Race date: March 14, 2009

Location: Pacheco State Park, CA

Team Vanderkitten Racers: Gwen Juha & Cindi Choi

***** 

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!