2014 THUNDER ROLLS
AR
The 2014 Thunder Rolls was supposed to be our big test to see if we could make it through the upcoming 30-hour nationals. We figured it was a good race for us to do since we knew we’d be familiar with the RD and the course, as Thunder Rolls is held in the same location every year, a YMCA camp in the rural area just east of the Mississippi in north-central Illinois.
The pre-race details were similar to the other Gerry Voelliger races we’ve done, except for the fact that this year we decided to pitch tents and sleep in them rather than the bunks provided by the race, since they were more private and we wouldn’t be bothered by other racers coming and going through the day and night.
At 9 p.m. on Friday, we got our maps and plotted out the course, which started with a coasteering along the river behind the camp, continued on a 35-mile bike ride to the Apple River, then a 4-mile canoe to a 4-point o-section, and then back in the canoes for a 20-mile paddle down the Apple to the Mississippi and then to the Palisades State Park where Gerry’s races always have a huge o-section (this year’s course had more than 20 CPs spread over the entire park - probably 15-20 miles of hiking all told. The race ended with a quick 9-mile bike back to camp and a 7 point scramble/ropes course.
Kate and Starker managed to grab an hour of sleep after plotting was finished, but Cliff didn’t bother, instead using the time to laminate the maps. That proved very useful, as we were destined to endure some rough weather the next day. We lined up for the midnight race start and after the national anthem (which we feel is always awkward at adventure races), we took a sweeping right turn out off the start line and headed down to the river. Very soon, we were near the back of the pack, as wading through knee to thigh to even neck deep water is not our strength. It took us an hour and we were just about getting worried we were lost when we stumbled upon the TA.
We transitioned as quickly as possible, taking the time to put on dry socks, and then headed out for the long bike ride. We made good enough progress through about 10 miles, when we hit a strange part of the course that involved bikewhacking through thick underbrush to an abandoned bridge. After crossing the bridge, Cliff told the team to make a left and Starker and Kate took off before Cliff realized his mistake and tried to call them back. It took 15 minutes to get the team back together and back on track, and we then continued all the way to the Apple River. We stopped there for a quick snack break, then decided to take a longer but less harsh route to the TA that we estimated saved us perhaps 15 to 20 minutes.
Arriving at the canoe TA at around 4 a.m., we were careful to choose a good canoe (after learning our lesson at Plot Pedal Paddle) and setting off into some shallow Class II rapids that had us holding our breath, as it was dark and difficult to see the many rocks we had to try to navigate around.
We arrived at the first paddle take-out -- marked by a few glowsticks on the bank of the river -- just as it was getting light out and headed to the first orienteering CP with two other teams. It took us longer than it should have to find the CP as we got lured into checking for it too soon by lots of bushwacking tracks that we shouldn’t have followed. We finally got the point and then headed up a steep hill to the next CP, located in a saddle. Then down the other side, we followed a big reentrant with lots of teams searching for the third CP, but with a closer look at the map, we found it in a side reentrant off a main one. The fourth CP was a long walk up another steep hill and then back down the hill to the boats after finding the CP without much problem.
We got back on the water by 8 a.m. and had a long slog of winding river ahead. This is where Starker uttered his famous line, after being asked how he was doing. “I’m endeavoring to persevere,” he said.
Later in the very long paddle, Kate was feeling drowsy and laid back on our paddle bag, which was full of extra gear and food and functioned nicely as a makeshift bed, and immediately fell asleep. However, she had only been sleeping for about 10 seconds when we turned a bend in the river and saw a bridge and the race photographer. Cliff shook her awake so she didn’t look bad for the camera and Kate popped up asking how long she had been asleep. She wouldn't believe us when we told her, because she said she felt like she had slept for hours and was fully refreshed. Starker and Cliff couldn't stop laughing.
We continued down the river until it hit the Mississippi. At this point, the wind picked up and a line of darkness appeared on the horizon. The wind whipped up to more than 40 mph and pushed us down the river at an incredible speed, at least 8-10 mph. After about 20 minutes, it started pouring and lightning started striking everywhere. Over Cliff's objections (the team was making great time), Kate convinced us to stop paddling and get off the water, and we pulled up onshore to wait out the storm. It was difficult for us to watch several teams paddle by, but we knew we were being safe. We huddled together for warmth but still managed to get soaked through due to the torrential downpour.
After 20 to 30 minutes, the storm abated and we got back into our canoes, happy to be using our muscles again as we had gotten quite cold just standing around. For the last four miles of the canoe, we faced a choice of trying to get through the difficult-to-navigate side channels or following the main channel of the river around the long way. We ultimately chose a middle path, along with two other teams. The channel we chose quickly got shallow and we had to jump out to push the boat. Fortunately, there was a team ahead of us who proved we could get through the channel we had chosen or else we probably would have turned around at this point. We continued to slog through about six inches of water, then portaged over a sand bar and into a deeper channel on the other side. Unfortunately, it was clogged with weeds and lilypads and only thanks to Kate’s impressive navigating did we get through to the main channel. On the way across it, we heard a very loud boom that scared the crap out of us (more on this in a moment). Not long after, we reached the TA in Palisades Park, marking the end of the paddle.
It was about 12 p.m. at this point. We got into the TA and one of the race volunteers gave us the bad news that one of the tires on Kate’s bike had burst in transit to the TA. So Starker got to work fixing it while Cliff and Kate prepped gear and looked at the o-course map. We got underway after about 20 minutes and headed uphill to the start of the o-course. On the way, we passed a huge oak tree that had been hit by lightning (causing the boom we heard earlier). It had split in two and was smoking. Pretty spooky.
We reached the TA after a short 3-4 mile bike (all uphill) and got to work on the huge o-course. The first point was easy but the second one was difficult and we struggled on a steep hillside for a while before Starker found it further along from where we thought it could be. The third and fourth points brought us up a hill and back down it, and then the fifth and sixth brought us up another hill and through a cornfield. The seventh point, located in a creekbed/reentrant, was very tricky and cost us an hour of wasted time looking for it in every creekbed but the correct one. At one point Cliff was within 10 feet of the CP but he didn’t see it and it took another 20 minutes before we returned to the spot and found it.
Moving on, we found the next two fine on the bottom of opposite sides of a hill and then had a long walk for the final two (one at the top of a mountain after a two-mile walk, and the next along a side-trail on the way back) before running out of time and having to jump on the paved park road for the long four-mile walk back to the TA and our bikes. Starker spent much of this time complaining loudly about having to walk on the road. Kate and Cliff agreed but the format of the orienteering - having to get each point in order - had brought the team to the far north end of the park and left them no other route choice for getting back. At least all the anger Starker was channeling seemed to speed him up as we got back to the bikes at around 6:20 p.m. (there was a 7 p.m. cutoff for that section). We headed back towards the camp on the familiar 9-mile road section we’ve done in several previous races and arrived back to camp just as it was getting dark.
The winning team (Alpine Shop) had already finished by this point but we still had 7 CPs to go. Although we’ve spent a lot of time in the woods around the camp, its unique topography always throws us for a loop and we more time than we should have finding a few of these points, which were bunched relatively close together. We had the choice to use our bikes for two CPs and we did, but that turned out to be a mistake in retrospect as there really wasn’t too much rideable terrain and it was just straight down to the river and then back up. We then headed to the rappel and we had a long wait on the ropes as Lupine and BDAR got there ahead of us. We talked about how many points we had gotten on the o-course and with our scores pretty much locked in, it meant we weren’t really competing with each other anymore. The upside of that and the wait was getting to know BDAR better, as they race a lot and I’m sure we’ll be seeing them again at future races.
At the bottom of the rappel, we were forced to wade through the knee-deep river to get one CP, and then back through it several times searching for another. The final point was at those evil slides where Cliff had almost been killed at Lightning Strikes earlier in the year and we opted not to repeat the mistake of doing them, instead just punching and heading to the finish. We were the last team in, at about 11:30, and Gerry came out to greet us.
All in all, the race went pretty well. Not without a few mistakes, but a good showing in our first 24-hour race. We all felt good throughout and that gave us a lot of confidence that we can do the 30-hour nationals coming up in October.
Also, as one last fun note, Kate wore a FitBit during this race and coded the data she got from it after the race. Here it is, with approximate times for each race section color-coded:
The pre-race details were similar to the other Gerry Voelliger races we’ve done, except for the fact that this year we decided to pitch tents and sleep in them rather than the bunks provided by the race, since they were more private and we wouldn’t be bothered by other racers coming and going through the day and night.
At 9 p.m. on Friday, we got our maps and plotted out the course, which started with a coasteering along the river behind the camp, continued on a 35-mile bike ride to the Apple River, then a 4-mile canoe to a 4-point o-section, and then back in the canoes for a 20-mile paddle down the Apple to the Mississippi and then to the Palisades State Park where Gerry’s races always have a huge o-section (this year’s course had more than 20 CPs spread over the entire park - probably 15-20 miles of hiking all told. The race ended with a quick 9-mile bike back to camp and a 7 point scramble/ropes course.
Kate and Starker managed to grab an hour of sleep after plotting was finished, but Cliff didn’t bother, instead using the time to laminate the maps. That proved very useful, as we were destined to endure some rough weather the next day. We lined up for the midnight race start and after the national anthem (which we feel is always awkward at adventure races), we took a sweeping right turn out off the start line and headed down to the river. Very soon, we were near the back of the pack, as wading through knee to thigh to even neck deep water is not our strength. It took us an hour and we were just about getting worried we were lost when we stumbled upon the TA.
We transitioned as quickly as possible, taking the time to put on dry socks, and then headed out for the long bike ride. We made good enough progress through about 10 miles, when we hit a strange part of the course that involved bikewhacking through thick underbrush to an abandoned bridge. After crossing the bridge, Cliff told the team to make a left and Starker and Kate took off before Cliff realized his mistake and tried to call them back. It took 15 minutes to get the team back together and back on track, and we then continued all the way to the Apple River. We stopped there for a quick snack break, then decided to take a longer but less harsh route to the TA that we estimated saved us perhaps 15 to 20 minutes.
Arriving at the canoe TA at around 4 a.m., we were careful to choose a good canoe (after learning our lesson at Plot Pedal Paddle) and setting off into some shallow Class II rapids that had us holding our breath, as it was dark and difficult to see the many rocks we had to try to navigate around.
We arrived at the first paddle take-out -- marked by a few glowsticks on the bank of the river -- just as it was getting light out and headed to the first orienteering CP with two other teams. It took us longer than it should have to find the CP as we got lured into checking for it too soon by lots of bushwacking tracks that we shouldn’t have followed. We finally got the point and then headed up a steep hill to the next CP, located in a saddle. Then down the other side, we followed a big reentrant with lots of teams searching for the third CP, but with a closer look at the map, we found it in a side reentrant off a main one. The fourth CP was a long walk up another steep hill and then back down the hill to the boats after finding the CP without much problem.
We got back on the water by 8 a.m. and had a long slog of winding river ahead. This is where Starker uttered his famous line, after being asked how he was doing. “I’m endeavoring to persevere,” he said.
Later in the very long paddle, Kate was feeling drowsy and laid back on our paddle bag, which was full of extra gear and food and functioned nicely as a makeshift bed, and immediately fell asleep. However, she had only been sleeping for about 10 seconds when we turned a bend in the river and saw a bridge and the race photographer. Cliff shook her awake so she didn’t look bad for the camera and Kate popped up asking how long she had been asleep. She wouldn't believe us when we told her, because she said she felt like she had slept for hours and was fully refreshed. Starker and Cliff couldn't stop laughing.
We continued down the river until it hit the Mississippi. At this point, the wind picked up and a line of darkness appeared on the horizon. The wind whipped up to more than 40 mph and pushed us down the river at an incredible speed, at least 8-10 mph. After about 20 minutes, it started pouring and lightning started striking everywhere. Over Cliff's objections (the team was making great time), Kate convinced us to stop paddling and get off the water, and we pulled up onshore to wait out the storm. It was difficult for us to watch several teams paddle by, but we knew we were being safe. We huddled together for warmth but still managed to get soaked through due to the torrential downpour.
After 20 to 30 minutes, the storm abated and we got back into our canoes, happy to be using our muscles again as we had gotten quite cold just standing around. For the last four miles of the canoe, we faced a choice of trying to get through the difficult-to-navigate side channels or following the main channel of the river around the long way. We ultimately chose a middle path, along with two other teams. The channel we chose quickly got shallow and we had to jump out to push the boat. Fortunately, there was a team ahead of us who proved we could get through the channel we had chosen or else we probably would have turned around at this point. We continued to slog through about six inches of water, then portaged over a sand bar and into a deeper channel on the other side. Unfortunately, it was clogged with weeds and lilypads and only thanks to Kate’s impressive navigating did we get through to the main channel. On the way across it, we heard a very loud boom that scared the crap out of us (more on this in a moment). Not long after, we reached the TA in Palisades Park, marking the end of the paddle.
It was about 12 p.m. at this point. We got into the TA and one of the race volunteers gave us the bad news that one of the tires on Kate’s bike had burst in transit to the TA. So Starker got to work fixing it while Cliff and Kate prepped gear and looked at the o-course map. We got underway after about 20 minutes and headed uphill to the start of the o-course. On the way, we passed a huge oak tree that had been hit by lightning (causing the boom we heard earlier). It had split in two and was smoking. Pretty spooky.
We reached the TA after a short 3-4 mile bike (all uphill) and got to work on the huge o-course. The first point was easy but the second one was difficult and we struggled on a steep hillside for a while before Starker found it further along from where we thought it could be. The third and fourth points brought us up a hill and back down it, and then the fifth and sixth brought us up another hill and through a cornfield. The seventh point, located in a creekbed/reentrant, was very tricky and cost us an hour of wasted time looking for it in every creekbed but the correct one. At one point Cliff was within 10 feet of the CP but he didn’t see it and it took another 20 minutes before we returned to the spot and found it.
Moving on, we found the next two fine on the bottom of opposite sides of a hill and then had a long walk for the final two (one at the top of a mountain after a two-mile walk, and the next along a side-trail on the way back) before running out of time and having to jump on the paved park road for the long four-mile walk back to the TA and our bikes. Starker spent much of this time complaining loudly about having to walk on the road. Kate and Cliff agreed but the format of the orienteering - having to get each point in order - had brought the team to the far north end of the park and left them no other route choice for getting back. At least all the anger Starker was channeling seemed to speed him up as we got back to the bikes at around 6:20 p.m. (there was a 7 p.m. cutoff for that section). We headed back towards the camp on the familiar 9-mile road section we’ve done in several previous races and arrived back to camp just as it was getting dark.
The winning team (Alpine Shop) had already finished by this point but we still had 7 CPs to go. Although we’ve spent a lot of time in the woods around the camp, its unique topography always throws us for a loop and we more time than we should have finding a few of these points, which were bunched relatively close together. We had the choice to use our bikes for two CPs and we did, but that turned out to be a mistake in retrospect as there really wasn’t too much rideable terrain and it was just straight down to the river and then back up. We then headed to the rappel and we had a long wait on the ropes as Lupine and BDAR got there ahead of us. We talked about how many points we had gotten on the o-course and with our scores pretty much locked in, it meant we weren’t really competing with each other anymore. The upside of that and the wait was getting to know BDAR better, as they race a lot and I’m sure we’ll be seeing them again at future races.
At the bottom of the rappel, we were forced to wade through the knee-deep river to get one CP, and then back through it several times searching for another. The final point was at those evil slides where Cliff had almost been killed at Lightning Strikes earlier in the year and we opted not to repeat the mistake of doing them, instead just punching and heading to the finish. We were the last team in, at about 11:30, and Gerry came out to greet us.
All in all, the race went pretty well. Not without a few mistakes, but a good showing in our first 24-hour race. We all felt good throughout and that gave us a lot of confidence that we can do the 30-hour nationals coming up in October.
Also, as one last fun note, Kate wore a FitBit during this race and coded the data she got from it after the race. Here it is, with approximate times for each race section color-coded:
