behind team SteelSports, the next team, a 2 person male team, was 2 minutes behind him. Shaping up to be a great race. It's chilly here this morning, but it's supposed to warm up to a sunny, 64 degrees this afternoon.

We were able to drive to a section of the Mountain Harbor Resort and see the team paddling. There were no teams close behind them and they looked strong. We drove to the Tompkins Bend Recreation Park, where CP 21 was, but someone there told us we missed them by 5 minutes. They are paddling way faster than they expected and are still in the lead. We drove over to the bike drop, second TA, and waited for them.

At 10:30, they were the first team out of the water. We filled their packs while they took off their wet, paddling gear and got ready for the bike. At 10:35, Team SteelSports was off on the final, bike leg. They said this leg would take them about 3 hours. We, expect to see them soon! Hoping for a big win this race, and it's looking good! The weather hasn't warmed up and the sun has not come out today, though. It's 52 degrees, but it feels very refreshing. It's a great day for racing for sure!

It's 12:55 and we're waiting at the finish line. We haven't heard any updates or news and we weren't able to see them at one of the CPs on the bike trial. We thought we would, but after we got there, we realized we most likely missed them. As far as we know, they are still in first place. The only team we've seen is the 2 person male team, biking on one of the roads near the trail. Since Rodney didn't wear the spot tracker, it's hard for us to know where they are. I knew I appreciated that thing : )

At 1:20 the race director told us Team SteelSports is about 3o minutes away. He had just caught them in time, while putting out the last CP. He said the rest of the trail is all down hill, so it should be a fun, exciting finish for them.

At 1:40 Team SteelSports finished the race. Still in first place. They won the race!! The race is made up of teams of 3, so they will be first overall and first in their division.

They've showered and are trying to get warm. Rodney had a pretty bad wreck on the "marked course", which they are describing as a creek bed full of boulders. He is out of the shower, but he is still bleeding. He said the wreck was bad enough to knock the breath out of him and his bumps and bruises are hurting pretty bad. Chris said that he fell on the trek this morning, on the second check point. He went head first into a creek...so that was about 5:30 this morning and he's been wet ever since. Justin said after he was finished he felt like passing out because they pushed themselves so hard and he was freezing. He's showering now and we have some hot tea for him. We've cooked up a pot of chili in the RV, so they can get all warmed up and rested after an outstanding race. They are all three so excited and feel like they had a great race. They are most excited about the paddle leg, because typically that's where they lose time. Overall, this was an extremely impressive race. Team SteelSports ROCKED!