Archive for the '2009' Category

Race Report: Vanderkitten at Pacheco State Park’s 9Hour race

March 14th, 2009 by Cindi

Race date: March 14, 2009
Location: Pacheco State Park, CA
Team Vanderkitten Racers: Gwen Juha & Cindi Choi

Race Organizer : Norcal-AR
Summary: Pacheco State park is hilly, lots of fire roads, with some fun single track. Navigation can be challenging, but the open space makes it easy to see where you are going. There are also great water features to help with the navigation. Kayaking on the reservoir is often challenging due to high winds

***** 
Gwen and I raced as Team Vanderkitten for the 9 hour race at Pacheco State Park 2 Saturdays ago, and we got 2nd place in the 2-man (they didn’t have an all-women’s category but we’re working on that) and 7th overall of all teams!!   AND, we got 1st in all-women’s division… I’m proud as this is an early race of the season.
 
Here’s the race results, officially:
 
The race, though, was an incredible race that showed the compassion and solidarity of the Adventure Racing community:

Norcal-AR #1 demonstrated why adventure racing is one of the few sports that has heart.  The day started as all AR events start.  People getting ready, some socializing with old friends, and then the start.  Everyone started on the bike section first with the leading competitors reaching the water in 2 hours.  A strong wind was blowing to our back and you could see white caps on the reservoir.  Not a good sign.  You usual want the wind to your back when you are returning from the kayak.  Fifteen minutes into the paddle, we started heading North and saw most of the lead teams on a beach.  I was certain this was not the checkpoint.  As we came closer, it was clear that the lead teams had stopped racing.  They were rescuing and caring for other athletes that had fallen into the water.  EVERYONE that was able, helped.  I was never more proud of my friends, competitors and sport.  And…, once the water was cleared, teams returned to racing. 

Here is a fantastic full recap of the challenges we all faced at the race:
 
Also, photos of the whole race are here– there are two of Gwen and I racing together (one next to the VK sign, and the other right before we took off)–it was COLD!!!! Check out all the pix:
 
Next race is the San Jose Almaden Quicksilver 9-hour race on April 25th.   We are expecting to kick some ass!

Category: 2009, Races | No Comments »

Upcoming Race Schedule for Team VK 2009

January 3rd, 2009 by Cindi

Below is the 2009 upcoming race calendar for confirmed Team VK races. Team Vanderkitten will field all-women teams for each of these races.. check back to our site for race reports after the races!

  • Sat Mar 14 NorCalAR: Pacheco Pass (VK) – Hollister, CA
  • Sat May 9 Big Blue: Red Tail (VK) – Livermore California
  • Sat May 30 NorCalAR: Henry Coe Park (VK) – Henry Coe Park, Gilroy, CA
  • Sat Jul 11 Big Blue: Half Moon Bay (VK) – Half Moon Bay, Ca
  • Sat Sep 19 Big Blue: Tahoe (VK) – North Lake Tahoe, Ca

Also, Team VK will be racing with our counterpart team Team Racing with Giants for the following races:

  • Sat Feb 7 Baarbd Brawl (RWG)
  • Sat Apr 25 NorCalAR: Almaden/Quicksilver (RWG) – San Jose, Ca
  • Sat May 16 Central Coast Adventure Challange: San Luis Obispo (RWG) – Santa Margarita Reservoir, San Luis Obispo, California 93453
  • Sat Aug 1-2 Big Blue: Tahoe 24 (RWG) – Kings Beach, Ca

It’s looking like a great year so far…Stay tuned for more adds to the calendar!

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2009 Race Season

January 1st, 2009 by Cindi

The wonderful race directors of AR have announced some races for the 2009 season so far..

Here is the line-up so far…

·         Sat Feb 7 Baarbd Brawl (RWG)

·         Sat Feb 28 Tri-Adventure series 2009 (+) – San Francisco, Ca

·         Sat Mar 14 NorCalAR: Pacheco Pass (VK) – Hollister, Ca

·         Sat Apr 4 Dessert Winds AR: Lake Mead 3+ Beg – Lake Mead, Ca

·         Thu Apr 16-19 Sea Otter Classic – Monterey, Ca

·         Sat Apr 18 Big Blue: Red Bluff – Red Bluff, Ca

·         Sat Apr 25 NorCalAR: Almaden/Quicksilver (RWG) – San Jose, Ca

·         Sat May 2-3 Desert Winds AR: lake mead 24 – Lake Mead, NV

·         Sat May 9 Big Blue: Red Tail (VK) – Livermore California

·         Sun May 10 XTERRA: Del Valle (+) – Livermore, ca

·         Sat May 16-17 Central Coast Adventure Challange: San Luis Obispo (RWG) – Santa Margarita Reservoir, San Luis Obispo, California 93453

·         Sat May 30 NorCalAR: Henry Coe Park (VK) – Henry Coe Park, Gilroy, CA

·         Sat Jun 13-14 Mavericks Women’s Weekend – Eagle, Co

·         Sat Jun 13-14 AquanFest 2009 (+)

·         Sat Jun 20 Dessert Winds: 30/60 mile kayak – Black Canyon, NV

·         Sat Jun 27 XTERRA: Tahoe (+) – North Lake Tahoe, Ca

·         Sat Jul 11 Big Blue: Half Moon Bay (VK) – Half Moon Bay, Ca

·         Sat Jul 25 Gold Rush: Gold Rush Summer Challange – Jamestown, Ca

·         Sat Jul 25 High Trek Adventure Race – San Francisco, Ca

·         Sat Aug 1-2 Big Blue: Tahoe 24 (RWG) – Kings Beach, Ca

·         Sat Aug 15 Big Blue: Folsom Lake – Folsom lake, sacramento, ca

·         Sat Aug 22 High Trek Adventure Race – Berkley, ca

·         Sat Aug 29 XTERRA: Incline Village – Incline Village, NV

Whew! that should keep you busy.. and that’s just around our area.. there are still a lot more great races out there, and more adds.. we’ll keep updating this post with new races as they get released!

Category: 2009, Races | 2 Comments »